Author Topic: Manataka??  (Read 35621 times)

jim tree

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Manataka??
« on: July 22, 2005, 09:29:18 pm »
How about this group??

http://www.manataka.org/
« Last Edit: January 20, 2010, 07:31:23 pm by educatedindian »

Offline debbieredbear

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Re: Mantaka??
« Reply #1 on: July 23, 2005, 12:14:19 am »
There might be something in the archives on them. They aren't well thought of.

Offline educatedindian

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Re: Mantaka??
« Reply #2 on: July 23, 2005, 01:32:34 am »
Kay Wesho Bauer probably knows the most about them of anyone here, but the local Native heritage center just put out a great page debunking all their nonsense.

"The Manataka American Indian Council is the largest fraudulent Indian exploitative group in Arkansas, mixing New Age and Pagan concepts with American Indian concepts.  Not only do they make misleading claims about themselves, they exploit legitimate Indian culture and attempt to misappropriate sacred religious ceremonies.  Lee “Standing Bear??? Moore was featured as a “teacher??? on the known fraud William Scott Anderson’s “Prophecy Keeper’s??? program in 2004.  The voluminous links (often unapproved) that  Manataka's website provides to other tribes and articles on the American Indian suggests to the casual reader that this group is a valid representation of the legitimate Indian community, which it is not.  In a smokescreen, Manataka has a website page devoted to warning about frauds - while committing the very same actions it warns against. "
http://aihsc.info

From the website:
"THE STORY OF MANATAKA By Lee Standing Bear Moore
Like many Manataka documents, much of this one is hard to respond to because of the nature of the claims. Rather than based on any specific knowledge or actual events, the majority of the “Story of Manataka??? is constructed from fanciful images similar to the most sophisticated of fairy tails and New Age concepts.  They are by nature un-provable claims without rational support.
Rather than look at the overall message, we have to consider the messenger himself. As Danny Jones, one time Manataka insider and co-chairman of Manataka’s Arkansas American Indian Education Task Force (before he quit in disgust), quoted Randy Lee Moore as saying: “Tradition is a bunch of bunk! We create our own traditions!??? "

MOre from the site authors:
..."there is absolutely no evidence of any sacred caves ever existed outside of Manataka's own unsubstantiated claims....
Benito Altha Grayhorse, who MAIC claims was a "Guardian of Manataka", sold water from the Hot Springs area for profit!
It was the owners of the "garishly ornate bath houses" who came up with a great percentage of the promotional stories that Manataka clings to.  Perhaps the most ornate bathhouse was developed by Colonel Samuel W. Fordyce, which contains a statue of Hernando DeSoto receiving water from an Indian "Princess".   The good colonel was known to be an inventor of promotional stories....
It should become readily  apparent where the twisted history is fabricated in promotion of MIAC's self interest.  Legitimate American Indians face enough obstacles as it is in reclaiming their heritage without the corrupted form being offered by Manataka diluting it....
The Hot Springs National Park museum alone contains 300,000 documents. This includes thousands of letters, hundreds of reports, and some 3000 maps and drawings.  Yet, not one of these items supports MAIC's claims....  
There are dozens and dozens, if not hundreds, of studies and literatures that discuss human habitation of the Hot Springs area and Arkansas, at least back to the Paleo-Indian period before 8000 B.C.   Exactly whose ancestors these were would be pure speculation.  Arkansas has over 39,300 recorded archeological sites, and over 4,700 archeological projects.  Yet, not one of these support MAIC's claims....
....the names used by Manataka members are real American Indian names, given in the manner and custom of real existing American Indian Tribes? Amongst members we find Quiet Wind, Sweet Water, Sparrow Hawk,
Eagle Water Bird, Good Butterfly, Spirit Walker, Hawk Eyes, Morning Flower, Mountain Wind,, Silent Bear, Furr Horse, BlueSkyWaters, Wolf Walks Quiet, Coyote Song, Screeching Hawk, ad nausea. While the majority of Manataka members claim Cherokee heritage, they do not follow the common Cherokee naming tradition. The foregoing names are not Cherokee names, only English words that sound to the inventors like American Indian names....
"Manataka" as a spiritual place is virtually unknown outside of the organization and those who have fallen for it's glib claims.  Nor is there a "Great Manataka" found in the many different American Indian religious traditions."

Other warnings.
http://users.pandora.be/gohiyuhi/frauds/frd0024.htm
http://users.pandora.be/gohiyuhi/frauds/frd0024b.htm

Offline educatedindian

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Re: Mantaka??
« Reply #3 on: July 23, 2005, 01:45:25 am »
And one of their pages tells the truth about all the elders and other famous Natives who made the mistake of going to Manataka, as well as a long list of Nuage frauds that go there.

-----
From the Indianz.com message board:
"ChahtaChito, they hired me, Bill Miller, Echoes of Earth & Sky and Dennis Zotigh's dance troupe to do an evening concert for them a few years ago at the Hot Springs Convention Center. We worked very hard to put together something really nice; integrating music, storytelling and dance. Which wasn't easy since we all live in different parts of the country! The concert sold out. This "Standing Bear" guy went up on stage wrapped in a bearskin rug and proceeded to "tell the story" of Manataka. An HOUR later, 2/3 of the people had left in disgust and we were still standing backstage waiting to begin! Oh yeah, it was a real good time! The next night though, we did the show at the Cherokee Amphitheater in Tahlequah. Smaller audience, better experience."

It has been increasingly apparent that many organizations and individuals have attended Manataka activities under a preconceived assumption that Manataka was a legitimate American Indian organization.  Once there, they discover otherwise.  As Dennis Stroud, president of the Cherokee Gourd  Dance Society has said: "Yeah, we were suckered into going once. We will never go back."

....While ex-councilman Everett Waller of the Osage Nation might have attended, he most likely was one of the many who came because of false assumptions. When the Osage Nation was contacted in reference to this event, they responded that “the tribe may have unknowingly associated with this organization….. I do not know of any current relationship nor is there any interest.???  

"Chief" Selma Palmer (Soaring Paw N Hooves Cawley) and her "Ocali Nation" is The Ocali Nations Intertribial, Inc - a New Age group in Florida exploiting the American Indian while it sells Vision Stone and Card Sets for $18.00 each.  As a "Wolfsong Peace Elder", she was part of Mary Thunder and Twylah Nitsche's scam.  

That the Governor made a proclamation is meaningless.  Anyone can request that a proclamation be made designating a day, week, or month as special.  Cory Allen Cox, Assistant Legal Counsel to Governor Huckabee, has written: “We issue proclamations for all manner of groups and events, including out house racers, Bar B-Que cook offs and Hispanic awareness week. These do not mean that the state sanctions any of these entities or events. They are more or less niceties that we do for our citizens.???  Want an Arkansas Nose Picking Day?  Ask for it....

"The University of Arkansas enlisted MAIC to begin a long series of special presentations to varied groups on the history and culture of Hot Springs (Manataka)."

The university itself denies any knowledge of this.  It might have been through the "Manataka American Indian Student Association", which was formed by Chemistry Professor Robert Swindell - a member of Manataka.  The current status of this group is uncertain at this writing.  When we contacted the university, their charter had not been renewed at that time....    

Neither the federally recognized Seneca Nation of Indians in New York or the Seneca-Cayuga of Oklahoma have ever heard of Dennis Joseph....

Danny L. Jones, Director of Native Americans Of South Arkansas, was co-chairman of this so-called “Task Force???. He resigned because of the apparent “New Age, Paganism, and Witchcraft??? associations of MAIC. In an e-mail to Gohiyuhi, Danny Jones writes:

“Well, I'm finally glad that someone else has finally found out the truth about Manataka! I've been trying to warn people about this organization for the last couple of years. But, it seems that no one wants to listen. I've even lost a couple of friends, who have been brainwashed, to these New Agers and Wannabes.???

....Organizations such as MAIC presenting any program to the Farm Bureau could be devastating to the American Indian, feeding the company exactly the improper or false information that  can be used against us. The Farm Bureau is active in anti-Indian programs is several states. In Oklahoma, it is a founding member of the anti-Indian sovereignty group ONE NATION and is campaigning against 39 tribes....  

Offline educatedindian

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Re: Mantaka??
« Reply #4 on: July 23, 2005, 01:46:05 am »
Pt 2

A perfect example of Manataka’s bastardization of American Indian traditions and mixing of other traditions is the “Rite of Seven Steps???.  Saptapadi, or the taking of seven steps by the bride and the bridegroom before the sacred fire, is an East Indian Hindu wedding ritual, NOT American Indian....

The traditional Lakota do not consider Robert Woableza LaBatte a "Spiritual Leader".  The "World Council of Spiritual Elders of Mother Earth" is a New Age based organization run by a self proclaimed "thirteenth generation Quiche Mayan High Priest".  It is questionable that any individual, who is claimed by MAIC to be a true traditional spiritual elder, is genuine.  Real American Indian spiritual  leaders rarely travel outside of their community, do not mix traditions, and never advertise....

The name Omeakaehekatl is not a Mayan name.  Mexican names that end with the letters -TL are Aztec, not Mayan. The Aztecs speak the Nahuatl language, which has no historical relationship with the Maya.  Erick Gonzalez lives in Northern California. Claiming to be a Mayan priest, he is involved in selling workshops on “Mayan Shamanism“, ceremonies, incense, tobacco, herbs, and associated items.

The only legitimate Painted Horse War Dance Society in Oklahoma is associated with the Seneca-Cayuga.  Their leader tells us that they have never been to the Hot Springs area, and have never heard of "Manataka".  They do not do "dance exhibitions".  

Henson served as vice chief of the United Keetoowah Band from 1990 to 1998 before being appointed to chief.  Within two years he was forced to resign under allegations of 17 different violations of the UKB constitution and by-laws, including generating unofficial agendas and presenting them at the council meetings.  While these allegations might be unfounded, Henson did not "retire"....  

The "Bear Clan Medicine Society" is a subdivision or associate of Manataka.  This is another example of Manataka and it’s associates exploiting and misappropriating American Indian culture. The Bear Dance was a sacred gift to the Ute, and can be traced back until at least the fifteenth century. Although a social dance, it retains it’s sacred meanings and cameras and recordings are not allowed. According to the Southern Ute Bear Dance Sub-Chief, Jake Ryder, any presentation of the Bear Dance off reservation is a serious misappropriation of their sacred traditions....

Milton Pelcher, Program Director for the Saginaw Chippewa Seventh Generation program, which oversees the the cultural, heritage, language and traditions of the Anishinaabe and supporting programs, denies that any tribal members participated in Manataka activities. In contacting other tribal officials, none had heard of Manataka.  One asked if Manataka was a packing company....

MAIC has strenuously combed the internet and purloined many articles, copied them to MAIC’s site, and presented them as part of MAIC’s own program. A large number of authors are not aware that this has occurred. One reason for the large number of “hits??? is that MAIC has extensively taken articles for their site, and when an individuals search for a specific subject they are taken to MAIC’s site instead of the original source."

monique

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Re: Mantaka??
« Reply #5 on: February 03, 2006, 10:35:52 pm »
I know this organization of spiritual elders of mother earth....elders have elders who are younger and do travel for them and yes some of the elders travel everywhere...some not...this council was for many important and many reasons with many tribes who are part and others not yet...just as is occurring in the exchange of everything necessary to do what we can to help people and thise earth at this time...I know nothing of manataka but I do know the elders of these councils the quiche maya priest you speak off is 77 and yes travels and shares eveything...as head of many others in council...if you do not have the facts do not assume to my knowledge...the quiche maya calendars and wisdoms are not new age...and the sacred ways of the dine that live where we gathered with many from many places are sacred...so lets focus on what is most important at this time...rising above....healing...mending and honoring...put the energy were it can go not where it is in question...


anyways we all need each other....bridge peoples and ways...lets stay in truth ...and say and do what is most helpful....otherwise we get in our own way....if this elder's council heard you they would laugh...then wonder about your disrespect...

Offline educatedindian

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Re: Mantaka??
« Reply #6 on: February 04, 2006, 05:55:50 pm »
Pardon my amusement Monique. Not only at what you say but at the goofy Nuage way you say it. Is it somehow more "spiritual" to not use periods or commas and instead make one long confusing sentence?

"I know this organization of spiritual elders of mother earth...."

You mean Erick Gonzalez's bunch?

"elders have elders who are younger"

ROFL! That would be an amazing thing to see. An elder of an elder is by definition OLDER.

"...this council was for many important and many reasons with many tribes who are part and others not yet..."

Yes I can see and I cannot see and I can agree and not agree. THAT is just how silly you are talking.

"I do know the elders of these councils the quiche maya priest you speak off is 77"

ROFL! You claim Erick Gonzalez is 77? I doubt it. It's also pretty obvious he is NOT Mayan. Photo:
http://www.mayanshamanism.com/council/contact.html

He's likely criollo. It's possible he may be mestizo with some small amount of distant Mayan ancestry, but I doubt it. Why should we (and why do you) give any credibility at all who takes the money made from alleged Mayan ceremonies and sends it to Glen Allen CA?

"...if you do not have the facts do not assume to my knowledge..."

To your knowledge? Is English your second language, or are you simply confused?

"the quiche maya calendars and wisdoms are not new age..."

We haven't seen any sign that Gonzalez has anything to do with the actual Mayan beliefs, only Nuage ripoffs.

"and the sacred ways of the dine that live where we gathered with many from many places are sacred..."

We haven't seen any sign of his involvement with the Dine. How about telling us more?

"so lets focus on what is most important at this time...rising above....healing...mending and honoring..."

Kum Bay Yah My Lord, Kum Bay Yah!

"put the energy were it can go not where it is in question..."

I don't think anyone here has any idea what you just said, including you.

"anyways we all need each other...."

We sure as hell don't need anything from you except for you to grow up and leave Native ways alone.

"...lets stay in truth ..."

Yes, let's. Let's stay in respect also. Let's also hope you learn how to do those two things, which you haven't yet. And then maybe you can learn how to speak English in a less goofy way.

"and say and do what is most helpful....otherwise we get in our own way...."

You certainly show a habit of tripping over yourself.

"if this elder's council heard you they would laugh..."

If any ACTUAL elders heard you they would laugh, just as we already are.

Jim Tree

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Re: Mantaka??
« Reply #7 on: February 05, 2006, 06:41:07 pm »
Thanks EE,
I have to say that this group has done the best job I have seen at looking lagit, at least at first glance. They have publish slander against an Elder/ sundance leader that I know and I wanted to know about them. The things they accuse him of is what they are doing, selling ceremony.
Again, Than you.
Tree

Offline dee

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Re: Mantaka??
« Reply #8 on: February 06, 2006, 06:51:11 am »
http://www.manataka.org/page493.html

Sacred Run 2006

Running for Land, Life and Peace

Feb. 11 to April 22, 2006



From San Francisco, CA to Washington, D.C.

Join Dennis Banks and others on the run.

the link/info for this group 'sacred run' is legit right?

Offline educatedindian

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Re: Manataka
« Reply #9 on: January 20, 2010, 07:31:09 pm »
I just received a request from a couple saying they are considering getting married by someone in Manataka using the so called Rite of the Seven Steps.

Does anyone have advice for them?

Here's my replies to them.

----------------

Manataka is a very dubious group at best. Many of those claiming to be Native are not, and some that are also claim to be trained in things they have neither training nor authorization to do and most Natives would find this very offensive.
 
How you choose to be married is of course up to you. But do not kid yourself into imagining this would be an actual Native ceremony.
 
I believe you would benefit from what our members have to say. So I will mention on the thread we have on Manataka what you have asked me, leaving out your names of course.

---------------

Additional points:
 
The so called Rite of the Seven Steps is actually a Hindu ceremony they pass off as Native.
 
Labatte or "Woablaza" also falsely presents himself as a Lakota elder.
 
Manataka has also endorsed two very dangerous types, a militia group called the Little Shell Pembina, and a white supremacist and John Birch Society member named David Yeagley. Manataka even hosts Yeagley's writings, a New Age version of what he falsely claims is Comanche tradition.

Offline krista

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Re: Manataka??
« Reply #10 on: March 28, 2013, 10:38:20 pm »
  Woableza is very active in the Bay Area and supported here by a large community. Below is directly copied from an email invite I received. I was introduced by friends who are big supporters, but he talks about aliens and was in videos with rainbows...super new age:

  Come join us for a rare gift as Dakota/Lakota elder and Grand Chief, Woableza, presents the New Story of Life on Mother Earth for the 2013 Spring Equinox of New Beginnings .

    Woableza is a Chosen Elder of Many Tribes, from the Spiritual Elders of Mother Earth. He holds an Awakening of the Keys of Life that will help us ground in the new energies of Mother Earth through bridging the collections of Indigenous Creation Stories of the Americas.

    " There is only One Master Key to open your path into the New World that is coming in and that is the Key of Love"
    - Grand Elder Woableza.

    When: Thursday 3/28/13 7:30 pm -
    Where:Open secret Bookstore
    923 C St., San Rafael, CA, 94901 -

    Suggested loving donation sliding scale: $15-$35

    *Donations will go to support Woableza's Travel and pay for the use of the space.

    We hope to see you there!!!!

    Lakota/Dakota elder, whose spiritual name “Woableza” identifies him as “One who seeks the Knowledge of Life” or “One looking for Understanding.” He has traveled throughout the Americas for the past 37 years, acquiring and sharing indigenous stories and wisdom regarding care for the land and people. He has produced films, TV programs, educational programs, and has worked with a number of Native American organization concerned with health, media, spirituality and the environment. Woableza proudly comes from Buffalo Nation.

    Grand Chief Woableza (Wo-a-blay-za) is a Holyman and Wisdom Keeper of indigenous peoples. As a noted American Indian spiritual leader, elder, storyteller, singer and cultural consultant, he has traveled across the continent for over 30 years gathering stories, songs and dances from the elders of many tribes. Now, he shares that wisdom with people across the continent and around the world.

    Woableza is a great grandson of the famed Dakotah Sioux "Chief Ti Wakan" (Sacred Lodge) who was instrumental in restoring peace between the Dakota and the United States Army during the great Indian wars. He is a follower of the teachings of the famous Lakota Holyman, Chief Tatanka Iyotake (Sitting Bull).

    Woableza is fast becoming one of the most sought after spiritual leaders and teachers in the country. He is following in the footsteps of his famous ancestors and may well exceed them in the power of his unique gifts. Woableza is a Peace Teacher. He teaches about peace found within and peace among people and nations. He teaches about finding peace with Mother Earth and all creation.

    > Woableza appeared in the movie "Thunder Heart" and a PBS special, "Everything Has a Spirit." He founded the Indian News Network and Cheyenne River Public Television. Woableza is an Elder with the Spirit Walkers of Turtle Island. He was a member of the National Congress of American Indians, National Museum of American Indian and the Native American Producers Association.

Friends Of Open Secret Bookstore
923 C Street, San Rafael, California 94901
View Map · Get Directions

Offline Azteca

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Re: Manataka??
« Reply #11 on: September 04, 2016, 06:05:19 pm »
Wow I thought this group was legit???