Citizen Potawatomi Nation and Suraj Holzwarth/Whirling Rainbow

[naparyaq]

What is it with CPN and the Whirling Rainbow people?

CPN did an Alaska outreach (?) with Naming Ceremonies and Native stuff in collaboration with that gang of cohorts. Some Native; some not.
Dave Carney (Raven)
District #8 Legislator
dcarney@potawatomi.org
www.dave-carney.com
360.259.4027

Whirling Rainbow, Suraj Holzwarth, Grandmother Drum etc are getting to have quite a bit of credibility in the Alaska community. Here's how it works. Indigenous people go up to Alaska from somewhere else, start drum circles and share their stuff, they're open and inclusive, and then it gets embraced by everyone. Alaska Natives are open and accepting, so they don't care who it's from and who it includes.
And just because one is really Native, doesn't mean there aren't crazy Native flakes who believe in Star Children and Crystal Children and endorse the crazy 'Native American Spirituality' stuff.

Dave Carney, Powatatomi, Shawnee Oklahoma:

Immediately after my re-election, I began to make plans to make good on a
campaign promise – to hold the first-ever (and not last) Citizen Potawatomi Nation
event in Alaska. I knew I had about 10 good e-mail addresses in Anchorage and a frequent flyer ticket for my wife. And, that
sounded like a pretty good starting point. I also knew I could count on Terri Boswell
and a few other high-energy people in the area. The end result was a well-attended
and fun weekend of events.

Well, the nine o’clock ceremony (with eight o’clock preparations) rolled around early. We arrived at the gracious home of our hosts, Lonnie and Christie Prairie Chicken, and met these wonderful people who practice traditional Lakota ways, often
taking in others to mentor and adopt. Lonnie was smudging the house quietly when we arrived.

With boxes of supplies shipped from Washington, we had the tobacco to put down before making the fire, sage, sweet grass, and cedar for smudging and a compass to make our Eastern doorway. Chairs were brought by the
participants and set in a circle. Ten-year-old Cheyenne Paige prepared the circle with fresh cedar.

Great food, and a festive spirit, beginning with a Lakota “Grace” played on a hand-drum sung by Lonnie
Prairie Chicken, were accompanied by wife Christie, Christie’s mother, and our Potawatomi member, Terri and her friend,
Larry Lawes (singing in Lakota).

Photos, page 7. http://www.potawatomi.org/pubinfo/hownikan/HowNiKanOctober2010LR.pdf

Terri Boswell - Potawatomi. Maybe.
Larry Lawes - Italian. Married/divorced from an East Indian woman. Lakota "Pipe Carrier" and Native stuff expert.
Lonnie Prairie Chicken - Lakota. Rapid City, South Dakota.
Christie (wife) - Don't know.

They all work for Alaska Veterans' Administration. And do the Whirling Rainbow/Grandmother Drum thing.

Interesting, though, that Whirling Rainbow/Suraj has no board members that ARE actually Native American or Alaska Native.

Jim Petruzzi/"Red Wolf":

With a BS degree in education in the seventies – theater and communications – Jim began and operated many entrepreneurial businesses on the East Coast for twenty years. During this time he also supported non-profits and worked for environmental causes.
In 1992 Jim moved to Colorado and began his tenure at Colorado State University. His main goal was to earn advanced degrees in the environmental field. The University asked him to run their non-profit Environmental Learning Center.
Shortly after his arrival Jim met Carolyn Fiscus, a member of the Blackfoot tribe. Carolyn served as Jim’s first teacher in indigenous people’s studies. Through Carolyn Jim met Lawrence Little Thunder and began more in depth studies of Lakota spirituality, beliefs and ceremony. Lyman Yellowhair, a medicine man of the Lakota, also began instructing Jim shortly thereafter. George Two Bears a year later.
A Rock People’s Lodge [what's "Rock People"?] was built on University property and many Indian and non-Indian people’s were invited to ceremony there. Jim worked with Lawrence and Lyman and, over some six years, learned a great deal from these teachers. Jim was honored with the name Red Wolf and was later allowed to carry the pipe and lead ceremony. During the 1990’s Jim also worked extensively in Central America and learned healing arts from Mayan teachers there. Jim has been blessed by being invited to diverse ceremonies by many peoples during his travels and participating in their spiritual work.
Jim has provided shamantic healings and journeying for individuals and groups, led pipe ceremonies, drum circles and Sweat Lodges for people in many parts of the country. He has delivered programs on Native American topics and shared teaching with his Indian friends on spiritual, cultural and environmental topics. He has been a pipe carrier in several circles in the Mountain West and the West Coast. In 2006-07 Jim ran a land trust on California’s North Coast and worked with, and learned from, Native American people there.

Not that it matters, but I care. Holzwarth describes herself as the youngest woman to climb "North America's highest peak Denali (Mt. McKinley)."
1. She's not. She's not even in the record as climbing it. Merrick Johnston is. The first woman to summit was in 1982. Not counting historic unidentified indigenous women, of course.
2. She's in Dena'ina Athabascan homeland, but can't just call it Denali?

[educatedindian]

I'm not seeing any connection between the CPN and Holzwarth. That first link shows a gathering with people from the CPN and the Eluktna in Alaska. If there's something I'm mssing please point it out.

Petruzzi is one of Holzwarth's people, but I don't see any tie to any CPN members, and no mention of him in that first link.

Petruzzi's own claims about himself are as fictitious as Holzwarth's. Lawrence Little Thunder apparently has a BA in psychology and works in the Denver area. He's no elder, looks to be about my age or younger, mid 40s. I see no sign of him ever claiming to be a medicine teacher, and it's possible he doesn't even know what Petruzzi is claiming. My guess is Petruzzi asked him some questions about culture and history and the rest is in Petruzzi's imagination.

Lyman Yellowhair does show up in some business profiles as from the town of Box Elder, no business even named. And Petruzzi doesn't even name the supposed Mayan elders.

The second half of your post probably belongs in the Holzwarth thread.

[naparyaq]

Thanks for the feedback. Let me try to explain.

It's not about CPN, or Eklutna either. It's about the relationships that overlap and unintentional damage caused. "REAL" Natives endorsing and lending credibility to the weirdos. It's how people like James Arthur Ray are validated and gain a foothold in the first place.

Eklutna - not "the". It's a place name and a federally-recognized tribe. The people are Cook Inlet/Knik Dena'ina Athabascan. They have a great gathering grounds for events and pow-wows (there aren't very many in Alaska). They collaborate with pretty much everyone who seeks their involvement.
In this same area is Tyonek and Chickaloon, not too far away. These groups work together with other Alaska Natives with common purpose and goals, as well as community stuff like political action and veterans' groups, tribal health organizations, substance abuse programs and faith-based service groups.
Very connected to the Christian community with a lot of neo-Christian Native programming. Stuff based on sort of generic indigenous ritual, adapted for Alaska Natives.  http://youtu.be/-X__WaBaTjQ
[Keep in mind that "Alaska Native" is in itself, a generic term comprising distinctly different cultural groups: Eskimos, Athabascans, Aleuts, Eyak and Pacific Northwest coast related tribes - Tlingit, Haida, Tsimpshian; none of whom share the same or even similar traditions, rituals, language, clothing, foods.]

These people had the earliest European contact. Due to the railroad corridor dissecting their homeland, and then the only real highway, their region rapidly turned into Alaska's urban areas. Previous generations were boarding school raised and they've been assimilated and urbanized for decades through no fault of their own. While they are strong in language preservation, they've had to recreate rituals and traditions which were lost decades ago. They just don't have any sacred ceremonial ritual left to use.
With strong spirituality and need for connection and ceremony, some have adapted borrowed rites, rituals and materials that they've been exposed to as needed. There's a lot of "warrior" talk and burning of sage with blessings to the four directions, bone chokers, dentalium "Chief" necklaces and breastplates, Eskimo-influenced regalia and adornment. Recently powwow fringe dance shawls have become "traditional" regalia for Alaska Natives. Dream catchers and medicine bags have really caught on.
The thing that bothers me most is big pretty Navajo and Lakota design beaded earrings, commercial patterns purchased at the fabric store and traded around during cultural activity nights. Traditionally, we had big beautiful porcupine earrings that appear to have been traded for beads.
And of course, the traditional Eskimo ric-rac-trimmed kuspaq has now become the equivalent of Aloha shirts. Everybody's got one to identify themselves as 'a Native' at meetings and events, regardless of culture group. I almost peed myself laughing at the sight of high pomp-and-circumstance ceremony presentation of a pure white kuspaq to a senior Alaskan politician, by representatives of an Alaska Native (but not Eskimo) group. Watch out - we're gonna be giving our politicians Alaska Native ribbon shirts next!

It's cringe-worthy, but I understand it. Contemporary Christians have adapted their spiritual rituals to modern influences like pop music, heavy metal, television evangelism, etc. Why should indigenous culture be stagnant?

Moving on and getting serious. This is Suraj Holzwarth's homeland. This is where Whirling Rainbow Prophecy and Grandmother Drum live. Grandmother Drum is a big big deal in Alaska; accepted by some Natives and Alaska's Crystal People. There's a very well-respected Yupik elder traveling with those weasels in Peru as we speak, endorsing them and blessing them.

So this is how it works and why it bears monitoring.
Lonnie Prairie Chicken is Lakota, the real thing (I guess?), living in Alaska. With good intentions, he makes his friend and his wife "Lakota Pipe Carriers" (can he?) so they can do Ceremony and sweat lodges together. They are Italian from Louisiana and Hindu from India. Other people join them. Good people with good intentions. Respecting and admiring "Native Spirituality." Another friend joins them; she's Native, so it's all good. Friends from Anchorage and Fairbanks join in - some Native, some not. One is Eskimo/Tlingit/Filipino and very open. She's into the Crystal people and already wrapped up in Vision Quest stuff.
All of them are in, or on the fringe of, the Grandmother Drum group. Holzwarth and her people love it that their all involved - it gives her credibility with anyone skeptical, especially with non-Natives. See, look, Alaska Natives and American Indians that live in Alaska are all a part of it! Alaska is just too small of a town and as we all know, Natives will take affirmation and approval where ever we can get it.
None of the real Natives are trying to make money off of it; I believe that most of them don't even know you can, and are completely unaware that this is happening. 

So then there's this:

Live H20 CONCERT FOR THE LIVING WATERS
Inspired by renowed scientists and healers, Dr. Masuro (sic) Emoto and Dr. Len Horowitz, LIVE H2O Concert for the Living Waters joined millions around the world in giving LOVE and THANKS to the LIVING WATERS of Earth.
The seven foot, crystal inlaid Grandmother Druml set the tone of LOVE's resonant frequency (528 hertz) join by renowned performing artists from nine global stages and by hundreds of other hosts sites worldwide. The weekend culminated as we united in music, prayer, drumming and song on June 21, 2009. Check out the Youtubes!

And:

Please say a prayer led by Japan’s Dr Masaru Emoto to protect and clear the waters, air and food supply of Japan and all Earth citizens from radiation now leaking from nuclear reactor! Photo credit: Leosigh.com
The water at the reactors of Fukushima Nuclear Plants have started to leak, and it’s contaminating the ocean, air and water of surrounding areas. “I would like to ask all people, not just in Japan, but all around the world to please help us to find a way out the crisis of this planet,” said Japanese Dr. Masaru Emoto.  He is beloved worldwide for leading ceremonial prayers, often partnering with tribes, that have done wonders to help communities transform their toxic, contaminated or putrefied waters to a purer state. 
Because this is now a challenge for Mother Earth and all her life forms, the Native American elders request all Earth Citizens join in Dr. Emoto’s simple but powerful prayer (below) on Thursday, March 31 at noon in your time zone.
Water Researchers in 11 countries and a Nobel Prize winner found that radiation is the greatest danger to water, and have also put science behind Dr. Emoto’s research photographing water crystals that show the power of words on water: How expressing “Love and Appreciation”  to water can purify it. See youtube video “Water: The Great Mystery.”   
http://www.nativevoices.org/articles/2011-japan-prayer.html

And:

Dr Masaru Emoto (center) sharing his "key of life" crystal research at a seminar in Big Bear Lake (S.CA) with Suzy Chaffee (Olympic skier), Gina Weiss (host), and Blue Thunder (Serrano/E.Shosht: Christie Walker one) leader of the Medicine Wheel Ceremony that saved the community. http://www.nativevoices.org/articles/dremoto.htm

Which all lead right back to Sedona, Arizona and the gang of spiritual thieves. They all know each other. They all work the other guys' scams. Associates: Adam Yellowbird, EarthDance, Earth Works for Humanity, Crystal Skull Gatherings, Medicine Wheel, Bennie Le Beau/Blue Thunder, Suzy Chaffee, David Singing Bear/Daniel Rolling Bear Quintana, Jim Petruzzi, etc etc etc.

Suzy Chaffee authored the "press release" here:
http://www.earthworksforhumanity.org/pages/Arctic_Elders.shtml
EI - this is the guy from Alaska who approached you. He was tangled up with them for several years, might still be. Suzy Chaffee and Adam Yellowbird, to be specific. He went down and lived with them for several months, more than once.
How did he get there?  Grandmother Drum and the Chickaloon group (which overlaps with Eklutna). Suzy Chaffee called him personally, encouraging him to sign on to the program.

Suzy' Chaffee's claims an unbelievable (really, unbelievable) roster of celebrity Native Americans as board members and supporters, NONE of whom actually do work with her or endorse what she's doing. Every single one has been approached privately to find out what they think. ALL of them denied involvement except for Ed Hall. Her various foundations and fundraising are absolutely positively illegal and illegitimate.
Nothing on her website is true. It's grandiose and crazy. Apache skier Ross Anderson has threatened her with a lawsuit if she doesn't remove his name. Gene Tagaban, who lives in Washington state, denies involvement or permission for use of his photos, but doesn't know what to do about it. And he's very involved with Crystal Skulls, Grandmother Drum, whatever.
Skier Billy Kidd is NOT an Indian. The Vermont tribe that she claims all over the place is under investigation for fraud and illegal use of grant money. Their federal recognition as a tribe is in question. 

~~




I had to throw this in for free. He's a "White Shaman." Love it!

LionFire ~ David Leonard
"He serves as a guide to sacred sites for many of the world’s spiritual leaders including...Lakota Chief Standing Elk..."
 

LionFire is a Shamanic practitioner with over 25 years experience working within a variety of Shamanic traditions. Known around the world, LionFire is a White Shaman “Two-Spirit” of Norse and Celtic heritage. A bridge between generations, orientations and traditions, he is a Reiki Master~Teacher in the Usui Shiki Ryoko, Tibetan and Shambala traditions and is also certified in acupressure massage.
LionFire has worked with indigenous ‘Medicine People’ for decades and is currently working with many Maya Shaman, including Hunbatz Men, Tata Pedro Cruz and Aum-Rak Sapper. LionFire is a Maya “Solar Initiate”, “Priest of IX CHEL” and Maya Ceremonialist. He serves as a guide to sacred sites for many of the world’s spiritual leaders including Drunvalo Melchizedek, Lakota Chief Standing Elk ~ Golden Eagle and the Star Nation.
LionFire is a gateway for many of the most ancient stone and crystal skulls. His work with these skulls has given him international recognition as one of the worlds’ major crystal skull keepers. One of his ancient Jade Skulls is featured in the new Crystal Skull Oracle Card Deck and He has authored a section of the new Crystal Skull book, 'Crystal Skulls and the Enigma of Time', by Patricia Mercier.
A professional, multi-faceted artist and performer in a variety of media, his most recent work is drawn from shamanic symbols and patterns of the Americas. He is a design specialist in Pre-Columbian Archaeographics and Winged Spirits throughout the ages. LionFire has had the privilege of working with John Major Jenkins, Souldancer, Tony Shearer and his neice, Judith Moore, Jose Arguelles, Kan'Nal, Lunar Fire, ThunderBeat, Daniel Hicks, Dr. Blue, Imani White, Alloa Patricia and Mikhail Mercier Baker, both on stage and in the studio. LionFire was also honored to be the 'Drum Keeper' for the 13 Indigenous Grandmother's Conference in Sedona, Arizona.