Osiyo Oginalii!

Osiyo oginalii! Tsilugi - welcome, my friends and relations and all those of like-hearts and minds! Please take the time that you need to read my posts thoughtfully and then share your own thoughts about what you have read here. We are all in this together and we need each other as we move into an uncertain future. In the effort to communicate this with as many as possible, please see in the list of Elk Whistle Links below that I have four Facebook pages, a LinkedIn page, a YouTube channel, NuMuBu and ReverbNation music sites, and I'm on Twitter and Google+. There are important messages that we all need to share with each other. I hope you'll join me - dodanagohuhi...... dohiyi!

Saturday, June 18, 2016

Sing!

It is time to invoke the power of the earth with our songs, it is time to call upon all the creature spirits to help us in our time of need, it is time to humble ourselves and understand that what we have wrought upon the earth leads us to a dead-end of extinction and destruction. Now - we must sing our songs and keep our prayers in our hearts that the buffalo will return, that the elk and the eagle and the condor and the mouse and the worm will grace us with the power of their spirits. Sing!


Osage Song of the Buffalo Bulls

 I rise, I rise,
 I, whose tread makes the earth tremble.
 I rise, I rise,
 I, in whose thighs there is strength.
 I rise, I rise,
 I, who whips his back with his tail when in rage.
 I rise, I rise,
 I, in whose humped shoulder there is power.
 I rise, I rise,
 I, who shakes his mane when angered.
 I rise, I rise,
 I, whose horns are curved and sharp.

Tuesday, May 10, 2016

Luther Standing Bear - 10 Quotes That Teach


chief quotes question everythingLuther Standing Bear was an Oglala Lakota Sioux Chief who, among a few rare others such as Charles EastmanBlack Elk and Gertrude Bonnin occupied the rift between the way of life of the Indigenous people of the Great Plains before, and during, the arrival and subsequent spread of the European pioneers. Raised in the traditions of his people until the age of eleven, he was then educated at the Carlisle Indian Industrial Boarding School of Pennsylvania, where he learned the english language and way of life. (Though a National Historical Landmark, Carlisle remains a place of controversy in Native circles.)

Like his above mentioned contemporaries, however, his native roots were deep, leaving him in the unique position of being a conduit between cultures. Though his movement through the white man’s world was not without “success” — he had numerous movie roles in Hollywood — his enduring legacy was the protection of the way of life of his people.

By the time of his death he had published 4 books and had become a leader at the forefront of the progressive movement aimed at preserving Native American heritage and sovereignty, coming to be known as a strong voice in the education of the white man as to the Native American way of life. Here, then, are 10 quotes from the great Sioux Indian Chief known as Standing Bear that will be sure to disturb much of what you think you know about “modern” culture.

1) Praise, flattery, exaggerated manners and fine, high-sounding words were no part of Lakota politeness. Excessive manners were put down as insincere, and the constant talker was considered rude and thoughtless. Conversation was never begun at once, or in a hurried manner.

2) Children were taught that true politeness was to be defined in actions rather than in words. They were never allowed to pass between the fire and the older person or a visitor, to speak while others were speaking, or to make fun of a crippled or disfigured person. If a child thoughtlessly tried to do so, a parent, in a quiet voice, immediately set him right.

3) Silence was meaningful with the Lakota, and his granting a space of silence before talking was done in the practice of true politeness and regardful of the rule that ‘thought comes before speech.’…and in the midst of sorrow, sickness, death or misfortune of any kind, and in the presence of the notable and great, silence was the mark of respect… strict observance of this tenet of good behavior was the reason, no doubt, for his being given the false characterization by the white man of being a stoic. He has been judged to be dumb, stupid, indifferent, and unfeeling.

4) We did not think of the great open plains, the beautiful rolling hills, the winding streams with tangled growth, as ‘wild’. Only to the white man was nature a ‘wilderness’ and only to him was it ‘infested’ with ‘wild’ animals and ‘savage’ people. To us it was tame. Earth was bountiful and we were surrounded with the blessings of the Great Mystery.

5) With all creatures of the earth, sky and water was a real and active principle. In the animal and bird world there existed a brotherly feeling that kept the Lakota safe among them. And so close did some of the Lakotas come to their feathered and furred friends that in true brotherhood they spoke a common tongue.native quote 3

6) This concept of life and its relations was humanizing and gave to the Lakota an abiding love. It filled his being with the joy and mystery of living; it gave him reverence for all life; it made a place for all things in the scheme of existence with equal importance to all. 7) It was good for the skin to touch the earth, and the old people liked to remove their moccasins and walk with bare feet on the sacred earth… the old Indian still sits upon the earth instead of propping himself up and away from its life giving forces. For him, to sit or lie upon the ground is to be able to think more deeply and to feel more keenly. He can see more clearly into the mysteries of life and come closer in kinship to other lives about him.

8) Everything was possessed of personality, only differing from us in form. Knowledge was inherent in all things. The world was a library and its books were the stones, leaves, grass, brooks, and the birds and animals that shared, alike with us, the storms and blessings of earth. We learned to do what only the student of nature learns, and that was to feel beauty. We never railed at the storms, the furious winds, and the biting frosts and snows. To do so intensified human futility, so whatever came we adjusted ourselves, by more effort and energy if necessary, but without complaint.

9) …the old Lakota was wise. He knew that a man’s heart, away from nature, becomes hard; he knew that lack of respect for growing, living things soon led to lack of respect for humans, too. So he kept his children close to nature’s softening influence.

10) Civilization has been thrust upon me… and it has not added one whit to my love for truth, honesty, and generosity.

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Elk Whistle Songs And Stories From Flutist Bill Neal

Mark your calendars for my first presentation in my new Central Florida home!
     

Monday, October 5, 2015

MUTE NATURE, LOST MAGIC ~ by Bill Neal Elk Whistle

I always enjoy seeing the words/images/ideas/prayers/exhortations in the posts by Jerry Pope on the Church of Sacred Ecology page on Facebook: Church of Sacred Ecology. I am often heartened and very often informed in those posts that strike at the very heart of what this page is about. I would like to re-quote a quote from one of Jerry's previous posts here and expand on it a little:
"In truth, the human experience of magic – our ancestral, animistic awareness of the world as alive and expressive – was never really lost. Our senses simply shifted their animistic participation from the depths of the surrounding landscape toward the letters written on pages and, today, on screens. Only thus could the letters begin to come alive and to speak.As a Zuni elder focuses her eyes upon a cactus and abruptly hears the cactus begin to speak, so we focus our eyes upon these printed marks and immediately hear voices. We hear spoken words, witness strange scenes or visions, even experience other lives. As nonhuman animals, plants, and even “inanimate” rivers once spoke to our oral ancestors, so the ostensibly “inert” letters on the page now speak to us! This is a form of animism that we take for granted, but it is animism nonetheless – as mysterious as a talking stone. And indeed, it is only when a culture shifts its participation to these printed letters that the stones fall silent. Only as our senses transfer their animating magic to the written word do the trees become mute, the other animals fall dumb."
~ David Abram, The Spell of the Sensuous: Perception and Language in a More-than-Human World
Now, let us look more fully at the meaning here. We live in a world today in which our relations in the natural world have most often gone mute because we no longer see or hear what they have to say. It takes words on a page or a screen today, words just like these, or the words of a well-told oral story, stories like I like to tell in my "Elk Whistle Songs and Stories" programs, to remind us of the magic that we have lost. We find our magic today in words - they carry us to times and places we have never been or about which we have forgotten. We no longer hear the talking stones or the singing trees, we no longer hear in the moving waters the voices of our ancestors, or see the fire in the burning bush - but - there is something we can do about that. We can begin by informing ourselves more fully of what we are missing - and by having a better understanding of what we are missing, we reach a level of consciousness that requires us to be more aware of what is around us, all those other forms of life that co-inhabit this world, this reality that each of us has created for ourselves, the circle in which each of us Stands at the Canter. Those who know my "mushroom story" will recognize what I mean - it is about beginning to 'see and hear' again. Tom Brown, Jr., has done a tremendous amount of work to develop the art of seeing and hearing in nature through animal tracking and learning 'bird-language'. Sensory awareness can, indeed, help us bring back the magic of the phenomenal world of animistic nature, and I mean the real cactus, not the word or symbol for cactus, into each of our own lives. And David Abram, the author of the quote above has helped raise the phenomenology of nature to the level of philosophy - but it is up to each of us individually to regain the sacredness and spirituality of nature in our own hearts and minds and raise it to the level of magic (or substitute the word 'miracle') again! And thank you again, Jerry - s'gi ginali!
Alliance for Wild Ethics is a consortium of individuals and organizations working to ease the spreading…
WILDETHICS.ORG

Thursday, December 11, 2014

SACRED TEACHINGS by Aaron Paquette

How well do you know your own world?
Do you walk? Do you sense? Do you watch the small life? Do your feet ever touch the ground, skin to soil?
We are the children of this earth and we forget that basic truth due to lives dictated by concrete and steel, glass and screens.
Our lives, our knowledge of our hearts, the lessons of the hoop, are forgotten in the grid, the segmentation, the great separation of connection our societies have drifted toward.
Even our beliefs, our understanding of how to live a good life become weighed down in needless complexity, rules, and judgements.
But really, it's all so simple.
Honesty
Truth
Courage
Humility
Respect
Love
Wisdom
Understand that life springs from Mother Earth and all mothers.
Our cycle hasn't got 12 months, but 13 moons.
Walk the Good Red Road
Allow ceremony to ground you, to cleanse you, remind you to be present, to connect your spirit, body, mind and feeling.
Honour those who came before for their sacrifice and prayers, their effort to preserve these teachings. They dance in the Aurora, watching us, loving us, reminding us of seven generations passed, seven generations to come. They remind us that we are a moment in the journey.
All barriers are in the end simply illusions. All fences mere guide posts to help us remember that.
Open your wings and soar.
Ooen your lungs and breathe.
Open your heart and feel the pulse of all life.
Open your eyes and see.
Open your arms and embrace the moment, no matter what it is. Pain, joy, excitement, wonder...there is a teaching.
Educate yourself. Share your knowledge with others.
Be humble, humble, humble.
What you know, others have known, what you don't know, others have seen. You are part of the whole.
Your voice is unique, as is every voice. Sing together. Dance together. Mourn together. Laugh together.
Don't fear the passing of time. Instead anticipate the gifts the new seasons bring.
Give.
Forgive.
Be kind.
Hiy hiy
*******
Aaron Paquette is a First Nations, Metis creator from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
He has an art show on right now at the Bearclaw Gallery. Go see it!
http://www.bearclawgallery.com
He has a book out called Lightfinder and people like it. Go read it!
http://www.kegedonce.com

Thursday, November 20, 2014

Elk Whistle Weekly Songs And Stories

Tune in to a weekly live streaming broadcast of traditional and contemporary Native American flute songs and stories every Tuesday at 6 PM Pacific Time by Bill Neal Elk Whistle, a master Native American flautist of Tsalagi ancestry - an actor, activist, writer, speaker, powwow coordinator, healer, mental health worker, former Native American spiritual leader in a California state prison, and, before that, a 22- year environmental professional - following a vision of the future since 1966.

Weekly broadcasts are now every Tuesday at 6 PM Pacific Time - tune in every week at: http://www.numubu.com/BillNealElkWhistle. Currently Adobe Flash Player is required to connect - some mobile devices, such as the iPhone and iPad, do not work with Flash Player. A remedy is to download and use the Puffin browser for mobile devices, available for download for Android devices as well as iPads and iPhones at https://www.puffinbrowser.com/download. Some time next month, Adobe Flash Player will not be the only way to connect, permanently solving this problem. If you are in some other part of the world and need to know what time the broadcast will take place where you are, go to this link to calculate for your time zone:http://www.worldtimezone.com/.