10/10/2022

My Dear Friend & POTUS, JRB,

            Given your proclamation that today is “Indigenous People’s Day,” I am surprised that you are not having some kind of event at the WH to recognize our debt to our brethren who were here first? It’s not too late to invite Deb Haaland over & you can make some noise about Nicole Mann, of the Round Valley Indian Tribe, 1st Native American NASA Astronaut, who is off to lead a mission of the Int'l Space Sta.

You could also use the occasion to announce your Exec Order that Mount Evans in CO be renamed, Mount Blue Sky. I hope you’ve heard about the 250-mile walk, sponsored by Ancestral Healing Circle, to draw attention to the effort for the name change. The Arapaho, Lakota and Cheyenne nations object to the having a Mountain named for one of the men behind the 1864 Sand Creek Massacre where 200+ Indigenous people were killed in the camp they built in anticipation of peace talks with the army.

            Have you read the book, “As Long As Grass Grows: The Indigenous Fight for Environmental Justice from Colonization to Standing Rock.” My friend, Tom Cook, recommends it. After reading it, he noted “Indigenous respect for, and stewardship of, existing ecosystems may be an overlooked opportunity” to learn how to combat climate change. If Sec Haaland comes over, perhaps the two of you could take a tour of the WH grounds & ponder how the Piscataway & Nacotchtanks would treat the land. You might get some ideas from this contemplation.

            Speaking of contemplation, I am grateful that many in Yangon were able to celebrate the Thadingyut Festival by going to the Shwedagon Temple, yesterday. They were spending the full moon of October celebrating the Buddha's descent from the heaven. From what I can tell, the junta stayed out of it, so the people had a moment of peace. Yeah.

            BYBS,