Author Topic: "Native American Church" Strawberry Plains TN, Jerry Dills AKA Peshewa  (Read 118688 times)

Offline ten-skey

  • Posts: 31
Re: Native American church....?
« Reply #75 on: March 12, 2010, 02:29:35 pm »
Mr E.P. Grondine : Wada for Your words . A True brother ( regardless of color or origin) speaks from the heart . Spirit moved You to do such !   Ten-skey

Offline ten-skey

  • Posts: 31
Re: Native American church....?
« Reply #76 on: April 20, 2010, 02:17:37 pm »
Always ,Remember, Dills And All the East of the Mississippi River Shawnee ARE split offs of Jerry Popes group ( U.R.B.) . Said group LOST its Federal Legal case to being Indian / Indigenous ( Interiors Arts and Crafts board ). they Refuse Any other type of Recognition ( As a WHITEMAN I Say I AM A INDIAN -White makes right ). Their " Famed / Framed " Resolution from Ohio ( Pope Was born, raised in Indiana ) STATES they ARE desendents (AT best , fore THEY STATE their leadership at that time WAS Mosty Wannabees ) . AT the time of the resolution They went to Ohio's BLACK leadership - Ohio's M.L.K. and ranted how they were abused Indians , yet this rant took two years to get any result - desendancy status to 1/16 .    Ten-skey

Offline Lookstwice

  • Posts: 1
Re: Native American church....?
« Reply #77 on: July 20, 2010, 02:11:41 am »
I am another of Doc's apprentices.  I have been in contact with Clearwater thru IM's, and I understand he has shared some of that with others so I'm not totally unknown to some of you.  I want to tell my story of my time with Doc for my benefit as well as to give an alternate view of him.  Alternate because I wasn't privy to a lot of what has been shared here except thru the accounts told to me both then and now.  Alternate because of the way I looked at the situation and how that came to change in me causing me to leave the company of the PeSheWa clan.  I still have a hard time thinking of Doc as Jerry even tho I often heard his wives and Tom and Steve call him by that name.  So I'll probably be calling him Doc thru all my posts...

When I met Doc at Indian Bingo in Spartanburg, SC I was in very bad shape.  I think I sound overly dramatic if I say I was near death.  So I'll just stick with "in bad shape" for now.  Although the dramatic is closer to the truth.  This meeting was the beginning of an incredible period in my life and I still treasure it in many ways.  I compartmentalize to be able to... because it ended being such a disappointment.  And I was made to feel that I was the disappointment. 

I'm disappointed in myself in a lot of ways because the esoteric knowledge I believed I'd received from Doc the shaman Doc the priest should have set me free and kept me free from the trap of this dominant culture that is slowly killing me thru sapping me of life.  I was so exhausted when I got off work today I thought I'd never be able to write anything coherent (a Doc word there).  And I feel very defensive.  I imagine the possible derision and even attacks I might have coming.  Or simply an inquiry to explain myself and what is meant by "knowledge".  Or even a psyche-profile of how deluded I must be, etc.  These states of mind are a part of me and they are exhausting.  So you see how bad it is (some of it).  And yet I can now hold a job where I couldn't before and have a relationship where I couldn't before.  So you see how good it is (some of it).  I think I'm trying to say, "How do you measure a healing?" 

OK, I'm rambling.  One quote I thought I'd share in the vein of esoteric knowledge:  Doc said to me at one of our "Tea times" we had in Tennessee, "I ain't everybody's cup of tea." (he said that often), "and I ain't no Bobby Drinnon!"  I just smiled at him and said I had no idea who that was.  Many years later I had the good fortune to meet Bobby.  He is considered to be a genuine psychic by many and lives in East Tennessee.  He is an amazing person, and he and Doc are like light and dark, day and night.  But there was the same dispassionate spirit in both of them.  The same extra-heaping-helping of wakan, I AM, what I think of as LIFE.  They just expressed it differently according to their different morals and personal bias.  This is something I want to explore here if allowed because that was the part of Doc that mattered to me.  That sense of Other that inhabited him, or at least his words.  I've thought it sociopathic at times because of the difference in moral restraint.

I might be looking like the devil's advocate right now (except for that last statement in previous paragraph), but I'm truly trying to follow my heart as Clearwater suggested.  Be patient with me.  I know about Indian time too.

Re: Native American church....?
« Reply #78 on: July 20, 2010, 04:26:33 am »
I don't think anyone's going to attack you here. There's always good and bad and sifting it through is just part of the decompression.. or healing process if you prefer. Life is hard, we deal with it in best we can.. and then later, deal with how we dealt with it. ;)
press the little black on silver arrow Music, 1) Bob Pietkivitch Buddha Feet http://www.4shared.com/file/114179563/3697e436/BuddhaFeet.html

Offline clearwater

  • Posts: 105
Re: Native American church....?
« Reply #79 on: July 20, 2010, 02:27:14 pm »
It's funny I only knew Jerry as Jerry. Others started calling him "Doc" a few years after I met him in 1978. Jerry had a way of moving consciousness with words, and of course pot and peyote and other halucinogens helped with that too. I would not have stayed with Jerry for 11 years if it were all bad. But it took me 11 years to learn that Jerry was what he himself referred to as a "vampire" -- someone who sucks the life energy from others. If you look at those around Jerry, they either prop him up with their energy and personal knowledge of him and his ways, thereby giving him crfedibility, or they are people Jerry has elected to "help" unscrew their heads if, and only if, they served him in return. It's an unspoken understanding but one that Jerry solicits wihtout question, in my opinion. I've seen too much to know otherwise. Take a look at those close to Jerry and will will not really find spiritually self acualized people. The only two folks I knew who knew Jerry who were spirutually aware and unencumbered by him were Rossi (who you have told me you met) and a teacher I'll simply call Anand, as east Indian who taught metaphysics at University of TN. Both are deceased. But in life they did not tolerate much of Jerry's bull, although they did interact with the good that was there. But both told me of Jerry and his ways and helped me see my experience from a different perspective.  In my 11 years with Jerry, I witnessed, first hand, a string of people used and discarded by him when they no longer served his purpose or if they questioned him or his methods, or if they grew beyond his ability to control them. Anyway, I feel I have dominated this thread too much as it is, I just wanted to comment on the idea that there may be some good that came out of your experience. Very little in life is all-or-nothing, an absolute. Jerry could not continue to play with darkness if he didn't dabble with truth.

I look forward to your story unfolding, good, not so good, the pretty and the ugly, and I'll shut up now. There will be little I can add to your story and I can learn something from  you. I know how deep this is for you and respect your sharing this part of yourself.

clearwater

Offline E.P. Grondine

  • Posts: 401
    • Man and Impact in the Americas
Re: Native American church....?
« Reply #80 on: July 28, 2010, 12:00:05 am »
Always ,Remember, Dills And All the East of the Mississippi River Shawnee ARE split offs of Jerry Popes group ( U.R.B.) . Said group LOST its Federal Legal case to being Indian / Indigenous ( Interiors Arts and Crafts board ). they Refuse Any other type of Recognition ( As a WHITEMAN I Say I AM A INDIAN -White makes right ). Their " Famed / Framed " Resolution from Ohio ( Pope Was born, raised in Indiana ) STATES they ARE desendents (AT best , fore THEY STATE their leadership at that time WAS Mosty Wannabees ) . AT the time of the resolution They went to Ohio's BLACK leadership - Ohio's M.L.K. and ranted how they were abused Indians , yet this rant took two years to get any result - desendancy status to 1/16 .    Ten-skey

Ten-skey, it is difficult for me to type, but no one in the East of the River Shawnee knows Jerry Dill.

Further, the East of the River contains many people who were never part of the URB, and those who were with the URB walked away from Jerry Pope.

As far as Jerry and his URB goes, many of his victims were active in exposing his fraud and stopping him once they found out about him. Like most cult leaders, he blackmails them with any personal information they shared with him.

I have never heard what you relate about the URB quest for Ohio state recognition.

I am hoping that Jerry perjuring himself on his peyote application will bring him to an end.

Offline E.P. Grondine

  • Posts: 401
    • Man and Impact in the Americas
Re: Native American church....?
« Reply #81 on: July 28, 2010, 12:10:47 am »

...When I met Doc at Indian Bingo in Spartanburg, SC I was in very bad shape.  I think I sound overly dramatic if I say I was near death.  So I'll just stick with "in bad shape" for now.  Although the dramatic is closer to the truth.  This meeting was the beginning of an incredible period in my life and I still treasure it in many ways.  I compartmentalize to be able to... because it ended being such a disappointment.  And I was made to feel that I was the disappointment. 

I'm disappointed in myself in a lot of ways because the esoteric knowledge I believed I'd received from Doc the shaman Doc the priest should have set me free and kept me free from the trap of this dominant culture that is slowly killing me thru sapping me of life.  I was so exhausted when I got off work today I thought I'd never be able to write anything coherent (a Doc word there).  And I feel very defensive.  I imagine the possible derision and even attacks I might have coming.  Or simply an inquiry to explain myself and what is meant by "knowledge".  Or even a psyche-profile of how deluded I must be, etc.  These states of mind are a part of me and they are exhausting.  So you see how bad it is (some of it).  And yet I can now hold a job where I couldn't before and have a relationship where I couldn't before.  So you see how good it is (some of it).  I think I'm trying to say, "How do you measure a healing?" 

..  Many years later I had the good fortune to meet Bobby.  He is considered to be a genuine psychic by many and lives in East Tennessee.  He is an amazing person, and he and Doc are like light and dark, day and night...

Lookstwice, it is difficult for me to type, but I will give you the same advice I gave clearwater: read Steve Hassan's Combatting Cult Mind Control. It most likely will give you the tools you need to deal with your experience with Dills.

You are not the disappointment, and it is clear that Dills is a spiritual thief, and that you were his victim. No one here will make fun of you for that.

Your "compartmentalization" as you put it is your effort to come to terms with that experience. It is my thinking that Hassan's book will be a very, very useful tool in helping you to do that and to move on.

We have laws which should be being applied to people like Pope and Dills. That they are not is just another example of continued discrimination against the First Peoples, IMO.

good luck

Offline Mato Istime

  • Posts: 7
Re: Native American church....?
« Reply #82 on: July 28, 2010, 01:12:37 pm »
I met this man and was not impressed at all.

Offline ten-skey

  • Posts: 31
Re: Native American church....?
« Reply #83 on: August 04, 2010, 02:09:34 pm »
All those HARMED by Pope , the U.R,B. and this spinoff personel SHOULD contact Various States Officals , He does court Prominate Officals ( ie Mclin And Assoc. of Ohio , etc. ) . HE does BAD MOUTH federal indians ( ie Real indians would have DIED ) Ten-skey.

Offline clearwater

  • Posts: 105
Re: Native American church....?
« Reply #84 on: March 03, 2011, 05:35:32 pm »
About a week ago a friend of mine who resides in east Tennessee emailed me with some information about Dills/Peshewa. I googled the information I received and found some links to information which I felt should be posted here. So in this and the next post  I'm passing along what was brought to my attention.

Link to original article: Theft from Knox burial grounds called 'sacrilege'

(Moderators: This is a copyrighted article posted here for research purposes only. If this infringes on copyright (?) please delete the quoted article and just keep the link to the online original source.)

Quote
Theft from Knox burial grounds called 'sacrilege'

In describing religious artifacts stolen from a nearby Native American burial ground, Macaki "Doc" PeSheWa, priest at the Native American Church in Strawberry Plains, says remaining calm is a challenge.

"I'm not going to tell you that there isn't any ill feelings, because there is," PeSheWa said.

PeSheWa says a 14-foot Native American totem pole, two symbolic eagles, a cow skull and a horse head were stolen from burial grounds located at 7865 E. McMillian Road in East Knox County between Nov. 2 and Nov. 4.

According to a Knox County Sheriff's Office report, the suspects used a full-size pickup truck to steal the religious artifacts and symbols, which the report states are valued at $10,000.

KCSO spokeswoman Martha Dooley said the sheriff's office is looking into the theft.

To PeSheWa, not the value of the artifacts, but their meaning is what is important. He said the artifacts as well as the ground in which many Native Americans are buried serve as a way for relatives of those lost to "release" their spirits.

"There have been many a tear shed here at these grounds," he said. "Stealing the totem is a direct violation of burial ceremonies. This is sacrilege to us."

PeSheWa said the theft is not the first instance of trespassing, which he said began about three years ago.

"I don't know what we are going to do," he said. "The only thing I can think of now is to get another 18- to 20-foot cedar log and carve another one."

The theft has caused PeSheWa to close off the burial grounds, which he wishes he did not have to do.

"This is a place where people can learn about Native American culture and even worship how they see fit," he said, "but we can't take another lick like that."

The Native American priest said the totem that was stolen commemorates a time when Native Americans from various tribes translated "The Great Law" - the guiding principles Native Americans use to govern themselves - into English. He said "The Great Law" not only holds great value to his people, but also should be held in high regard by any citizen of the United States. America's Founding Fathers used "Great Law" principles to shape portions of the U.S. Constitution.

Symbolism aside, PeSheWa said all that he wants is the totem's return.

"This is a federal offense," he said. "We just want everything brought back and for these thefts to quit. I'm serious about the return of the totem and the capture of those who continue stealing."

Nash Armstrong may be reached at 865-342-6336.

 © 2010, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.

Note that this is this is the first time that the property has been referred to as "burial" grounds.

--clearwater
« Last Edit: March 03, 2011, 05:54:59 pm by clearwater »

Offline clearwater

  • Posts: 105
Re: Native American church....?
« Reply #85 on: March 03, 2011, 05:39:01 pm »
Link to original obituary: Dr. Macaki Peshewa (obituary)

Quote
PESHEWA, DR. MACAKI - known to most everyone as "Doc," continued on his journey through eternity early Wednesday morning, February 9, 2011, as he passed from this life to the next. During his life he brought happiness to many and no one who met him was unaffected by his presence. Doc was a force for good throughout his life. A Veteran of the Air Force, he also co-founded the Tennessee Indian Council, founded the Indian Historical Society, Native American Indian Media, The Systems Theory and Human Development Corporation, published The Indian Reader, and established the Native American Church of Strawberry Plains of which he was the priest. He was also well known as Santa for the past 37 years. He could often be seen passing out candy and gifts during the holiday season and throughout the year. He felt like "Everyday should be like Christmas." Continuing on their journey through life are Doc's wives, Marion and Melanie; his children Shanti, Shakra and husband Adam, Shamir and partner Scott, Shaman and husband Daniel, Shakti and Shasti; his brother Tom and Sandra; his cousins, Doug Dills and Lil Virginia Thompson; his God-children, Brandon Stormer, Paige and Joey Wilkinson; his special friends, Moe, Seham and Christina Gurgis, Seva and family, Chief Hawk Pope, Bill and Patsy McKee, Ayapia, Steve Lohrey, Steve Stormer, Dr. Williem Kelley, Dr. Craig Laman, Earl Nash, Bruce Torbett, Jody Torbett, and Katja Kaye. A releasing ceremony for Doc will be held on Sunday, February 13, 2011 at 4:00pm at the Native American Church located at 7862 McMillan Road, Strawberry Plains, TN. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Native American Church P.O. Box 53, Strawberry Plains, TN 37871. A celebration in honor of Doc will be held at Doc's house following the ceremony. Arrangements by Cremation Options, Inc. (865) 6WE-CARE (693-2273) www.cremationoptionsinc.com.


Published in Knoxville News Sentinel from February 11 to February 12, 2011

Offline educatedindian

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Re: "Native American Church" Strawberry Plains TN, Jerry Dills AKA Peshewa
« Reply #86 on: October 13, 2013, 06:47:16 pm »
Shante Peshewa, son of Jerry Dills, has been convicted of child molesting.

-----
http://posttrib.suntimes.com/news/crime/6629506-418/lake-county-law-and-order.html
Child molester gets 30 years, will appeal

A Schererville man who admitted he molested a 10-year-old girl was sentenced Thursday in Lake Superior Court to 30 years in prison.

Shanti Neishte Peshewa, 29, admitted he molested the girl between Sept. 1 and Dec. 4 at a home in Schererville. During the sexual assaults, Peshewa admitted in court that he would tell the girl he was trying to teach her about sex so she would not experiment with boys her age.

The girl’s mother read excerpts of a letter from her daughter that said Peshewa destroyed her life, but she felt victorious over him despite the crimes he committed against her. “I hope that you suffer,” the girl said in her letter.

Peshewa pleaded guilty to child molesting, a Class A felony punishable by a maximum 50-year sentence. The plea agreement spelled out the 30-year term.

Peshewa said he plans to appeal.

Offline Sparks

  • Posts: 1412
Since January 13, 2022, there is a related thread about a person who is reported to be "a granddaughter to Macaki Peshewa":

http://www.newagefraud.org/smf/index.php?topic=5579.0
(Gowa Peshewa [AKA Gowa Gram] - Doc Macaki Peshewa relative?)

Offline Sandy S

  • Posts: 271
Re: "Native American Church" Strawberry Plains TN, Jerry Dills AKA Peshewa
« Reply #88 on: November 29, 2023, 12:30:45 am »
Just to do so, I teased out this bit "His grandmother, Rebecca Eagle, was married to John Dills from Illinois" - Jerry Dills' claim to paternal heritage.

Currently relevant because of http://www.newagefraud.org/smf/index.php?topic=5579.0

The surname "Eagle" does not automatically = Indigenous heritage. In this case, this family, I only see white listed in records.

Jerry's paternal grandfather John Clinton Dills https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/52425648/john-clinton-dills
Paternal grandmother Rebecca L (Eagle) Dills https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/52425657/rebecca-l-dills

Rebecca L (Eagle) Dills's father was Ambrose Henry Eagle, a private in the Confederate army https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/70910188/ambrose-henry-eagle

Photo and more info on Ambrose https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Eagle-307

Rebecca L (Eagle) Dill is listed white in birth, census, and death records.

Offline Sandy S

  • Posts: 271
Re: "Native American Church" Strawberry Plains TN, Jerry Dills AKA Peshewa
« Reply #89 on: November 29, 2023, 12:41:49 am »
Update on Shanti Peshewa:

DOC Number    220037
First Name    SHANTI
Middle Name    N
Last Name    PESHEWA
Suffix    
Date of Birth    02/1982
Gender    Male
Race    American Indian/Alaskan
Facility/Location    Indiana State Prison

Date of Sentence    07/21/2011
Description    CHILD MOLESTING
Term in Years / Months / Days    
30
00
00000
Type of Conviction    FA
Indiana Citation Code    35-42-4-3
Cause Number    45G04-1012-FA-00053
County of Conviction    LAKE
Projected Release Date    09/21/2036

(search through https://www.in.gov/apps/indcorrection/ofs/ofs )