by Cheryl Johncox
Building off of our partnership with the Ohio Poor People’s Campaign and the Water Justice Field Hearing, Guy Jones, local elder and Sierra Club partner, contacted us in early March to ask if Shelly Corbin and I would be on the steering committee to bring the 24th Annual World Peace and Prayer Day to Ohio. Guy stressed that this would be rooted in protecting our water, praying for healing of the earth and teaching the next generation about the sacredness of all things. The Beyond Dirty Fossil Fuels in Ohio Campaign has been working to support Native leaders in Ohio for more than two years. Working with Shelly Marie Corbin, member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, and the Pipeline and Beyond Fossil Fuels Committee Chair of the Sierra Club Ohio Chapter, we have been supporting local Native residents who are working to heal Ohio’s land and water from exploitation by fossil fuels industries. The Ohio River has been under attack from these industries and government agencies who have successfully lobbied the Ohio River Water Sanitation Commission to make pollution control standards for the Ohio River voluntary.
In 1996, Chief Arvol Looking Horse, 19th Generation Keeper of the White Buffalo Calf Pipe Bundle, began conducting annual World Peace and Prayer Day (WPPD) ceremonies to encourage people of all faiths and all nations to offer prayers for the planet on the summer solstice, June 21st. Across cultures, the solstice is considered a powerful time to pray, especially at sacred sites. For the past 23 years, WPPD has been held at sites across the US and around the world. This year, the gathering comes to Ohio to honor the sites sacred to the Indigenous Peoples of this region.
Event Report - 300 attend four day prayer event at historical Fort Ancient Earthworks, OH.
It was a rainy week in Southwestern Ohio. Nonetheless, Native faith leaders from across the world gathered, were joined by local area faith leaders and residents to pray for peace and healing of the Earth for this four-day event hosted by the World Peace and Prayer Day Committee, Greater Cincinnati Native American Coalition and the Miami Valley Council of Native Americans.
Tuesday, June 18th: the event began with the introduction of Tribal and faith leaders and supporting Non Profit organizations. Notable attendees throughout the week included: International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers, Grandmother Aggie age 94, members of the Longest Walk on their journey from Alcatraz to Washington DC fighting for Native Sovereignty; Jun-San Yasuda, Buhdist Nun, and Peace Walker; Delta Kay, of te Arakwal Bumberbin people of the Bundjalung Nation along the east coast of Australia; Isaac Bishara, from the Maori Nation, New Zealand. Isaac organized the 2008 World Peace and Prayer day in New Zealand for his People; Jackie Andrews, Macaoz'alus (HuckleberryEyes, Jackie Andrew) of Lil'wat, St'at'imc Nation, Interior Salish and traditional bear dancer; Linda Daney and Cupiit Yurartet Drummers and Dancers’ from Alaska; Lewis Burns, member of the Wiradjur Nation in Australia, and other tribal and faith leaders from across the United States.
Wednesday, June 19th focused on the cultural richness of the people gathered, and the challenges we are facing in our communities. Quotes from some of our speakers; “We lost a million fish this year that were so big you couldn’t put your arms around them,” said Lewis Burns, member of the Wiradjur Nation in Australia. “Our Rivers are drying up from Climate Change. Our reservoirs are at five percent capacity and the greedy government is selling it to the cotton farmers.”
Delta Kay from Bryon Bay Australia and the Akrakal Buberbin Bundjalung tribe said, “I work to protect my culture and native sacred sites. In my hometown, people are standing up to climate change. We want to protect our waters because water is life. I come from a fishing tribe. We see turtles with fishing nets killing them and fish with belly’s full of plastic. It is wonderful to be here in Ohio to share our stories and traditions.
Degawenodas, a founding member of Defend Ohi:yo’ (good/Allegheny River), Wolf Clan of the Onondowa'ga:' /Seneka of New York spoke of his ongoing journey to Paddle with Peace and Prayer for Water Protection upon the Ohi:yo'. The initiative to paddle 325 miles of the Ohi;yo’ was initiated at a sunrise/full moon ceremony at the headwaters near Coudersport, Pa on May 18, 2019, and will conclude upon arrival in Pittsburgh, PA. “We have chosen to travel upon the Ohi:yo' to bring awareness to our cause as we continue to fight a black serpent attempting to come upon our ancestral lands: the Northern Access Pipeline.”
Wednesday’s events included a showing of the documentary “Denying Access, NoDAPL to NoNAPL. The film by the Seneca Media and Communications Center is a gripping 90-minute documentary chronicling the Water Protectors at Standing Rock and Seneca Territory working to oppose the Dakota Access and Northern Access Pipelines. This Indigenous-led movement brought together people from around the world in an unprecedented call for the recognition of Indigenous rights and an end to a destructive fossil fuel industry. Senecas went in large numbers to “stand with Standing Rock” against DAPL and came home to find another pipeline, NAPL, being planned just upstream from their territories.
Thursday, June 20th was devoted to Prophesies. All attendees were thankful for a completely sunny day. The mobile solar panel unit provided by Appalachian Renewable Power gave an extra boost to our sound system sending prayers to the creator. We had the honor to hear from, Grandmother Aggie age 94, of the Federated Tribe of Siletz, and the International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers. Grandmother Aggie has worked to give voice to the voiceless, animals, trees and the water. “I always say we are in this leaky canoe together and
are paddling hard to stay afloat. There are a lot of things I am concerned about, but the main one is water. We are all water babies. All of us in this world were born from water, water is our first medicine. We need to be concerned because I have prophesied that there will be a world water war. What I see is frightening, more frightening when I think of elders and small children. I never go past a river or stream without saying a prayer for the water. I know that the water in my body can speak to the water in the air and in the ground.”
Friday, June 21st, World Peace and Prayer Day: Our day began with three-hour prayer vigil offered to the ancestors who built Fort Ancient, honoring all sacred sites, and to the Creator to heal Mother Earth. Prayers were offered by Native leaders from six continents, and many religious faiths at the largest of two sacred circles at the Fort Ancient site. After lunch participants moved to Cincinnati for the rest of the day's event.
“Water Connects Us All” Distributed Action to Pray for the Ohio River
Faith leaders and Concerned citizens across the Ohio River basin prayed for an end to the exploitation of the Ohio River and all our sacred waters by fossil fuel industries. Celebrating All Nations, All Faiths, One Prayer for Peace and Healing our Waters.
Cincinnati/Newport - Two hundred local area residents joined faith to join hands across the Ohio River on the Purple People Bridge( pedestrian bridge) that crosses the river. Residents met in Newport, KY. and Cincinnati, Ohio for a ceremonial crossing of the Ohio River to join hands in the center of the river and pray. Joining hands at the center were Hunkpapa Lakota Elder, Guy W. Jones, a member of the Standing Rock Sioux Nation and prominent voice for the Native American Community in Ohio, and Sister Mary Joyce Moeller, a member of the Sisters of Divine Providence. Mr. Jones spoke about the recent ORSANCO decision to make water quality standards voluntary for states along the Ohio River, the most polluted river in the country. He also spoke about the new threat posed by the petrochemical companies proposed Appalachian Petrochemical Hub. Traditional water prayers were offered followed and performances of three musical guest artists.
Ohio Native Youth Leader Lydia Green Miller with Grandmother Aggie, Isaac Bishara, from the Maori Nation, and Lewis Burns, member of the Wiradjur Nation in Australia
Fort Ancient and Cincinnati/Newport Partners: Alicia Titus Memorial Peace Fund, Kids4Peace, Antioch University, Appalachian Renewable Power, Cincinnati Festival of Faiths, Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, Ohio Episcopal Church Southern Diocese, Ohio Poor People’s Campaign, Peace Resources Center at Wilmington College, Southbank Partners, The Grail USA, Underground Railroad Freedom Center, United Church of Christ Environmental Ministries.
Moundsville, WV Forty local residents joined hands to encircle Moundsville earthworks mound and acknowledge the historical people who cared for the land. Participants heard from local historians about the colonization and industrialization of the area. They then marched to the Waterfront Park to hear from Bev Reed, Bridgeport, Ohio resident, and other local leaders fighting the PTTG Ethane Cracker, part of the proposed Appalachian Petrochemical Hub. Prayers were offered by Sr.Carmela a member of Congregational Sisters of St. Joseph of Wheeling, Wv., and Kripamaya Das a member of Iskcon New Vrindaban Community of Moundsville, WV. Community members gathered for a potluck and singing to build bridges between the two states to heal the Ohio River.
Moundsville Area Partners: Congregational Sisters of St. Joseph, Iskcon New Vrindaban Community of Moundsville, WV Concerned Ohio River Residents, Freshwater Accountability Project.
Pittsburgh, PA: Fifty area residents join members of the Onondowa'ga:' /Seneka and Pittsburgh Mayor William Peduto to pray for our sacred water. The event was held at Allegheny Landing with a march across the Andy Warhol Bridge. This wonderful World Peace and Prayer Day event in Pittsburgh stood in solidarity with others down the Ohio River praying for peace and healing of our sacred waters. Pittsburgh partners were grateful for the leadership of Degawenodas and Huitzilin who led the ceremony. Others speakers including Wanda Guthrie, representing Interfaith Power and Light and Sister Barbara representing the Sisters of Baden. Everyone had the opportunity to offer their prayers and intentions during the water ceremony in which nearly everyone participated. It was a very hot day but 50 people hung in there including the Mayor of Pittsburgh, Bill Peduto, who kept his dark jacket on the whole time (!).
Cincinnati: Blessing the Underground Railroad Freedom Center- Preparing for World Peace and Prayer day The Greater Cincinnati Native American Coalition approached the Freedom Center for the support of the event. At our first meeting with the Deputy Director and Education specialist, they made a request to have Chief Arvol, and other faith leaders perform a blessing and cleansing of the space which holds artifacts of the torture and terror of slaves seeking freedom by crossing the Ohio River. Chief Arvol and 150 others spent an hour with the staff of the Center performing the blessing and cleansing of the space.
Allegheny Front: https://www.alleghenyfront.org/environmental-indigenous-and-religious-leaders-gather-for-world-peace-and-prayer-day/
Pittsburgh Post Gazette Video
Coverage: https://www.facebook.com/pittsburghpostgazette/videos/2392899110985174/
These efforts were made possible in part by the generous financial support of the Sierra Club Organizing Department and the Beyond Dirty Fossil Fuels Campaign.