It’s All a Matter of Your Point of View

Pruning a rosebush with a Chainsaw

Posted on by Marcha's Two-Cents Worth in Government Policies, Indian Reservations, Indigenous wisdom, mining, Native American Wisdom, Native Americans, Northern Cheyenne culture, US History

Waste, fraud, and abuse of federal funds is being exposed like never before. However, if you’ll forgive the cliche, they need to stop throwing the baby out with the bath water.

I worked as a NASA contractor for twenty-one years. I saw a lot of sketchy activities that showed that agency was not immune to corruption. One example I encountered personally was the scheme where someone would come up with an idea, such as a space experiment, satellite, space vehicle, or whatever. The first step in such an endeavor is a concept study. If that passes, then there’s the feasibility study, design study, etc, etc.

I worked on a few of these, which I believed were good ideas. However, just before it would get to the phase where it would actually get built, it would be cancelled. All groundwork was essentially wasted, except, perhaps, if it turned out not to be a good idea after all and thus applied to a future project.   What shocked me, however, was to find out in many cases the intent was never to build it.

Rather, it was to line the pockets of people who’d retired (or in some cases, been fired) from NASA  (i.e., their fishing buddies) who’d become highly paid consultants. The “Good ol’ boy” system at its best. It was demoralizing enough to work hard on such a study, be enthusiastic for its potential, then have it cancelled. It was even more painful to find out it was never intended to come to fruition, but no more than a high tech boondoggle.

I witnessed too many civil servants whose only work-related activity comprised thinking up busy work for contractors. They loved what they called “metrics,” i.e., an attempt to measure our productivity. Of course we could have done more real, meaningful work, if we weren’t figuring out ways to measure it and report it in a way they could understand it. Most had no clue what we did, so how could they possibly manage it? There were numerous times when we kept the Space Shuttle program running just fine when the civil servants were gone because of one of those budget situation government shutdowns.

 Air-to-air view of Columbia, OV-102, atop SCA NASA 905 flying over JSC site
NASA ID: S90-55294
S90-55294 (19 Dec. 1990) — Johnson Space Center employees and neighbors on the ground didn’t get quite this closeup of a view of the Dec. 19 1990 flyover of the Space Shuttle Columbia mounted piggyback atop NASA’s Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA–NASA 905). However, hundreds were able to spot it as it passed nearby en route to Florida from California following the successful STS-35 mission. Almost the entire 1625-acre site of the Johnson Space Center is visible in the background, along with a number of businesses and residences in the nearby municipality of Nassau Bay. The air-to-air photograph was taken by Pete Stanley of JSC’s Image Services Division who was a passenger in a T-38 jet aircraft.

Another thing I observed was referred to as “Empire Building.” Civil Servants got promotions based on how many people reported to them. They would claim to need more people than there was work for, just to inflate their numbers. As a contractor manager, I’d be told to hire more engineers when the ones I had barely stayed busy.

Yes, that’s the way it was, in an agency highly admired, especially our youth, even aspired to work for–I know, because I was one of them. I got a physics degree at the age of 39 so I could work there. Sadly, I came away disappointed in many things I saw as an insider, especially the safety area where we knew all the dirty little secrets of why missions failed, inevitable when engineers were ignored by upper management.

Did NASA do some amazing things? Unquestionably! Did I have some wonderful experiences while I was there? Absolutely!

That picture above? I saw that from the ground and it was awesome. But this does not mean that there isn’t a lot of waste that needs to be eliminated. Since I retired in 2009, much has happened already with the retirement of the Space Shuttle Program and availability of commercial rockets.

I could go on and on with examples, but that is not the purpose of this blog. I simply wanted to make a point that what the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is doing is needed and in many respects a very good thing. I recently heard indirectly from someone who works at the Federal Reserve that only about 6% of Federal employees report to an office daily.

What? Really?

More fallout, I suppose, from the COVID-19 debacle, which allowed people to work from home. As a former NASA contractor manager I was well aware that only a small handful of my personnel could be trusted to be productive working from home.

You Don’t Prune a Rosebush with a Chainsaw

However, that said, I believe DOGE may be  figuratively pruning a rose bush with a chainsaw. Some of these agencies may be totally worthless, saving the taxpayers from paying for frivolous and even criminal activities, which is desperately needed. But we must remember, for the most part, the majority of agencies had something beneficial for at least some segment of the populace at their core when they were created.

Rebuilding the U.S. economy, creating jobs, and being self-sufficient as a country, especially when it comes to energy, make sense. But I don’t agree with decimating our forests, public lands or environment. Agencies should be pruned carefully with lopping shears at worst, trimmers at best.

For example, laying off Forest Rangers and those who watch over our National Parks, both the wildlife and visitors from around the world, is ill-thought-out. These individuals serve the citizenry! These are not the slackers! C’mon!

It’s my opinion that we need to keep a close eye on what’s being eliminated and speak up when they’re ill-advised for the damage they’ll do. As a senior citizen I have a perspective that those making such decisions may not have. Audit them all, definitely, and cut back as warranted. But let’s bring some finesse into the process before causing irreparable damage.

For example, a petition landed in my email inbox recently about the Environmental Protection Act being totally ignored. You can find it here.

I love nature and wildlife. That’s why I live in the boonies where I can look out my office window and see everything from rabbits, squirrels, and chipmunks to wild turkeys, deer, foxes, and even fisher cats, which I never heard of before moving to Western New York State. True, some are a threat to our livestock, but that’s another story. Trees, diverse vegetation, and wildlife feed my soul.

While the land immediately around me is privately owned, I shudder to think if it were Federal land and some logging company came in and stripped the mountainsides bare. That not only impacts the aesthetics, but the wildlife that calls that forest home.

Same goes for oil exploration. Having lived in Texas for 35 years, I know enough about that industry to recognize how dirty and dangerous it is. Essential, yes. But it could be done in a safer, more discriminatory manner so as to cause less damage. Fracking threatens water supplies with toxic chemicals and has been proven to cause earthquakes. Do we really want our National Parks subjected to that?

In the 19th Century mining activity in the Rocky Mountains caused considerable damage. These corporations do not care about the mess they leave behind, only profits. Some regulations are essential, which should be enforced with integrity, not bribes, and involve fines that are painful enough to motivate compliance. When I was writing The Curse of Dead Horse Canyon Trilogy my research made me aware of how bad that century-old situation was as well as oil exploration, both situations making it into the plot of the story.

I highly recommend Robin Wall Kimmerer’s “Braiding Sweetgrass” for more perspectives on that issue. You can see my review of this beautifully written book here.

Harming Vulnerable First Americans

Eliminating the Department of Education is another issue. While some research indicates the USA is not “dead last” but 8th out of 41 countries, in 2022, the U.S. ranked 16th in science, ninth in reading, and 34th in math. Not particularly stellar, to say the least.

Having had six children go through public schools, I’m well aware of the flaws in that system, too, e.g. using our children as test subjects (no pun intended) without our consent. Lunacy such as “New Math” and various other indulgences, like not teaching phonetics, and other “experiments” which deprive our youth of a decent education. This has gone on for decades, even predates the Department of Education, much less the “No child left behind” edict, which had its pros and cons as well.

The system, with or without the Department of Education, is deeply flawed. Indeed, they shot themselves in the foot when they started demanding all school districts incorporate the reigning political party’s “woke” agenda and various other idiotologies [not a typo] to which a vast majority of the population objected as proven by the 2024 election results.

Again, rather than throwing the Department of Education away like last year’s test scores, why not fix it? Our “throwaway” mentality should not relate to matters that affect human lives. Granted, sometimes fixing something, whether it’s your car or washing machine, is less cost-effective than buying a new one. But unless an agency is thoroughly corrupt to the core, you don’t delete it without closer examination regarding whether any part of it is worth salvaging.

One useful function of the Department of Education relates strongly to financial aid to poor districts. Its loss will be particularly hard on Native Americans. To quote from a recent email sent out by Native American College Fund president, Cheryl Crazy Bull:

“The Department of Education was established by Congress, and it can only be dismantled by Congress. House Republicans reintroduced H.R. 899, (https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/899/text) a one-line bill, “The Department of Education shall terminate on December 31, 2026.”

We must raise our voice and let our representatives know that this bill cannot pass.

What you may not realize is that the Department of Education’s main role is financial. Dismantling it would disrupt programs that disburse federal student aid, negatively impacting all students that receive student loans and Pell grants. To qualify for a Pell grant, you must show need and the majority of College Fund and Tribal scholars demonstrate that financial need.

The Department of Education also provides federal funding for public schools and the ability to enforce civil rights protections for all students in education, including characteristics like disability, religion, and sex.

Native students are at the center of this attack and will experience tremendous hardships.”

The particulars can be found on the American Indian College Fund website, which also includes other issues that impact Native Americans.

If you don’t know how to contact your representatives, you can find that information here.

This very useful tool also includes your state officials, who often need prodding as well.

Getting rid of corruption is important. Saving taxpayers from enriching crooked politicians is essential. But the government is expected to provide some services. We just need to make our voices heard demanding that it be done in a wiser, more selective and sensitive manner.

In closing, as citizens, what we allow will continue. Whether its waste, fraud, and abuse or cutting things back so brutally and thoughtlessly that we never recover what good there was.

THE WORLD OF THE MAIYUN

Posted on by Marcha's Two-Cents Worth in Book Reviews, conspiracies, Indigenous wisdom, Native American history, Native American Wisdom, Native Americans, Northern Cheyenne culture, Spirit Animals, Spirit Medicine, spirituality

My method of writing is generally referred to as a “pantser,” i.e., I write by the seat of my pants. The other prevalent writing style that of a “plotter,” where the author determines the entire story, scene by scene, in an outline. I tried plotting, but my characters persistently got out of hand. They’d refuse to follow my plan and do their own thing. It didn’t take long to discover they had a better grip on the story than I did. Thus, I became a “pantser.” I populate my story idea with characters, then sit back to watch what they do as would a dutiful scribe.

I began work on this saga before connecting with my co-author, Pete Risingsun. I had a handle on the story’s government conspiracy angle, but lacked cultural knowledge of my main character, Cheyenne Charlie Littlewolf. I wrote what he told me to, but didn’t know whether it was feasible.

As a science fiction author, I wondered.

Was my imagination getting carried away?

I tend to obsess over accuracy and can get carried away with research. I started reading books on Native American cultures, but I needed to find a Cheyenne elder who could let me know if what I had written from Charlie’s point of view was accurate or too off-the-wall.

When Pete got involved he assured me that the various incidents I’d included were indeed realistic in the Cheyenne world. I smiled, relieved to learn Charlie was not leading me astray.

One incident that I wondered about is depicted in chapter six, “The Aspen,” of the first book, “The Curse of Dead Horse Canyon: Cheyenne Spirits.” It’s there that Charlie receives a message from the aspen tree that witnessed the wreck that killed his best friend. Besides numerous others, another one of my favorites is in the second book, “Return to Dead Horse Canyon: Grandfather Spirits,” where in chapter thirty-nine, “Trail Ride,” Charlie finds an ancient arrowhead that tells him and his brother, Winter Hawk, (cousin in western culture), that their prayer regarding the fate of the murderer had been heard.

As work on the saga continued, more and more research came into play. The works of George Bird Grinnell as well as Peter John Powell were excellent sources, but had limitations. I find it ironic that some of the most detailed information on ancient Cheyenne (Tsistsistas) beliefs and ceremonies is conveyed by German anthropologist, Karl H. Schlesier. His book “The Wolves of Heaven” was priceless while writing this trilogy, especially his detailed description of the Massaum, the Earth Giving Ceremony, that plays a key role in the final volume. In a typical episode of serendipity, I found Schlesier’s book on Amazon, attracted by its subtitle, “Cheyenne Shamanism, Ceremonies, and Prehistoric Origins.”

Or was it a maiyun who brought it to my attention?

What is a maiyun?

Schlesier tells us they are powerful spirits that associate with human beings. There are also the hematasoomaeo, which he describes as “the immortal spiritual forms of plants, animals, and human beings. . . .The maiyun most responsible for physical life on earth belong either to the deep earth or to the sky places. In Tsistsistas ceremonies they are celebrated especially and represented through plant and animal forms.”

The lodge of the maiyun is the Sacred Mountain, i.e., Novavose. (You’ll meet plenty of them in “Revenge of Dead Horse Canyon: Sweet Medicine Spirits – Novavose.”)

Why have western religions denied the existence of such things? Claim that animals do not have souls, a belief with which any pet owner, farmer, or rancher will disagree? Slowly the world is awakening to the reality of other dimensions; recognizing the thin veil between life and death and the elusive nature of time.

Things ancient peoples took for granted.

Speaking of animals, a few months ago, my precious 18 year old feline fur baby, Ophelia, crossed over. I hoped that when she did, that she was reunited with her half-brother, Hamlet, who’d left this life four years before. Thus, I was drawn to the “Pets and the Afterlife” book series by Rob Gutro. He’s a medium who specializes in connecting with pets in the spirit world. These books contain dozens of stories of such experiences. The truth of what he envisions is validated by multitudes of grieving pet owners when he provides details of the encounter that he couldn’t possibly have known.

As I read Gutro’s books I couldn’t help but think of the maiyun–spirit helpers that indigenous people have relied on for millennia. What are “civilized” people missing by tuning out these messages and connections?

I am beyond grateful for my introduction to this marvelous world while writing these three tomes with Pete. My heart and mind lived there from July 2018 when this story was conceived until the final book was published in January 2025. My life is enriched beyond measure for the experience.

Two of my favorite quotes related to this lost wisdom were spoken by Tȟašúŋke Witkó (Crazy Horse), the Oglala Lakota Leader who said:

The red nation shall rise again and it shall be a blessing for a sick world; a world filled with broken promises, selfishness and separations; a world longing for light again. I see a time of seven generations when all the colors of mankind will gather under the sacred tree of life and the whole earth will become one circle again. . . In that day, there will be those among the Lakota who will carry knowledge and understanding of unity among all living things and the young white ones will come to those of my people and ask for this wisdom.

The Curse of Dead Horse Canyon Trilogy is a lengthy saga that is more than a juxtaposition of a corrupt government’s clash with Cheyenne spirituality. It’s an introduction to a world too many don’t yet see.

But as Crazy Horse declared, they will.

You can find the trilogy on Amazon and other online vendors.

Thoughts on Ancestral Rights

Posted on by Marcha's Two-Cents Worth in Genocide, Indian Reservations, Medicine Wheel, Native American history, Native American Prophecy, Native Americans, Northern Cheyenne culture, Spirit Medicine, spirituality, US History

I couldn’t help laughing when I came across an article that contained this quote from Senator Tom Cotton (R-Ark) where he states: “The Jewish people’s legal and historic rights to Judea and Samaria goes back thousands of years.  The U.S. should stop using the politically charged term West Bank to refer to the biblical heartland of Israel.” [Emphasis added.]

What does that have to do with this blog mostly dedicated to Native Americans? Can you not see where I’m going with this?

Okay, let’s say the quiet part out loud:

If the U.S. believes that Israel has “historic rights that go back thousands of years,” what about Native American’s rights to their lands? Like, for example, let’s say the entire Western Hemisphere!

In my mind, the most shameful is land seized by conquest to say nothing of attempted genocide, while purchases like Manhattan Island for $24’s worth of trinkets aren’t much better.

Did the white man steal Native Americans’ land?

You bet they did!

I don’t believe in coincidences for a variety of reasons. Thus, I don’t consider it an accident that the same day I encountered that article about Israel I also came across one recounting the Fort Robinson Breakout back in January 1879.

If that incident doesn’t ring a bell, that is when Chiefs Little Wolf and Morningstar (a.k.a. Dull Knife) refused to return to Indian Territory in Oklahoma as directed by the U.S. Army. Rather, they insisted on returning to their homeland. After being nearly starved and frozen to death, they decided to escape. The hardships they suffered and loss of life they endured to return to their ancestral home is heartbreaking.

Land they maintained was given to them by the Great Spirit.

If you’ve read “The Revenge of Dead Horse Canyon: Sweet Medicine Spirits – Novavose,” then you can fully understand why the Israel statement’s irony struck me like it did.

If not, let me explain.

Karl Schlesier’s book, “The Wolves of Heaven: Cheyenne Shamanism, Ceremonies, and Prehistoric Origins” was an important reference developing the final book in the Curse of Dead Horse Canyon Trilogy. Schlesier is a German anthropologist who attributed the Bighorn Medicine Wheel in Wyoming (shown at the top of this article) to the Cheyenne and provided evidence that led him to believe it was the site of their ancient ceremony called the Massaum. (You can see my review of his book here.)

The Massaum, which Schlesier describes in fascinating, albeit laborious, detail, is also known as the “Earth Giving Ceremony.” It is likewise referred to by George Bird Grinnell and Peter J. Powell in their works about the Northern Cheyenne people. The first Massaum was conducted tens of thousands of years ago by Cheyenne prophet, Sweet Medicine, when he accepted land gifted to them from Maheo as their ancestral homeland. That land was centered on the Sacred Mountain in the Black Hills with them also given the right to expand their hunting ground by conducting the same ceremony.

I don’t know about you, but I suspect the reason the U.S. Government yielded and eventually gave them the Northern Cheyenne Reservation in southeast Montana was because it was part of the land consecrated for them by the Creator God through the Massaum.

But what about the rest of their land, “from sea to shining sea?”

Another thing that really gets me riled up is how much the U.S. Government has done for other “conquered” lands, e.g. Japan and Germany. Who attacked us or our allies during World War II! Yet, they allowed those countries to remain in the hands of their original occupants while giving them a whole lot of financial help rebuilding.

What have they done for First Americans other than break treaties and allow far too many to suffer in Third World conditions? Then an even bigger slap in the face, when for the past four years, illegal aliens were welcomed with payments far larger than my monthly Social Security benefit, which I earned.

That sounds an awful lot like speaking with a forked tongue, don’t you think?

But that’s another blog (or should I say rant?) for another time.

Meanwhile, I got my personal “revenge” in the grand finale of the Curse of Dead Horse Canyon Trilogy. I suspect there isn’t a single Indigenous person who would disagree.

P.S. And just for the record, I’m about as white as you can get. My ancestry is strictly Western European, some of which goes back to the Colonial Era in the late 1600s in Connecticut. That said, I’m ashamed and embarrassed by what my forefathers did.

[NOTE:–If you’re interested in more information related to the Israel issue, you can find the full article I referenced here.]

Review of “Memories of MK-ULTRA: Journey of Discovery from Darkness to Deliverance” by Bill Yarborough

Posted on by Marcha's Two-Cents Worth in Book Reviews, conspiracies, Genocide, Uncategorized, US History

This book deserves to be a Best Seller for more reasons than I can count. For one thing, it’s informative. If you’ve never heard of MK-ULTRA, this will give you a close-up-and-personal view of what it was about.  If you’re naive or unaware of some of the things that the U.S. Government has done, then it’s going to enlighten you in that area, also.

Indigenous people were not the only people the government lied to and abused. Many of their own natural-born citizens were used in experiments, often without their knowledge, much less consent.

Previous to reading this story I knew the basics of this program, specifically that it involved the CIA following up on work in mind-control techniques conducted by the Nazis during WWII. That alone, much less being highly classified, should be enough to demonstrate it was nothing short of evil.  

I happened upon this book at an opportune time. Based on what I knew, I used MK-ULTRA as a backstory for a character in my latest book, “Revenge of Dead Horse Canyon: Sweet Medicine Spirits – Novavose.”

Oddly enough, while writing the story, MK-ULTRA arrived at my muse’s bidding and I wondered if it was a credible explanation for one of the character’s idiosyncrasies. My research seemed to validate it, but it was gratifying when nothing in this story contradicted what I’d assumed. Numerous scenarios in this book fit my character’s odd traits perfectly.  Synchronicity, perhaps?

Actually, I have some very sharp muses who lead me to all sorts of things that turn out to be accurate and a perfect fit for the plot. Which is what I love about writing fiction.

The fact that the author is an MK-ULTRA survivor says it all. While written as a novel, the level of detail is such that its reality is inescapable. It pulls you right in, moving along at a fast pace and alternating between Tommy Matthews’ life after being subject to their experiments and flashbacks indicating what was done to him to motivate it.

While all the antagonists in the story are certainly evil, some are darker than others. From the purely scientific side, understanding how the brain and memory work is fascinating, useful data. It helps psychiatrists understand and help their patients. But when it turns to controlling another person’s life by programming them as an innocent child to pursue a malevolent destiny it’s another story. Using torture such as isolation, hallucinatory drugs, electric shock, and ritual sexual abuse to achieve it definitely treads on criminal as well as unethical ground.

Preventing this sort of thing is what the post-WWII Nuremburg Trials were all about!

It was fascinating to read of Tommy’s perceptions, then learn how that particular impression was programmed into him in the next chapter. One question that ran in the back of my mind was how on earth could responsible parents subject their children to such experiments? This was clarified by the end, which made it even more tragic. Some people simply should not be allowed to have children.

Yet who is qualified to define the criteria? Years ago, Indigenous people were subjected to forced sterilization as a means of genocide. Again, by the U.S. Government. See what I mean? Who decides who’s qualified to be a proper parent? Certainly not the government!

If brain research tell us anything, it’s that there are other realities outside the corporeal world and that “consciousness” goes beyond what is visible with our natural eyes. Aliens, UFOs, remote viewing, prophecy, shamanism, near-death experiences (NDEs), and everything else defined as “paranormal” are elusive when it comes to scientific investigation. Thus, closed-minded people dismiss them as hoaxes, imagination, superstitions, and so forth.

While this story did not emphasize the paranormal, there were enough references to sense its presence, which gave it all the more interest. My jaw literally dropped when I read the last sentence in Chapter 76.

When the three children grow up and start to remember and compare notes, it’s impossible to put the book down. I’m not a fan of “horror stories” and elements in this story fall into that realm, some downright gruesome, cruel, and heartbreaking. While it’s shocking that these innocent children and numerous others were subjected to these horrific experiments, the author presented them in an objective, journalistic way rather than exploit them in a graphic, gratuitous manner. Nonetheless, you cannot “unsee” what was revealed.

Anyone who doesn’t believe that a battle for the minds and souls of men has existed for millennia  needs to read this book. If you know nothing about MK-ULTRA you are likely to be shocked. But being blind to unpleasant realities is what allows evil to persist, often right beneath our noses.

You can get a copy here: https://www.amazon.com/Memories-MK-Ultra-Discovery-Darkness-Deliverance/dp/1963844262/

The End is Here! The “Dead Horse Canyon” Trilogy is now Complete!

Posted on by Marcha's Two-Cents Worth in Book Status, Native American history, Native American Prophecy, Native American Wisdom, Native Americans, Northern Cheyenne culture, Spirit Medicine, Uncategorized

The final volume of the award-winning trilogy is now available! The paperback will be released on January 7, BUT if you act between January 4 – 7, you can get an electronic version of the explosive conclusion for a bargain price at the vendors listed below.

Loaded with new twists and turns, familiar characters and a few new ones, fans of this saga can now find out “the rest of the story.”

The paperback is 581 pages long, which tells you something right there! A tremendous amount of research was done to embellish the story with Cheyenne history and traditions, which fit beautifully into the story.

Learn more about the book here.

We believe the ending should make Native Americans and their supporters smile.

Get your ebook copy now for only $3.99 at most vendors, the other books in the series on sale for that amount as well until the official release of the paperback on January 7.

Don’t wait! Get your copy now!

Amazon

Google Play

Kobo

Vivlio

Fable

More Sources Coming Soon!

Native American Heritage Day 2024

Posted on by Marcha's Two-Cents Worth in Book Status, Indigenous People Day, Native American Day, Native American history, Native American Media, Native Americans, Northern Cheyenne culture
The Sacred Mountain (Bear Butte State Park, South Dakota)(Photo by John Brueske, Shutterstock)

Today is Native American Heritage Day, a time to remember and appreciate Native Americans and their rich culture. An important element of indigenous culture has always been their sacred sites.

The main theme of the third and final book in the Dead Horse Canyon saga, “Revenge of Dead Horse Canyon: Sweet Medicine Spirits — Novavose” is the importance of the Sacred Mountain, known also as Bear Butte State Park, in South Dakota.

In the final volume of the trilogy Charlie fulfills his vow to make a pilgrimage to the site for a four day ceremonial fast. What he learns there is not only startling, but charges him with the responsibility of bringing his people back to their sacred ceremonies as originally taught by Sweet Medicine, specifically a five-day ritual known as the Massaum, the “earth giving ceremony.”

The video above notes the importance of sacred sites. You can find more information related to the video in the article on the Native American Rights Fund website here.

In writing the Dead Horse Canyon Saga, I have done a tremendous amount of research. Many of the books you see below I have read and/or referenced in writing the trilogy to assure accuracy as well as discover new material to integrate in the plot.

Of course coauthor, Pete Risingsun, is the final authority on Cheyenne culture, but he also discovered new information, especially from the two volumes of Peter J. Powell’s “Sweet Medicine.” What a godsend they were as was the work of many other anthropologists such as George Bird Grinnell and, in more modern times, Karl H. Schlesier. Without their work, the Dead Horse Canyon story would not have all the rich detail we were able to incorporate. We have made every effort to be as accurate as possible with reference to historical events as well as Northern Cheyenne ceremonies.

What I have learned writing this trilogy with Pete has opened my eyes to the many injustices Indigenous people have suffered for hundreds of years due to colonization, not only in the United States but also abroad.

The release date is January 7, 2025! It has taken far longer than expected, for which Pete and I apologize. However, we believe it will be worth the wait.

If you haven’t yet read the first two books, you have time to do so before this one comes out. Without knowing the entire story, you may be able to follow this final volume, but it will have far more meaning if you’re familiar with the other two.

I’m confident that Indigenous readers will be very pleased with the ending as well as those of us who love and appreciate Native American culture and pray they eventually receive the retribution they deserve for centuries of abuse. It’s truly a travesty that immigrants are welcomed and allowed to retain their culture while America’s original inhabitants continue to be treated so unfairly.

On this special day, may we all pray with them that they will receive the respect they deserve and gain access to their sacred sites and cultures and that they will be preserved.

Where have all the leaders gone?

Posted on by Marcha's Two-Cents Worth in Indigenous wisdom, Native American Heritage Month, Native American history, Native American Wisdom, Native Americans

As always, Navajo Wally Brown does a fantastic job in the following video summing up what it takes to be a great leader.

Sad but true, lack of leadership has brought the United States to where we are today. Caring for the people you lead is paramount. Who wants to follow someone who is exploiting their people for power and financial gain and sets a poor example of a moral individual?

Once again, Native Americans have shown that their culture is far superior to what has been the norm in Western culture for millennia.

Leadership starts in the home. Respect for authority is important, but must be earned and deserved. Just because someone has a title does not mean they’re worthy to be obeyed or followed. Do you have the courage to stand for truth?

Like Wally says in the video, leaders are not necessarily born. They are raised. Everyone has the capability with the right training and example. His story about the blind sheep is so apropos for today’s world.

What qualities do you think are essential for a leader? How many of those traits do you have? What can you teach to those around you, especially the youth who will inherit the mess the world is today?

Returning to true principles based on love is the only way.

Native Power!

Posted on by Marcha's Two-Cents Worth in Indigenous People Day, Indigenous wisdom, Native American Day, Native American Heritage Month, Native American history, Native American Media, Native Americans

November is Native American Heritage month! To kick it off, the organization, IllumiNative, has produced a short video highlighting Native American accomplishments.

Our world has so much to gain by recognizing and adopting Native American principles. Take a few moment to browse the IllumiNative website to see the many influences that have not received the publicity they deserve. Native influence is everywhere! Celebrate and share!

Review of “Skinwalkers” by Tony Hillerman

Posted on by Marcha's Two-Cents Worth in Book Reviews, Native Americans

After binge watching the first two seasons of Dark Winds with my granddaughter, I wanted to see what the Hillerman books are like. I chose this one hoping for the mystery and intrigue seen in the TV rendition of another novel in the series, “Listening Woman,” which comprised the basis for the first season.

The story centers around three murders that Navajo Tribal Police Lieutenant, Joe Leaphorn, is trying to connect and solve. Someone has also tried to kill Officer Jim Chee by firing a shotgun into his trailer. Strange bone beads are found in the victims, one of which is also found in Chee’s trailer, which are what introduces the possibility of witchcraft into the story.

While I enjoyed it, it lacked the creepy sense of magic I expected. It had plenty of plot twists and the usual suspense regarding “whodunnit” but didn’t quite measure up to what I was hoping for, especially with such an intriguing title. Very little was mentioned about those entities, much less sorcery and the dark side of the Navajo culture, other than in a vague, informative way. All it touched on was the belief that such existed and that it may have been behind the murders. Needless to say, this is something that Navajos don’t like to talk about, but makes fascinating stories.

There were a few good tidbits about the Navajo culture, however, such as not mentioning the name of the deceased and “wearing out their name.” The significance of the bone beads was likewise fascinating, but not as creepy or scary with paranormal implications as they could have been described.

No doubt the TV show “The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch” on the History Channel, which is indeed fascinating, gripping, and usually creepier and scarier than this book, is going to send readers to this series and more specifically this particular book. If that’s your motivation, be warned you are likely to be disappointed, as I was.

I may try another book in the series, perhaps a newer one written by Anne Hillerman, Tony’s daughter, who assumed writing the series upon her father’s passing. Far be it from me as a fellow author to criticize books that are best sellers, but as a reader it did not measure up to what I expected. (The problem with being an author yourself is you’re not an unbiased reader anymore, but part editor and part critic.)

This book was written in 1986 and they’ve updated the cover, but I don’t know if they’ve also reprinted it. The hardcover copy I received from an Amazon vendor was clearly used and had a pricetag on it from Goodwill for $4.99 while I paid $17.62.

You can pick up a copy on Amazon here:

or try https://www.bookfinder.com for a better deal on books that are out of print or been around for awhile.

Sure you can trust the government. Just ask an Indian…

Posted on by Marcha's Two-Cents Worth in Book Reviews, Genocide, Indian Reservations, Native American history, Native Americans, Uncategorized, US History

The quote above is often attributed to Henry Ford, but in trying to confirm that, I struck out. Several have said something similar and millions agree.

The evidence is in this book, which is both shocking and heartbreaking. Its essence is captured in its subtitle: “The case of 60,000 murdered children and the man who surfaced their fate.”

The author, Kevin Annett, was a priest associated with the United Church in Canada. In the course of his ministry he uncovered evidence of the genocide committed against Native American children in the government sponsored Residential Schools. Witnesses who’d survived the schools told horror stories of children being murdered before their eyes. He proceeded to take it upon himself over the course of decades to expose these crimes and achieve justice for the victims and the survivors. Note that these “schools” weren’t closed down until 1996!

“The day I saw my little brother Benny get beaten to death by a Catholic priest, I prayed to the Great Mystery to someday give me the chance to get justice for him.” — Albert House of the Anishinaabe-Ojibwe nation

Naturally, governments and churches wield their power to protect their own, making exposing their crimes an herculean task. In February 1998 Annett and survivor Harriett Nahanee launched a campaign to publicize the death camp crimes and prosecute those responsible.

This led to the first public inquiry in June 1998. It convened under the auspices of the United Nations affiliate, International Human Rights Association of American Minorities (IHRAAM). IHRAAM recommended to the United National Human Rights Commission that Canada and its churches be formally charged with genocide. But diplomatic pressure  prevented such action and IHRAAM withdrew its statements.

How typical.

Ten years later in 2008 Canada admitted to some of it, yet whitewashed it by indemnifying and exonerating all the guilty parties. Meanwhile, Harriett Nahanee had been murdered in prison.

In 2010 Annett helped found the International Tribunal of Crimes of Church and State (ITCCS) which sponsored the International Common Law Court of Justice (ICLCJ) that tried and convicted Canada and its churches of genocide and compelled Pope Benedict and three Catholic cardinals to resign their offices during 2013. Their success sparked a worldwide movement to establish common law courts and sovereign Republics to replace criminally convicted churches and governments.

Today genocide continues as part of China’s economic penetration of North America to seize oil and gas resources by displacing indigenous communities in northern British Columbia and Alberta. This is being done with the support of the Canadian government, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), and the same churches, which continue to traffic and murder indigenous children. More native people die in police custody in Vancouver than any city in Canada.

Needless to say, you’re not going to hear about any of this in the mainstream media. Anyone who thinks that genocide ended with World War 2 needs to wake up. More information about these incidents can be found at the website https://www.murderbydecree.com

Of course Annett was “punished” for his actions by the United Church by defrocking him as a minister in a shamelessly biased kangaroo court. He was never told what he was accused of, witnesses in his favor were disallowed, and there were clear conflicts of interest with those conducting the hearings. All details of the bogus procedures are described in the book. Furthermore, they paid his wife to divorce him and set out to do everything possible to destroy his life and livelihood.

“Physical assaults and public smears against Kevin increased and his native supporters began to be killed by police or while in jail or in the hospital.” (p. 50)

I can’t begin to summarize the background any better than what is stated in the book and I quote:

“Between the years 1889 and 1996 tens of thousands of indigenous children across Canada were deliberately and systematically murdered by the Crown of England, the Canadian government, and the Roman Catholic, Anglican, and United Church. These killings occurred in internment camps operated by these churches and authorized by the Crown, and deceptively called ‘Indian residential schools.’

“For the first year of their operation, the annual death rate in these camps was between 25% and 70%: A genocidal mortality rate that continued for over half a century. As a result, more than 60,000 of these children died.

“This enormous mortality was caused by a deliberate and continual practice by all the churches of starving children and housing the healthy ones with those sick and dying from tuberculosis and smallpox while denying them medical treatment and any form of care; in short, by a regime of institutionalized germ warfare designed to “find a final solution to the Indian Problem,” according to Duncan Campbell Scott, the Deputy-Superintendent of Indian Affairs, in May, 1910.

“Every crime defined as genocide under international law was perpetrated in these Christian internment camps, including murder, mental and physical torture, starvation, slave labor, systematic beatings, gang rape, sex trafficking, destruction of family, sexual sterilizations, involuntary drug testing, medical experimentation, and daily, mandatory brutality.

“When I was six years old, I saw a little girl killed right in front of me by a nun… The girl she killed…was five years old. The nun kicked her hard in the side of the heck and I heard this terrible snap. She fell to the floor and didn’t move. She died right in front of us. Then the nun told us to step over her body and go to class. That was in 1966.” –Steven H, St. Paul’s Catholic Day School

“These crimes were inflicted on children as young as four years old according to a mandatory death quota and torture regimen established by these churches and the government. The purpose of this operation was genocidal: to exterminate the remaining indigenous nations and seize their lands and resources by killing off or enslaving most of their children.

“From its inception, this genocide was authorized, perpetrated, and concealed by every level of state, judicial, police, and church authority in Canada until the camps officially closed in 1996. The master plan for this genocidal operation was adopted on November 25, 1920 at a meeting in Ottawa of top officials of the Canadian government and the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Presbyterian, and Methodist churches (the latter two being the forerunners of the United Church of Canada, formed in 1925 by an Act of Parliament.”

“The master genocidal plan was made Canadian law by a special Order in Council on July 1, 1920. It required every indigenous child seven years or older to be interned in an ‘Indian school’ or face arrest and imprisonment.”  (p. 11-14)

Unless you’ve had your head in the sand the past few years and/or have a naive and horrendously misplaced trust of government and various powerful institutions including the Vatican and main stream media, this should not come as a surprise. I must say I was nonetheless shocked by the scope and blatant actions of church and state, but had no trouble believing it.

“Richard Rubenstein, a chronicler of the Nazi Holocaust, observed that modern states have the legal power to render their own citizens into stateless people without rights prior to their wholesale destruction.” (p. 6)

The evidence in this book is sickening but irrefutable.

It’s essential for everyone to wake up. Recognize what is going on and that the COVID debacle is more of the same. Indigenous people have been the target for centuries.

Who’s next?

Bear in mind that no one of any skin color, religion, national origin, or ethnicity can be assured that it won’t be them.

One more thing.

For those of you who are white like myself, can you begin to understand why our race is hated?

Get your copy on Amazon here: