"INSTRUCTING OUR PEOPLE"
July 9, 2005
Chief Oren Lyons, Faithkeeper of the Turtle Clan, tireless
advocate for indigenous rights and sovereignty issues,
professor, author, publisher, painter, father, and grandfather,
stood before us and shared the insights he had gained as
representative of the traditions of his people. The
occasion was the Twenty-Fourth Annual E. F. Schumacher
Lectures, October 2004 in Stockbridge, Massachusetts.
Chosen by Clan Mothers as Chief of the Onondaga Nation,
his voice sounded a clear note of authentic leadership
for our time.
We are honored that Chief Lyons' remarks on that day,
edited by Hildegarde Hannum, are now available as an E.
F. Schumacher lecture pamphlet. The entire address
may be read for free, on-line at www.smallisbeautiful.org,
by clicking on "Publications" and selecting "Oren
Lyons" from the full list of Schumacher speakers. Or
it may be ordered in pamphlet form by sending $5 to the
E. F. Schumacher Society, 140 Jug End Road, Great Barrington,
MA 01230.
* * * * * * * *
Alexandra chose the following quotes from "The Ice
Is Melting" for you to read and consider.
Quotes from "The Ice Is Melting" by Chief Oren
Lyons
What I say to you today is that the ice is melting in
the North as we speak, trees are tipping, the roads are
buckling, buildings are falling in. From what? From the
permafrost melting. Perma. Permanent frost. No, not so
permanent. It's melting right now.
Whatever happens to us will not have any impact on the
world. In time, the world will regenerate. It will come
back green, and the waters will be clean again. It’s
just that there won’t be any people here. That’s
all. We’re not needed. We’re parasites. We
don’t help the Earth, we take. So if all the people
disappear, then the Earth is going to regenerate because
there’ll be peace here again.
The second message I bring you is that global warming
is real. It is imminent. It is upon us. It’s a lot
closer than you think, and I don’t think we’re
ready for what’s coming. We’re not instructing
our people, we’re not instructing our children, we’re
not preparing for what is coming. And it surely is coming.
We’ve pulled the trigger, and there is nothing we
can do now to stop it. The event is underway.
Animals live in a state of grace; they do no wrong.
They do only what they’re supposed to do. They try,
they persevere. In New York City I saw geese going overhead,
flying the same path they flew a thousand years ago. They
have to fly higher, but they’re still going over.
Hawks go right by, the same way. Fish travel in the same
place. They’re still doing what they can, the best
they can, despite the bad air and the bad water around
them. That’s what we did to them Now we have to do
better. We’ll be lonesome without them. Being survivors
and who we are, we’ll be the last to go.
The founding fathers of this country, Jefferson and Madison
and Franklin, all talked about natural law. It was common-day
usage for them. It was part of their vernacular to talk
about natural law, and they knew what they were talking
about—because they learned from us! Natural law prevails.
Either abide by it or suffer the consequences. I haven’t
heard any reference to natural law coming from an administration
in a long time. That’s how far we’re drifting
from reality. We’re drifting, and it’s costly.
We have to get back on course. The chiefs, and I personally,
feel that we have not passed the point of no return. Not
yet, but we’re approaching it. And the day when we
do pass that point, there will be no boom, no sonic sound.
It will be just like any other day.
We don’t lead by telling people what to do. If you
want people to pick something up off the ground, you start
picking it up yourself, and pretty soon somebody’s
going to help you. You lead by example. That’s the
best way to inspire, by example. There’s no short
cut.
You have to meet challenges, and as you move along, it’s
like crossing a stream on stones. We’ve all done
that. You can see some stones and you can’t see others,
but at some point you have to make the run. And as you
jump from one stone to the other, you’re always looking
for the next jump. Most of the time you make it. Not all
of the time. Sometimes you come to the kind of situation
where there’s not going to be a safe move at all.
You’re not going to get an answer. People want answers,
but there aren’t really many answers except to keep
looking and to become active. If you stick to the principles
that you have to guide you, that’s about the best
you can do.
Warmly,
Susan Witt and Alexandra Penny
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