Dr. Joy Craddick by Wub-e-ke-niew and Clara's (still under construction) house at Red Lake
Mystery
School Friends--Greetings from Ojibway land in northern Minnesota!
On
August 13 I took off from California in my little Honda for an extended
journey
across half of the country. After
spending the first four days in
Ashland, Oregon, studying with Jack
Schwarz, I started north through Oregon and Washington, camping out
along the
way. From Thompson Falls, Montana,
where I stayed a couple of days with friends, I struck out across
Montana and
North Dakota--beautiful country, and arrived here in Red Lake on August
23. The night before my arrival the
campground where I pitched my little tent was in the center of a major
thunder
and lightning storm which provided me with enough excitement to last
for
awhile, at least!
Here at
Red Lake I
am staying on some of the most sacred land in the country.
These half million acres are the last
unallotted aboriginal land in the United States and their preservation
is the
passion of Francis Blake Jr. and his wife, Clara NiiSka.
The Red Lake Peoples’ Council, which the
Mystery School has been helping to support since 1989, has as its goal
the
independence and self-sufficiency of the Anishanabe Ojibway people
living in
ecological harmony with their land, Grandmother Earth.
In order to establish the identities of the
Aboriginals and their ownership of the land,
Francis and Clara have done extensive research on the
genealogies of the
people who live on the reservation.
This spring, through the money raised at Mystery School, they
were able
to complete an important part of this research at the National Archives
in
Washington, D.C. Francis is now busily
writing a book that will tell, for the first time, the true history of
the
Anishinabe Ojibway. This is the first
book ever written by an Aboriginal person from an Aboriginal
perspective.
This
cozy one room
“long house” that I have been sharing for the past few days is crammed
with
books, research papers, computer, microfilm reader, filing cabinets,
and copy
machine. In this same space we sleep,
talk, and share delicious meals from the organic garden and other local
resources such as fish from Red Lake (you haven’t lived until you’ve
had sucker
patties, hominy, and maple syrup from the sugar bush behind the house!) Francis and Clara have electricity but no
running
water. We drive 12 miles up the road to
fill plastic jugs from a wonderful, clear spring, and wash up in rain
water
heated on the gas stove. People come
driving in at any time of day or night to talk to Francis, who is a
revered
elder of the Ojibway community as well as an outspoken advocate of the
rights
of the Anishinabe Ojibway nation.
The days
have
passed quickly. Francis drives me
around the lake pointing out the clearcutting of the forests, the
effects of
lake pollution, the senseless destruction of old maple trees that once
provided
maple syrup for the Ojibway economy. We
encounter bear, eagles, falcons and blue heron. We
cruise the reservation grocery stores (the only ones within a
30 mile radius) where the major items on the shelf are sugar and white
flour
junk foods and aisle after aisle of pop.
This despite the fact that almost three out of four people here
are
afflicted with diabetes.
Francis
wants me
to tell you how much he and all the Ojibway people here appreciate the
support
of the Mystery School. Their pride and
self-esteem has been greatly enhanced since they have been able to
reclaim
their identity. Francis invites any of
you who want more indepth information to call and talk to him or come
up for a
visit. (I highly recommend that you do
this if at all possible.)
A great
deal of
support is still needed in order to get the book published. We will have our usual raffle in September
to raise money for this effort.
Remember that the first prize this time is a sailing cruise for
two on
the Chesapeake Bay! Bring all your
“fasting savings” from the summer. I’m
leaving here tomorrow and will be visiting Loretta Afraid of Bear Cook
on the
way home. Hope you have all had a
wonderful summer. See you in a couple
of weeks.
(and much love to you all
from Francis and
Clara!)
Dr. Joy Craddick by
Wub-e-ke-niew and Clara's (still under construction) house at Red Lake
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