A Clear Spirit

It doesn’t matter whether you collect ancient Indian artifacts, keep & manage a family, run long distances, struggle with infirmity or climb mountains high... the essence of a Clear Spirit needs to be something we all gravitate to managing more and more.  This attitude is essential for happiness in life… LIFE which meets us all and askes our bid in it.  The North American Indian knew this and often mastered the CLEAR SPIRIT.    

A "Clear Spirit" moves forward over any circumstance, condition or desire WITHOUT expectations of the outcome. Just think about this: A clear spirit can maintain hope without expecting success. A clear spirit is happy in labor and does not assume any task "should be" either simple or hard.  A clear spirit shows patience and endurance during adversity with the foundation of spiritual joy within. 

The clear spirit is intelligent to consider ALL variables in any undertaking, and move forward using the immediate moment to its fullest. Be they moments of pain, moments or pleasure, moments unpredicted and unfulfilled… in respects to circumstances, how rare will it be that these are exactly what you desire them to be?  Keeping a steady gaze in every effort… in every offering LIFE serves… is so vital. The circumstances which make the efforts possible will come, go and change... but these must NOT alter our devotion to hope and believe.

A CLEAR SPIRIT within the conditions of every effort CAN happen… but with many tears and much laughter.  Keeping hope when we have expected the conditions we would meet to be a "certain way" is often hard. A clear spirit can keep a steady gaze and a confidence within regardless of conditions that are either wonderful or utterly poor. The strength of THIS spirit will move forward in joy no matter what... dry or wet or cold or hot. Outward and inward pain is unavoidable, BUT suffering is optional.

As for one: the ancient Indian artifact collector… the suffering soul is often the product of unfounded, unrealized expectations.  The clear spirit hopes continually and accepts the opportunities of "being" in ancient places with ancient Peoples. It is happy in the earnest effort and overjoyed in new discoveries. Great thoughts to remember! Cheers to all!

Human Layers

When we cover the land in this post-modern world, it is almost impossible NOT to cross over the many evidences of humanity past.  Although often unseen, evidence is everywhere.  However, with respects to the "ancients" this earth has hosted, there is a story of their passing.  It stands to reason that no matter where on the earth you might look for humanities passage, no matter where simple study goes deeper into subsequent anthropology, humanity has unmistakable layers. HUMAN LAYERS which have taken eons of time to build up.  These are signatures and whispers of lives once lived and customs once kept.
   

North America holds a strong volume of multiple millenniums which have been filled with the layers of life: The LIFE of the North American Indian. No matter where, and not matter what People, if they were ancient, they were also Nomadic.  If one actually collects the artifacts of the North American Indian they also gather up "layers" of Their lives; historic significance and straight evidences; which usually exceed us.  It is amazing to cover the land and have this kind of opportunity! 
    

One great thought in relation which passed today was that ancient life required motion. Life still does!  Everything in life is already moving.  The Great Mystery is finding a harmony for our lives if possible WITHIN this motion.  The reality is that humanity does hold different "harmonies".  These expressions are the "layers" of our humanity and the signatures of our culture.  Siting still; engaged in nothing; has forever been a sign of death. All across the world ancient people still follow the Nomadic rule.  Life often demands it of them.   

In the fourteenth century after Christ, in North America, the colossal collision of the ancient North American Indian and European materialism began.  The clash of resilient and self-sufficient Nomadic life began confronting a comfort based and dependent material culture.  Two Layers in collision.  The results were inevitable... and unavoidable. Only one significant “Layer” of the two could flourish and survive here.

So this is the brief of what has transpired through the beginnings of this land called North America. Multiple millenniums of human layers have told their stories.  The North American Indian was systematically conquered, murdered and assimilated.  This is one of the sad stories in humanities layers.  Regrettably there are one hundred similar sad stories across the globe.  All this has happened to the North American Indian... until the great motion of Life changes the course of this United Sates "Layer" once again.  These understandings are worth our humility.

Be well & learn well!  Stand for something, or fall for anything!  Cheers!

   

Our Vast North American Humanity!

~ Reflection ~ 

This picture (by Curtis) reminds me of a million mysteries. The image is NOT "made-up", and the image has NOT been "staged".  We many have believed we know how it has all happened. For so many have understood the clear historic evidence... however, we have also missed much. We live here, so it is OUR history to investigate.  The Nomadic life has been before us right here.  The capacities of ancient dispensational truths have exceeded our greatest ability to truly discern.  However, the many ages have laid out their whispers.

We have multiple, major civilizations of North American Indian which have appeared and vanished far before this land became our home.  Speaking of the magnificence races of North American Indian alone... How can the modern mind conceive?  Just think of the vast, intelligent North American races of the Adena, the Hopewell, the Mississippian and the Anasazi... ALONE?  Amazing!  For there were FAR more!  You might ask, "Who were they?"

The North American Indian dispensations and civilizations in many ways exceeding our own.  These outstrip our grasp and concept of spirituality astrology, engineering, mathematics, mechanical organization, and social structure.  It will only take a short study of these People to be overwhelmed!

Let's look at a very brief historic summary: 

• The Adena People with the detail of their great spiritual race, understanding of metallurgy and colossal undertakings of earthworks/mounds, some only discernable from the sky. 
• The Mississippian People with their amazing grasp of mathematics, engineering and huge constellational associated pyramid mounds requiring generations to build. 
• The Hopewell, who maintained one of the highest degrees of trade and exchange with a system to receive materials from all over what is now the United States & Mexico.
• The Anasazi People, with incredible executions of food production, colossal water diversion, engineering, unique pueblo architecture with planned community spaces, and many buildings clearly aligned to capture the solar and lunar cycles.  

This is only a BRIEF to these incredible Masters in life.  They were right here.  Each and every dispensation of North American Indian, stretching out time and reality with unquestionable evidence of their Majority Race. Many civilizations vanishing with little explanation... often through violence proven and mysteries unanswered.  The "scarlet thread" with every Culture was a high degree and existence for expressed spirituality.  All undertakings mentally and physically clearly flowed down from the attention to their spiritual consciousness. The evidences are clear in every archeological chapter sifted!   It is amazing! 

With the grand spectrum of their personalities, the subsequent appropriation of their society was unique and colossal. Organizations, administrations and leaderships did not lack for any society.  Believe it or not, most all the artifacts we find daily/weekly PRE-DATE these discussed People!  Which is to clearly say that the artifacts in this immediate image are from ages far before the listed civilizations.  IMAGINE!   These artifacts move back further into the pre-history of the Stone Age Indian in this land!  Just a great look at OUR vast North American humanity!     

The Priorities of Ancient Success

The North American Indian have been abundant and indigenous throughout North America for time immemorial. They were Nomadic by demand and holistic by nature. They were a diverse and magnificent race of mankind, and many Tribes connected to their ancient bloodline still survive.  There is a "Trace" of their ancient heritage which still exists... resilient through millenniums.  The expression of their need set in stone with each an expression of an individual life personality.   

Of course the North American Indians were human beings in EVERY perspective. Of course this bears repeating for the generations whom defined them as less than human for the service of their own greed.  Just as our own lives, the lives they lived were supported by tools. Tools which help every one of us live, even tools we create and fashion to current needs.   It just happens to be that the ancient tools they used were crafted from stone.  We now call the multiplied millions of their utilitarian stone tools, "Artifacts"... and because of the force of life they are valuable to us. 

In locating the artifacts of the North American Indian; so many antiquities from multiplied millenniums past; I can share four great priorities of success.  Although you might well be a veteran in collecting, there is still virtue in re-considering these realities!  Honor, geography, environment, and "ever-learn".  In other words, there is a 'formula' for success in finding.  There is a way to increase your probability of discovering Indian Trace for yourself!  Take a look at the five aspects restated... 

HONOR:  There is a Spirit of Life in the earth.  The North American Indian called this Spirit, "The Great Mystery"; however, the Greatness of all life is here.  Before heading out the door, try to understand that of honor it is a People you are searching for... a way of life and history past which means something.  Honoring the very reason and reality of Their dispensations, learning about who it is Who made the tools you hold, is the porthole to great success in finding artifacts!

GEOGRAPHY:  It is certain "artifacts" cannot, and will not, be located in geographic areas which were never habituated.  Therefore identifying specific geographic areas which were once habituated by the North American Indian is essential to success.  Research and local advice, if you can come by it (!), help, yet the GREATEST gains come from personal, hands-on geographic experience.  We call it personal discovery. 

ENVIRONMENT:  Which is also to say, "The right conditions".  Like so many things in life, success seems to come when all the "conditions" line up to make it work.  The condition we speak of for finding artifacts are physical conditions.  The discovery of artifacts in the earth is subject to water, wind, ice, snow, vegetation and even industry.  Knowing how all of these effect and present ancient life is a great key in success.

EVER-LEARN:  Because of the huge amount of variables in the work of archeology; understanding the People & Lifeways of thousands of yars past; another great help to me has been keeping myself in an "ever-learn" mentality.  Every success, every failure, every suffering and every discovery is readily something to learn by.  Future ancient success depends on it!  As Henry David Thoreau once said, "Follow your genius closely enough, and it will not fail to show you a fresh prospect every hour".  

If you are interested in greater success archeologically, I can only help a few of these tips helped!  Of course the evidence of what is shared here can be seen on "Indian Trace", yet my best prayers to all who head out to find the ancient life left behind!  As Cormack McCarthy said, "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".  Cheers! 

         

We Have Begun!

There is an amazing community hidden out there... you might be part of it... who are unafraid to look right into life and realize it.  In context here we are speaking of ANCIENT LIFE... of addressing it and living it holistically; SPIRIT, MIND & BODY; a life we share of DESIGN & INTENTION!  I have been pleasantly surprised by many people’s recent comments (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtPsjWl4n0dO06oFwIAjy-A) and many times made better of them.  Thank you.     

Archeologically speaking… sociologically speaking… we have begun moving forward covering ground, or if possible uncovering ground. Usually this demands a mind set on endurance. How often have we personally witnessed the payoff of tenacity and patience moving forward in so many facets in life!  So many steps, so any miles... sometimes so many shovelfuls!  Amazing!  For we hope in the energy and life which is in the earth beneath us.  Sometimes this earth shared the clues and traces of millenniums of humanity past!     

What we hope for we are obligated to with patience wait for it. Every day we organize our thoughts, and travel back in time, to conceptualize the artifacts we have found and hope to certainly yet find. Some travel miles on foot, some travel miles in care, some move tons of dirt and some simply do the very best they can.  All hope to find the Indian trace of an incomprehensible dispensation!  Even my own distance running fits into the Nomadic mold.

What is the best way to look at, and feel about, life expressions of more than 200 generations of mankind?  Generations beginning BEFORE 1500AD.  Do we handle their expressions in stone and dare not think of the lives they lived, the people they loved and the honors they kept?  We find the footnotes of the lives of the North American Indian and they speak of the volume of their way.  It is a simple rejoicing.  Cheers!

The Greatest Spirit, Part 2

Welcome back!  We are all running life's distance through... hopefully with heart!  Let's continue with a clean glimpse of the virtue of the utility, relationship and survival the North American Indian lived with through untold millennium.  Let's make this simple... 

Every thought, every action and every tool they had was utilitarian. It had a specific and tangible use. Their thoughts did, their actions did and their tools did. Ours do not. Because they (just as we) were designed as artistic beings, these artistic expressions laced themselves throughout.

Every thought and every action was connected to relationship TO others.  The life they had was supported and revolved around the support they could give others.  The support and encouragement of others was their primary thought.  In American Material Culture never chooses this "way" first.  The North American Indian held the better portion in these regards.

Lastly, the North American Indian had a constant and daily focus on living... on surviving. They accepted ardent, difficult conditions and moved forward resolute that the Great Spirit would provide and supply. Many times, modern man does not.  They, in these demands, were constantly a people of faith. It was demanded of them.  We had rather trust in materialism, industry and technology. I still think they might have had the better portion.

Good thoughts to know who They were!  Be well! 

The Greatest Spirit, Part 1

The strength of our modern environment has effected our insight.  Our perceptions naturally have conformed to the "force" of our social environment.  As it would be, in any environment a child matures in, the influence of that environment will become the reality of their own perceptions.  Whether good or bad, one will be a product of their environment. 

The social influence of our lives is happening immediately and it is usually not perceivable by us. These contrasts and influences MUST be considered when we approach the anthropology of the North American Indian. Our society has grown incredibly fast.  The United States solid social foundation of materialism, industry and technology has been our conditioning. The North American Indian's society was based solidly on utility, relationship an survival.

I must note here that this does NOT make the North American Indian a lessor people than we. Many have believed this.  The very thought of this is a product of our sociology.  The ERROR is to think of any people, "If they do not have what we have, or can do things the way we can or have the ability to manage both, then these are obviously less important people."  Tragically less valuable, less worthy or less deserving.  This mind frame is the cancer of the human race.

Our lives with the North American Indian is a huge unquestionable contrast!  If anyone is interested in understanding the great past race of the North American Indian there is a beginning. The treasure we should daily seek before all things is an ancient mind frame. More appropriately the SPIRIT they were compelled by their environment to live with and through.  It is a treasure within to see the way they saw and interpret life as they did.  To find the real appreciation in humanity requires this.  Can we? 

Without The Benefit of the Ancients

It would seem that with respects to our immediate understanding of the great dispensations of time immemorial here in North America, and our understanding of how the crossing paths of specific sociological adaptations has deeply affected humanity in North America, we might well be too young to grasp such graphic, inevitable changes.  Our understandings are immediately subject to the current Modern Age we are in… without the benefit of the Ancient Age we have changed.

In the brevity of 500 years the sacred land of the North American Indian has been

the basin, the foundation if you will, to the material culture the entire world could not, and will not, do without.  The overpowering influence of electricity, industry, agriculture & technologies alone evaporate the ability to understand the influence of the Majority Race here in North America.  However, a good heart still unfolds mysteries for the benefit of their character.    

Evil & greed were not the materials created, or the technologies developed, BUT evil & greed has been within the hearts of mankind.  This is the substance which has forever hurt humanity... the North American Indians were on a similar line as to all shattered humanity.  However, it has been exclusively Their land, and Their lives (no other peoples in the world) which provided the world with extreme material comfort and ease. The Conquest of North American laid the foundation for the Industrial Revolution.  Although many millions have cared for lost humanity (of which I am included), the industry of the world was inevitable.

With that said, catastrophically altering a race of man, the North American Indian, in the space of 200 years cannot give we, who are inside the force of Their change, the understanding we yearn for of Their People.  We remain outside the reality of Their lives… separated by the fate of our own formation.    

So the best many can do (of whom I am one) is study and collect the knowledge of

The North American Indian from every approach possible.  Search the testimonies of the way they lived, loved, dreamed, fought and died; find the tangible trace of  their life-way in tools and art; and the touch their People and bloodline. We can understand more, we should endeavor to understand more, yet will never grasp the effects of this colossal change until we look at it from the other side. All honor and sympathy to the North American Indian, both past and present. Our devotion true. 

A Smile In Sadness

I have seen that in any great undertaking it is not enough for a man to

depend simply upon himself.  Shooter ~ Teton Sioux

It stands to reason that if we stepped back a thousand years into the history of North American; possibly the year 1015 AD; there would be a virtually untouched multitude of people.  The wild and Nomadic tribes of the North American Indian.  Important here is that we understand that "wild" is NOT synonymous with "un-kept".  For in truth it is just as Henry David Thoreau said, "Some are dinning in our ears that we are Americans, and moderns generally, are intellectual dwarfs compared with the ancients".  It is these Ancients which we would see and feel, and these Ancients which would trace their own lineage through multiplied thousands of years.   

The lives of the North American Indian, who's artifacts are still found throughout the land, were mobile and mercurial by Nature and by necessity.  The Indians nomadic natural was a compliment to their original Design.  Which is so important to remember in looking at the complete plan for mankind here upon the earth.  

Moving forward... If by chance in 1015 AD there had been no subsequent European influence, conquest or injection of pandemic disease... If the current settlement of these United States, as we understand them to be, never happened in the following centuries after 1015 AD, the life of the North American Indian might well today be relatively unchanged.  We immediately think of this as something negative... for we are "moderns".  However, there is virtue to the contributions of every decent race of man.  

Moving forward this produces one deeply moral and ethical question that needs consideration:  Would it have been better for the world... better for humanity... if the North American Indian was never contacted? 

No. It is one of the saddest answers I might ever consider when one understands the history of the North American Indian after European contact.  Inevitability is a force effecting all of us.  As has been the influence and contact of selfishness, greed and hatred.  With these kindness and decency have readily been placed aside.  I will end this easily for those who have ears to hear... there is hope and He meant what He said when He visited mankind.  He guides me daily with a smile in sadness.     

THEIR LIFE, THEIR LAND, THEIR WATER!

The Wise Man believes profoundly in silence - the sign of a perfect equilibrium. 

Silence is the absolute poise or balance of body, mind and spirit. 

The man who preserves his self-hood ever calm and unshaken by the storms of existence - not a leaf, as it were, astir on the tree, not a ripple upon the surface of the shinning pool - his, in the mind of the unlettered sage, is the ideal attitude and conduct of life. 

What are the fruits of silence? They are self-control, true courage or endurance, patience, dignity and reverence. Silence is the cornerstone of character. ~ Ohiyesa / Santee Sioux

There is a BAD situation we have across these United States.  This land is rich and abundant with respects to archaeology & artifacts!  There is North American Indian trace beneath our land and within our waters... BUT it was NEVER exclusively "OURS".   A BAD WIND has been blowing across these lands since before you and I... a bad wind, long blowing.  

We should have NO tolerance for the ignorance of men which has gone to seed.  We should literally MOVE their persuasions with wisdom, strength & intelligence.  How could a man tolerate living in a Land where the ignorant and presumptuous dictate when we bend over and pick up a rock!  How completely foolish to consider such artifacts “hands off”.  They look to appease their own guilt.  

The substance of Stone Age tools was utilitarian and expendable resource!  It was akin to our own plastic bottles or silverware or a multitude of other tools we use!!!  THESE artifacts are NOT sacred to the People… what WAS sacred to them was THEIR LIFE, THEIR LAND, THEIR WATER!  Think about this...

The same presumptuous people who frown on artifact collection are the ones buried in guilt posing amendments to sanctify broken promises!!!!  They posture protection of Indian “artifacts” while standing on raped land wet with blood they shed unmoved!

May the express Spirit of the Creator touch all men's heart to teach & to learn.  Can we look at the root to legal policies based on greed and self-seeking honestly... can we stand resistance & proud to represent the truth of the North American Indian?  Can we be honest as to what continues to be sacred to them?  

The land is sacred. These words are at the core of your being. The land is our mother, the rivers our blood. Take our land away and we die. That is, the wildness in us dies. 

- Mary Brave Bird / Oglala Sioux

  

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