General > Research Needed
"Native American Church" Strawberry Plains TN, Jerry Dills AKA Peshewa
clearwater:
--- Quote from: Kevin on April 09, 2009, 04:49:33 pm ---"Dr. PeSheWa, Shawnee, is a Priest in the Ne'ishte' Kiva and in the Native American Church. He currently is working on the establishment of Sacred Ground. Nine years ago on a piece of land on Interstate 40 near Knoxville, he set the first Totem. Now there are four totems; the base for the first indigenous memorial (220 feet long); a community center, complete with restaurant; an art gallery; a gift shop; a 55 foot medicine wheel; and a 1000 foot red path.
--- End quote ---
This really is a riot, and is a perfect example of Dills' self promotion based on bullshit.
Dills' "sacred ground" is a 7 acre plot on I-40 with a cinder block building. The totems were mostly carved by Cherokee artist Roger Crowe (deceased) who was driven out of the church by Dills when they had a disagreement. The place looks like a run down trailer park.
You can visit Dills' "sacred ground" yourself. You can see it off I-40 near Knoxville, at about the 400 mile marker. To visit the grounds, from Knoxville take exit 398, turn left onto Strawberry Plains Pike (turn right if you're going into Knoxville), go less than 1 mile past all the gas stations and food joints. Turn right onto Wooddale Church Road. You will soon see and be driving beside I-40. Turn right onto McMillan Road, which goes back over the interstate. The entrance to the "sacred site" is to the left, a few hundred feet once you've gone over the interstate. Take a good look and see how it compares to the hyped bullshit from Dills' descriptions.
Here is google map imagery of the site:
Google Map of NAC "sacred ground"
Here are some really great arial views of the "sacred grounds" right on I-40:
Sacred Grounds View 1 Sacred Grounds View 2 Sacred Grounds View 3 Sacred Grounds View 4
It's kind of hard to see where "a community center, complete with restaurant, an art gallery, a gift shop" might be located on this property... I suppose you don't need any parking when you're running this type of operation.
Dills lives about 1/2 mile from the "sacred site." Dills and the "sacred site" are actually located in Knoxville, TN. His mailing address and phone are in Strawberry Plains but he physically is in Knox County.
clearwater:
Wow... this just gets better and better.
It appears that the Native Americas University and the Neishte Kiva (also Dills) are one in the same. Take a look at this:
http://www.nativeamericanchurch.com/Research.html
Kind of figures. And take a look at this. Here is an example of both very outdated materials, and self-promotion at the same time. This list of folks being "thanked" by the Native American Church, are a list of folks from the mid 1980s, evidenced by the fact that several of the senators and congressmen being thanked are no longer in office for many years. In fact, several folks on the thank you list have been deceased for many over a decade (Fritz Niggler, Congressman John Duncan Sr., and Sen Strom Thurmond are dead. Others on the list may be dead too, the list is that old). And, scroll down to the bottom of this "thank you" list, and you will see Dills thanking his own corporations:
http://www.nativeamericanchurch.com/thanks.html
Good grief. I've said enough. Maybe these posts will be read by someone who understands the high level of bullshit in play here.
E.P. Grondine:
--- Quote from: clearwater on January 04, 2010, 09:24:16 pm ---Jerry Dills goes by several names, including Macaki Peshewa, and another name Neishte. They are all the same person. Dills administers peyote ceremonies in his home in Strawberry Plains, TN without a valid DEA permit. He claims affiliation with the United Remnant Band of Shawnee based in Ohio, where a priest there ("Chief Hawk Pope") did have a peyote permit. Dills does not have a permit and uses this borrowed permit to have peyote delivered to his home. He has, for several decades, administered peyote to young college students (including myself) who he taps into to become "Indian" enough to work for him for free. However, he has no standing to do this, hiding behind his "priesthood" and "Indian" in general and wowing starry-eyed wannabes with peyote trips using a borrowed permit.
--- End quote ---
As Jerry Pope [AKA "Chief Hawk Pope"] does not have a raptor feather permit, it is hard to imagine that he has a legitimate peyote permit.
Hmmm, I did not know peyote permits could be "lent".
clearwater:
--- Quote from: E.P. Grondine on January 06, 2010, 04:30:57 am ---As Jerry Pope [AKA "Chief Hawk Pope"] does not have a raptor feather permit, it is hard to imagine that he has a legitimate peyote permit.
Hmmm, I did not know peyote permits could be "lent".
--- End quote ---
I am relaying what Dills told me as best I can remember after 20-30 years. Dills did not have his own permit, I do know that for sure. It was my understanding that Hawk Pope (or someone associated with Pope) had a permit which is what Dills used, whether by permission or not. It's possible that someone else associated with the United Remnant Band of Shawnee had a permit. For sure the permit was somehow tied to that group as I recall. It is my memory that it was Pope who carried the permit but I never met Pope, only heard about him from Dills, who was a member of Pope's group. It is also my understanding, according to Dills, that Pope also administered peyote in ceremonies. I do not know if that is true; I do know that is what Dills told me.
Peyote was delivered to Dills' home on numerous occasions over the years via UPS and he was required to sign some federal papers to receive. I was standing at the UPS truck several times this happened and saw Dills sign the papers to receive the peyote. It's possible Dills signed someone else's name to the papers. He often did that. As I recall, the peyote came from Texas.
Of course peyote permits cannot be lent. That's just common sense. But they are lent. You would think this would be a violation of federal law, yes? Who checks this stuff? Who controls it? I am accurately conveying here that Dills received and administered peyote without having his own permit and did so for many years. The medicine bag he wears contains peyote. Given that his websites currently promote peyote (he has a lot of information posted on his site about peyote and its use) it's not a stretch to think he is still doing this.
For clarity, I am not Indian. I am white. I met Dills when I was 18 and pretty stupid, and moved into his house about a year or so later. I voluntarily departed Dills' group about 8+ years later. I'm now 49. I can also state that, with the exception of Roger Crowe, that no other Indians ever participated in the ceremonies I was part of, unless you consider Dills to be Indian. All the participants were white.
Dills actively promotes peyote and solicits followers. It would be easy for someone to show up at his doorstep and find out for themselves. Go take a look. Don't take my word for it. Go to Knoxville and visit Dills. I can provide the address of his house. See for yourself. Form your own conclusions.
And as I originally stated in my first post, I will make myself available by phone (preferred) or email to anyone who wishes to contact me (but only if you identify yourself). Otherwise, I have made my statement and I stand by it, and have nothing further to add. It is possible to pick apart anything. Have at it. Enjoy yourself. This does not diminish the matters I have shared here. Go find out. It's there to be found out.
ten-skey:
MORE coverage of Jerry " Hawk " / "Tukemas" Pope's United Remant Band SHAWNEE GROUPS Can be found on Woodlandindians .org forum column " tribe " wants Ohio mound protected from wind farm. Ten-skey
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