Author Topic: Mike O'brien AKA Michael Two Feathers  (Read 62502 times)

Offline Smart Mule

  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Posts: 1074
Re: Michael Two Feathers
« Reply #15 on: September 10, 2011, 05:49:41 pm »
I have a copy of their business entity detail for Wichhozanni Village from the California Secretary of State.  I do not want to post it because it lists their home address and running their home address brings up a picture of their home and vehicles (it is not a village, it is a single family home).  There is NO LISTING WITH THE IRS for Wichozanni Village.

At the address provided by the business entity detail there is a listing on various business sites for M Two Feathers Construction or Two Feathers Construction.  The business is not registered though it is possible it is a DBA.

The business entity detail also provided the complete legal name for Wohpe/Deb.  I have yet to find documentation for MTF's legal name. 

Al if you have contact with Deb TF again could you please ask her why she out and out lied about Arvol?

Offline starboy

  • Posts: 10
Re: Michael Two Feathers
« Reply #16 on: September 10, 2011, 06:06:37 pm »
also this section

" 1995 (I believe) Sundance ceremony had ended and most folks were already on their way home from camp.A few of us remained, including Martin.I and another person were standing in the dirt road as the driver of Martin’s motor home began to pull out of camp.Martin had his friend stop the motor home so he could speak with us before leaving.I looked up at Martin and said “If I don’t see you before Martin, I’ll see you here next year.”I can still see his face looking down at me from the window of his motor home as he said these words to me: “I won’t see you next year, I won’t be back. But I want you to be very careful.”

pretty good memory.. hahah.. seeing as i did not happen.. he did not have a motorhome.. for one and u were not there at this time.. also.. he died in 95... we all knew he ws ill... he could not breathe or talk long enough to say these things u say he did.. he was on oxygen ...

".Martin looked down at me very kindly and smiled and said: “Things are going to change, things are going to change everywhere in our ceremonies.I want you to be very careful about the ceremonies you go to.Remember what I have taught you.Ceremonies will pop up all over the place, many people will think they know what needs to be done and they will change things. Little things at first, and then more and more to fit their own needs. There will come a time when it will be very hard to find the truth and true ceremony as spirit instructed.Be careful and stay away from those ceremonies and people.Stay with Michael, he knows these ways and lives them, he has become them and he will keep them for the generations to come, you can trust him. Remember what I have told you, remember what you have learned, help Michael to keep these ways the way spirit has instructed them to be done.”


it is sad that you would lie about this.. it so shows how coached your response is.. to protect michael.. it was pointed out to me by one of the many   former dancers who called me today that he always gets someone else to speak and defend him.. why is that ?

Offline starboy

  • Posts: 10
Re: Michael Two Feathers
« Reply #17 on: September 10, 2011, 07:51:10 pm »
for anyone interested .. i have the complete set of all correspondance between KI KI and John Snider , the BLM and Nemeneh during the process she speaks of.. it clearly shows that her statements protecting him are false. it includes emails between her and mr snider who then represented rep walden of oregon.. he no longer works for him and the reps office states that had no knowledge of any support of this dance... that may suggest with their statement to me that snider did so on his own as they claim to have no knowledge of rep walden ever endorsing this man or this dance.. by her own words and the dates u can discern for yourself the merit of the post in defense of two feathers. and why it was coached .. ty... this is not personal as they suggest.. it is about ceremony and truth.. stick to facts .. those tactics may work elsewhere to keep people in your cult but they will not work here.. ty
« Last Edit: September 11, 2011, 04:20:33 pm by starboy »

Offline Knickers

  • Posts: 1
Re: Michael Two Feathers
« Reply #18 on: September 11, 2011, 12:56:03 am »
Hello Star boy:  I do not claim to have all the answers, nor do I claim to be anyone important, an authority on anything, or be the only one who recalls the historical facts I experienced.  I do not need to use anyone else's lifetime to prove my own validity.  What I posted is exactly what I experienced, not from what anyone else told me, or their version of it.  The historical events as I relayed them are exactly what happened no matter how much you may NOT want them to be or how uncomfortable it makes you.  The information I posted simply is what it is, and I will not "color" it up to make it more or less than what it is. I have to say that your attempt to discredit and add in less than honest information to my post sincerely makes me wonder how much of the other information you have posted has received the same treatment.

You stated that I claimed to be a part of conversations with Godfrey.  I never once stated that I was a part of any conversations with Godfrey, nor did I imply it.  It simply isn't true. I was however at the Pilot Rock dance when Godfrey came out to run the dance with Michael and the several hundred people there can legitimize that Godfrey passed the bundle to Michael for him to continue that ceremony even in Godfrey's absence.   I also made no statements regarding the treatment of anyone in Europe, either the Two Feathers or other people.  I was not there and can not say what happened.

As for your statement regarding "stealing a Lokota Sundance ceremony", the only time in all these years that I heard talk of "taking the Sundance ceremony" it was Charles.  After several years of supporting Michael, it was Charles who began lobbying people to take over the Pilot Rock dance, I was present at the Portland meeting when that lobbying began and again when Charles requested that dancers, helpers, and supporters meet and asked if it could be held at my home.  I did not know at the time the true purpose of that meeting and agreed that my home could be used.  It was at that meeting that Charles made all the plans about how it was going to be done, and when it would happen, and demanded that people play specific roles in his plan to take the dance away from Michael.  Many people were very upset and left because they wanted no part in it.  It was the people who attended those meetings that spoke to Michael about what had been said and the details of how it was to be done by Charles and that is what led up to him being asked to leave.   So tell me... am I speaking to you Charles? or perhaps Kevin? The words you use are identical to Charles words. Is that what started all of this?  The plan didn't work so the next best thing is to discredit Michael?  Did you turn that into a personal vendetta?  I sincerely hope not. I had considered you to be a whole different kind of person than that. 

I also find it interesting that you "Star boy" or whoever you are, now mention having a complete set of all the documents including emails of the work I did regarding the sacred ground status.  As it was Charles who stood before all those people he had called together to plan the over throw of the Pilot Rock dance and demanded that I turn all of those documents over to him I once again ask... is this you Charles who started all of this?.  No one else has the complete information except Charles, and could not make that claim.  Out of respect to who he was I did give him those documents, and I admit I had real concerns about what those documents might be turned into, or how they might be manipulated.

In regards to all of those documents, by all means provide them to any who want to look at them.  Most of those documents are public record, others could only have been gotten directly from me and no other source, since I only gave those documents to Charles, it should be clear why all of this started about Michael and the motive behind it.   There is nothing to hide in them.  In reading them the persons interested will know without a doubt that it was my error that the Maka Oyate name got associated with the Namenha, not Michael's.  It was myself that spoke with the man called Cloudpiler, not Michael.  I made the mistake and I have accepted responsibility for that even though it embarrasses me terribly.  At the time I did not know that associating with the Namenha was not a good thing, I knew very little about them, when I did find out about them I took immediate steps to disasociate them from the work I was doing.  It is true that it came after the BLM posted their information, but I cannot change that.  Some time later I was sent a link showing that they had used the Maka Oyate name without permission and I immediately requested  them to cease.  So by all means put the information out there, it will only serve to validate that it was my error and actions that show the connection between them and the Maka Oyate, not Michael's.  

You should be very careful about your statements regarding John Snyder and congressman Walden.  Once again you have taken information out of context and changed it into something it is not to try to validate your claims.  I still communicate with those individuals and actually spoke with the congressman not long ago about the land and the dance.  For any who view the documents I provided to this man, please note that all documents from congressmen, senators, state officials, BLM, and officials in Washington D.C. are on legitimate letterhead signed by those individuals.  For any other documents that may be provided to you I can not validate that they have not been tampered with or that they are an official and true part of those records.  This was a true concern when they were demanded from me.  

As for your comments regarding Martin not having a motor home in an attempt to discredit me, I can't say that the motor home belonged to Martin.  All I know is that the trailer I and others sometimes cleaned to get ready for his arrival no longer worked for Martin. It was old and falling apart.  I don't know where the motor home came from or who owned it, frankly it was not my business and I never thought to ask.  But he did arrive in camp in a motor home, stayed in it, and left in it.  Why you feel the need to discredit that is beyond me.  As for my conversation with him, it took place whether it makes you uncomfortable or not.  Yes, he was ill, yes he was on oxygen, but that did not stop him from speaking with the people over the loud speaker set up for him, nor did it stop him from speaking with myself, or others in my presence or out of my presence.  Who knew way back then that any of us would ever have to "legitimize" anything that Martin said or did.  Back then life was much simpler, and when there was an issue or conflict they followed his teachings and prayed for one another and lived in quiet.   They were not all puffed up with all this anger all the time.

It is my opinion that I do not need to protect Michael.  I think if Michael needs protecting he is quite capable of dealing with it himself.  If there were something I experienced, saw, or heard him doing/saying that I thought was inappropriate, I would state it, I have nothing to hide.  My experiences over the years and what I related are exactly as they happened and are not a retell of what someone else said to me their experience was.  I notice in your posts that you spend a lot of time stating what "others" supposedly said, but I don't see those "others" saying it.  It would be helpful if you could state what it is that you actually saw, or heard Michael do himself that supports the claim of fraud.

As for allegations of him receiving money, or people gifting money, how many elders are we asking to account for times when they have received money?  How many times have you recieved money for travel to and from ceremony?  for transmission repairs on your car? When did it become terrible for people to gift our elders or to help them out?  I never got the update that said we can no longer gift our people or help them, and if we do they will be called frauds if they accept it.

You seem to focus a lot on Michael's wife.  Truthfully I don't care who her friends were, what she wears, how they met, the details of how they got together, or what she did at pow wow's. If you don't like her simply say that and move on.

I am interested in finding out the truth about why there are these allegations of fraud and if there is any validity in them.  I respectfully requested some clarification from this site on some things, in hopes that I can get beyond the he said/she said part of all of this and understand the truth.  I'm in hopes of being able to get that information.

I also find it interesting that you waited until Red Leaf, and Highhorse had crossed over before making claims that they did not support Michael.  If you have all this knowledge of these terrible things they said then why didn't you voice them when those individuals were still here to respond?  Larry Redleaf and his wife sat in my camp and so did Al Highhorse and talked about what a great dance it was, and how they supported the ceremony and Michael.  It perplexes me to try to figure out why they would continue to come to that ceremony for so many years and speak openly about their feelings and support of Michael, if as YOU claim they did not support him or that ceremony. Larry and Al were both an integral part of those ceremonies, and they were highly respected, honored, and loved by just about everyone.  Also your statement that the Klamath tribe does not recognize Michael is without merit as well.  It was Gerald Skelton, Cultural & Heritage Preservation Director who openly spoke to BLM and other officials stating that Michael was an officially authorized and recognized representative. When you pass those documents out to everyone that information is in that material as well.

In the meantime take a deep breath and try to calm down.  Please don't twist around my lifetime to give validity to your own.  If I have misstated something or find that I was incorrect on something I will certainly take responsibility for it and apologize.  However, at this time, what I have said stands as it is, there is nothing disrespectful intended in any of it.
« Last Edit: September 11, 2011, 01:12:55 am by Knickers »

Offline starboy

  • Posts: 10
Re: Michael Two Feathers
« Reply #19 on: September 11, 2011, 06:44:54 am »
knickers.. rep waldens office confirmed that john snider is not with them.. in anyway shape or form.. skelton is not with the klamath tribe either.. both stated clearly that they did not support michael.. your rambling is just that.. keep talking you say more than i can ever say.. your words reveal much of your intentions and theirs.. as for redleaf it was by his dying request.. hold a pipe in your hands when you speak ..the info i have is a complete list of all info between you and all parties at that time.. sent to me via other dancers who want this all revealed..including emails that talk about the blms stance of not wanting the dance.. sent to me without my asking ... this is not fasthorse or anyone you think that you know.. keep blaming and spreading lies .. stick to facts.. like this one from the state of rhode island.. and the dept of the interior the tribe debbie claim to be a part of is not recognized as a bona fide tribe.. " a registered Non-Profit Organization incorporated in the state of Rhode Island as the Council of Seven / Royal House of Pokanoket / Pokanoket Tribe / Wampanoag ..."

meaning it is recognized as a non profit.. not a tribe.. more lies.. so you should be careful .. deceiving a congressman is unlawful.. deceiving the blm is unlawful.. you have to remember that fasthorse was a principal writer of AIRFA and is well versed in indian law.. and as for the comment of his undermining when you check in with your handlers ask about his telliing the people each year of when fasthorse was going to take the dance back and his agreement of it.. that was what it was all about.. four fours.. the ninth year it was to be returned to tradition.. it is you who need  to calm down and remember things correctly.. your emotions are getting in the way.. i as told that people who are angry want you to see that they are powerful but people who love you want to you to see that YOU are powerful..

if you go to the first post by ingeborg you see where and when this started.. there are many people here and abroad who are revealing this.. so keep spreading gossip and lies to try to diminish  .. those tactics do not work .. any false accusations would be investigated. and the perjurer would be in trouble.. be careful. stick to facts and not the emotional payoff and you will go far.. remember there are more people who are wanting the truth than there are the handful of you trying to keep the lies.. take care ..perhaps michaels two whirlwinds are here..  

also people who are genuine native americans are doing this.. arvol sent word specifically stating that he does not support michael or the dance . godfrey six months ago stated he is glad this is being revealed.. so as all of you are concentrated on gossip and detracting attention things are being done.. so use this time to provide fact filled dialogue and not emotional tirades.. everyone who has dealt with them is used to that method.. the facts on the matter are well laid as stated by the moderator al...an opinion is not fact.... take care
 

« Last Edit: September 11, 2011, 07:14:23 am by starboy »

Offline educatedindian

  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Posts: 4773
Re: Michael Two Feathers
« Reply #20 on: September 12, 2011, 11:59:37 am »

Al if you have contact with Deb TF again could you please ask her why she out and out lied about Arvol?

It's one of many questions she refuses to answer. The only one she has is the admission of no contact with the Brave Buffalo family for several decades, and insisting the Highbear family still endorses them.


Knickers/ Ki ki:

In case you hadn't noticed, the Nemenhah cult still is affiliated with MTF. They say so prominently on their site.

If you wish to prove the association is temporary, I suggest you contact Nemenhah and demand they take down the claim. And don't go telling us it's out of your hands or MTF's hands. It's the easiest thing in the world for him to put out a public statement denouncing such a claim and pointing out it's false if indeed it actually is.

I really have to wonder how it's possible for anyone to be as naive as you claim to be. To not know that Nemenhah's leader Landis/Cloudpiler's claim of being a Blackfoot healer was a lie when the Blackfoot nation publicly stated so, and when Landis has multiple convictions as a con artist...perhaps you didn't know that. But clearly they are a group which is fraudulent. They demand people pay a monthly fee. They let anyone claim to be a medicine person, even a 12 year old kid.

I don't think anyone is that blind unless they choose to be. But then again, you thought Wallace "Black Elk" was legit and you defend selling ceremony. You claim you don't see the difference between selling ceremony and paying for elders' travel expenses. Yet somehow, elders do travel to give speeches on important issues and they don't do pay to pray like MTF does. Please...you can't pretend to be that out of touch. Ceremony selling has been widely denounced ever since it started to plague Native traditions back in the 1970s.

MayI also suggest you and MTF's wife cease attacking the character of critics. It certainly undermines the claim of the Twofeathers to be spiritual people.

Offline starboy

  • Posts: 10
Re: Michael Two Feathers
« Reply #21 on: September 12, 2011, 03:11:00 pm »
according to the internal memos of the process..ki ki was not innocent by any means.. a principal player more like.. an interesting fact.. how many of the actual community knew of this nemenhah involvment or was it kept from them? i cannot imagine them accepting it with all i have read on them..ki ki may appear to be naive but the evidence show anything but...

in the matter of fasthorse also note that for yrs mtf himself announcements that the dance was going to be turned over to him.. it was not a conspiracy.. your statement on the meeting that took place are not true and have been changed to make it appear that way.. sad .. in lakota way a bundle cannot be given to another person it loses it power if if does.. so the dance since his leaving has no power.. the people thinking they are getting a connect with them are connecting with their own fantasy..

having some real lakota endorse does not make it real for him or legitmize him.. no human is authorized to give legitmacy .. also airfa has no teeth in that region.. there is not a trust relationship with the fed gov there so you need to quit using that.

and in the matter of his heritage i have his fathers social security number.. and all census info. he is irish.. period..and as his fathers military friends who served with him say.. "an irishmans irishman".. i suggest we quit playing here and address the facts.. how lakota ways work in terms of protocol not the grabbing for straws hiding behind others and the name dropping and false accusations spread about people...
« Last Edit: September 12, 2011, 03:35:42 pm by starboy »

Offline Superdog

  • Posts: 440
Re: Michael Two Feathers
« Reply #22 on: September 12, 2011, 07:55:03 pm »
From the wichozannivillage page.  Marked yesterday (September 11, 2011).

http://www.wichozannivillage.org/About_Us.php?blog_archive=2011-09

---begin quote:

Wichozanni Village is the vision of Michael and wohpe'.  They are currently working towards creating a traditional village environment for ceremonial and cultural gatherings where traditional ways of life can be continued for the future generations. 

"At Wichozanni Village, we continue to hold onto the ancient beliefs and traditions passed on to us by our family and respected tribal elders".  Michael and wohpe' are both of mixed-blood Peoples of North America, with the main traditional teachings and influences being from their Lakota heritage.  In 1994, Michael began sharing some of these teachings in Europe at the recommendation of his mentor, Martin High Bear (a lakota medicine man from Cheyenne River, SD).  In 2002 wohpe' began joining him on these annual visits adding traditional woman's teachings. wohpe' is also a tribal member of the Pokanoket/Wampanoag Federation of Rhode Island and for years has also shared the history and stories of her Wampanoag people in schools and at gatherings. They have been invited to share teachings at spiritual and cultural gatherings in Europe and other countries, as well as here on Turtle Island.

Anyone wishing to verify their credibility is welcome to contact Fred Short, Elder Keeper of the AIM Eagle Staff and Leader of the California AIM, and State of California Spiritual Liaison. XXX-XXX-XXXX

Wichozanni Village (as a non-profit organization) was established in California in 2004.           

Wichozanni Village is dedicated to the Sacred Circle as a place to find harmony through prayer, through education and through the practice of Living in Health of the Mind, Body & Spirit.

Mitakuye Oyasin (we are all relatives)

---end of quoted material---

I bolded the part that piqued my interest.  I x-out the number.  If Fred wants his number on the internet then that's on Wichozanni Village site so you'll have to follow the link if you're interested in calling.  I've seen Fred on the AIM-West website mentioned, but there isn't a mention of him as any sort of staff keeper.  Not saying that it isn't true, but it seems to be a response from Michael Two Feathers in regards to the conversation going on here.

Superdog

Offline Superdog

  • Posts: 440
Re: Michael Two Feathers
« Reply #23 on: September 13, 2011, 03:09:49 am »
A search of Guidestar turned up nothing in regards to Wichozanni Village being a non-profit.  It's not registered as one.  The closest thing I could find was a listing for Two Feathers-NAFS out of McKinleyville, CA, but it has no names listed with it and has a note saying that it doesn't qualify.  So they definitely got some explaining to do as far as that claim.  The site says it's been registered since 2004....but once again, no Wichozanni Village (or anything close to it).

Superdog

Offline starboy

  • Posts: 10
Re: Michael Two Feathers
« Reply #24 on: September 13, 2011, 03:03:02 pm »
in regards to a letter sent out to his community.but is not posted here...some facts for anyone who received it in email..

it was Lenus Red Feather who first asked him to go to Europe and Lenus was working with Emaho there.  Michael kinda pushed Lenus aside because he, Michael, felt that Lenus was not treating people right, so he said, but then he became the "Main Man Native" for all future events there. For some years it was Emaho who was setting up the talks and workshops and there was a lot of money involved but I don't know who it is that sets them up now.

he makes it sound like Arvol gave blanket approval for the Pilot Rock dance. We know that's not true. when martiin crossed that permission went with his bundle..it did not stay.. he claims differing years for being the head of the dance as well.. now there is 92 95 and 99..from Michael's own words that the reason he didn't go back to Mt Hood was that it was too far and much easier to just go to pilot rock which was very close to his home at the time. And he only danced three days there, quit in the afternoon of the third day.   And at Pilot Rock with Wallace he never danced more than three days, also. So he's never put in a full four day dance!

and as for the rock.. so lets see.. he is sitting with an elder who he does not know yet finds out later he is lakota.. i find it hard to believe that during the occupation of the rock a very visible and vocal time for native america the elder did not identify his tribe .. besides the fact this part of the story was never part of the original story..things keep getting added to his portfolio..
« Last Edit: September 13, 2011, 04:50:36 pm by starboy »

Offline earthw7

  • Posts: 1415
    • Standing Rock Tourism
Re: Michael Two Feathers
« Reply #25 on: September 14, 2011, 07:28:39 pm »
As far as my family Brave Buffalo my great great grandfather died in 1918 after having his voice
and words recorded by Francis Desmore. He never taught anyone who was not a part of my family,
he had one only one son my great grandfather and my great grandfather had one only one son so
it is very limited as to who knew about his medicine.
I also understand that Martin High Bears family from Cheyenne River did not and do not support
Micheal Two Feather use of their family name or medicine. They has asked that his last wife
not use their name or have rights to their family.
As far as Groffrey Chips he just got out of prison and does not support Michael at this time and
did not show up at the dance this year.
As Lakota people i feel we are being abuse by this family who have taken upon theirselves to steal
our family history and medicine.
Yes I did talk with Michael on the phone years ago, and i have talked with Charles Fast horse in the past
and I speak with Goffrey's son. At this point these people are abuser no matter what they try to tell us.
As Avrol said if you really want to follow this way Why are you not help the Native people on the reservations?
I ask if Micheal Two Feather can prove who he is up put it up on the site Indian country is small we will know who he is
In Spirit

Offline starboy

  • Posts: 10
Re: Michael Two Feathers
« Reply #26 on: October 06, 2011, 03:46:58 pm »
interesting new things on the subject... research has reveled many things.. for one the claims of ancestry are from debbie addiing info on ancestry site and claiming them to be true.. the state dept reveals that his claim to be of spanish ancestry via an ambassodor to hawaii is not true... the alberta story was never heard until a few years ago when debbie "discovered" it.. then suddenly there were " memories" of growing up on the reservation in alberta.. this is a systematic aagenda by them to create a history of being native when they are not.. a recent message to the ceremony site from a man in italy supports them by telling how cowardly the attack onthem is when i fact the cowardice is hiding behind real native people, hiding behind AIM, creating false genealogy, claiming the status of being a recognized tribe, hiding non prfit status behind corporations that are under investigation for crimes , taking control of a ceremony email list to censor and control what is heard, blackballing former members of the communtiy who question or know the truth, these are just a few..

Offline Dr. T Weighill

  • Posts: 5
Re: Michael Two Feathers
« Reply #27 on: September 02, 2015, 12:08:56 am »
 NO INDIANS ALLOWED!
      Charlatanism -the New Age Movement and the                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Black Market Industrialization of Native American Religious Freedom


In the summer of 2015 my family and I were assaulted at Sundance ceremony on Little Pilot Rock Oregon.  We were the only Native American Indians there.  This is an extremely sensitive and personal text for me to compose. The complexity of these issues- is deeply philosophical -ironically political-historical and potentially disempowering to many Native American Indians ourselves. Non - the less - it is an issue which needs to be brought to an open dialogue in both and academic and pragmatic sense.

Offline Dr. T Weighill

  • Posts: 5
Re: Michael Two Feathers
« Reply #28 on: September 02, 2015, 12:11:31 am »
no Indians allowed continued by dr. t weighill


Let me define a few concepts as to how I have been cultured to view them.  Firstly- my presentation of -Indian.  Colonization certainly has created a diaspora in the Indian experience- one which we are still struggling to negotiate the boundaries of- within the fabric of our individual tribal traditions.  So, totalizing the definition of ourselves is dangerous to our future, but more important, it is disrespectful of the trauma we share as a commonality in our contemporary cultural historic production.  What or who then is Indian... is issue one. 

There are two major categories of Indian in the United States: federally recognized and non- federally recognized.  Though -certainly the experientiality of the diaspora is quantifiably larger.  Indianness as an experience in the United States is inclusive of Canadian Indians as well as, Indians from Mexico to South America... we exist from one end of the hemisphere to the other and we have always interacted ... from one end to the other.  We have never lived in isolated vacuum-packed boxes.  The complexity of our pre-colonial customs is vast and in part- our contemporary working definition of Indianness is a bona fide connection to those pre-colonial customs.

When traveling from territory to territory we -Indians have always honored certain protocols amongst ourselves.  These protocols engage us -in a commonality of cultural/ experiential frameworks.  Frameworks and experiences which help us negotiate relationships between ourselves and the rest of the polyverse.  In other words, knowing your place is a primary component of most every Aboriginal culture- and- it is through these protocols that cultural boundaries are established and that place is determined.  The first question any Indian asks another is: who is your family?  The hidden implication behind the question is- back home where you say you come from do they know you.  And- secondly can you sing your songs and do you know your language of the tribe you claim you are.  We never ask to see your federal enrollment number.  That tribal enrollment number is not our culture - that is the cloak of colonization.  We ask simply- who is your family?  A powerful question with heavy implications.  From one end of the hemisphere to the other this question validates the traditional families simply because Indianness is predicated on our communal bonds. 

In the United States, Indian is about the allocation of resources and rights.  And from this positionality we see the definition of federally recognized Indian.  While the nomenclature (federally recognized) is inarguably reductive -essentializing and minimalistic -federal recognition is a necessary construction to protect what little we have left -of- our world.  Federal recognition creates a social political space for- protecting the ability of all within the diaspora to practice our Aboriginal cultures and- for us to exist within those ways of life.  The space created by federal recognition is not for determining who is and who is not Indian -we know who we are.  It is a space created for our protection from prosecution and exploitation by others.  Federal recognition while inarguably based on iniquitous xenophobic definitions of the other- pejoratively aimed at us Aboriginal Peoples of the Western Hemisphere- is the tool which interfaces with the colonial forces -the United States- for the entire diaspora.

The fabric of the diaspora is in part woven with the erasure of the colonized "Other"(s) individualized memory.  To clarify - many Native American Indians, because of the colonizing practice of "civilizing" us, were stripped of their memory -the connection to their pre-colonial roots was severed.  Many genealogical and cultural connections- of Aboriginals Peoples from the U. S. -have been dismantled through the colonizing trajectory.  To combat that erasure in the contemporary period a pan Indian cultural practice organically emerged with the period of activism in the 1960-70s.  In the cultural social space of the era carved out by pan Indian activism many found their memory and their roots and began the mending of those roots.  It was also an entry point- for many non - Indians into our world. 

The non-Indian "Other" has always had a morose exotification with us and our world -a genocidal attempt on one hand, and a mimetic exotification on the other.   In the modern era Indigenous beliefs from around the world have been the object of mimetic appropriation.  And, it is because of this cultural appropriation that we find the need within the experiential definition of Indian (that is the lived reality of our being Indian) to create an interface between the colonizing forces and our worlds.  But, to say I am Indian is to engage yourself somewhere within the framework of our common experience as a force of resistance and survival.  The diaspora has created many spaces of contention by which the social political power within the space is able to be engaged.   And, because - the entirety of the nomenclature Indian- finds its axis resting between inorganic xenophobic definitions of Racialization and Otherness- and our self-preservation and our self-determination as a Peoples Aboriginal to this land- We- create the boundaries of that framework.  It is easy to say I am Indian because the diaspora is historically positioned the way it is - making appropriation of our cultures easy prey for -Charlatans and New Agers.

Hiding behind the affects of the colonizing trajectory - the ignorance of others and romantic definitions of us (Indians) which, find their origins in the European aristocratic culture of the 1600s- my next definition of deconstruction is Charlatanism.  In the simplest of terms, a charlatan is one who falsely attempts to engage the cultural framework - falsely engages the political/historic diaspora for personal gain.  Operating on the narrative of the romantic noble savage, Charlatans mimetically perform at the intersection between fictive narrative and experiential fantasy -to an audience of the colonizing "Other," tickling nostalgically the imaginary of the non –Indian, while simultaneously inviting them into the inner sanctum of the Indian world.  This invitation intersects poly-strategically between archaic tenants of the colonizing mind and its invented narrative of the colonized "Other". 

Articulating within the European value system- Charlatans- juxtapose their performance against primitivizing signifiers which always already places the colonizer at the apex of colonizing/colonizer binary hierarchy.   Signifiers such as memorized and mimetically performed monologues - speech patterns - feathers - Indianized jewelry- Indianized tattoos -stoic names (and much more), all aimed at authenticating the Charlatan through the performativity of an identity construction.  The charlatan’s performance operates by triggering a series of conditioned responses from the audience.  Responding to codified symbols ripped from the master narrative of the colonized "Other" the audience at this late stage of the colonizing trajectory is psychologically conditioned to accept these signifiers as props of authentication- upholding the performance as a bona fide Indian experience. 

Charlatans Industrialize Indianness from an exterior positionality.  That is to say their performances fall short when delivered to an audience organically constructed within traditional cultural frameworks of- Indianness.  When pushed- traditional protocols and methodology, which assure veracity of a tribal claim, most often fails the charlatan -exposing their motivation.  Now, I say most often -as some charlatans are indeed Indians themselves yet operate outside the boundaries of their own tribal traditions- these charlatans are easy to spot.  They will be the only or one of a few "real" Indians (supporting actors) surrounding the performance.  The motivational analysis of the performer is usually power over human lives and money-both of which are antithetical to traditional Aboriginal -value system.

The role of the Charlatan may shift to accommodate the situation-however- the script stays the same- the supporting characters will stay the same and the signifiers will all stay the same- it is this way because they are all extracted from the master narrative.  In the fantasy of American conquest the minds of the benefactors to the genocide are marred by their privilege.  The colonizing mind suffers in reflection to the colonized mind- it is a vicious binary.  The resolution by both to neutralize each other is nearly predictable.  Neither the colonizing mind nor the colonized mind is able to free themselves from each other- so in the daily durèe of our lives we confront behavior which is governed by the limitations of this binary.  Charlatanism is a predatory identity performance conditioned by both side of this mentally confabulated coin.  It reflects the need to dominate as much as the need to submit.  In other words, the Charlatan cannot exist without followers and the followers cannot exist without the Charlatan- both are inventions of each other.

The most common of these performances is the role of medicine man.  This role places our ceremonial realities at the centrifuge of the performance while framing ceremonial structures as signifying stage props to support the mimetic movement of the performance.  Finding its modus operandi aligned with the Christian ecumenical movement of the 1930's and hippie movement of the 1960's, the followers of the Charlatan are in every way conditioned by their privilege.  The move to synchronize global religiosity has been called the "New Age" it is the evolutionary miscegenation of dominant world religions.  The early Kabalistic astronomers prophesized an age when mankind would re-unify our three-dimensional world with the ethereal world -this time they called the "Age of Aquarius".  A millennial shift in consciousness and action, the "Age of Aquarius" ushered in a "new age".  An age where "man is one and god is one" and the binding religious dogma is dropped to just "pray to spirit".  In other words "new ageism" seeks to abandon spiritual discipline to accommodate modernity, an age of spiritually motivated passivism where the theoretical framing of differences is erased- the age of privilege and escapism.

New agers are simply members of the colonizing mindset operating within an escapist fantasy that is afforded them because they are the benefactors to the global genocide on Aboriginal Peoples.  As did their antecedents, "new agers" negotiate their presence in the Indian world- through a series of disingenuous dialogical relationships- shifting power dynamics till they have reproduced a simulacra of western social hegemony within a pseudo Indian culture, securing their place at the zenith of the power structure - the lived fantasy of conquest - in this case spiritual conquest.  Conquest, the expression of western culture, finds its space of cultural reproduction in the liminal spaces between episodic performances charlatanism.  Driven by the culturalized conditions of the colonizing mind- new ageism is merely an affiliated institution of oppression- an apparatus by which colonization intended to disrupt and distort traditional Native American Indian spiritual practices and bonds.  In short, hidden behind the peace love and patchouli oil- new agers- serve the colonizing enterprise in the attempts to conquer the spiritually of our Indian worlds.  The relationship between charlatanism and new ageism is inextricable and creates a simulacrum of western religiosity while mimetically performing Indian spirituality -absent the actual bodies of real Indian Peoples.  And, like everything in western culture- the performance of Indian spirituality- controlled by the boundaries of western religion is commoditized.

The commodification of Indian spirituality between Charlatan and new age follower comes in many forms- the wholesale of ritual performances as well as, ceremonial items such as eagle feathers, bone whistles, sacred pipes, ritual attire, ritual knowledge- all with the attempt to mimetically perform Indianness in absent of the actualized Indian body.  This morose exotification is not new- Indianness has been sold to Europe and Euro-America since John Smith and Pocahontas- since Buffalo Bill’s Wild West.  The identity performance of Indianness today is taken right out of the pages of his-story.  The script today engages the same principals of purity and authenticity and romantic exotification of the "Other" that were employed by the Orientalizing schema of the old west.

Having academically laid the parameters of definition for this text, let me now move towards an experiential or pragmatic expression of these social political mimetic cultural appropriating performances of Indianness.  Let me now tell you the story of my experience with these culture vultures- Charlatans and New Agers.   

In the winter of 1993 I along with several elders and other community activist began working on a project entitled- center for the S.P.I.R.I.T. - an acronym for Support and Protection of Indian Religions and Indigenous Traditions Center for the S.P.I.R.I.T. Its vision statement was as clear as the name-to lend support and to protect our Indian ways of life.  A non-official branch of the American Indian Movement, the center focused its efforts on stopping charlatans and new agers.  In those days a man named Charlie Swift Deer Reagan was operating in the San Francisco bay area selling what he called quadoshka ceremonies.  Quadoshka ceremonies, according to Swift Deer, were ancient Cherokee love ceremonies.  The Center for the S.P.I.R.I.T. found out where Swift Deer and his followers were gathering so, we went and brutally tore down his ceremony grounds and ran them off.

Before we left our SF office we had a conference call with Clyde Belcourt, one of the founders of AIM, who told us that we should protect our ways of life ... Great Mystery gave these ways to us to keep our Peoples alive.  If we allow charlatans and new agers in to our ceremonies they will take over and pretty soon, Indians will be seeing signs that say "NO Indians Allowed" and they will use their structure to still our way of life... This conversation has stayed in my mind since then. 

As a young man growing up in the American Indian Movement I was raised to hold all our traditions with reverence and respect.  Raised in the traditions of the Buffalo Calf Pipe, it is the way of life I live and have always lived -it’s a way of life that has given me many personal lessons and responsibilities.  These lessons and responsibilities led me to Little Pilot Rock, Oregon- a place that in my young life I had a very profound connection with.  As a young man I was with a delegation of Lakota elders -spiritual leaders and warriors.  We had gone to Little Pilot Rock Oregon to ask the Sundance held there be stopped.  The ceremony had been started by Wallace Black Elk and Martin High Bear -we were sent to ask them to stop in part because- the ceremonial protocol had been ignored- and in part because the veracity of the ceremony was in question, as none of the practitioners were Indian. 

23 years later I returned to Little Pilot Rock to find the situation had in my opinion gone from bad to worse.  Let me qualify that statement.  The same ethnic dynamic had lingered since the days of Wallace and Martin, as well as the same lack of concern for ceremonial protocol, but- at least Martin High Bear and Wallace Black Elk were Lakota.  The man currently leading the performance Mike O’Brien aka Two Feathers (publically in Europe) claims to be Lakota but is not.  By his admittance to me he identified his mother as Apache/Hawaiian and his father as Irish.  The Lakota Nation has asked him on several occasions to stop representing himself as Lakota and stop running that ceremony.  He has ignored that request.  So, not only are the practitioners non-Indian - ill prepared - the leader of the "ceremony" and his wife are non- Indian People- they altered the ceremony to accommodate their European value system.

I met Mike O’Brien at his sweat lodge on his 129 acre ranch in Butte county California in late winter of 2012.  Like most Charlatans, he is very charismatic and likeable- so building a rapport with him was quick and easy.  Within a few months of knowing him- he approached me- wanting me to sell a few pounds of Cannabis for him (a business I used to be in).  When I refused, Mike became increasingly more tense with me until I agreed -unsuccessfully.  For two years (012-015) I attended sweat ceremony with him at his home in Concow, California.  During that period I was usually the only Indian person at the ceremonies (with the exception of one or two others that would come on occasion).  And, during this time there were many relaxed conversations which occurred (before the men would enter the lodge) some pleasant, some not so much.  Many white men of all walks of life I did meet there- I found it amusing in a strange way to see these men playing Indian (I kept thinking this is what the Boston tea party must have looked like) - in retrospect- my presence provoked both a sense of exotification and a threat to the individual spaces these men had carved out for themselves in their mimetic appropriation of the Lakota sweat lodge ceremony. 

Offline Dr. T Weighill

  • Posts: 5
Re: Michael Two Feathers
« Reply #29 on: September 02, 2015, 12:12:44 am »
no Indians allowed continued.....


Now if my presence alone stirred their insecurities and exotification, bringing my family around the O’Brien aka Two Feathers camp only exacerbated their strange behavior of exotifying my wife and two children for their beauty on one hand, while filled with anger- mistrust and insecurities on the other at the sight of me.  During that time, my family and I were cussed out by a white anthropologist for invalidating his monologue on the worth of DNA testing and his lack of "Indian" knowledge and insulted by a gaggle of white women because my wife refused to speak or sweat with them or agree with their white western feminist perspective on womanhood.  We were the subject of many after-hours dialogues amongst the O’Briens and their new age supporter/participants.

I had been led to the mountain to sun dance and though I remembered Mike O’Brien from my first visit 23 years earlier, my presence was to say wopila to the mountain and dance and pray.   While there I realized I was there for a whole different reason -the mountain called me there -made me sad.  It made me sad to see the way of life that cost my People so much was being used by this white man to make money and practiced by white people for their morbid recreation.  I saw enough to see that our way of life is being disrespected desecrated and commoditized by Mike O’Brien and his wife Beverly.  I realized the reason I was there was to expose this behavior and protect the ceremonial way of my People.  I got to say thank you to the mountain for 2 years as I sun danced at Little Pilot Rock.

I am an Indian, I have a big family, we are traditional Peoples so- of course my family came to support me, it’s our way.  When my 70 year old full blood Chumash Indian mother showed up she was aghast at the amount of white People.  Now my Inna even at 70 plus years old is very outspoken (typical AIMster) and especially about non-Indians at Indian ceremony- so she caused quite a ruckus on the mountain.  I became a little unnerved at the disrespect she was receiving and the fact the Mike O’Brien refused to put his white followers in line and actually encouraged them.  The disrespect reached its zenith when Beverly O’Brien began instructing my mom on how to be an Indian woman and what Indian culture is and how proper Indian women were supposed to act.  Over hearing their conversation from my tent I was jaw dropped at Mike O’Brien’s wife’s words.  My Inna on the other hand handled it was grace ... patronizing Beverly O’Brien with a courteous: "Oh after 70 years I been doing it all wrong- I’m sorry?  Thank you so much -I am glad you came to speak with me".   Beverly O’Brien fell ill that year and blamed it on my Inna. 

The second year I danced there the O’Briens began to act increasingly more disingenuous- agitated and hostile towards my family.  I danced anyway, though I had been told many times in the lodge by the tunkas that I would not be dancing there all four years, I saw it as a test of my commitment, and so I stayed focused on my prayers and danced.  On the third day of the ceremony I heard these words from the tree: "Look around you.... there is no power here... look at the tree there is no power here".  It took seven tries till I broke free from the tree.  I tried four times by myself - three times Mike O’Brien and his Jewish helper Curly had to grab my arms to break me free.  When I came out of the arbor after the dance, I found my wife and children both had been abused all four days of the ceremony.  Beverly O’Brien and a few other white women had initiated verbal assaults- attacks on my wife’s character, and finally she was physically attacked while at the dance arbor, again-all in front of my two young children.  As I was leaving the arbor I heard a voice tell me- button down stay to your family don’t mix with those people.  My family looked notably abused by the O’Briens; it took me the whole year to heal my babies from the trauma.  Leaving Little Pilot Rock that year I told my wife Victoria... "I don’t think I am coming back up here next year- the tree told me I was done".  She adamantly said to me: "No! We will not let these white people have our way of life! You will finish your commitment there.  I am not afraid of any of them!"  With those words in my head, I drove the 9 miles down the mountain -slowly putting it all in perspective. 

We stayed to ourselves my family and I, for the year as I was instructed.  Around January of 2015- I was contacted by a relative from South Dakota in regards to Mike and Beverly O’Brien, after which the true nature of the O’Briens’ character began to emerge.  I was informed that Chief Arvol Looking Horse, the 19 generation keeper of the Sacred Bundle, wanted to pray and speak with O’Brien.  I was also informed that his (O’Brien’s) role as the "spiritual advisor" of the dance was in question.  I was asked to try and arrange a meeting with Mike and Chief Arvol...so, I loaded my canumpa and I went to speak with O’Brien in private at his home.

O’Brien until that time had claimed that his right to run the ceremony was given to him by Martin High Bear, who he said was his adopted father... the High Bear Family declined that right and said he had no connection to Martin and did not have the right -to claim him as a hunka father or to run the ceremony.  And, as per Martin High Bear’s own request, only someone from South Dakota was to use the High Bear altar.  O’Brien then claimed - Godfrey Chips' altar, proclaiming Godfrey had given it to him in front of his other helpers (Obrien was one of his helpers).  The Chips family, like the High Bear family, also denied OBrien's claim. 

This was the conversation we had while smoking my canumpa.  He claimed that he had gone to pray over the pipe and speak with Arvol and asked permission to innercess the ceremony 15 years before.  I explained that elders and prominent spiritual leaders in South Dakota have asked that he stop going to Europe and representing himself as a Lakota unless he can document his family.  I explained -that the High Bear Family has asked that you quit using his name and the Chips Family has asked the same.  I pointed out traditional chief -they asked- that you stop representing yourself as one.  They asked that you stop wearing the Wapaha (a feather head dress only worn by chiefs).  As part of his performance, O’Brien wears a Wapaha he purchased on the black market for several thousand dollars.  He was not made a chief and is not recognized by the Lakota Peoples in this capacity or by any traditional spiritual leaders.   Consequently- he does not have the right to wear the Wapaha.  The Wapaha is however- a very productive stage prop for him.
 
The conversation continued in their house till 4 am.  During the grueling 14 hour talk, O’Brien had no defense for his self-misrepresentation.  He quietly shut down in his chair, and Beverly O’Brien began to talk.  She began first by qualifying herself as a Lakota, noting that she found her Lakota link on a "half breed" reservation that existed in Nebraska 300 years ago… (a period long before both the state of Nebraska and the reservation system existed).  Apparently on this mythic "half breed" reservation, the full bloods had "sold them out to the white man" and this made her upset she claimed.  She then informed me about her Wampanoag medicine woman who she flew out to meet 20 years prior and how her great-great-great grandparents were Wampanoag Indians.  She found out she was Indian when she worked on the Paradise California Pow Wow Committee -12 years ago -so that is how long she has been Indian.  Before that she was admittedly taken by the power of her Christian minister father who "could organize large meetins".  She is as much a charlatan as her husband, and she holds a deep rooted hatred for Indian People in general but- Indian women specifically -this became increasingly visible and she continued on into the night.   

I finally had enough of listening to Beverly O’Brien tell me about how all the respected Indian spiritual leaders had gone to Europe and raped white women in the sweat lodge and how she was there to heal all these women.  I had enough of hearing about how Chief Arvol Looking Horse was a fraud - and about how dysfunctional Lakota Peoples are-about the evils of Lakota men (as my two young sons sat listening feeling the emotional thrashing by Beverly O’Brien for being both male and Lakota).  My wife and children and I had had enough of being subjected to fictive decontextualized versions of Lakota culture and the subservient role of women in Indian (Lakota) culture.  She informed us that she was told to bring back the women’s spiritual culture to Lakota way of life and that she was to teach Indian women these things they obviously forgot.  At which point I laughed out loud at her and asked her if she wanted me to introduce her to my Lakota grandmother and her cousins.  I sarcastically asked her if she ever heard of the Jesus complex.  In short, I left vowing never to go back into that house.  Mike O’Brien sat listening silent to her babble while I continually deflected her barrage of insults to my relatives and my tribe.  I finally left saying: "wow you don’t like Indians very much ... you especially seem to dislike Lakota, both men and women.  But you seem to want to one of us really bad.  You’re very confused- you speak this about us in public; that saddens and angers me".     

Shortly after that episode the O’Briens left to Europe to sell our culture.  The next time I would see them would be at year 3 of my commitment up on the mountain.  I went up early so that I could go up on the hill and hamblechiya.  Arvol had told me to put myself up and pray so I did.  When I refused O’Brien’s help and the help of his followers, they became aggravated.  As purification time came and the camp filled with people and the dancers began to prepare, tension through the camp increased.  Fueled by the BLM's original declination of the special use permit- the tree at the center of the arbor had been leaning heavy to the north nearly touching the ground- a bad sign the O’Briens deliberately ignored and refused to talk about.  I had still as of then not spoken to Mike O’Brien since I left his house four months earlier.  Though the signs were that O’Brien, his wife and closest followers were now concerned about my presence and my connections to Chief Arvol and other prominent spiritual leaders of the Lakota Nation.  To combat all these accusations the O’Briens staged a performance in front of last year’s sacred tree that was leaning and nearly touching the ground in the arbor. 

Calling all the members of the camp together the O’Briens sat at the center of the arbor.  While there, he had Rose High Bear- Martin’s wife speak for him.   Now in the tradition of Sundance I was raised in, when a man asks a woman to speak for him, it means he doesn’t have the strength or confidence to speak and has no male that would speak for him.  In short he is a coward.  But bear in mind, my family and I were the only Indians in camp so- no one but us saw this.  All of the non-Indian followers of the O’Briens viewed it as an act of humility and validation.  Here was Martin High Bear’s last wife speaking up for Mike, explaining that Martin had always seen him as a son (a statement contrary to other made by her the previous year).  Rose High Bear was very clever about confabulating her image of Mike O’Briens' right to innercess the ceremony.  She spoke of the Chips family and in both imaginaries she pointed out that Mike was only using his bundle.  In very clever stoic words she in the eyes of the mostly European attendees she validated Mike O'Briens' right to innercess.  Of Course she is not Lakota and not Indian either though she claims be Alaskan Native.  Besides the O’Briens and their non-Indian Helpers, no one but I knew the conversation between Lenus Redfeather and I about the High Bear family and the Chips Family and Arvol denouncing him.  Next to the center stage was Beverly Obrien, and she began to speak of the virgin ceremony that she was re-introducing to the Sundance ceremony because she said women have been left out of the occasion and that she, as a Lakota Dakota and Nakota woman, was concerned about the virgin energy of the young women.  She then asked Rose High Bear to speak for her on this.  Mike O’Brien spoke again, saying: "We Lakota fought hard to preserve this way of life but back home they are all dysfunctional so we have to help them".  Afterwards, the drum with about 8 white guys tried to sing a song.  It was terrible; they could not even remember the words.  So, Mike sits down like he is the expert come to save them… after about 10 minutes of them floundering and not being able to remember the song, I step up and started it for them.  A pow wow song- All My Relations honor song- that he has them sing to honor the ancestors.  When he couldn’t remember the song, I and the delegation from Canada said: “oh, the spirit left.”  When the song was done Mike O’Brien shed a crocodile tear.  Looked just like Iron Eyes Cody in the Keep American Beautiful campaign.  It was a touching conclusion to the show.  This performance was then done specifically for us.  This was done because I had a delegation of recognized leaders from Canada who had come to support my family camp.  And, this threatened the O’Briens terribly.   

Finally - later on that evening after sweat, as I was exiting the lodge and shaking and hugging the dancers, I was assaulted from behind.  When I went to defend myself the mob of white dancers surrounded me.  My two young sons who had been in the lodge with me witnessed the attack and the response and ran to our camp in fear of their lives, screaming.  Mike Obrien was made of aware of it and first refused to mitigate the issue.  So, I got in my truck to call the police when I was stopped by a man calling himself Deer Heart, sticking his hands and body in my window and preventing me from leaving camp.  As I approached the gate O’Brien’s security officer had his truck parked in front of the gate, preventing me from leaving.  I was forced to return to the main camp where I found my two sons crying and shaking uncontrollably in fear of their lives and worried sick for their father.  They were with two elders that had come to support my family prayer at the dance.  O’Brien came to the camp concerned that I had called the cops when I informed him that Deer Heart and the security held me captive and prevented me from calling he remarked "good I called down and asked them to hold you".  He then began to try and switch the blame of the confrontation on to me.  When I would not accept it he began to try and offer a solution of me smoking with the man who assaulted me.  The protocol would have been to have the man bring me tobacco and apologize and leave the ceremony grounds. I told him that if that man was here in the morning I would be gone. So, he set up a situation knowing I would not comply and leave.  With me and my camp gone he and his wife could freely perform their charlatanizing roles as the great white savior of the dysfunctional Lakota and the rest of the Lakota nation.

In any culture issues between two men is between those two men.  In the Lakota culture this is especially true and any Sundance leader should know that.  Early the next day –O’Brien assembled his village of white European new agers playing Indian -had the violent white man who had attacked me load his pipe and wait on his knees in front of the sweat lodge.  He then came to my camp and tried to rush me to the center stage leaving my wife and family and supporters in our camp (they quickly caught up).  On the way down he nervously with trembling shaking hands tells me I am trying to protect your children... I had to stop at that point I could not walk any further.  In front of his new age followers I asked him what did he mean by that.  Then I saw the man who assaulted me on his knees holding his pipe.  So, I took the opportunity to speak to all of them!  When I looked at them they bowed their heads and I spoke: “I told you I would not dignify that man by praying with my Peoples’ sacred Canumpa.  I was the only Indian in that lodge and while still in prayer I was assaulted from behind by that coward and the rest of you white People let him do it and prevented me from leaving and from protecting myself.  While me children watched on.  Had I done that to one of you white People I would be sitting in the Ashland Jail for assault.  I told you I wouldn't smoke with him!  You set this meeting up because you want us to leave without asking us to leave.  This is not the protocol of solution in our culture... I have been trying to teach my children to get along with the white man and now you put my work back to the beginning -you all have showed my children not to trust you -not to let your people in our ceremony... since you are obviously ignorant to our culture let me tell you - the solution is to ask him to leave - you would have a better chance of him bringing me tobacco and having him lick the dust of the bottom of my boot then to ask me to forgive him and smoke the canumpa with him.  You and your group of new agers are just here playing Indian and you don’t have the right to hold this ceremony you know it and I know it! I can see inside your heart there is only the love of money in there!"  I then turned and left -went to my camp packed up and left with the only Indian People in the camp.  O'Brien stood there in front of his supporters crying as though something had happened to him... that was a tool for turning the direction to make them feel sorry for him.  The Indians there saw him as a fool as I do.

Can you imagine if a non-Jewish person decided to erect a temple and claim to be a rabbi and engaged in a rant about the dysfunction of the Jewish People and then began a decontextualized monologue of the Torah while dressing and behaving in an Americanized stereotype of Jewish People -to a group gentiles- who themselves were performing the same stereotypes.  That in short is what Mike O’Brien aka -Two Feathers- and his wife Beverly aka Whope are in the industry of.   The sad thing of it is that the non-Indians -follow these kinds of folks to their graves as was the case in Sedona Arizona -not long ago.