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Naomi Archer - "Ana Oian Amets, Ana Oihan Ametsa" - Awakening the Horse People

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Ingeborg:
Naomi Archer aka Ana Oya Ametz


In her visits to Europe, Archer has been (is) passing herself off as an indigenous person. Probably she's not too precise on what heritage she claims, i.e. 'indigenous European', and since she speaks both on hurricane relief and ndn issues, she gets presented by some European organzisers as 'indigenous American'.

Here is one example:
http://absolutartist.de/HofNao


--- Quote ---Lecture with Naoim Archer: The world seen from the view of North American natives“
Tuesday, August 7, 7 p.m.

Naomi is an activist for the rights of indigenous peoples in the USA and leader of Four Directions Solidarity Network, promoting the dialogue between different cultures and works for keeping sacred places and a sustainable relationship between humans and nature. Naomi is also an adoptive member of the Cante Tisa [sic], the traditional Strongheart Warrior Society of the Teton Oglala Lakota Nation. During her travels, Naomi strives to mobilise solidarity support for the Strongheart. During her visit to Magdeburg this year she will speak on the meeting of indigenous inhabitants at the US Social Forum which took place in Atlanta/Georgia at the end of June.
--- End quote ---

Her new website does not offer much in the way of contents, but there are a few sentences on her alleged ancestors:

http://www.iladurarrak.org/history.html


--- Quote ---Living History of the Iladurarrak and Our Ancestors

Creation: Our Birth
The telling of our creation story is a sacred experiential ceremony and cannot be communicated properly on a webpage.

Zahar Asabak, Our Ancient Ancestors: 40,000 to 15,000 BCE
More than 40,000+ years ago, our ancient Ancestors emerged onto the ice-covered European continent beginning a lifeway that will survive tens of thousands of years and mass climate change before significant outside disturbance. Living in the warmer southern regions of the continent where steppe and taiga dominated. our ancient Ancestors are responsible for beginning the famous European traditions of cave painting and carving 'venus' figurines.

Emergence of the Iladurarrak: 15,000 - 10,000 BCE
Around 15,000 years ago, the real cultural roots of the Iladurarrak began. At this time our Ancestors were primarily horse and caribou hunters though bison, auroch, birds, and fish were also relied upon. The cultural remains that survive in Mother Earth (and should not be disturbed) reflect our Ancestor's reliance on the Horse and Caribou for their food, homes, tools, and all aspects of their lifeway.

Migrations and Travels: 10,000 - 4000 BCE
Around 10,000 BCE, the glaciers and cold weather of the Ice Age began to retreat. Steppe grassland and the large herds of caribou and horse also retreated north and gave way to birch and pine forest which then transitioned to oak and elm filled with deer, boar, and smaller game. The coastline changed and the large continental area connecting Britain and NW Europe (often called Doggerland) flooded as sea-levels rose.

For the Iladurarrak ancestors, this was a time of great transition as some groups left to follow the reindeer north towards what is now Scandanavia, some moved north into the British Isles, while others remained in the continental forests. Still others, like the Iladurarrak, moved north to the coastline to become hunter/fishers in the ocean and coastal rivers. So our lifeway, while reflecting the millenia that came before, also began to reflect our reliance on the water.

With the retreat of the Ice Age and milder weather, the European continent became much more accessible to travelers and merchants. During this time our people had contact with other cultures including the Indo-European (IE) farmers in the southeast, northern Finno-Ugric people, and Mediterranian cultures farther south.
--- End quote ---

Apparently Archer not only gave herself a new name, but also had second thoughts about the name of her alleged people. Anyway, whether she claims to be „Moaene“ or „Iladurarrak“ - google these terms, and most of what you get in the way of results are sites maintained and entries written by Archer herself. Tribes/peoples of these names are unknown to anyone else dealing with early European history. The word „moaene“ does not even seem to be Basque, because, in a google search in all languages, there are many results in Slavic languages coming up. Once again, neither Moaene nor Iladurarrak happen to be known names of ethnic groups in Europe in the Paleolithic or Mesolithic eras, and the sites claiming so are either Archer's own sites, or people repeating her garbage to promote events with Archer.

As one example for this latter category:
http://www.newfrontier.com/asheville/past-virato-live-2007.htm


--- Quote ---Virato's guest this morning is the director of Four Directions Solidarity Network, a grassroots movement of both native and non-native people coming together from the four directions to preserve traditional indigenous culture, support the health of Elders and traditional keepers, as well as provide tools that return us to a sustainable relationship with our relations, and our Mother, the Earth.

We are not only talking Native Americans, we will discuss all indigenous tribes, including the indigenous Europeans known as the Iladurarrak or Moaene,, which means 'sacred moon people'.

The Iladurarrak were semi-nomadic tribes of hunter-gatherers whose ancestors developed a rich society and culture over portions of the European continent for more than 40,000 years, before giving away to the better known proto-Celt, Celtic, and Norse cultures. They are one family in the larger complex of Paleo-Mesolithic tribes that extended from the Iberian Peninsula in the west to Eastern Russia.

Now, after a long period of slumber, the Iladurarrak are returning as people of European heritage are called back to the ways of their Asaba -their Ancestors during this great time of change. Hou! Hou!
--- End quote ---

Just take a look at the other guests of this radio show host, it reads like a who-is-who in the esoteric scene. Now if this is who take Archer's claims serious.... (BTW, I can't help but wonder about this „Hou! Hou“ Archer is using in her texts – it rather sounds like a bad imitation of Hollywood's grunting ndns.) It is also interesting that Archer's name is not mentioned in the ad for the show, just her title of 'director' - probably to avoid embarassing google results.

It has been mentioned before, when Archer joined NAFPS some time ago, that her claims about descendancy from a pre-Indo-European ethnic group is pure fiction and rhubarb. Her former website titled „inituitivepath.org“ indicates Archer relied largely on intuition instead on facts.

The date of 40,000 B.C. mentioned by Archer happens to coincide with the migration of modern homo sapiens sapiens into Europe eventually. Apparently Archer tries to link her alleged heritage to this first wave of HSS migration. Claiming the emerge of her alleged people at between 15,000 to 10,000 BC still goes back into the Paleolithic era – however, while historians and archeologists found remnants of the European population of the Paleolithic era, they do not have the means to establish their respective ethnic identity, let alone any language spoken by these peoples. The same is true for the following period, the Mesolithic, between 9,600 and 4,500 BC, during which Archer sees the alleged Iladurarrak people retreating into remoter areas of Europe. The artefacts found in no way permit conclusions to the ethnicity of their makers, nor do they provide information on the language(s) spoken and regarding religion(s) practiced by these peoples, the artefacts may present a few hints but this is it.

Archer also continues to link these alleged Iladurrarak to the Basque people of Europe. The Basque language is indeed singular in Europe, and it is an isolated language as there are no related languages known. It is, however, just one theory that the Basques represent a remnant of an earlier original and widespread European population which has not been proven. It is further nothing but one theory about early European population that Basque resp languages related to Basque may have been spoken widely across Europe prior to the migration of Indo-European speaking peoples.

All in all, Archer presents a lot of rhubarb and stuff made up to further her claim of being indigenous. She is not any more indigenous than I am. This is not her only strategy to pass off as indigenous (cf further down).


Here's Archer's profile at tribe.net – especially take a look at the groups she joined:
http://people.tribe.net/ee7ae9ce-2775-4987-8fd5-b7cf8f408c47


--- Quote ---Tribes
* Basque Pride *,
American Indian(Native American)Original,
Asheville, NC,
foot in two worlds,
Outdoor Educators,
queer anarchists,
queer pagan,
Secret Life of Plants,
Shaman,
Shamancircle,
Shamanic Society,
Shamanic women,
Shamanism,
Sustainable Practices and Technology,
Voices of Earth/Na Leo o ka 'Aina,
Year 2012,
? medicine wheel ?
--- End quote ---

A good part of these groups deal with nuage issues, five of them on shamanism alone.

There are two threads in the 2012-group in which Archer gives a little detail about her alleged ancestors:
http://2012.tribe.net/thread/8a4fb076-1333-4ceb-aeb1-e4e2534b4ca8

http://2012.tribe.net/thread/7d5dda67-77e5-48ba-bd24-00bb2b938d34


The following is a link to a more recent profile Archer published at myspace. Apparently Archer has undergone a change of name and now calls herself „Ana Oya Ametz“ - allegedly terms from 'her' pseudo-language. Again, if she really were in a position to have discovered the language of a Paleo- resp Mesolithic European population and even were in a position to speak it, scientists from all over the world should be knocking on her door and worship her.

All Archer really does is create a fantasy of a Paleo-/Mesolthic population, and she uses some Basque and/or Basque sounding terms in the hope to support her claims with them, as well as aspects taken from ndn cultures.

http://www.myspace.com/tzorihou


--- Quote ---Epa! My name is Ana Oya Ametz, which in my language translates loosely to "Dreams in the Forest". My english name is Naomi Archer.

"Ana" is an ancient word that has no English equivalent. It is a kinship word that exists between "sister" and "brother". Native people call this "two spirit" or "whole spirit".

In this spirit, I am humbly making my way though the juxtaposition of modern and the ancient - hearing the voices of my Iladurarrak Ancestors and our Old Ways - relearning what it means to be Indigenous to a homeland and a people.

I currently live in North Carolina, USA but travel to Europe on a regular basis to share native European culture with individuals and groups, walk the land, and do ceremony for the reawakening of my people and Haize Herria - Land of the Wind! I'm working to make 2009 the year I make it home for good. Hou! Hou!

I also work with other members of my Indigenous family - mostly on Turtle Island (North America) - in order to fight for Indigenous rights and the preservation/renewal of traditional ways which keep us strong. I founded Four Directions Network and I'm a member of Cante Tenza- the Strongheart Warrior Society of the Lakota. I also support the sovereignty of the Lakota Oyate - free Lakota nation. I do this work for the people, Our Ancestors, future generations and Amalur - Mother Earth.

There are two things I always try to remember. First, freedom isn't something that's given to you, its what you claim for yourself within your own heart. Second, liberation is called a struggle for good reason.
--- End quote ---

Whereas Archer used to claim to be adopted by the Cante Tinza, she now claims full membership. While the Cante Tinza are a warrior society which doesn't do adoptions, Archer also claims to have an indigenous family „mostly on Turtle Island“, and it might be interesting to hear which family Archer is talking about. Thus Archer is exploiting ndns not only by taking up cultural aspects she favours, but also by claiming adoption, membership in traditional groups and an „indigenous family“, and last not least by not being too precise in her travels in Europe how exactly she defines her being 'indigenous' and allowing misinterpretations of her being ndn.

And you simply got to love this: a white US citizen traveling back to Europe regularly to „share native European culture with individuals and groups […], and do ceremony“. We don't know jack sh!t about history on this continent, were it not for the efforts of a white middle class Euro-American coming to teach us. However, what she teaches aren't facts but fantasies.

Like e.g. this year she did two lectures in Belgium:
http://www.jnm.be/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=674


--- Quote ---thu jun 11, 2009 13:11 pm
At the weekend of June 20/21, Naomi Archer, an native/queer activist from the USA, will do two workshops in the town of Gent – against donation. You can read some more about what she does beneath this text and what these two workshops will be about:

1/'Stealing the sun back: the message of Indigenous solidarity and
traditional understandings'(20 juni)

2/'The Two-Spirit pathway to the Earth: A Workshop Gathering of Healing
and Decolonization for LGBTIQ People'(21 juni)

The workshops will take place in a yurt in a meadow in Mariakerke, but let us know if you want to participate and then we will let you know the exact time and place.

PS: we are still looking for accomodation for Naomi (except for the yurt) where she can probably stay several days/take showers/... please let us know.


FREEDOM LESSONS: U.S. LAKOTA SIOUX SOVEREIGNTY MOVEMENT EXPLORED
Indigenous Rights Activist Shares Stories, Workshops, Traditional
Understandings

From 5 June to 12 July, Indigenous rights activist Naomi Archer will travel through Europe to share workshops and talks about the emerging Lakota Oyate Freedom Movement and the movement's lessons for all people who yearn for freedom in their own lives.

Naomi is Director of the Four Directions Network (www.eswn.org), an organization that brings native and non-native people together in a respectful way to preserve traditional Indigenous culture and restore a sustainable relationship with our Mother Earth. Her free workshops and talks share the traditional lessons she has learned with others in order to empower health, healing, and a renewed respect for all of our relatives in the natural world.

Naomi is also an adopted member of the Cante Tenza, the Strongheart Warrior Society of the Teton Ogalala Lakota Nation. Along with work to support the Lakota Oyate Freedom Movement, she is helping to organize the upcoming June 28th protest and blockade of White Clay, Nebraska to stop the continued genocide of the Oglala Lakota through illegal alcohol sales near Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.

“With the onset of global warming and environmental catastrophe, we need to rediscover a better way of living with Mother Earth and all life before it’s too late. Native traditions tell us the answers are in the past, within the wisdom held by our own ancestors. My role is to help people find this history and this balance.” [Naomi travels in the traditional way, and while no speaking fees are demanded, donations are humbly requested to offset the costs of her travel. Thank you.]

Workshop 20 juni:
Stealing the Sun Back: The Message of Indigenous Solidarity and
Traditional Understandings
Language: English (translators to other languages needed)
Length: 1 hour - 2+ hours, flexible
Type: Interactive. Includes music, presentation, and audience feedback.

Workshop 21 juni:
The Two-Spirit Pathway to the Earth
A Workshop Gathering of Healing and Decolonization for LGBTIQ People For more than 40 thousand years lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersexed and queer (LGBTQI) people have played vital roles in our communities. We two-spirited or whole-spirited people were healers, spiritual people, knowledge keepers, innovators, ambassadors and even warriors. We were embraced for representing and sharing balance. We were essential to the spiritual and emotional health of our peoples and our relationship with the interconnected living world around us. Today, many LGBTIQ people struggle to find their place in an often uncaring and hostile modern world. Our unique spirits are too often seen as threatening, not healing. Our unique gifts have been diminished. The important roles and knowledge LGBTIQ people held has been forgotten leading to dis-ease and imbalance. Please join us for a Gathering of Healing and Decolonization for LGBTIQ People. This is a gathering to learn our history and understand the power of our gifts... to begin the process of decolonizing our minds from the destructive ways of modern consumptive thinking... and to heal the unique spirit that resides in each of us and is needed to help heal Mother Earth in this great time of change. We will share knowledge, exchange perspectives, and build kinship for the greater benefit of us all.
Your guide in this workshop is Ana Oya Ametz, or Naomi Archer. She will share her experiences and lessons learned on the path to becoming a traditional "Ana" or two-spirit of the Iladurarrak people, who once lived along coastal France and Belgium. She will also share her experiences as a two-spirit person participating in international Indigenous gatherings and as an adopted and active member of the Lakota Sioux warrior society known as Cante Tenza. Naomi has also worked at the local, state and national level in the United States for LBGTIQ equality and has been a sexuality/gender educator.
--- End quote ---

Please note that Archer uses the nuage concept of „two spirited“ people. Archer has also – and probably for the benefit of drawing paying clients to these lectures – adjusted the original habitat of the alleged Iladurarrak to the coastal areas of France and Belgium (the coastline in 10,000 BC looked completely different than today, and was not even accessible for some time to come as it was still covered by ice). Another rather suspicious aspect about these two lectures is the apparently clandestine way in which these were organized and promoted.

I would like to point out especially that Archer claims to „share her experience as a two-spirit person „participating in international Indigenous gatherings and as an adopted and active member of the Lakota Sioux warrior society“ - this is clearly exploiting her contacts to ndn activists to further her own agenda. In a similar way, Archer puts forward the idea of her being indigenous, and it is not only by her forgetting to mention which indigenous people she actually means that this is a rather racist attitude. A white privileged person calling herself indigenous because presumably some faraway ancestors tens of thousands of years ago happened to match the description – this rather sounds like the well-known Euro one-upmanship: the better ndn.

And this last one is a real gem:

http://astheteachingdrumturns.blogspot.com/2006/03/tamarack-song-you-fool-did-you-even.html

Archer is being defended by Tamarack Song (I kid you not) first, and then, in the text below, Archer herself sheds a few tears about NAFPS having treated her badly while she came in aaaaaall respectful. Is it really Archer's concept of respect to join an indigenous project by claiming indigenous herself and presenting a fantasy scenario?

On a more personal note: Since Archer sees herself as part of the anarchist movement, she should have learned about racism, institutionalized racism, racist oppression, and white supremacy, and how to behave in different ways. One of the most basic principles is that each person's freedom ends where the freedom of other persons begins. However, Archer has crossed this line considerably, she declares herself indigenous against all facts, and she exploits native cultures and spirituality for her profit. She has taken down her original website and replaced it by another one not as outspoken about offering an alleged alternative for desoriented Euro-Americans and Euros who want to get back to their 'true roots', but she is still doing lectures she gets money for. She is not longer openly calling herself a 'shaman' and offering her respective services via her website, but she is 'teaching' her audience she belongs to a group of persons who were chosen for such work by her alleged ancestors. This does not only imply she is still into the 'shaman' stuff – it also is quite a bit in conflict with anarchist thought on the equality of people. Ms Archer, you cannot have it both ways: an anarchist activist AND a predestined better-than-us 'shaman' plus exploiter.

Defend the Sacred:
Brilliant, Ingeborg. Thank you for taking the time to compile and analyze all of this. Excellent work.

educatedindian:
Archer sent me this message. Anyone wanting the numbers who wishes to speak with her or Martin, IM me.

Followed by my response.

-----------------------
Hello NAFPS people,

Just happened to come across your site again, saw more stuff about me, and wanted to hopefully clear up things in a good way.

IF you really do care about being accurate on your website, then perhaps one of your people would call Duane Martin Sr., headsman of Cante Tenza at [numbers deleted] so you can establish I am a member of Cante Tenza and his little sister. I'm surprised this hasn't been done already if you are really interested in being truthful.

So - knowing that will check out - my next concern is listing Four Directions Network on your site. FDN has done some great work, and we will continue doing great work. No one has profitted off of Four Directions, least of all me. Having FDN on your site only hurts the Native people we work with. Is that your goal?

In the next 6 months, we are doing a campaign on Whiteclay, Nebraska in conjunction with Cante Tenza. It would be good to get this cleared up before we launch that. There is going to be enough blowback without silly rumors floating around.

So - we are 2 for 2 as far as being ethical and truthful. Which leads to the Iladurarrak information. I know people don't like this - because really, white people are not supposed to be able to understand traditional things. I'm always happy to talk about what I do and why I do it - my phone number is easy to find - yet not one person from your organization has ever called me personally to ask or visited a talk I was giving to speak to me there. So - people are speaking solely from rumor and their own ideas of what finding Ancestors should look like.

I don't sell ceremony or "native wisdom", I don't charge money when I talk about Indigenous solidarity or other understandings with people of Euro-heritage. Do you honestly believe I would be in Cante Tenza if I did?

White people need to quit stealing from other Indigenous people and find and awaken their own. And if you know anything about traditional things, you know that is a hard life-long process that can't be learned in books but only by doing - getting to know Mother Earth and the Animal People who taught us from the beginning.  I am trying to do it, every day, in the most honest and humble way I can. I've made some mistakes, but I've corrected them and tried to learned from them. That's all I can ask from myself.

If people don't like that, I really can't help that. If your organization doesn't like that (for whatever reason) then I can't help that either. I'm just trying to do what needs to be done - find my own Ancestors, and help other white people find their own so the Four Directions can be whole again. This is the start to ending racism against Native people - you know that and I know that.

All I've ever asked is that if people have questions, accusations, or whatever they ask me person-to-person. My phone is [number deleted] and as I've written in the past - I'm available to speak to Elders and others at any time if they have questions. No one has ever called to ask me - so its hard to take any of what you are doing as more than spreading rumors and lies.

Duane said I should just leave it alone - but I thought I would try one more email and hope there was someone with some common sense to read it and do the right thing.

Take care,
Naomi Archer
Cante Tenza - Strongheart Warrior Society
Four Directions Network

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

Hello,
 
If there were any falsehoods in the threads, please point them out.
 
You were given a number of chances to clear matters up about your ceremony selling and your falsehoods about European traditions as well. You chose to leave the forum.
 
If you would like to clear these matters up, have changed your practices, or would like to admit your wrongs, we are certainly are willing to listen.
 
Your claim of being a "sister" to Martin means little. You were told by Lakota members of NAFPS that adoption does not give you rights to speak for Lakotas.
 
Martin is also not the most credible person to vouch for you. He is part of the supposed Lakotah Republic, a publicity seeking stunt that does not have the support of virtually any Lakotas, esp not the traditional leaders nor the elected tribal councils. The supposed republic also has schemes to defraud the public with a phony "bank", using tactics taken from the far right militia movement.

apukjij:
As a Two-spirited man i have to take issue with her pan-indian nuage version of being Two-Spirited. Here in Mi'kmaq Country, MOST native Gay Lesbian, Bi, Trans peoples do not use the term Two-Spirited. Being Two-spirited is part of our precontact Mi'kmaq Religion, theres a silent taboo that GLBiTrans do not use that term unless the person has made a commitment to Native Spirituality, and to living a certain way, as there are arcane and protected Dances, Songs and Ceremonies exclusively for Two-Spirited Mi'kmaw, and Two-spirits were Ceremonial Leaders before contact. The last person i know of who was taught the Dance in my generation is Tuma Young from Eskasoni, as he wrote an extensive article in the Mi'kmaq Maliseet Newspaper on his journey.
As for her Lakota "two-spiritedness", this is a sham. The Winkte have a long and virtuous history in LND society. However they do not pierce at the Sundance, they have other duties in the Sundance compound working with the woman, they do not carry the Pipe as there is an admonition against them carrying a Pipe. The were in War Parties, but not as combatants but as support workers. Heyoka's may have engaged in same-sex relations, but not cause they were sexually attracted to the same sex. it was part of thier opposite natures. The lesbians in LDN society took care of motherless children and became beloved grandmothers to many in this way. This is not homophobia for LDN people, its simply the Winkte have certain duties and responsibilities, but to take the path of a Ceremonial Leader, was not one of them. As we all know, each Nation may have dramatic Spiritual differences in their approach and idealities, She's taken Two-spirited teachings from different Nations and and have mixed them together.....

RedRightHand:
We do not know what Archer's real name is, or what his/her birth name was. (About pronouns: I don't know what gender Archer currently identifies as, so, gender-neutral pronouns. I think Archer was born male, but is now identifying as a woman.)

Archer has again had a name/spelling change, now to: "Ana Oian Amets." Different spelling, same fraud.

One would think that if Archer knew hir culture s/he would not be having to constantly make up new spellings and titles. But it's already been established here that the 10,000 BC culture that just happens to look like pan-Indian/pretendian "culture" is a fantasy of Archer's.

Archer, a non-native, is continuing to misreprent hirself as an Indigenous Woman. Archer is specifically fooling non-Natives in environmental movements that s/he can speak for the Lakota, or is somehow an authority on decolonization and solidarity. S/he has a few new websites:

http://awakeningthehorse.wordpress.com/
https://www.facebook.com/awakeningthehorse
http://unsettlingamerica.wordpress.com/

On the last site in particular s/he has united with other appropriators and colonizers of Indigenous space, largely young white people from the environmental movements that romanticize Indigenous peoples and prefer to hear about Indigenous issues from other white people. Especially if they can pretend that white person is actually Indigenous. Archer has actually fooled some of these nons that s/he is NDN. One of the ways s/he does this is by attacking other people for appropriation, while hir whole career is based on stealing from NDNs. It has reached comical proportions.

The scamming seems endless with this one. I think it's clear this unrepentant person belongs in frauds.

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