Red Earth Descendants, a local, grassroots intertribal organization,will make a public statement on Sunday, August 17 at 11 a.m. regardingthe discovery today that an eagle feather has been taken from thedowntown sculpture depicting and honoring the First Nations of thisregion. The downtown sculpture, dedicated nearly two years ago onFirst Nations Day in Ashland, depicts the voice of indigenous peoplesin a proclamation stating: WE ARE HERE. Desecration of what is nowreferred to as a "prayer pole," along with the theft of this sacredeagle feather belonging to a local Native family who is helping tocaretake the prayer pole, will be addressed in this public statement onSunday. The press is welcomed to attend and ask questions. The intentof the public statement is to educate the community on the use of eaglefeathers as sacred articles and explain why it is so important toNative people to use and treat these items with the utmost respect. Also, the sculpture itself is now considered sacred, and we would liketo use this as a way to educate the public so that we, as a community,can work together to protect and care for this prayer pole, to learnfrom it as a living memorial to the indigenous peoples of this land.
After the 11 a.m. public statement, R.E.D. will hold a Ceremony tohonor the stolen feather and offer prayers for the person or people whotook the feather. This is a core Native value--to pray for those whohave harmed someone in our community.
You are invited to cover this as a news item. If you have any questions, please contact Dan Wahpepah at 890-3529.
Respectfully,
Jaimie Bernhagen
Red Earth Descendants
