This video plays fast and loose with the facts. For example, No. 20 states that the Na tree, or Ceylon Ironwood, was the tree under which THE Buddha attained enlightenment. That is completely wrong and an egregious error because the actual tree under which Siddhartha the Buddha Gautama awakened under a tree that lives on the island, known as the Bodhi tree -- at least a cutting of the original tree from Bihar (proto-India). That tree is destroyed, but its direct ancestor lives on: Mesua ferrea.
Four earlier buddhas had as their enlightenment tree the Na tree, but not THE Buddha, the Buddha of our time, the historical Shakyamuni. Visiting his tree is a tree because it is enormous and hallowed and the oldest historically attested tree in the world: Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi Tree
The Mystery of Nan Madol: An Ancient Human-Made Island Built with Unexplained Technology
(Dark5 Ancient Mysteries) July 14, 2023. This is the mysterious megalithic city of Nan Madol. Located off the coast of Pohnpei Island in the Western Pacific Ocean, the dark, colossal basalt pillars of its ancient artificial islands rise from an emerald sea.
Its remnants, an intricate labyrinth of enormous stones and waterways, capture stories of an ancient civilization lost in the tides of time.
This architectural marvel poses a confounding puzzle: How were these stone blocks, some weighing up to 50 tons, transported here off the coast amidst the crashing waves and coral reefs?
Considered to be inhabited by spirits according to local folklore, Nan Madol is rife with legends of sorcerers and flying dragons. This mysterious city, once the ceremonial and political hub of the Saudeleur Dynasty, now sits deserted, with few clues as to the fate of its inhabitants.
Who built this island marvel, and what secrets do its ruins tell?
Young Entertainment Activists, 6/23/22; Dhr. Seven, Xochitl, Crystal Q. (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
We Are The Land: A Call to Action from Tongva Leaders
(Young Entertainment Activists) Tongva artists and elders share their ancestral practices and vision for the paradigm shifts needed to support environmentally and socially just systems to sustain a thriving planet for all. In partnership with the Sacred Places Institute and the Gabrielino Tongva Springs Foundation. Directed by:
Jay Lamars. #HollywoodClimateSummit
Featuring the voices of:
Tina Calderon (Gabrielino Tongva, Chumash, and Yoeme), Jessa Calderon (Tongva, Chumash, Yoeme)
Miztlayolxochitl Aguilera (Tongva), Samantha Johnson (Tongva), Robert Ramirez (Tongva), Isaac Ybarra (Tongva, Chumash), and Alexandria Ybarra (Tongva, Chumash)
With the successful and historical displacement of "Columbus Day" in Los Angeles and the establishment of Indigenous People's Day in its place, we are celebrating.
San Gabriel Mission: concentration camp for Tongva-Kizh-Gabrieleno tribe of Los Angeles (California Mexicana: Missions to Murals 1820-1930, Ferdinand Deppe, Laguna Art Museum)
Fowler Museum, old Spanish style (UCLA)
From now on until perpetuity (or the next LA City Council meeting) the second Monday of October represents a victory for indigenous people and everyone else in Los Angeles.
Join us at our greatest public university (USC is private) for a gathering to honor the work of city representatives and the community coalition members that made this historic success possible.
Attendees are welcome to enjoy Fowler Museum exhibitions (FREE) during this celebration event. The Fowler explores global arts and cultures with an emphasis on works from the Americas, the Pacific, Asia, and Africa -- past and present. Learn more about the open exhibits at fowler.ucla.edu.
Historic L.A. vote against Columbus
(The One and Only Power, Aug. 25, 2017) Replacing Columbus Day with Indigenous People's Day at L.A. City Hall. To support TOAOP's ability to continue to bring these stories, consider donating to her at paypal.me/TheOneAndOnlyPo...
Wisdom Quarterly stormed Los Angeles City Hall, the whole editorial crew, with hundreds of Angeleno supporters dressed in regalia, many cameras and livestreaming cell phones. And we did it!
After a passionate speech by Italian-American LA Councilmember Mike Bonin saying that even he agreed Christopher Columbus was no one to honor (even as we well honor so many contributions by our Italian-American community).
LA City Council's Mike Bonin
LA Councilmember Mitch O'Farrell, who proposed this change to begin with, then spoke with the facts and a stack of support letters from various other groups supporting the move to denounce Columbus and honor the indigenous population.
Then came the vote. Seeing through the whitewash, ploys, and diversions (like creating a "[Generic] Diversity Day"), another Italian-American Councilmember JoeBusciano tried to get August 9th to be declared Indigenous Peoples Day.
O'Farrell, Bonin, et al. did a good thing.
Well, isn't that a good compromise? No! It would preserve the idolatrous worship of Columbus and the lie that he did all this for whites and did not do all that to reds and others, such crimes against humanity as: mass rape, mass enslavement, mass murder, ethnic cleansing, European hegemony, mass spreading of deadly diseases, mass theft, and imperialism. Then success:
LA Native dancer (Warrick Page/Getty)
The final vote had only only one no to throw out Columbus and put Indigenous Peoples Day in it place. The vote was unanimous minus one with holdout Joe B. All the yeses won the day. Then came the real surprise. We ran out to the west-facing steps where all the overflow crowd of tribe members and supporters were dancing to Aztec drums, after moving from the south lawn where we once had our Occupy encampment, and we did the honors:
Wisdom Quarterly announced the results to whoops and screams, yells and clapping -- "They just voted inside, and we won! Los Angeles now has an Indigenous Peoples Day!" Exhausted dancers started to scream in disbelief and ask other visitors pouring out of chambers. Was no one else going to announce it to them?
The same thing happened during the recent eclipse when no one else called out to the sea of people at Caltech to tell them we were at maximum. So we had to do it. There were hugs, tears, and everyone was eating a catered spread of Mexican food, tea, and bottled water.
The Los Angeles City Council will vote today on whether to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day.
As reported by City News Service, the move was proposed by Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell in November 2015. O’Farrell said that “recognizing the contributions, history, and sacrifices made by the original inhabitants of the Los Angeles area is long overdue.” More
Worshipping
false idols: A 76-foot statue of exploiter Christopher Columbus stands
in Columbus Circle on August 23, 2017 in New York City (Spencer
Platt/Getty Images).
.
The controversy over replacing Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day
The Los Angeles City Council will vote today on whether to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day.
As reported by City News Service, the move was proposed by Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell in November 2015. O’Farrell said that “recognizing the contributions, history, and sacrifices made by the original inhabitants of the Los Angeles area is long overdue.”
He also highlighted the historical struggles of Native Americans including “enslavement and brutality [such as rape, murder, quick ethnic cleansing, slow genocide]” as reasons for the change.
Los Angeles Indigenous Peoples Day
Councilmember Joe Buscaino, who is Italian-American, opposed O’Farrell’s motion calling it "divisive."
Buscaino said in October that he would support creating an Indigenous Peoples Day [on August 9th], but not at the expense of another [imperialist, white supremacist mercenary and the Italian] culture [he supposedly represents].
[There was one Italian woman -- not the only pro-Columbus person in the audience -- repeatedly kvetching, griping, and disrupting council procedures every chance she got. There were hundreds of pro-Indigenous Peoples Day advocates also. Finally an LAPD cop assigned to City Hall told her the control herself or be thrown out].
Now let's divest from Wells Fargo, Israel, and the military-industrial complex!
.
But observing a second holiday would cost the city $2 million in overtime [not to mention insult Native Americans and, in essence, replace a provocative "Black Lives Matter" sign with a meaningless "All Lives Matter"].
What do Angelenos [in particular the native Gabrielenos/Tongva/Kizh] think of changing Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples Day? More + AUDIO
GUEST: Stephen Aron, history professor and department chair at UCLA, whose research focuses on the American West and frontiers in North America.
Columbusing means "discovering something that is not
new." Jennie Garth uses colored powder the way the Indian holiday of Holi is celebrated to give LA some "color" (npr.org).
The Worst Slaughter of Indian Peoples in US History: California Marysville and Honey Lake paid whites bounties for scalps.
Shasta City offered $5 for each Indian head brought to City Hall. (L.A. paid 5 cents according to Linda Gonzales below). The California State Treasury reimbursed many of the local
governments for their expenses. There were 150,000 Indians in
California before the 49ers came. By 1870, there were fewer
than 30,000 making it the worst slaughter of Native Americans in US history.
See below for video on what Europeans found
TOVANGAR (Los Angeles), California - This documentary is about the "Tongva," the Native American people and culture that was declared extinct after invasion by Europeans who wanted to make California a faraway colony to increase their riches relative to their European peers.
The title "empire" passed from country to country, the Italians (Romans), Spanish, British, French, Portuguese, Dutch, Russians, Germans, Americans.
After fighting one another to occupy this land, a land of over 100 million "Indians," the First Nations people of North America:
Tongva and other local tribes like the Chumash, Acjachemen, Paiutes, Mexicas, Shoshone, Cherokee, Hopis, Anasazi, and countless others were first displaced then annihilated.
Amazing compilation of photos by Edward S. Curtis from The North American Indian (1907-1930). The Tongva, renamed "Gabrielinos" by invading oppressors, are a California Indian tribe now referred to as "The San Gabriel Band of Mission Indians" (gabrielinotribe.org).
Spanish steal then British-Americans
They were ethnically cleansed. It was the land's first genocide. Thank you, Christian white males, not that anyone would want to stereotype the terrorists, thieves, and war criminals.
The local culture of Tongva that inhabited Southern California, the Los Angeles basin and local islands, actually survived for many years in secret. Many fled to Mexico and returned to their land with their identities washed out of them. Now they were "illegals" and "migrants" in their own land.
Of course, Native Americans did not have a concept of personal ownership of land. But the invaders did -- and they had papers with writing to prove it.
Oh, well, if you have a paper that says you own this land, you must. We would ignore it, but you keep calling your military, militarized civilian police, lawyers, and courts to enforce your fancy documents. Who can trump that?
TONGVA HEADS WANTED: 5 cents each!
(Nauiocelotl) Interview with Tongva elder who remembers hidden history of annihilation of first inhabitants of place we now call L.A. as if the Spanish invaders had been the first people.
Native American Linda Gonzales talks about the Mission Era that decimated the Tongva. The Tongva were the First Nation people of Los Angeles and California.
What Europeans really found in "New" World
(RT video) After Columbusing these shores, Europeans like the Spanish and British decided to rape the land, its inhabitants, then slaughter and bury the corpses and memories of all who had been her and what they built. Finally, the truth is being exposed:
Incursion is invasion with the intent of altering the culture of the invaded to conform to the culture of the invaders.
The first contrast is that of exposure. The majority of the California Indians in their tribal nations lived in relative isolation.
So Europe, and Spain in particular [followed by a British-American invasion], did not meet with a single group of people. They met with a multiplicity of “linguistic nations.” Each linguistic nation was made up of tribal communities rather than centralized nations.
"Insurgents" - anyone the U.S. dislikes (WQ).
[United we would have stood; instead, divided we fell.] Each had its own center of power. Each fiercely defended its independence and autonomy from other tribes.
The second contrast is that of worldview. Natural barriers kept many tribal nations relatively independent and isolated. It prevented the forming of large alliances and political entities with powerful leaders to unify vast numbers of people.
California’s Native communities never envisioned a world of European conquest or foreign domination.
The world of the Tongva was “the world to the Tongva.” The idea of invading and conquering others was foreign to the Tongva as it was to all of California’s tribal First Nations. More
The world's largest and most famous pueblo: Potala Palace, Lhasa, Tibet (Adam Lai/flickr)
Tibet's Potala Palacet under construction? No, this is the side of a Zuni pueblo complex in New Mexico, which serves as home and ceremonial center (Timothy H. O'Sullivan/GEH).
From the Roof of the World to the Land of Enchantment: The Tibet-Pueblo Connection
We look nothing like our brothers and sisters in the USA...except for many obvious signs
“When the iron bird flies, the Dharma will come to the land of the red man.”
-Ninth-century prophecy by Guru Rinpoche
They look nothing like us (Elk Foot)
In the incongruous atmosphere of the Wilshire Hotel in Los Angeles, an extraordinary encounter took place in 1979. During the Dalai Lama’s first visit to North America, he met with three Hopi elders.
The spiritual leaders spoke in their native languages. Delegation head Grandfather David’s first words to the Dalai Lama were: “Welcome home.”
The Dalai Lama laughed, noting the striking resemblance of the turquoise around Grandfather David’s neck to that of his homeland. He replied: “And where did you get your turquoise?”
Hopi Kachina artifacts (scpr.org)
Since that initial meeting, the Dalai Lama has visited Santa Fe to meet with Pueblo leaders, Tibetan lamas have engaged in numerous dialogues with Hopis and other Southwestern Indians, and now, through a special resettlement program to bring Tibetan refugees to the United States, New Mexico has become a central home for relocated Tibetan families.
As exchanges become increasingly common between Native Americans and Tibetans, a sense of kinship and solidarity has developed between the cultures. While displacement and invasion have forced Tibetans to reach out to the global community in search of allies, the Hopi and other Southwestern Native Americans have sought an audience for their message of world peace and harmony with the Earth.
Thangka of Six Realms of 31 in the Wheel of Samsara, the cycle of rebirth and death
Vajrayana, Hopi? There's a relation (wn.com)
These encounters have created a context for the activities of writers and activists who are trying to bridge the two cultures. A flurry of books and articles have been published, arguing that Tibetans and Native Americans may share a common ancestry.
The perception of similarity between Native Americans of the southwest and the Tibetans is undeniably striking. Beyond a common physicality and the wearing of turquoise jewelry, parallels include the abundant use of silver and coral, the colors and patterns of textiles, and long, braided hair, sometimes decorated, worn by both men and women.
When William Pacheco, a Pueblo student, visited a Tibetan refugee camp in India, people often spoke Tibetan to him, assuming that he was one of them. “Tibetans and Native American Pueblo people share a fondness for chile, though Tibetans claim Pueblo chile is too mild,” says Pacheco.
Even before most Westerners knew where Tibet was, much less the extent of its people’s suffering, and almost 20 years before the advent of the Tibetan diaspora, cultural affinities between these two people were noted by Frank Waters in his landmark work Book of the Hopi (1963).
Waters’ analysis went below the surface, citing corresponding systems of chakras, or [subtle] energy spots [wheels] within the body meridians, that were used to cultivate cosmic awareness.
Native American dancers, New Mexico
In The Masked Gods, a book about Pueblo and Navajo ceremonialism published in 1950, Waters observed that the Zuni Shalako dance symbolically mirrored the Tibetan journey of the dead.
Many Earth-based cultures steeped in a shamanic tradition share spiritual motifs (hence the broad comparison made by Waters).
This could account for some similarities, such as Navajo and Tibetan sand painting, and cosmic themes found in Tibetan and traditional Pueblo dances.More
On Saturday, Dec. 31, 2011, Against the Stream Buddhism Meditation Society will host two (east and west) "intention setting" ceremonial meditations closing out 2011 and welcoming the last year of life on Earth as we know it, 2012. Author and founder Noah Levine and other teachers will be in attendance at both Dharma Punx celebrations.
Join in the annual event. Each New Year's Eve a large group gathers to set intentions for the coming year and to re-commit to our spiritual practices. There will be an opportunity to go to the three Buddhist guides (Tri-Sarana), often mistakenly called "refuges," and to undertake Buddhism's Five Precepts anew.
This year is special because the ceremony will be offered at both Los Angeles centers. ALL are welcome regardless of spiritual or religious beliefs. Suggested donation of $20 is requested but no one will be turned away for lack of funds.
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