We Can Live Stronger!

It has been a long time since this the prior Post!  Nothing has waned in the passion I have for the North American Indian and their story here.  I have traveled no less across the land they once lived... running distances... collecting Their trace.  Our interpretation of time, and what we do inside it, is always so relative.  For this moment; while I have a good moment; I will share the following reflections on the Nomadic... which People we are.  I begin with a great quote by Luther Standing Bear, Oglala Sioux Chief 

“Conversation was never begun at once, nor in a hurried manner. No one was quick with a question, no matter how important, and no one was pressed for an answer. A pause giving time for thought was the truly courteous way of beginning and conducting a conversation. Silence was meaningful with the Lakota, and his granting a space of silence to the speech-maker and his own moment of silence before talking was done in the practice of true politeness and regard for the rule that, thought comes before speech.” 

When one considers the vast tribes of People who made up the Majority Race here in North America, so many reflections flood the heart.  The first place to begin in any of them is humility in our humanity.  To accept our own frailty... if we can.  No man alone is truly strong.  As the Sioux have said, "I have seen in any great undertaking it is not enough for a man to depend simply upon himself."  But do we in this postmodern, American material culture, have the capacity to be vulnerable?  To accept others and lift them up?  To seek out their skill sets and join in the celebration of every individual? 

The reality of dependence on others strengths was never considered a weakness in one of the strongest races in human history... the North American Indian.  The essence of their lives was clearly a covenant devoted to the protection and wellness of others.  Although many were indeed stoic, magnificent in self-denial... even Warriors, it would seem this mindset betters any human being for selfless sacrifice and the love of others.  Consider D.H. Lawrence's words...

I never saw a wild thing sorry for itself.

A small bird will drop frozen dead from a branch

without ever having felt sorry for itself.

I shall always be a priest of love.

Without making this too long, it all seems clear in life that the best foundations are self-denial... with the intention of making it better for others.  No self-pity.  Long distance running is like this, the lives of the North American Indians were like this and the best people to love are like this.  The conditioning of our spirits, our minds and our bodies are for the ability to make others richer within and without.  If we consider conditioning ourselves, for ourselves, we will only stand alone.  I will close with an ageless Indian quote... Their eloquence far exceeds my own.

"Love is something you and I must have. We must have it because our spirit feeds upon it, we must have it because, without it we become weak and faint. Without love our self-esteem weakens. Without it our courage fails. Without love, we can no longer look out confidently at the world. With love, we are creative. With love, we march tirelessly. With love, and with love alone, we are able to sacrifice for others."  ~ Chief Dan George, Geswanouth Slahoot (1899-1981)

Today we can live differently... today we can live stronger!

Sacred Order, Ancient Honor

In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind… with the ancient is wisdom; and in length of days understanding.  ~ Job 12:10-12 

I have paused one hundred times to consider the life of this North American Indian above... 

He lived and died in the Canadian regions.  It is certain that he and his lived with sacred order and with ancient honor.  It seems that for too long we have not rightly considered the virtue of the People who were here before us... for They were the Craftsmen {Craftswomen}, the hunters & the gatherers.  Although I am locked into a post modern civilization, I try to promote the honor of the ancient.  For it never occurred to Them to promote themselves.  This just would not have been Their sacred order.

Archeologically they have unavoidably and inevitably left the trace of Their lives behind for us to gather and for us to learn from.  These strong, innovative Craftsmen knew balance, aesthetics and efficiency.  We do well to save the expressions they left behind.  They were the Majority Race of mankind... and They loved, felt, needed and wanted just as you and I.  

Now, all the lands of treasure are ready to gather again.  So much dirt laid open with ages never seen before.  So many miles of crops freshly set within these lands, and so many thousands of rows.  The life of man lays silently and waits.  All is locked in store for time appointed.  The day is not yet, and the rains have not come, yet the Indian trace waits silently... anciently. 

As the People now, our responsibility rests on the ready. Our hope fills and overflows. Our expectations level themselves.  When all the lands of treasure are ready to gather...

Cheers to all!  

Such Great Innovation??

The following transcript is an excerpt from LIFE AMONG THE APACHES (J.C. Cremony, 1868), and was such a touching comment about the realistic contrast in post-modern man's presumption and pre-Columbian mentality.  It is modified very slightly for modern terminology.  Specifically speaking the transcript is clearly about the North American Indian.  The place you now sit and land you now use was once Theirs.  The tricky little secret is that most every one of us DID NOT inherit it!

"When will the modern man every become wise, and, instead of treating the Indian with scornful indifference, give him credit for his intelligence, his quick and remarkable instincts, his powers of reflection and organization, and his inveterate opposition to all innovation?  Many have been too much in the habit of treating the Indian with contempt, and underrating our passionate enemies.  This has been a serious blunder, the rock upon which so many millions of money and so precious lives have been wrecked.  Is it not time to accept a new policy in the Indians regard?

Will civilized people ever learn that they are quite an obtuse to comprehend the real Indian nature as the Indians to understand civilization?  Can they not see that their haughty, self-sufficiency and overbearing conceit, are quite as reprehensible as the Indians ignorance, distrust and superstition?  The Indian is pardonable in his mental darkness, but the modern man IS INEXCUSABLE IN HIS LIGHT."

To those who love humanity after reading that, it seems silence is the best friend of a multitude of broken hearts.  Cheers to all.

     

In Any Great Undertaking

The truth of the ancient life is a matter of natural sustenance .  That is, we ALL crave the deepest true of the way life has set up.  Knowing the truth {and this starts through the acknowledgement of the dispensations of man, and the acceptance of the colossal faults of mankind} always opens the door on the possibility of becoming more human.  BEING more Noble never just "happens", but we must make the choice daily!  Becoming more of a human being is something most people hunger for... finding the way feeds the hunger!

A few good starting points which always seem to help me forward are... I ask myself,
"What things do I do, which collect my attentions every day, make me more ready
to understand enlightenment when it comes?", and "How do I prepare myself spiritually, intellectually and physically to make a foundation for this truth to find a place within me?"  Understanding the truth of life, and not resisting it either way, is the open door to becoming more human!

The greatest secret about change is that we need to be open to it -- no matter what we think or feel of it. I really believe the Native Indians could understand.  Even as the image above by G. Catlin, titled - "A Vanishing Race", the Majority Race of multiplied thousands of years, knew and understood that change was happening.  As in any case, some did resist, yet most accepted and moved forward the best they could.  What is most pitiful and sad is that such an honorable race of man were never helped by us!  

It is my belief that their ancient life carried a greater merit of grace because it proceeded the age of materialism and sloth which we now live.  It seems the more materialistic a man is, the less humility is a fragrant of their life. It is not that we should not be blessed and have "things", yet so many have turned and the "things" now have them!  The more slothful a man is, the woefully more dependent and ready to eat anything set before them - good or evil. 

We who collect the ancient life, through artifacts and study, press ourselves into the fellowship of the majority of mankind.  This Majority has no other alternative but to move forward with change... to work to survive... to uphold others... to free themselves of expectations... and to covet generosity as a means of gaining another friend. As one wise Sioux Indian once said, "I have seen that in any great undertaking it is not enough for a man to depend simply upon himself." 

 

LIFE touches life! ~ Indian Trace 

Compared With The Ancients

Some are dinning in our ears that we are Americans, and moderns generally, are intellectual dwarfs compared with the ancients.  ~ Henry David Thoreau

Finally!  Indeed there is a plus and minus for the explanation due between “professional” archaeologists and we who in no lesser terms are indeed “archeologists” as well!  I join so many concerning the sentiments shared of government assumptions and their presumption that they have any type of claim to our freedom OR identity.  To those who understand the Constitution or the Bill of Rights… to those who dare travel back further to see and understand pre-Colombian North America, we know the gross presumption of those who work for US in government.  The truth; which is small; of their spoken disdain for “looters & pot diggers” is only well placed for the few inconsiderate collectors that are dishonorable about any archeology, any grave site respect and any need to clean up or maintain after them-self.     

However, “the government” is completely wrong about any rights THEY might have to lands or sites which were NEVER theirs to possess and neither are they theirs to maintain.  Because they have assumed power through our tax dollars, they maintain stolen sites and lands from subjected, murdered ancient races of untold numbers.  Sadly scandal after scandal they went… following greed and dishonor.  Yes there is good in the reality of National Parks, and I have visited virtually all, yet that they think they themselves to have any “rights” at all to ancient sites BEFORE “we the people”… we rightly call a farce.

Many now realize that we are now in the midst of a people and a group of collectors who know far more about the spirit of The People, and the artifacts which represented their lives, than many critical “officials”.   I will add that there are indeed MANY great and wonderful anthropologists who support what we do… who uphold and cherish what we discover… and in many cases wish they were not subject to the “system” which often keeps them from their fascination.  Some are humble & gracious and others have slide off into the world.

I suppose we who have a clear spirit (not presumed, but of transparency)… who only look to uphold and educate (to the reality of what is historically true and truly recorded)… who in every respect approach our evidence of the Majority Race with deepest honor… who spread generosity and accountability for every saved artifact… and who guide our own destiny by a sacred code of good conduct and good wisdom… well, we should stand tall with our truest pride! 

We know that the Ancient needed no “pat on the back” and no thanks for the lives they lived, of wildness and nature they went.  They have such a place within our soul and we have the capacity for the strength of their lives!  They understood nobility, commitment, passion and beauty… they understood good and bad and why they needed to defend one or the other.  We call them the Majority Race because they have exceeded us not simple in occupation, yet in many respects LIFE.  We are the ones who daily collect the beauty of their memory.

The desert winds would salt their ruins and there would be nothing, no spirit or scribe, to tell any pilgrim in his passing how it was that people had lived in this place and in this place had died. ~ Cormack McCarthy

Cheers to all ~ Indian Trace

Power in Their Name

There is something great to be gained in the study of good peoples’ lives.  It is important to immediately interject that "good" does not mean "perfect"... for humanity has long been far from this!  Good here means pure, of kind and noble spirit... passionate and connected to natural life.  Running this land, as the Native Indians did, has been my beginning.  Distance running is a celebration of our primitive design.  Doing so with heart, thought and with empathy is an enhancement to our humanity.

 

Now crossing the path of collecting the artifacts that evidence them!!!  When we come across the presence of human life and occupation, we collect their "Names" as well! Hundreds and thousands of Names... names representing people groups each one. To collect and accept is to grasp the power in their unknown Name. Each articulate expression, etched in rock, is a powerful statement about a singular "Who".

 

Deeper still is the ability to esteem their "Name" when its evidence slides across our fingers... to honor the "Being" as equal in humanities story.  I think this is one thing we have many missed.  To grasp and contemplate the Person (evidence in hand) as a contributing force to our own humanity... so worthy of esteem. 

 

Ancient people's have for too long been ill esteemed by the likes of our Modern generation. That we could assume technology, and the presumption of technologies importance, as a stamp of authority??!!  What have we done? 

 

Esteem for the peoples of ancient life must be grasped and given!  Our "power" is, and has always been, presumptuous. THEY were the Majority Race. They were NOT striving for the "modern life" we have distorted... they were walking after THEIR life. It was never ours. 

 

So, in discovering the expression of ancient life, in the power felt in their Name as it crosses our fingers, we are allowed to touch the life of the Majority Race.   Rather it always seems to  "touch" us.  We then pause for a moment and become more human. 

RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!

That which was once lost...

Now found

A memory long forgotten...

Now collected

Life touches life.

~ BH

In this pressing world of digital communication and electronic contact, we have still had the "other" things which have needed our attention.  LIFE!  Our loved ones, our hopes & ambitions and the many every day things which make up our life-way... jobs, hobbies and play!  Time clicks forward and months take the place of weeks.  I have been away too long!  As for Holistic distance running!??!  Let's take a look!

 

Well, I have been covering the land the ground running upwards of 250 miles a month, so a continued turn to a closer look at areas has been natural!  After many great "finds" I will never again simply “run the white line”!  Sure I ran the road this past week in Concord.  It was about 28 degrees... it was cold!  I was forced to run the roads being a complete stranger there!!!   Anyway, finding & collecting Indian Artifacts would not come into my consciousness until the very end of 2011!!!  Now before back-tracking to lay out the desire to collect... combined with the love for distance running, I will also share this:  I have covered the land/roads all around my home, now representing some 44 prime artifact sites for nine years… through seasons and seasons of agriculture and good conditions… where all I would have had to do was venture more off road and find something!  This was some 18,000 miles – AND DIDN’T KNOW TO COLLECT!!!  It just did not dawn on me! 

NOW the “setting” as to what got me interested and why I connect with collecting!  The understanding of the plight and life of Native Americans since European contact has contributed greatly in my desire to save the evidence of their heritage.  Nomadic by nature, the Indian tribes were a unique and awesome example to minimalist ability!  ALSO, since recent (last two years) in-depth pre-Columbian North American Indian studies, I have only grown more fascinated, more devotional and more happy to find the evidence of their life.  More in a second…  A favorite quote I often read says it best, “The desert winds would salt their ruins and there would be nothing, no spirit or scribe, to tell any pilgrim in his passing how it was that people had lived in this place and in this place had died.”  ~ Cormack McCarthy 

I opened Indian Trace. http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtPsjWl4n0dO06oFwIAjy-A/videos) last week!  The video documentaries increase in quality and the criteria of the artifacts through the progression of entries. I never expected to even make them public… I thought the evidence might one day be precious to someone… a loved one or not.  For the last year my requirement to myself in documenting were simple… keep the video under two minutes, and ONLY film with significant, full artifacts.  Of course the mileages I cover as a distance runner contribute heavily to this success. 

Okay!  As to the roots of my heart’s hunger to represent the Indians before us!  I call the Indian’s the Majority Race.  From a day about two years ago when I accidentally ran across a crystal arrowhead, all my life & studies confirmed a new set of possibilities!  Here is how it sets up easy: I moved to live directly with the Navajo Indians in NM through 4/5^th grade… and then back to Upstate NY; through this exposure and through influences of my parents social consciousness for the plight of the Native American, I always had an initial interest in their social welfare.  Soon after graduate school and becoming a History & Civics teacher (of middle & high school) I began serious study moving back through the Indian Wars and through European contact beginning in 1200AD-1500AD; you can now imagine as I made the discovery of tangible pre-Columbian evidence in the arrowheads I have now!!!  Of course my pre-Columbian studies took off!    

In conclusion!!  I am sad for the state of affairs and what has happen through untold ages of human history with respects to all Nations… greed and selfishness have readily often spun into hate and then genocide.  Here in the United States it was all unavoidable… human nature aside from God is weak.  The collision of the wild, precious, expressive, creative and instinctive Indian Tribes {inherently hunter gatherers}, met people groups steeped in religion, ideology and greed.  There were not just hundreds of years of difference in our respective “life-ways”, yet multiplied thousands of years difference!!  It is hard to imagine such a thing!  Because the realities of our North American history are so rich and mind-blowing, I feel I help myself honor and cherish their memory with so many holistic distance running efforts, and why not collect the evidence of their lives too!