Sacred Places, Sacred Names
Press statement
This beautiful and sacred land is our Mother. She feeds, nurtures, shelters, teaches, all her children. The elements of Mother Earth form the sacred vessels of our Spirit – our bodies. And if we take time to listen to the land, we can feel the voice of our Mother resonate in our hearts, and know her language. This is why we believe the in the importance and meaning sacred Place Names. For thousands of years, native people have held a deep connection with this land. Our spirit and language is imprinted on this land. The Spirit of this land cannot be paved-over or erased on a map. With the help of good human beings, we can remember and restore the sacred place names of our Mother Earth.
This website is to provide information about the movement restore the original native name to Mt Rainier and other sacred sites. We are currently meeting with local language speakers and planning events.
Day of a 1000 Drums
Rally for the Restoration of Ancestral Names
Portland Ave Park, Tacoma WA
Sunday, May 30 from 11am to 4pm
Indian Tribes of the four directions and other indigenous organizations will be gathering for a day of celebration at the Day of a Thousand Drums to honor their culture, heritage and traditions and pay their respects to their ancestors who were first contacted and their descendants. The day will be filled with keynote, celebrity, spiritual, and elder speakers, accompanied by musical appearances of many award winning native recording artists. As well, the event will be formatted potlatch style, with special attention given to the elders and childrens well being and care.
The thought of restoring it’s rightful Indian name to what is now currently known as Mt. Rainier, at first seemed as impossible as landing on the moon, or the United States having a black President, but since it’s inception, has gained momentum as well as a lot of unsuspecting support as well as anticipated support.
At the root of the reason’s at to why it’s felt the name should be restored, is to bring forth a healing, a healing to millennia of generations of American Indians exterminated, removed and forced to assimilate to the dominate societies way of life.
Email: robertindns@msn.com
This beautiful and sacred land is our Mother. She feeds, nurtures, shelters, teaches, all her children. The elements of Mother Earth form the sacred vessels of our Spirit – our bodies. And if we take time to listen to the land, we can feel the voice of our Mother resonate in our hearts, and know her language. This is why we believe the in the importance and meaning sacred Place Names. For thousands of years, native people have held a deep connection with this land. Our spirit and language is imprinted on this land. The Spirit of this land cannot be paved-over or erased on a map. With the help of good human beings, we can remember and restore the sacred place names of our Mother Earth.
This website is to provide information about the movement restore the original native name to Mt Rainier and other sacred sites. We are currently meeting with local language speakers and planning events.
Day of a 1000 Drums
Rally for the Restoration of Ancestral Names
Portland Ave Park, Tacoma WA
Sunday, May 30 from 11am to 4pm
Indian Tribes of the four directions and other indigenous organizations will be gathering for a day of celebration at the Day of a Thousand Drums to honor their culture, heritage and traditions and pay their respects to their ancestors who were first contacted and their descendants. The day will be filled with keynote, celebrity, spiritual, and elder speakers, accompanied by musical appearances of many award winning native recording artists. As well, the event will be formatted potlatch style, with special attention given to the elders and childrens well being and care.
The thought of restoring it’s rightful Indian name to what is now currently known as Mt. Rainier, at first seemed as impossible as landing on the moon, or the United States having a black President, but since it’s inception, has gained momentum as well as a lot of unsuspecting support as well as anticipated support.
At the root of the reason’s at to why it’s felt the name should be restored, is to bring forth a healing, a healing to millennia of generations of American Indians exterminated, removed and forced to assimilate to the dominate societies way of life.
Email: robertindns@msn.com
Join the Restore Native Names Alliance
About Us
Support and fiscal sponsor:
The Spirit of the Red Road is a 501c3 non-profit organization located in Tacoma, WA, and ran be people who understand the importance and value of keeping culture, heritage and traditions alive and healthy.
Members of this organization humbly practice the original ways of life handed down sacredly generation to generation. Using the various venues of worship(i.e. sweat lodge, canoe way, Native America Church, etc), we sacrifice of ourselves to pray to Our Creator for the many wants, needs, concerns and worries, expressing gratitude for the lives we have and humbly ask for continued healings and blessings.
We strive to live our lives in a good way, emotionally, mentally, physically, and spiritually balanced on a foundation of Love, Hope, Faith and Charity.
The Spirit of the Red Road organization is supporting and asking you to join in the crusade of those who are humbly praying to the Creator, to right the many wrongs of the past, caused and perpetuated by the intruding explorers with holocaustic attitudes, behavior and demeanor towards the original Aboriginal Indian peoples of the Coast/Salish regions here in Washington state.
Long before the lost explorers intruded, the original Aboriginal Indian people existed on an over abundant land with more than enough, and a language bestowed upon them from the Almighty Creator. Upon the land, and with the sacred language, he also bestowed holy names of the many places and sites of harvesting and worship. The names were given and gifted to the people with the law of understanding they were to be looked upon and spoken in a holy and sacred way, and it was good like that, and if it’s ever to be changed, HE(Creator) will change it.
Mission:
Our mission is clear, and that is to heal the holocaustic attitudes, behavior and treatment that was felt and put upon Our beloved Ancestor’s when first contacted, and still felt in the hearts of their grandchildren today. We pray to Creator for a healing, for Creator to somehow, someway, restore the deserved respect and dignity to Our Ancestors and their grandchildren whom acknowledged, respected and understood the compassion and reason Creator had when providing and naming such sacred and holy places.
Goal:
Our goal is to not to change, but to rightfully reclaim and restore the Creator (God) given names to the holy and sacred sites, starting with what is now known as Mount Rainier. (Note: It is important to bear in mind the white man changed the name! The mountain already had a name bestowed by Creator, and the original aboriginal Indian people respected and lived with the sacred name.)
History
HISTORY: For well over ten thousand years, the original aboriginal Indian people dwelled upon this land in peaceful harmony with the winged, finned, four legged, creepy crawly, plants and trees. The explorers of the New World were searching for a short cut around the Cape Horn, a water system that would connect the two oceans, the Atlantic to the Pacific, commonly known as the Northwest Passage.
What’s not so commonly known is, in a May 1792 journal entry, explorer Captain George Vancouver named Washington’s tallest mountain after his friend, Admiral Peter Rainier. But because Rainier was not made an Admiral until 1795, three years after the journal entry, proponents of the name ” Mt.Tacoma,” maintained that the journal had been altered. During the 40 year battle,(1885-1925), to change the name Rainier to Tacoma, Tahomas, or Tuchoma, or Ti’Swaq’, every little fact was important.
The issue of the mountain’s name came to the fore when Northern Pacific Railroad chose Tacoma as the site for their railroad terminus. A geologist sent to scout the area for coal deposits pointed out the possibilities of a mountain as a tourist attraction. The Northern Pacific took the opportunity to connect the railroad to the mountain. In March 1883 , the railroad announced that the mountain would be Tacoma in all their guides and publications. Until that time, the two names had been used interchangeably.
On October 15, 1833, Hudson’s Bay company doctor, William Tolomie, wrote in his diary that he had “enjoyed a fine view of Tuchoma or Mt Rainier, appearing in relief against the cloudless sky.” In his book, The Canoe and Saddle, Theodore Winthrop referred to the “Stupid nomenclature (Rainier) with which Christians had dubbed the mountain.” More melodious, he felt, was the Siwash name, Tacoma.
With the Northern Pacific announcement, however, battle lines were drawn-Tacoma against Seattle and Olympia in the fight for the name.
In 1890, the question was referred to the newly created United States Board of Geographic Names. In all issues regarding names, the USBGN was to “consult printed authorities, such as atlases and maps and consider oral testimony, and the commonly used name” before making a final decision. There are no minutes of their first meeting, but at the time, rumor had it that the decision to retain “Rainier” came after Seattle Senator Watson Squire had a carload of beer delivered to USBGN. For the next 35 years, some Tacoma’s referred to the mountain park as Budweiser National Park.
After the USBGN’s decision, the Northern Pacific conceded the fight, but the citizens of Tacoma refused to give up. When in 1893, Congress began considering a proposal to incorporate the mountain within a national park, the question of a name took on additional importance. Just before President William McKinley was ready to sign into existence Washington National Park, Senator John Lacey of Iowa attached an amendment and changed the name.
Still, Tacoma did not give in. In 1910 a book, The Mountain That Was God, again drew attention to the matter. Nationwide, sentiment seem to favor the name Tacoma. A Justice to the Mountain committee was formed and journalist Sam Wall canvassed the state. When in 1917, the legislature was asked to petition the USBGN for a name change, a vigorous debate resulted.
But the proposed name change was again denied. Issues regarding U.S. involvement in World War I took priority in Washington DC. After the war, though, the battle lines were drawn again. Minnie Mitchell, a former Tacoma band employee and secretary of the Mt Tacoma club, managed to resurrect the issue in both the Untied States House and the Senate. The Senate Public Lands committee favored the change but Seattle fought back.
Once again, the matter went to the USGBN. On Jan 15, 1925, smarting from what they perceived as an attempt to override their jurisdiction, the USBGN voted against the change, ending one of the longest battles ever to change a geographic name.
Peter Rainier never set foot on the mountain named after him, or Washington state or even the U.S. In 1935, John Louden Rainier, a great grandson of Peter’s brother, stood at Paradise and declared the peak “majestic beyond words.” He then went on to explain that the family name was pronounced “Rainy-er.” After all the fighting, the mountain not only ended up with the wrong name,. it ended up with a incorrectly pronounced wrong name. we can pretty much thank Seattle for that.
Summary:
So for 218 years, the mountains, lowland, valleys, prairies and the first peoples have been desecrated, disrespected and misinterpreted by the lost intruders and their descendants, we believe this is to have gone on long enough. We now live in a time, where the once thought impossible has become possible, man has walked on the moon, and today we celebrate the first black President of the United States of America.
In all the history of mankind, today “our” society is so conscientious of being politically correct, and considerate of other people’s sexual orientation, religion, rights, and culture, NOW more than ever before, is it obvious to do what is right, and right the wrong.
For the first time ever, this cause is being lead by an aboriginal Indian for aboriginal Indians(Native Americans) and the indigenous people’s of Mother Earth. For the first time, the issue is being presented from a Native Americans point of view, perspective, and interpretation. Today, we are no longer “dirty siwashes”(French word for savages), uneducated, third class citizens of society. Opposed to the time when the decision was made regarding changing the name of the mountain in 1924, today, the Native American people are now regarded and recognized as citizens of this country, citizens whom now have the legal right to vote in this country. As well, we are spiritual and reverent citizens of are own sovereign nations, with are own language, traditions and way of life. For the first time, it’s not about money or the commerce upper hand between the two rival cities of Seattle and Tacoma. For the first time we won’t have the white man’s attempts at trying to figure out how to speak or spell the names and words correctly (misinterpretation).
Support and Info:
The crusade to reclaim and restore the original Aboriginal Indian name to the mountain has begun, and is not a matter of “if” but WHEN the name is restored, and we now seek your support.
Currently, we have been busy putting together a working task force and still have some positions to fill. We understand the task at hand will not be an easy one or without cost. Naturally, we’re looking for many volunteer’s to help with getting out the information correctly to the press and public. We are accepting help on most levels, and are extending a cordial invitation to all other indigenous peoples of Mother Earth to join in our cause.
Financial contributions and donations may be accepted through our fiscal sponsor, Spirit of the Red Road, of Tacoma.
We have been busy putting together a support “Potlatch” / Support Rally with Tribal, Spiritual, and Keynote speakers, along with hand drum songs to be offered to Our Ancestors Spirits and their countless grandchildren in Tacoma, May 30th . Presently, the date is being referred to as the Day of a Thousand Drums; whereas, we pray that somehow, someway, we will have more than enough, more than a thousand people, more than a thousand drums, all beating the same beat, with everyone singing the same song. A healing song for Our reclaimation of a sacred and holy place. The intention is, Our Prayer to be heard from Seattle to Olympia, but felt around the World.
Putting his money where his mouth is, Robert Satiacum will be taking the cause to the summit of Ti’Swaq’ June 7th, to bring awareness to our concerns and cause here in Washington state. Taking with him to the summit will be an *Eagle headed staff with **support ribbons tied to it, to be placed at the summit and will be brought down only after the name has been restored. The support ribbons will be sent out to all tribes, indigenous groups and supportive organizations of Washington state. On the Day of a Thousand Drums, each representative of the different groups and tribes will have the opportunity and be asked to bring their ribbon of support to the stage and tie it to the *Eagle headed staff.
We are looking for motivated, energetic people with a positive attitude, willing to volunteer some of their time and skills for a positive change for themselves, family and generations to follow.
There is a lot to do, and little time to do it, your donations of money, materials, time and energy will be greatly appreciated in this monumental effort to correct and heal history, and the participants of that time, today and tomorrow.
*(Actual Eagle head taxidermied for this purpose)
**(Support Ribbons will have the individual names of each supporter)
For more information contact:
Robert S. Satiacum or Kalvin Satiacum
Robertindns@msn.com Kalvinsatiacum@live.com
253.224.4888 253.222.5162
Links
"Restoring The Ancestral Name To Mt. Rainier" on FaceBook
http://crosscut.com/2009/01/27/mossback/18799
http://communities.canada.com/vancouversun/blogs/thesearch/archive/2009/01/28/quot-british-quot-columbia-quot-salish-quot-sea-mount-quot-rainier-quot-the-name-game-rages.aspx
http://restorenativenames.org/Home_Page.html
About Us
Support and fiscal sponsor:
The Spirit of the Red Road is a 501c3 non-profit organization located in Tacoma, WA, and ran be people who understand the importance and value of keeping culture, heritage and traditions alive and healthy.
Members of this organization humbly practice the original ways of life handed down sacredly generation to generation. Using the various venues of worship(i.e. sweat lodge, canoe way, Native America Church, etc), we sacrifice of ourselves to pray to Our Creator for the many wants, needs, concerns and worries, expressing gratitude for the lives we have and humbly ask for continued healings and blessings.
We strive to live our lives in a good way, emotionally, mentally, physically, and spiritually balanced on a foundation of Love, Hope, Faith and Charity.
The Spirit of the Red Road organization is supporting and asking you to join in the crusade of those who are humbly praying to the Creator, to right the many wrongs of the past, caused and perpetuated by the intruding explorers with holocaustic attitudes, behavior and demeanor towards the original Aboriginal Indian peoples of the Coast/Salish regions here in Washington state.
Long before the lost explorers intruded, the original Aboriginal Indian people existed on an over abundant land with more than enough, and a language bestowed upon them from the Almighty Creator. Upon the land, and with the sacred language, he also bestowed holy names of the many places and sites of harvesting and worship. The names were given and gifted to the people with the law of understanding they were to be looked upon and spoken in a holy and sacred way, and it was good like that, and if it’s ever to be changed, HE(Creator) will change it.
Mission:
Our mission is clear, and that is to heal the holocaustic attitudes, behavior and treatment that was felt and put upon Our beloved Ancestor’s when first contacted, and still felt in the hearts of their grandchildren today. We pray to Creator for a healing, for Creator to somehow, someway, restore the deserved respect and dignity to Our Ancestors and their grandchildren whom acknowledged, respected and understood the compassion and reason Creator had when providing and naming such sacred and holy places.
Goal:
Our goal is to not to change, but to rightfully reclaim and restore the Creator (God) given names to the holy and sacred sites, starting with what is now known as Mount Rainier. (Note: It is important to bear in mind the white man changed the name! The mountain already had a name bestowed by Creator, and the original aboriginal Indian people respected and lived with the sacred name.)
History
HISTORY: For well over ten thousand years, the original aboriginal Indian people dwelled upon this land in peaceful harmony with the winged, finned, four legged, creepy crawly, plants and trees. The explorers of the New World were searching for a short cut around the Cape Horn, a water system that would connect the two oceans, the Atlantic to the Pacific, commonly known as the Northwest Passage.
What’s not so commonly known is, in a May 1792 journal entry, explorer Captain George Vancouver named Washington’s tallest mountain after his friend, Admiral Peter Rainier. But because Rainier was not made an Admiral until 1795, three years after the journal entry, proponents of the name ” Mt.Tacoma,” maintained that the journal had been altered. During the 40 year battle,(1885-1925), to change the name Rainier to Tacoma, Tahomas, or Tuchoma, or Ti’Swaq’, every little fact was important.
The issue of the mountain’s name came to the fore when Northern Pacific Railroad chose Tacoma as the site for their railroad terminus. A geologist sent to scout the area for coal deposits pointed out the possibilities of a mountain as a tourist attraction. The Northern Pacific took the opportunity to connect the railroad to the mountain. In March 1883 , the railroad announced that the mountain would be Tacoma in all their guides and publications. Until that time, the two names had been used interchangeably.
On October 15, 1833, Hudson’s Bay company doctor, William Tolomie, wrote in his diary that he had “enjoyed a fine view of Tuchoma or Mt Rainier, appearing in relief against the cloudless sky.” In his book, The Canoe and Saddle, Theodore Winthrop referred to the “Stupid nomenclature (Rainier) with which Christians had dubbed the mountain.” More melodious, he felt, was the Siwash name, Tacoma.
With the Northern Pacific announcement, however, battle lines were drawn-Tacoma against Seattle and Olympia in the fight for the name.
In 1890, the question was referred to the newly created United States Board of Geographic Names. In all issues regarding names, the USBGN was to “consult printed authorities, such as atlases and maps and consider oral testimony, and the commonly used name” before making a final decision. There are no minutes of their first meeting, but at the time, rumor had it that the decision to retain “Rainier” came after Seattle Senator Watson Squire had a carload of beer delivered to USBGN. For the next 35 years, some Tacoma’s referred to the mountain park as Budweiser National Park.
After the USBGN’s decision, the Northern Pacific conceded the fight, but the citizens of Tacoma refused to give up. When in 1893, Congress began considering a proposal to incorporate the mountain within a national park, the question of a name took on additional importance. Just before President William McKinley was ready to sign into existence Washington National Park, Senator John Lacey of Iowa attached an amendment and changed the name.
Still, Tacoma did not give in. In 1910 a book, The Mountain That Was God, again drew attention to the matter. Nationwide, sentiment seem to favor the name Tacoma. A Justice to the Mountain committee was formed and journalist Sam Wall canvassed the state. When in 1917, the legislature was asked to petition the USBGN for a name change, a vigorous debate resulted.
But the proposed name change was again denied. Issues regarding U.S. involvement in World War I took priority in Washington DC. After the war, though, the battle lines were drawn again. Minnie Mitchell, a former Tacoma band employee and secretary of the Mt Tacoma club, managed to resurrect the issue in both the Untied States House and the Senate. The Senate Public Lands committee favored the change but Seattle fought back.
Once again, the matter went to the USGBN. On Jan 15, 1925, smarting from what they perceived as an attempt to override their jurisdiction, the USBGN voted against the change, ending one of the longest battles ever to change a geographic name.
Peter Rainier never set foot on the mountain named after him, or Washington state or even the U.S. In 1935, John Louden Rainier, a great grandson of Peter’s brother, stood at Paradise and declared the peak “majestic beyond words.” He then went on to explain that the family name was pronounced “Rainy-er.” After all the fighting, the mountain not only ended up with the wrong name,. it ended up with a incorrectly pronounced wrong name. we can pretty much thank Seattle for that.
Summary:
So for 218 years, the mountains, lowland, valleys, prairies and the first peoples have been desecrated, disrespected and misinterpreted by the lost intruders and their descendants, we believe this is to have gone on long enough. We now live in a time, where the once thought impossible has become possible, man has walked on the moon, and today we celebrate the first black President of the United States of America.
In all the history of mankind, today “our” society is so conscientious of being politically correct, and considerate of other people’s sexual orientation, religion, rights, and culture, NOW more than ever before, is it obvious to do what is right, and right the wrong.
For the first time ever, this cause is being lead by an aboriginal Indian for aboriginal Indians(Native Americans) and the indigenous people’s of Mother Earth. For the first time, the issue is being presented from a Native Americans point of view, perspective, and interpretation. Today, we are no longer “dirty siwashes”(French word for savages), uneducated, third class citizens of society. Opposed to the time when the decision was made regarding changing the name of the mountain in 1924, today, the Native American people are now regarded and recognized as citizens of this country, citizens whom now have the legal right to vote in this country. As well, we are spiritual and reverent citizens of are own sovereign nations, with are own language, traditions and way of life. For the first time, it’s not about money or the commerce upper hand between the two rival cities of Seattle and Tacoma. For the first time we won’t have the white man’s attempts at trying to figure out how to speak or spell the names and words correctly (misinterpretation).
Support and Info:
The crusade to reclaim and restore the original Aboriginal Indian name to the mountain has begun, and is not a matter of “if” but WHEN the name is restored, and we now seek your support.
Currently, we have been busy putting together a working task force and still have some positions to fill. We understand the task at hand will not be an easy one or without cost. Naturally, we’re looking for many volunteer’s to help with getting out the information correctly to the press and public. We are accepting help on most levels, and are extending a cordial invitation to all other indigenous peoples of Mother Earth to join in our cause.
Financial contributions and donations may be accepted through our fiscal sponsor, Spirit of the Red Road, of Tacoma.
We have been busy putting together a support “Potlatch” / Support Rally with Tribal, Spiritual, and Keynote speakers, along with hand drum songs to be offered to Our Ancestors Spirits and their countless grandchildren in Tacoma, May 30th . Presently, the date is being referred to as the Day of a Thousand Drums; whereas, we pray that somehow, someway, we will have more than enough, more than a thousand people, more than a thousand drums, all beating the same beat, with everyone singing the same song. A healing song for Our reclaimation of a sacred and holy place. The intention is, Our Prayer to be heard from Seattle to Olympia, but felt around the World.
Putting his money where his mouth is, Robert Satiacum will be taking the cause to the summit of Ti’Swaq’ June 7th, to bring awareness to our concerns and cause here in Washington state. Taking with him to the summit will be an *Eagle headed staff with **support ribbons tied to it, to be placed at the summit and will be brought down only after the name has been restored. The support ribbons will be sent out to all tribes, indigenous groups and supportive organizations of Washington state. On the Day of a Thousand Drums, each representative of the different groups and tribes will have the opportunity and be asked to bring their ribbon of support to the stage and tie it to the *Eagle headed staff.
We are looking for motivated, energetic people with a positive attitude, willing to volunteer some of their time and skills for a positive change for themselves, family and generations to follow.
There is a lot to do, and little time to do it, your donations of money, materials, time and energy will be greatly appreciated in this monumental effort to correct and heal history, and the participants of that time, today and tomorrow.
*(Actual Eagle head taxidermied for this purpose)
**(Support Ribbons will have the individual names of each supporter)
For more information contact:
Robert S. Satiacum or Kalvin Satiacum
Robertindns@msn.com Kalvinsatiacum@live.com
253.224.4888 253.222.5162
Links
"Restoring The Ancestral Name To Mt. Rainier" on FaceBook
http://crosscut.com/2009/01/27/mossback/18799
http://communities.canada.com/vancouversun/blogs/thesearch/archive/2009/01/28/quot-british-quot-columbia-quot-salish-quot-sea-mount-quot-rainier-quot-the-name-game-rages.aspx
http://restorenativenames.org/Home_Page.html
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