Indian Time - A Voice from the Eastern Door

Onen non:wa ehnon:we nentsitewate? Nikonraie:ra?te ne tsi karonhiat:te rorihwato:ken ehtho tehaiahiakhons ne tsionkwahtsi?a kionhkenekha karahkwa. Ne tehoswa?the:ton tsi niaonkwenonhakie tanon? ‘ee ro?ariha?tonhakie ne tsi ionhontsia:te ne ne sken:nen tsi akontonha? ten:ti ne tsi naho:ten shonkwaientho:wi. Ne tsi nentsitewa:iere ensk tsi entewahwe? non:ni onkwa? nikon:ra tanon tentshitewanonhwara:ton en tshiokwahtsi:?a kionhkehnekha karahkwa.

Ehtho niiohtonha?k ne onkwa?nikon:ra.

We send greetings and thanks to our eldest Brother, the Sun. Each day without fail he travels the sky from east to west, bringing the light of a new day. He is the source of all the fires of life. With one mind, we send greetings and thanks to our Brother the Sun.

Now our minds are one.

In many cultures throughout the world the sun has been acknowledged as a great source of power, even worshiped as a god in many societies. To the Haudenosaunee, the Sun is a part of the family of the Mother Earth. The Sun is the elder brother of the Earth and recognized as one of many forces of Creation, which sustains life. In bringing greetings to the forces of Creation the Sun is recognized for continually carrying out its responsibilities each and every day without fail. The example set by the sun is a reminder to the people to be vigilant in following the instructions given by the Creator at the beginning of time. The Haudenosaunee people believe that by acknowledging the work of the sun, our elder brother will be encouraged to continue to fulfill his cycle of responsibil­ities.

The people are reminded that the sun does not come too close to the earth so as to cause harm, yet not stray too far so as to allow cold and darkness to envelop the earth and end all life. The sun is thus viewed as a leader and teacher to the men in how to fulfill responsibilities in this world.

While the earth teaches women the gift of nurturing, the sun guides men as protectors and providers for the people. Traditionally men have been responsible to be vigilant over the villages and fields, providing the necessities of shelter and warmth, and ensuring the safety of the children, elders and women.

The Sun can be fiery and hot which is matched by the serenity and coolness of our Grandmother, the Moon. The heat of the sun always gives way to the cool of the Moon. While the Moon has a long twenty-eight day cycle, the Sun follows a daily pattern. It is understood that men can be fierce and short-tempered, often seeing only that which is visible in a short period of time. But men are guided to heed the wisdom of the women who understand the longer cycles of time, and practice the words of peace through their gift of nurturing.

In this time it is easy to forget these teachings. The Western culture does not understand the spiritual power of the Sun -only the power that its heat and light provides. It is seen only as a nuclear pile of energy drifting in space, which will last for a couple of billion years. This is a demon­stration of a lack of respect for the sun. When there is lack of respect, there is a potential for negative consequences.

Over the past decades, the industrialization of Western society, and the world, has resulted in the dumping of thousands and thousands of tons of garbage into the atmosphere. This garbage like the garbage of the earth and water has poisoned the air. By blocking the air with carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, many scientists believe that we are overheating the surface of the earth. They believe that this will cause a gradual increase in temperature of the earth by a few degrees over the decade. There is a debate over the level of effect that this will have, but it is generally believed to be a moderate concern.

To the Haudenosaunee, affecting the ability of the Sun to fulfill his responsibilities will have a profound effect on all life on earth. The Haudenosaunee observe that instead of gradual temperature increase, the Earth is suffering wildly fluctuating temperatures from place to place. Some areas get hotter while others are becoming colder. The extreme variations in temperature are an observable consequence of the affect of existing industrial behavior. As temperatures fluctuate, vegetation, crops and animals are suffering. Extreme weather conditions are becoming more prevalent, and increasingly destructive, with drought and hurricanes occurring with greater frequency and affect. The El Nino and El Nina wind patterns have become more intense.

This atmospheric dumping is full of chemicals, which created holes in the atmosphere, which let in all of the different wavelengths of the sun’s energy, some of these wavelengths of energy were not meant to reach the Earth’s surface but serve a purpose elsewhere in Creation. As a result of exposure to this energy, animals and plants have become burned. Fish and animals, including human beings, can no longer remain in the sun for fear of burning or skin cancer. Studies have shown that fish are being burnt by the rays of the Sun and this could be a significant factor in the decline of some fish, reptile and amphibian species. While man is able to manufacture materials to block out the harmful rays, the other animals and plants have no such luxury and are beginning to suffer the consequences of prolonged exposure.

When these chemicals are mixed in the atmosphere with the light of the sun, photo-toxic smog can be produced. This is a smog, which is more toxic because of the effect of sunlight on the chemicals in the mixture. The existence of photo-smog over cities like Los Angeles or Mexico City can have a severe impact on the people and animal life in the proximity of these cities. They also have a severe effect on the plants and trees which could help clean the air, if only the burden were lighter. As asthma and other respiratory diseases increase in the world population, more and more deaths will result as a direct consequence of this type of smog. While Western countries are confident in the belief that they can address this issue in their cities, the “developing’’ countries of the world which are striving for the Western industrial economic ideal will continue to suffer from self induced smog and photo-smog. Once in the air, everyone will continue to share the effects.

If the sun is the nuclear engine set up in a vacuum in space, far from any other life, enabled by cosmic accident to heat the earth, then it only stands to reason that the production of nuclear power in an atmos­phere and space crowded with life is at best stupidity and at worst arrogant. The nuclear power industry has produced weapons which can heat the surface of the world to the surface temperature of the sun, while nuclear power plants produce waste, continuously accumulated, which must be stored for centuries (upon centuries). As the Cold War ended, there are large stock­piles of nuclear weapons yet to be destroyed and nuclear power plants yet to be decommissioned. The Haudenosaunee believe this is enough evidence to demon­strate that the experiment with nuclear powers has not been a beneficial one. While significant applications could be said to have occurred in medicine, the overall scale of nuclear folly is mind-boggling and places the life of the earth in jeopardy. A spiritual understanding of the Sun as our elder brother does not detract from the ability of human beings to observe, produce evidence, draw conclusions and evaluate the consequences.

There are many ways in which the Haudenosaunee believe the gifts of the Sun can be respectfully received and utilized to assist life on Earth.

Haudenosaunee communities can begin to develop solar energy and alternative energy projects, which will reduce the need for nuclear and other harmful energy producing methods. Energy reduction and energy efficiency programs are being developed in many Native communities throughout the North American continent.

As human beings we must find ways to replace chlorofluorocarbons and other ozone destroying gases, from aerosols and air conditioners. These gases can be replaced by safer and better gases, which will not affect the atmosphere.

A simple action every community can undertake is to get rid of old burning barrels. These burning barrels produce as much toxins as many of the local industries. It is not uncommon to visit our commu­nities and see a pall of smoke over the community from these barrels. The burning of plastics and other products produces PAH and dioxins, which are toxic and deadly. As dioxins affect children and childbirth, they ultimately destroy the future generations of people.

A community could declare itself a Nuclear Free Zone, to ensure that no nuclear produce or waste be allowed to cross through its territory. This would mean that the nuclear industries must deal with their own waste in their own regions and not spread it across the countryside.

Each day when the Sun begins his journey over the eastern horizon, words are spoken to our Elder brother to acknowledge his important responsibilities, and to bring greetings for the new day which has emerged. The new day is significant because it reminds the people to once again see the world in all its beauty, and under­stand the gifts provided at creation to support life. It is understood that the fire of the Sun is the same fire, which fuels our heartbeat and the heartbeat of Mother Earth. When we are troubled or grieving we are reminded to place the Sun before us so that we may feel, see and understand what has been given in this life journey.

Each of us has a responsibility to acknowledge the help our Elder Brother the Sun provides to the people as he contin­ually fulfills his responsibility to the Mother Earth and all creation. We under­stand that through our actions, by using the good mind, we can assist our elder brother as he continues to bear the burden of sustaining all life on Earth.

Onen ethno niiohtonha?k ne onkwa?nikon:ra.

Now our minds are one.

The end.