traditional knowledge conference 2008 te tatau pounamu

Harvesting Peace from a Field of ConflictPatricio DominguezPiro Manso Tiwa, Pueblo de Las Cruces, New MexicoPresident, Native Earth Bio-Culture CouncilBoard of Directors of the Institute of Natural and Traditional KnowledgeAdvisory Committee of the International Indigenous CoalitionMy name is Patricio Dominguez and my tribal affiliation is Piro Manso Tiwa. If you want to knowmore about me just punch in Patricio Dominguez in Google. None of that is really going to tell youanything about Patricio Dominguez. What I am going to do is to let you know a little bit about PatricioDominguez that only a few people have ever really come to know.[Patricio plays his flute.]That was a very personal song. That is not a tribal song. That is not an ethnic song. It is my ownpersonal song. It says a lot about me. That is the sound of me pursuing, chasing notes through thecanyons of my spirit. It gives you an idea of what is really going on inside and some idea of myparticular temperament, which is something you do not ever get to see about another human beingbecause all you ever get to hear is their mind, the words they use, which is a part of the culture and theclimate in which they have grown up and the particular type of education they have had. But, in thisway, you get to see a glimpse of the spirit because music has no words. It is pure sound and the way thetones are strung together gives an indication of what that person is thinking and really believes in.I want to thank my associate, Flordemayo, for giving me the opportunity to do this presentation.Originally, she was scheduled to do the presentation because she is one of the 13 IndigenousGrandmothers. These Grandmothers came together last year, or maybe it is two years now, almost byprophecy. A hundred years or so ago there was a medicine woman in Alaska who had a vision. In thisvision, she saw 13 women that were going to come together in the future to do a very great deed in theworld. They were going to be advocates for peace and advocates for prayer. After she had this vision,this woman made 13 medicine bundles. In the old traditional way, she put them away. When herdaughter was born she told her, as a very young lady: “Daughter, when you are older you are going tohave a daughter. And when your daughter is an old woman, 13 women are going to come together andeach one of these women, and this is going to include your daughter, is going to get one of thesebundles. I am going to keep them and then when you are old enough, and before I die, I will turn thesebundles over to you. But, before you die it is your responsibility to pass these bundles onto yourdaughter who will finally give them to the 13 women.”Over time the grandmother and mother die. The granddaughter/daughter, Rita Pitka grows up, shelives a full life and she continues to hold on to these 13 bundles. A meeting of medicine women iscalled in New York City and medicine women from all over the world respond. They come from Tibet,they come from South America, none came from China, but they come from Africa, they come fromCentral America, they come from the United States. It was supposed to be a conference abouttraditional healing for women. Exactly 13 women showed up. Rita Pitka thought about it for a long time;she had a very deep decision to make. But after the women came together, she tells a story of how hergrandmother had had this vision and how it was prophesized. She goes on to explain how she has amedicine bundle for each of these women. So, after they have a good, I imagine, emotional experienceabout this, the bundles are finally handed out and the 13 Indigenous Grandmothers were formed.The 13 Indigenous Grandmothers now are bigger than the Rolling Stones. They are huge; they arein demand all over the world. They go to conferences with anybody and everybody who will talk peace.They have met with the Dalai Lama; they are going to talk to the Pope. Hopefully, in this mission thatthey have with the Pope, something very monumental is going to happen. They are going to ask thePope to rescind the Papal Bull. When the Spanish discovered the New World they went to the Pope and53