pine ridge x-mass part III

ann arbor easter

i paused on this account for more than a year, because my memory for details, (such as the names of people and places, which is important),  is poor, and i believed i could find such information on the internet. sadly, one can't.  censorship is real. more than a decade ago i wrote a wikipedia entry about the world peace march and the june 12 rally for disarmament in NYC which was cancelled by a moderator. when i inquired, it was explained that the article required sources.  i argued, "i am the source."  and supplied the few newspaper articles that i could locate about the events. after about a week of back and forth with more than one moderator, i was informed, that finally the article was declined because the peace march did not move the world toward nuclear disarmament. president reagan , was the person accredited for that. never mind that for two years preceding the u.n. 2nd special session for disarmament, 100's of thousands of people had been demanding it in 100's of cities world wide.  since then i do not go to wikipiedia for a source of anything.

anyway, when we were in salt lake city utah, we received word from Nipponzan-Myōhōji organizers,  who shared a NYC office, in riverside church,  for our walk and the mobilization for survival, (an ad hoc organization that organized the june12th rally), that they were unable to identify any host for us from salt lake city to cheyenne wyoming, and that we were to drive from there across the lincoln pass to cheyenne, then we would walk from there south to Denver, (which would cover for the lost miles walking). Brad and Gerhardt were incensed. we all couldn't even fit in the van. walking was important to us. we were committed to covering the continent with our footsteps.

none the less, we followed orders. it turned out that Jackie San and Katrina San were driven by a volunteer to NYC for a meeting at riverside church, and Dan Allen and Aggie needed to go home to davis ca. to tie up some loose ends, concerning their apartment and final pay checks.    so the 8 of us piled into the van, and Leo and i traded shifts driving non-stop to cheyenne.

from there we walked to bolder colorado, where we spent a few days speaking to disarmament groups and church groups in and around the university. we were invited up into the rockies for a sweat ceremony conducted by Wallace Black Elk.  that was my second sweat ceremony ever.   

from denver we made our way back north again to scottsbluff nebraska and on to pine ridge reservation in south dakota.  we had an event scheduled at one of the 4 square churches in rapid city. rapid city is a disgusting and racist city. when it was discovered that our peace walkers would be accompanied by indians, our host shut the door to the church and cancelled our press conference. there were some disarmament activist there, so we were taken to the home of a family, and provided a meal.

crossing south dakota in december hosted by the poorest people living in the u.s.a. was the greatest challenge we were to face.  i remember going into a depot where U.S. rations were stored. there was hardly any food in the depot.  all i remember was seeing 5lb cans of peanut butter and frozen, (not on purpose), heads of lettuce. still, every night we were cared for in a school building or hockey rink.

we walked through 90 per hr freezing wind about 8 hrs every day. i remember Leo running along side us who carried the banner shouting, "this is a test, keep moving", his long bead and mustache ice caked.  his eyes gleaming. and we just kept plowing through the blinding white out conditions for days on end, day after day.   

as we neared rosebud there was a great deal of excitement. we were promised that Crow Dog would hold a peyote ceremony for us.  Imai Ishoni and Morishta Ishoni were not happy about us participating but they did not stop us.     i really don't remember very much about the ceremony, except that it was held in a large room with at least 100 people and it lasted from sunset to sunrise. which at xmass  time was about 18 or 19 hrs.

in chicago   the size of our group more than doubled to just over 30 walkers.   from then to buffalo NY, 4 or five people joined our walk every day.

we were in ann arbor for easter, and huddled the great lakes across to my home town of cleveland. the walk stayed at the native friendship centre downtown, but my family lived in berea, and Jun San wanted to meet my parents, so she and i stayed a couple of nights with them.

on may 1st. we were in buffalo n. y.

our group was about 50 people. there at the international peace bridge from ft. erie ont. we met a group of about 80 people who walked from toronto to join out group. 

across n. y. state 20 or 30 people joined our walk every day. we crossed the george washinton bridge on about june 8th with over 300 walkers. 

on june 12 about 7 million people gathered in central park to celebrate peace and support the u.n. delegates to the 2nd special session on disarmament. 

Chronicle Telegram Elyria, O., Fri., April 16, 1982

Their feet beat rhythm

for end to nuclear arms

By STEPHANIE HILF

C-T Staff Writer

OBERLIN — Beating on wooden drums and chanting a Buddhist mantra, one section of The World Peace March entered Oberlin on foot from the west late Thursday afternoon.

The World Peace March, initiated by the Buddhist monks and nuns of the Nipponzan Myohoji Order, has five groups making their way across the country on different routes to gain support for world-wide nuclear disarmament.

The group which walked to Oberlin from Norwalk Thursday consists of about 25 people including two Buddhist monks from Japan, two Buddhist nuns, ( one from Sweden, one from the U.S. ), one Hopi Indian, one Sioux Indian, and three Japanese citizens. There are also people from France, Costa Rica and Germany, as well as several Americans on the walk.

THE GROUP began its journey on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay on October 24. They plan to be in New York City by the second week in June, in time for the United Nations Second Special Session on Disarmament.

A massive rally is being planned for June 12 at the United Nations building in New York City and many international religious events to take place that week are being coordinated by the Religious Task Force of the Mobilization for Survival.

Inspiration for the World Peace March came from the 97- year old Buddhist teacher, the Most Venerable Nitiudatsu Fujii, and from the memory of the nuclear war victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

THE MARCHERS say they have been well-received during their journey and that people are increasingly receptive to the notion of nuclear disarmament.

"Many people recognize how dangerous nuclear weapons are and that's a good sign for stopping nuclear war," said the Reverend Imai, a Buddhist monk from Japan. Takeo, a Japanese citizen on the walk, served as translator for the monk.

"We've been encouraged by the timeliness of the issue," said Ellen Wilson, 30, from Spokane, Wa. "It's not that everyone agrees with what we say, but the general response is changing in our favor."

TWENTY-SEVEN-YEAROLD Leo Goodman from Boston said that most disagreement takes the form of: "Why don't you tell it to the Russians? "

“We're telling it to the whole world," said Goodman.

"The Russian people are human beings, too," said the Rev. Imai. "We should believe the Russian people are of a peaceful mind or we will never have peace in the world."

"The road to peace has to be one of trust and openness of the human heart and we have to start within ourselves and within our own country," said Wilson.

Along the route, the marchers stay in churches, schools, colleges and private homes. They spent Thursday night at Christ Episcopal Church in Oberlin and plan to walk to North Olmsted on Friday where they will stay at the North Olmsted Congregational Church.

ON SATURDAY they will" walk to Public Square in Cleveland and take part in the Ground Zero Teach-In being held at Case Western Reserve University.

Locally, the Senior Citizen Association of Lorain County has chartered a bus to go to New York City for the June 12th U.N. rally.

Reservations for the bus trip, which is open to anyone, not just senior citizens, are being taken at the senior citizens office in Elyria. The bus will leave Elyria on the afternoon for June 11 and return June 13, and the cost of the trip is $50.