I wonder what Mahomet Weyonomon would think of the modern Mohegans' casino business?
The Star-Ledger: Tribute to Mohegan chief delivers closure
Queen Elizabeth II joined a group of American Indians yesterday in paying tribute to a Mohegan chief who traveled to England centuries ago to complain directly to the king about British settlers encroaching on tribal lands.
Three tribesmen in turkey-feather headdresses lit a pipe filled with sweet grass and sage for a traditional burial ceremony for Mahomet Weyonomon, a sachem or leader, who died of smallpox in 1736 while waiting to see King George II. The tribal chief was buried in an unmarked grave in a south London churchyard.
"He didn't have a proper funeral in our tribal tradition," said Bruce "Two Dogs" Bozsum of Uncasville, Conn. "This is what we want to give him now."
Weyonomon crossed the Atlantic in 1735 with a letter that painted a stark picture of life for a tribe whose land was "reduced to less than 2 miles (5 kilometers) square out of the large territories for their hunting and planting."
Weyonomon wrote that, without the king's help, his tribe would be "reduced to the miserable necessity of leaving their native lands."
With the failure of his mission, the Mohegans steadily lost ground to what was then the colony of Connecticut. Now, there are about 1,700 members of the tribe, which is recognized by the U.S. federal government with a reservation.
Weynomon's letter finally reached the gloved hand of a British monarch during a memorial ceremony that coincided with the traditional funeral blessing. Wearing a goose-feather bustle and deerskin leggings, Bozsum knelt before Queen Elizabeth II and gave her a copy of his ancestor's handwritten plea.
The ceremony echoed sentiments of friendship and unity between cultures in the spirit of the American Thanksgiving holiday. Anglican leaders asked hundreds packed into Southwark Cathedral to pray for Mohegan chiefs, Britain's royal family and the leaders of the United States.
"We are here ... to remember we share with the people of the United States a story which, like all human conduct, is marked by good and bad," said the Very Rev. Colin Slee, the dean of Southwark. "We cannot right past wrongs, but we can remember them and transform them to inspire better conduct throughout humanity now and in years to come."
After the cathedral service, the queen led a procession into the courtyard, where she unveiled a granite sculpture to honor Weyonomon -- a simple rock carved with grooves meant to echo mountain trails. The Mohegans chanted to slow drum beats and the blare of a conch shell.
"In the name of God, the most pure ... we thank you for all that you have given us," Bozsum said first in the tribe's native language and then in English. "We thank you for the Earth that we stand on."
Bozsum presented the queen with a red stone peace pipe. The tribesman turned the pipe in four compass directions; north for medicine, south for ancestors, east for new beginning and west for "where all things end."
The ceremony gave the tribe closure, and a place to mark their ancestor's grave.
"Mahomet has his stone now -- and his place in history," Bozsum said.
Monday, November 27, 2006
The 18th century continues apace.
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- TheChurchMilitant
- First of all, the word is SEX, not GENDER. If you are ever tempted to use the word GENDER, don't. The word is SEX! SEX! SEX! SEX! For example: "My sex is male." is correct. "My gender is male." means nothing. Look it up. What kind of sick neo-Puritan nonsense is this? Idiot left-fascists, get your blood-soaked paws off the English language. Hence I am choosing "male" under protest.
2 comments:
RE: "I wonder what Mahomet Weyonomon would think of the modern Mohegans' casino business?"
Hmmm... What would Mahomet think?
Well, considering he braved the Atlantic, crossing a mighty ocean when all he really knew of was his quaint little area of Connecticut, in what was most likely a fuetal attempt to speak to the king to ensure that his tribe could survive, and retain its native lands, I don't think he'd have all that much of a problem.
Casinos are popping up all across the U.S.
Native Americans are given the right, when agreed upon with their states, to endeavor to build a gaming facility in order to sustain that tribes welfare.
The tribe COULD just sit back, do nothing, and collect money from the Federal Government, leaving it up to the tax payers of the nation to pay for the tribes welfare. It has every right. It was given the option! Instead, it choose not to. It gave back that money and chose to allow the federal government to give the money to other more needy indian tribes, and to further itself in a way that was legal.
It doesn't sound all that different from major political figures in the United States using every tax sheltor they can in order to hide their profits and keep all their earnings while the "little guy" has to pay on average about 1/3 of their earnings to the government, with little to show for it. In fact, when it comes down to it, doesn't it sound a heck of a lot better? And before anyone starts on it... Yes, even these "stipends" that tribal members receive from the casino, are taxed by the state and the federal government, just like everyone elses earnings. Only, unlike most companies and political figures, etc., they pay their taxes- they don't avoid them.
Personally, I think giving the people of the Connecticut and surrounding states, an entertainment venue where they have every option to gamble their money- OR NOT... To enjoy the many other entertainments that the casino has to offer, OR NOT... all the while improving the local and state coffers with hundreds of thousands of taxed dollars (yes, even the casino has taxes taken. It was a part of their agreement) AND doing it in the best environmentally safe way that they can- as that is one of the tribes most important values... Well, I think all of those options are quite a bit different than a few brass kettles and trinkets being "traded" for land.
It sickens me even more to think that the Connecticut state helped fight for the tribe to receive "federal recognition" in 1994 most likely on the basis that the state officials realized that they could collect lots of taxes from a casino that might be built. Without a prior casino in the state, they might have just said, well, we don't care if anyone ever recognizes that you are who you say you are. we really don't see anything in it FOR US!
The tribe lost its language over time due to fears of retaliation due to using it, and it has slowly been rebuilding it since. But it never lost its identity! It fought for nearly a hundred years for the US Government to acknowledge that simple fact.
Mahomet went to England to see the king, because he went into agreement with the "white man", that his tribe would keep a major portion of their lands, in return for aiding the colonies. There was no "trade for trinkets" going on with this tribe. They were outright robbed! The Mohegan lands were later parcelled off with no regards to the prior arrangements. I truely believe that anyone in Mahomets place, having DIED in a vain attempt to retain his tribes lands that were in fact rightfully theirs by his ideas and the crowns, would have no problem with any of their ancestors using whatever legal means they have to attain wealth, and at the same time helping out anyone around them that needs it. The tribe has become a true friend of the community-local and tribal- and the state that holds out its hand for all the money given to it by the tribe, is way too stupid to figure out how to use that for good things. Just a few years ago, when the state was in need and the people of the state said "What about all the money you're getting from the casinos?", people that work for the state all but said "Well, um, we just kinda spent it on whatever we felt like." The tribe has been fiscally intelligent about what it has earned, with the majority of money going to education, the elderly, and health care for its members. All the meanwhile, the state that collects a large share of the profits that the tribe collects (on both sides) just throws it away nonchalantly.
I'm sorry, but I'm just sick and tired of hearing ignorant remarks made by people that just don't look into all of the facts. Native Americans have had to deal with enough prejudism over the years. They haven't "played the red card". They might cry foul on the rare occasion, but they don't rub it in everyone's faces and they don't take every opportunity to scream "Hey, you stole our lands!" Is anyone else embarrased by how their race typically portrays any race they haven't learned enough about- those that really do not deserve it?
Prejudism is dead? I think not.
Although I do strongly appreciate the fact that you may post articles that are very dignified and that present information about wrongs that exist in our history for us to learn from, I do ask you to not cheapen monumental occasions such as this, with opening subjects like the one you presented here.
IF he were alive today, I would like to think he would want his people to be Americans of various sorts - doctors, plumbers, teachers, IT consultants, et cetera...you know, just like everybody else.
IF he were alive today, I would hope he would not want his people to prey on the poor, ignorant, and desperate - whether or not the government said they could.
Of course, IF we had wheels, we would be bicycles.
Thank you for visiting and for your thoughtful comments. They were a nice change of pace.
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