The following statement was made by David Monongye, a religious leader of Hotevilla, to a gathering of Hopi and Bahanna friends. It was made on September 6, 1976, the 70th anniversary of the village, and the day of Danielle Rania Rourke's birth.
" First of all, as you come here to my village of Hotevilla, I wish to welcome each one of you. At this time we are celebrating a time in our history which is both filled with joy and with sadness. I am very glad that you have come to share these feelings with us.
We are now faced with great problems not only here, but throughout the land. Ancient cultures are being annihilated; the people's lands are being taken from them, leaving them no place to call their own. Why is this happening? It is happening because many people have given up their teachings and the Way of Life which the Great Spirit has given to all people. It is because of the sickness called greed, which infects every land, that simple people are losing what they have kept for thousands of years.
Here at home, it is the so-called Hopi Tribal Council which is stealing our land and life. We Hopis are a Sovereign Nation. We have never signed a treaty with the U.S. Government, or with any government. Yet the so-called Tribal Council has let the U.S. run over them and push them around. Now they, the so called Tribal Council, push around their own people as if they have some kind of authority. But they do not have authority over Hopis. Hopis have their own authority and their own leaders who watch over all the people like a mother and father. But the so-called Tribal Council will not admit that this is so. Yet if it was not so, how else would we be able to still be alive today? We have managed for thousands of years to survive, without wars, without laws, and without outside authority telling us how to live our own lives.
Now we are at the very end of our trail. Many people no longer recognize the True Path of the Great Spirit. They have, in fact, no respect for the Great Spirit or for our precious Mother Earth, who gives us all life. We are instructed in our ancient Prophecy that this would occur. We were told that someone would try to go up to the moon; that they would bring something back from the moon; and that after that, Nature would show signs of losing its balance. Now we see that coming about. All over the world there are now many signs that Nature is close to losing its balance. Floods, droughts, earthquakes, and great storms are occurring and causing much suffering.
We do not want this to occur in our country and we pray to the Great Spirit to save us from such things. But there are now signs that this very same thing might happen very soon on our own land.
Now we must look upon each other as brothers and sisters. There is no more time for divisions between people. Today I call upon all of us, from right here at home where we are guilty of gossiping and causing divisions even among our own families; and reaching out into the entire world where thievery, war and lying goes on every day to recognize that these divisions will not be our salvation.
Only by joining together with love in our hearts for one another and for the Great Spirit, shall we be saved from the terrible Purification Day which is just ahead.
Those of you who have come here today are honest people. I know you, each one of you, and I know that you have good hearts. But good hearts are not enough to solve these great problems. In the past, some of you have tried to help us Hopis, and we will always be thankful for your effort. But now we need your help in the worst way. We want the people of this country to know the truth of our situation. This land which you people call the Land of Freedom has just celebrated its 200th anniversary. Yet in 200 years the original Americans have not seen a free day. We are now suffering the final insult. Our people are now losing the one thing which gives life and meaning to life: our land, which is being taken away from us.
I ask you this: Where is this freedom which you all fight for and sacrifice your children for? Is it only the Indian people who have lost it, or are all Americans losing the very thing which you originally came here to find? Listen to us: We have no freedom of religion because others come to our homes and tell us that our religion is no good; that we should take theirs instead.
We don't share the freedom of the press because the only thing that gets into the papers is what the government wants people to believe, not what is really happening.
We have no freedom of speech, because we are persecuted by our own people for speaking our beliefs.
So you have come here to help. I hope and pray that your help will come. If you have a way to spread the truth through the newspapers, radio, books, or through meetings with powerful people, tell the truth! Tell them what you have seen here; what you have heard us say; what you have seen here with your own eyes. In this way, if we do fall, let it be said that we at least tried, right up to the end, to hold fast to the Path of Peace as we were originally instructed to do by the Great Spirit.
And should you really succeed, we will all face up to our mistakes of the past and return to the True Path; living in harmony as brothers and sisters, sharing our Mother, the Earth, with all other living things. In this way we could bring about a New World. A world which would be led by the Great Spirit and our Mother could provide plenty and happiness for us all.
God bless you, each one. May the Great Spirit guide you safely home and give you something important to do in this great work which lies ahead of us all."
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