The
Nature and Purpose of the Worldwide Prayer Gatherings
This series of Worldwide
Prayer Gatherings is a continuation of the original Worldwide Prayer
Gathering originally organized by SENAA International and Dine'h Elder Roberta Blackgoat and held on 12 and 13 October 2001.
The Worldwide Prayer
Gathering has since expanded to include other Indigenous American
Constitutional, civil, and human rights issues, as well as issues
facing indigenous peoples around the world.
Purpose
Every
devout worshiper of every spiritual path knows the power of fervent,
persistent prayer. We ask all people around the world to participate in
these
events as, together, we ask Creator to set in motion the events that will bring about the changes necessary that will
deny the Dakota Access Pipeline and other similar pipelines from
crossing beneath the Missouri River/Lake Oahe bed, and also the
events necessary to
allow Dine'h of Black Mesa (Big Mountain), Arizona, to remain on their sacred land, preserve their culture,
and live their lives according to their understanding of how Creator
wants them to live without
fear of forced evictions; physical assault; verbal abuse; livestock
impoundments; or violations
of their Civil, Constitutional, and human rights.
We will
pray that Creator will finally bring about the repeal of the Navajo-Hopi
Land Dispute Settlement Act of 1996, which contains the Bennett
Freeze--an act that was created and enacted based upon false claims
made by Peabody- employed attorneys acting as legal representatives
of the BIA-created and operated Navajo and Hopi Tribal Councils in
which untrue allegations of impending violence and ongoing
"range wars" were made against both the Hopi people and
Dine'h, two Indigenous Nations that have always lived together in
peace until Peabody and the BIA came along. The Bennett Freeze, and
thereby the Navajo-Hopi Land Disputer Settlement Act,
blatantly violates the Constitutional,
civil, and human rights of the Dine'h at Black Mesa as guaranteed
and proclaimed under U.S. law and the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights adopted and proclaimed by General
Assembly resolution 217 A (III) of 10 December 1948.
We will
also pray for other Indigenous First Nations who are suffering similar
injustices at the hands of the federal government and the BIA that
see to it that the mining companies get the lion's share of the
profits from any
natural resources found on land owned by the First
Nations.
We will
pray for peace for all people and their Creator-given right to worship
and live their lives according to their consciences and spiritual
convictions.
It is our prayer that all people will return to living in harmony with Creator and
our Mother Earth for the sake of our children and grandchildren and
their children and grandchildren.
At this time, we also pray that all Indigenous people
of North America will finally, with Creator's help, achieve true
equality through the federal government's realization that we, as human
beings, are entitled to the same Civil, Constitutional, and human rights that every other human being is
entitled to and guaranteed under the law.
Also on our
list, we will pray that the U.S. government will realize that we,
the First Nations, are not children and that we have enough sense to
handle our own financial affairs and the money that is rightfully
ours, that we do not and never did need the BIA to hold it "in
trust" for us, as though we were children or lacked the
intelligence to attend to our own financial affairs.
It is now
clear for all to see that the BIA has squandered and otherwise
illegally used more than a billion dollars of our money and are
completely uncaring and unapologetic. The BIA and federal government
have irrefutably shown that they cannot be trusted with anything of
value that belongs to our people. It is safe to say that, as time
goes by, the BIA's history of squandering the Indigenous
Americans' "trust funds" will continue to repeat
itself until we are left with nothing. It is our prayer that Creator
will open the doors of opportunity that will help us convince the
U.S. government that the "Bureau of 'Indian' Affairs"
should first be made to repay every cent that it has stolen from our
people and then completely restructured into the "Bureau of
Indigenous Affairs," an agency run by Indigenous People
chosen by the First Nations to ensure that the best interests
of the First Nations are consistently upheld.
The Nature of the Gathering
No travel will
be required to participate in this Prayer Gathering, yet people from
around the world will come together as though they were physically in
the same room. It will cost no money to participate, yet the Gathering will fulfill a very important
aspect of Dine'h and other Indigenous American cultures that has been
largely missing from previous support
efforts.
By
definition, the word "gathering" suggests a physical
gathering of people into a central location or a number of
locations. While those who wish to do so are certainly welcome and
encouraged to gather together for these events, a physical gathering
is not necessary. This series of gatherings will be a gathering of a
different sort. These will be gatherings of spirits and prayers.
During prayer, a person's spirit temporarily transcends the physical
plane, touching a higher realm or dimension, one that is unaffected
by time and distance. As the Prayer Gathering gets underway, it is
on that higher plane that our spirits will come together as our
prayers intertwine and rise to Creator's domain, where Creator will
consider our prayers.
The Worldwide Prayer
gatherings will be a gathering of prayer warriors that will encircle Mother Earth.
SENAA asks ALL who are willing from around the world to join with us in
these Prayer Gatherings. Each participant can pray and
do personal ceremony from his or her own home or may feel free to
gather together at a convenient place to participate with a group. Every person is
urged to pray according to his or her own spiritual convictions.
This
will be a gathering of spirits in prayer and ceremony; our spirits
coming together from the four directions. As our spirits unite, our prayers will rise together to
Creator's ears. In the same way that individual strands of silk,
when twisted together, form cords that are virtually unbreakable and
stronger than steel, so our individual prayers, focused on common
goals, will entwine to form an almost irresistible force. Our
requests for Creator to impart his power to our efforts and our
pleas for guidance will become more powerful. They will demonstrate to Creator
that we are in one accord, that we really want his help and
guidance, that we really desire to fulfill Creator's will, that we
are not going to allow the evil of this world to overpower and
destroy the good.
In virtually every
spiritual path that worships Creator, there is one truth that always
comes through. The Christian faith puts Creator's promise this way:
"Whenever two
or more are gathered in my name, there I am in the midst of them."
During this Worldwide Prayer Gathering, our spirits will unite in
prayer from around the world, forming a prayer circle that will embrace our
Mother Earth. As we come together spiritually in Creator's name, he will be
among us, covering Mother Earth with his presence. Let us claim Creator's
promise. This is a powerful
time for us all. If we do not use this time to its fullest
advantage, then all that are evil in this world will certainly use
it to our detriment.
