The Prize Blog is giving away a 2gig memory stick (quite literally), by entering their contest and emailing them to let them know you entered.

Consider this my entry! I can see me now at the Druid’s Grove with my little memory stick

I haven’t done much research on the subject, but if the worst-case scenario is true, you can believe I’ve no interest (not that I had much in the first place) in the Olympics from this day forward.

“..folks are getting kicked off their land so the government can build “olympic objects” (read fancy hotels). This is merely a small step in a Russia’s longterm policy to eradicate Native peoples. Among the local ethnic groups are the Circassians, who were mostly driven out of the Sochi area 150 years ago or so. Here is a report about a new set of laws just passed in the Russian Parliament (Duma).”

A translation of this article: http://top.rbc.ru/society/16/10/2007/122597.shtml

Another nail in the coffin for the Circassians

Duma is clearing the way for a law which allows confiscating land for building olympic objects. The bill “amending laws regarding organizing and holding the olympics in Sochi, etc” stops the possibility of choices for owners of land, regarding money compensation or land exchange. The document examines changes to 9 laws, including sports, advertising, competition, entry into and exit from Russia, the rights of foreigners in Russia, migration status for foreign citizens or people without citizenship, taxes, land and residence laws.

..the amendments apply to special advertising and trade activities during the games, clarifying rules about olympic participants entering and leaving the country. the amnedments will give special “security” powers to the president [oops they’ll have to change that to Prime Minister - tr] during the games, including special controlled areas, limiting who is allowed in, and means of transport, as well as entertainment [publichnikh?] during the games.

..as explained by vice PM Zhukov, there will be a special system of registration for workers involved in building olympic objects. advertising law will completely change regarding illegal use of olympic symbols, government pricing on tickets and hotel rooms during the games the domestic and international olympic committees will be free from paying tax on property, profit and means of transport and VAT.

The bill passed unanimously - 309 representatives.

Naturally, you can learn more: http://olympicgenocide.org/

I’m about to go out and help my dad kill rabbits, though I am still feeling relaxingly sluggish from yesterday’s Sweat. We have a total of 50 to kill, but we’ll probably only get half of them done today. We have a few that are sold already, and I have some stews I want to make. We sell them for $6 each (whole rabbit, already cut up).

It looks like my father and I will be celebrating Thanksgiving alone again this year. Which is fine, we’ve done it before. I had invited my cousin and her boyfriend up but she never got back to me, and it looks like she’s made plans. I felt bad for her because a lot of the family has disowned her because she’s dating a black man, and I wanted her to know that my father and I don’t care, and support her and her decisions. Hell her last boyfriend was white and used to beat her up. This one treats her golden. WHAT’S THE PROBLEM.

Actually one Aunt even said she doesn’t talk to her anymore because she wants to “raise her children right.” I only pray that one of her daughters marries a black man that treats her golden too.

Back on track, I love thanksgiving food. My father and I keep saying we should make turkey on a day other than thanksgiving or christmas, but we never do. So I told him I want a turkey on my birthday next year.

Like my friend Anna, I’m torn about thanksgiving as well. But to be honest, I don’t celebrate thanksgiving for the traditional meaning behind it. And though it still encourages the commercialized and consumerized version of thanksgiving, I hope to at least open other peoples eyes about what it is that they are doing. It shouldn’t just be something to “do”.

I don’t celebrate the genocide of almost an entire race. A race that ironically were the ones that supplied the food to the “first thanksgiving”, as the pilgrim settlers were dying off and had very little. I also don’t celebrate the mass slaughter of factory tortured turkey’s. Which is why every year we buy from a local farmer (usually my uncle). And I’m trying to convince my dad that there is a market for local home-grown organic turkey’s, and if we just raise..5 of them every year, we could sell the rest and have turkey for ourselves.

But I celebrate to give honor to my ancestors, all of my ancestors, not just my Cherokee ones. Especially this year, given how much I’ve discovered about my family. I give thanks for my father, and our little home here. Sometimes it may not seem like we have much, and it gets so frustrating being poor. But we are happy, and my finances are stable. I give thanks for my Grove, that brought me to my best friends, and all the people from ADF that I talk to semi-regularly. Some of which I admire more than they know.

I guess just being grateful in general for the life I have been given, the path I am following, and the people I have met. For they all contribute to who I am.

Course I’m also of the mind that you should be grateful for these things all year, and make excuses to get together and celebrate with good food on other days, not just Thanksgiving.

I participated in my first Sweatlodge today. I almost didn’t go because I was feeling so crappy yesterday, but I decided to up and do it anyway.

It took about an hour to get down to West Virginia. I never get down there much, and love it every time I drive through it. Driving over the Potomac River took my breath away, seeing the small mountains and the water spilling over the rocks. It was truly amazing.

I arrived early and hung out with two of the gentlemen that were setting up the space. No one else showed up for at least another hour/hour and a half.

The location is owned by some sort of company, like a lodge of sorts. They allow a section of the land to be used regularly for Native ceremonies.

The ceremony itself was very powerful, and very fucking hot. I had an idea of what to expect, but I certainly wasn’t expecting the heat to be as extreme as it was.

When we first gathered around in the lodge, they brought some of the stones in that were heated in the fire. It was nice feeling the heat contrasting against the cold earth. Then the flap was closed and you REALLY started feeling the heat, to the point of it becoming almost unbearable. When he started throwing water over the rocks, then it became painful. But suffering is a part of the ceremony, so I did what I could to breath through it. A couple times I covered my face with my towel, I smeared mud on my face to keep my skin from frying off (or so it felt like), and for the first 5 minutes I kept my face low to the ground in the cool air.

I guess the only comparison I have, is because I grew up with a woodstove, when you put the wood into an already lit stove and your face is so close to the fire. It’s a lot more intense than that, but that type of extreme heat is very similar.

Once more water was poured over the stones and the air was more moisturized, I could sit up in prayer a lot easier. The amount of sweat from just sitting there was very relaxing and cleansing. You’re completely covered and soaked, you can hear everyone breathing heavy in the darkness, and the only thing you can see is the glowing red of the stones, and even that is temporary. They burned sweetgrass, sweet pine, sage, and a mix of other things throughout the ceremony, though some of it was a bit much mixed with the heat as far as breathing goes.

There were four rounds to the Sweatlodge. They opened the flap four times and spoke of all things spiritual while it was open. The first round of sweating we did songs. The second round we did prayers. The third round we passed around the peace pipe while the flap was open, and the fourth round was the most intense heat and chanting.

When they do the repetitive pouring of water over the stones is when it is the worst. If your skin even moves it’s painful until he stops, and you have to put your head to the ground or you could pass out from how crazy hot it gets.

Afterwards we laid out on the cool grass, and I watched steam coming off of everyone. We dried ourselves and gathered some water and food to nourish our bodies and talked. The people there were very friendly, and I felt like a piece of the community, not as a stranger.

There were 3 other new folks that came to the lodge, but I was the only one that stayed in the entire time.

They all asked me to come back again, and I’d certainly like to. I don’t know how they do this in the summer months though, I think I will have to pass on those. But this was a very purifying experience, and one I intend to make a regular part of my spiritual journey.

Side note: Hair does not like heat.

My father has been putting off getting a pair of prescription glasses. They make him see perfectly, and he gets frustrated buying the cheap “off the shelf” glasses in order to see half-assed. They’ll cost about $250, and I’m hesitant simply because he’s always dropping, scratching, or losing the glasses he has now.

We also need about..$150 worth of tractor parts to get it in working order for plowing driveways come winter time for a little extra winter cash for my dad.

I saved up over $600 for the holidays, $200 of which will go to my father to buy his gifts with, since he can’t afford to do that on his own (the other $400 is split between him, my sister, and my sweetheart). Most of the gifts will be for me, which I honestly don’t need. But I know he’d feel bad if come Christmas morning we woke up, and only he was opening presents. So I feel like I have to sacrifice allowing him to give me gifts, which just feels….weird to be honest.

I mostly put small things on a list for him, nothing overly complicated because he needs to be able to access them easily. Some DVD’s like HP4, Stardust, Pathfinder, a throwing axe, some mittens that have the top that comes off to reveal the fingers, etc.

But I’ve come so far in my financial mindset over the last 2 years, the idea of comparing unneeded gifts for me to necessities like my fathers eyeglasses, just seems ludicrous. The only reason I’d even allow it is because I don’t want my father to feel less about himself because he can’t afford to give anyone a single gift.

The money really could go to better use. But even if I don’t spend it on the necessities now, I can get the necessities later.

It just feels like a tug-o-war in my brain.

Saturday I had some folks over for a fall cook-out and some drumming. I had a great time, and this was the first time my father was able to hear me drum. All my friends kept bragging me up (I don’t know why though, I honestly know jack about the theory of drumming), so he sat out there around the fire and listened to the drumming. At one point he actually got into trance mode and almost fell asleep, till Caryn came up to him and told him how soothing it was and that’s why we drum.

My father enjoyed it so much he said we should do something like this monthly. Maybe. Definitely when I buy my land.

Sunday we set up a large 500+ pound ancestors stone in our sanctuary at the Grove (pictures forthcoming when I pull them off my camera).

Next weekend I’m attending my first Sweat Lodge and helping plan the Norse Yule Rite we’ll be doing next month at CLG.

Elections getting closer and closer.