Saving Mother Earth

Four years ago I celebrated, along with thousands of other tribal members, the overturn of a dictatorship...or so we thought. Many of us worked together to fight the battle we didn't know could be won. We were honored to have fought alongside those with nothing and those who were the most prestigious members of our tribe. Social status did not matter because we all had the same common goal.

We almost made it but the odds were against us. There are only a handful who lack the fear it takes to keep quiet. Still, others spoke up but with no goals in mind other than to beat up on anyone that dared to divert attention from their maniacal rantings and ravings.

There was a world of education to be had about our culture, traditions, the dynamics of tribal politics including everything you ever wanted to know about corruption.

I risked everything to give it all I had. Did I lose?....not by a long shot. Much of what I lost will come back to me tenfold. Everything that occurred happened for a reason, pointing me in directions I didn't know were there.

I gained a large community of friends, some of whom I may never meet but plan to keep and those I met whose path I may never cross again. All of them will play a large role in my future whether they know it or not.

If every person that I came in contact with either in person, via email or because I provided a phone number, were, in one form or another, a door...I have walked through hundreds. In doing so, I have found a world that I had forgotten about...the real one. The one with opportunities where you are not limited to what you can achieve. There are more important issues then the Sault Tribe of Sugar Island and Unit One Indians.

I feel badly for those that will lose their jobs if the Sault Tribe ends up with Chairman McCoy/Bouschor. Some will probably find their doctors and dentist appointments cancelled repeatedly. Both Mackinac Tribe and At Large members may never see another ballot with which to cast their vote. Elders may never see another check with their name printed on it from their land claims. Many will become nothing more than a head count for federal funds.

As I told one candidate, "if you lose, you have won as long as you take yourself out of here and discover the real world." Take a negative and turn it into a positive...that is what I intend to do. "Wind Weaver" were words intended to insult me but what it did was become a goal to work towards.

So I can't save the Sault Tribe but I can save Mother Earth and that is where much of my attention will be going from now on. We can't continue to take from the Earth what we can't put back. We can all be a part of saving Mother Earth so stay tuned to learn how you can help.

Wind Weaver