"As far as I'm concerned, it doesn't have anything to do with the color of your skin; it's the way you live your life. The only thing we have to give is the way we live our lives...
"If you live on this land, and you have ancestors sleeping in this land, I believe that makes you native to this land. I was raised not to look at people racially. Hopi Grandfather David taught me that we are all flowers in Great Spirit's garden. We share a common root, and the root is Mother Earth. The garden is beautiful because it has different colors in it, and those colors represent different traditions and cultural backgrounds."
- Oh Shinnah Fastwolf
Day 81 - Monday, September 11, 1995 - In larger communities the walkers will often scatter to the directions on personal errands, social visits, and pilgrimages. So it was in Nashville.
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Brianna holds Julia Soto (Doongees). Author photo, 1995. |
Brianna M., 17, who has been with the walk since Maryland, found herself in the heart of the city.
"I met a young Black man while I was downtown," she told me during a phone conversation, "We started to talk. He was really angry at White people in general, and also in particular because he had been beaten up by a gang of White youths.
"He had powerful anger," Brianna said. "I could see it in his eyes. But he was very interested to hear the story of our walk; he had no idea anything like this was happening anywhere in the world.
"It gave him hope to hear about the walk and the prophecies. I could see that in his eyes, too. That was a gift to him and a gift to me. He wants to come out and visit us while we're in town, and I hope he will.
"I have seen it many times now,” Brianna commented. “Whenever we have a big community gathering, a big public circle, it does a lot of good. It has an impact on people, and gives them hope. When we dance and sing together it spreads love. We need to do more than talk about love and peace, you know. We need to show it."
Brianna feels deeply about the vision of our walk. She has been paying close attention to the various earth teachings shared by Tom Dostou and Joe Soto. Her youthful beauty has not gone unnoticed.
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Copyright 2006 by Steven McFadden
Read Day 82 -- Odyssey of the 8th Fire