Article: 931 of sgi.talk.ratical From: (dave "who can do? ratmandu!" ratcliffe) Subject: Dec. 10, 1992: beginning of International Year of Indigenous Peoples Summary: it is time for the U.N. to include all the nations of the world. Date: 11 Dec 1992 05:36:21 GMT Organization: Silicon Graphics, Inc. Lines: 133 Went to berkeley sunday evening and heard Thomas Banyacya, one of 4 "voices" and "ears" selected by and for the Hopi elders in 1948 (the other 3 have since passed on), describe the present state of Koyaanisqatsi in this world. He is one of about 12 Indigenous People who will speak on December 10 at the UN on the beginning day of the UN's Year of the Indigenous People. He pretty well summed up the evolutionary crisis we are all facing here on our Mother Earth. Bottom-line "freeway mentality" thinking can only be perpetuated a little while longer. Beyond that, there will be a purification by forces far beyond our control which will rebalance the energies that emanate from Mother Earth. Of course, from a euro-centric perspective, this sort of belief, or prophesy, is easily shrugged off in an intellectual instant of denial and reassertion of "man's superiority over nature" and "man's Christian mandate to have dominion over the earth and all it's creatures." Still, simply denying we as a species are playing with forces far beyond our ability to comprehend, much less control, is one of the critical ingredients that perpetuates the kind of wholesale destruction of our eco and bio -sphere we all daily witness continuing to accelerate at an alarmingly nightmarish rate. from my friend Michele in Colorado who sent this onto NativeNet and then i lost it when i thought i had saved it. i meant to send it out yesterday. From milo@scicom Thu Dec 10 21:10:39 1992 To: dave Subject: UN From: Michele Lord Tomorrow, Dec. 10, will be the Opening Ceremonies of the United Nations International Year of Indigenous Peoples. There will be two speakers from the Indigenous Sovereign Nations in the U.S., Thomas Banyacya and Oren Lyons. Thomas Banyacya is a speaker for the Hopi elders. He has been requesting that the Hopi Prophesies be heard by the General Assembly since 1948. Tomorrow isn't the answer to his request but perhaps it is a step toward it. I feel honored that the elders of the Hopi Nation have agreed to send Thomas Banyacya to address the Assembly. In a part of the prophesies it is said that all the races of men must work together in order to heal Mother Earth. Oren Lyons, a chief of the Onondaga Nation, has said, "In our way of life...with every decision we make, we always keep in mind the Seventh Generation to come....When we walk upon Mother Earth, we always plant our feet carefully because we know that the faces of our future generations are looking up at us from the beneath the ground. We never forget them." There are people from every part of the world speaking before the assembly tomorrow. I'm hoping we can get a report on what is said. It is time for the United Nations to include all the nations of the world. Perhaps, The International Year of Indigenous Peoples will bring this about. This agenda was tentative a couple months ago but I believe it is a good indication of what is happening tomorrow. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Agenda Launch of the International Year of Indigenous People 10 December, 1992: United Nations Headquarters 10:30 am Briefing for Non-Governmental Organizations with senior UN officials and representatives of indigenous people. 11:00 am Press conference sponsored by the Centre for Human Rights with senior UN officials and representatives of indigenous people. 3:00 pm General Assembly Session: In the first part, the President of the General Assembly, the Secretary- General and representatives of regional groups will make statements. Then the formal session will be suspended to allow representatives of indigenous people to address the Assembly. (2 hours out of 3 for indigenous people) 6:00 pm Reception and Special Event: General Assembly Public Lobby. The event is being co-sponsored by UNDPI, UNICEF, UNIFEM, UNDP, ILO, UNESCO, UNEP, and the Centre for Human Rights. Some delegations have also expressed interest in contributing to the event which will focus primarily on culture. Exhibit proposals are being considered and we are approaching various performers -musicians, actors, and dancers to participate in the event. In addition to indigenous people who will be taking part in the day's activities, quests will include press and media, delegations, representatives of cultural institutions and organizations, UN officials and UN agency representatives and people from the arts and entertainment fields. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -- The Hopi believe this is the Fourth World. There were seven worlds created at the beginning. The first three were each destroyed in turn because the humans inhabiting them had diverged too far from their original sacred path of connectedness with and respect for all life on Mother Earth. Their prophecies (see "Book of the Hopi" by Frank Waters) describe the possibility of such a destruction of the Fourth World (in the forms of uranium mining, the existence of powerlines, and the atomic bomb): If we dig precious things from the land, we will invite disaster. Near the Day of Purification, there will be cobwebs spun back and forth in the sky. A container of ashes might one day be thrown from the sky, which could burn the land and boil the oceans. KOYAANISQATSI ko.yaa.nis.qatsi (from the Hopi Language) n. 1. crazy life. 2. life in turmoil. 3. life out of balance. 4. life disintegrating. 5. a state of life that calls for another way of living.