Getting to know you - 2: Local/National Indigenous...from their hearts & lips & drums...
- Thomas Tittmann
- Apr 23, 2023
- 5 min read
Updated: Aug 23, 2023
Tuesday April 25 7-8 PM @ Roosevelt School of LIU Brookville, NY
Note: After clicking the RSVP Link below, there's a place on the form to enter our questions for this presenter. It has an unspecified character limit. About 200 characters?
Why I'm learning and writing about this topic and other forms of racism
A few years ago, Eileen and I had the good fortune to be introduced to Multicultural Solidarity of Long Island and their Friendship Circles. During one of these meetings, we were invited to sit in circle with members of the Shinnecock Nation at their home on the East End of LI. This face-to-face encounter began a heart-opening awareness of a chapter of our American history that I was never taught. And this led me to become a student - so I could learn and pass along the stories of what really happened as a result of colonization.
This same heart transformation is occurring through our participation with members of Long Island's Baha'i Fellowship. We met this wonderful group of people through the Multicultural folks. As I've written in other posts, our Baha'i gatherings in peoples' homes and at the Bayard Cutting Arboretum State Park enable us to meet with members of other races who have been and still are mistreated because people with white skin think they that their white skin pigmentation makes them superior.
For me, the biggest impact is happening as I share space with my fellow human travelers...hear their personal stories...share a meal with them...laugh and cry with them...These close encounters are much more powerful than simply reading a book or watching a documentary about the various forms of discrimination.
Come join us...
Long Island's Indigenous: Thunderbird Sisters - Music & Activism from the Shinnecock Nation
Sunday May 21 5-6 PM Doors open at 4
Latest Flyer:
Sponsored by Hampton's Community Outreach. It's a free event but HCO will be pleased to accept any and all donations to support their home renovation projects on the Shinnecock Reservation. You can read more about in an article a little further down this post's path...
Easy, convenient parking on this sacred place held by some other mindful ladies - the Sisters of St. Joseph (they taught me in grammar school in Richmond Hill, NY.
I meet here in a monthly circle with Men2Men - guys simply sharing the journey TOGETHER.
After our April 2023 circle, I wandered some around the grounds - which include a solar array, labyrinth, chickens, and more. Coming soon: Thera Farm's organic farm.
...and have others planned...especially after wandering around their "cosmic walk"...
I've been getting to know some members of this Long Island indigenous nation through my participation with the Multicultural Solidarity of Long Island's regular Friendship Circles.
--Native American/Shinnecock based singers performing at Sag Harbor Music Festival 2021
...a sad tale about the interconnectedness of joy and sorrow...
As noted above, these valiant warriors don't just sing...
--another in the ongoing struggles about whose land is it...and the resulting "LAND BACK" initiatives...
--Join us Thanksgiving weekend and Native American Heritage month for The Song Bird Series, featuring Thunderbird Sisters and a guest performance by singer/songwriter, humanitarian, and Native American Music Awards (NAMMY) nominee, Starlight Tyler.
At 5:00 PM, the Thunderbird Sisters and Starlight Tyler will perform original songs and classic covers. Coinciding with the concert is a silent auction which will be live for bidding and on view at The Church starting at 12 PM. This program is a celebration of the Native American culture, and all ticket proceeds will go to benefit Hamptons Community Outreach’s efforts to end the housing crisis on the Shinnecock reservation. So far, HCO has renovated and repaired 22 homes within the Shinnecock territory. Doors for the concert open at 4:30 PM. When speaking on their music, The Thunderbird Sisters share,
“May our songs, our words and our actions seek and realize justice, that we might one day live together in Peace on Good Mother Earth.”
--Directed by Treva Wurmfeld A Native American activist fights to protect her tribe from the onslaughts of development in the Hamptons.
About the Documentary
Beneath the mystique of The Hamptons, among the wealthiest zip codes in the U.S., lies the history of the area’s original inhabitants, the Shinnecock Indian Nation, who were edged off their land over the course of hundreds of years, relocated to an impoverished reservation, and condemned to watch their sacred burial grounds plowed to make way for mega-mansions and marquee attractions like the exclusive Shinnecock Hills Golf Club–five-time host of the U.S. Open and literally carved out of a sacred Shinnecock burial ground.
Conscience Point tracks this fractured history alongside the spirited path of one woman determined to make a stand: Shinnecock activist Rebecca “Becky” Hill-Genia who, together with other determined tribal members and allies, has waged a relentless, years-long battle to protect the land and her tribe’s cultural heritage from the ravages of development and displacement. Now both the Shinnecock Nation and town residents face a new challenge; the onslaught of elite newcomers who threaten the very place they intend to cherish.
Just what the truth is we can't tell any more...b/c we weren't told...BUT, that's changin'...
--The post's thumbnail image (also shown below) came from this article addressed to all who teach...
(from intro) Travelers:
The facts and comments about them contained herein DO NOT apply to the WHOLE class of religious organizations of all types. However, they DO apply to all those in every corner of our shared world that invoke THEIR version of G-d to justify ANY injustice toward ANY other fellow human being.
Also from this post:
We were planting corn and they were planting crosses." ~ Faithkeeper Oren Lyons
You can LEARN MORE about this Onondaga Nation wisdom elder online. Here's one article that I liked...you'll see why...
Article includes:
And this 1971 photo:
--This PFC around-the-world DRUM CIRCLE includes a native dancer from Arizona. I just found out that one of the Thunderbird Sisters also digs Playing for Change.
If you dig drums, beat it : ))).....No, STAY and check out the "Drum Therapy" section in this recent post.
Related Posts
#music #humor #MoBringsPlenty #ThunderbirdSisters #indigenous #LIU #ShinnecockNation #OrenLyons #JohnLennon #YokoOno #LongIslandMusicHallOfFame #PlayingForChange #MickeyHart #MulticulturalSolidarityOfLongIslandFriendshipCircles #Men2Men #TheraFarms #BahaiFellowship
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