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San Diego | Global Justice and Anti-Capitalism

All Nations Healing Through Music Festival - Peace + Dignity Journey Benefit
by queer-j brad ( queer-j-brad [at] riseup.net )
Friday Mar 21st, 2008 5:31 PM
The Peace and Dignity Journeys are six month spiritual runs originating in Chickaloon, Central Alaska and Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, traveling through hundreds of Indigenous communities, and meeting in Panama. The goals include reuniting the Indigenous Peoples of the Western Hemisphere and healing the individual Indigenous communities by helping to reconnect these communities with their spiritual practices and traditions. One strand of the run will pass through San Diego in July, with the runners staying at Chicano Park.

Four members of the San Diego community will participate as core runners in 2008, three on the northern route leaving May 1 and one on the southern route, leaving April 1. Runners Gabriella and Arturo talked about the run and their past experiences in a video 18 min 46 sec 56 mbytes.
Copy the following to embed the movie into another web page:
download video:

peaceanddignitygabyarturo031908.mov (55.5MB)

Gabrella - "We could just hear the drums from far away while we were running. We got closer, one of the songs we could hear was called the Warrior Women Song, of the Secwepmec Nation. We get there but there was all elder women with the drums, and I am used to seeing the brothers with the drums. It was so powerful - however late we get there, the community is anxious to receive us, they're excited and pumped up and singing for us... At the end, all the elder women on the fourth verse of the song, they held their fist up - we are one people, we are all united, we are all warriors."

Arturo - "I remember running with the main staff, it's called the Eagle Staff. Three o'clock in the morning, I wasn't prepared to run, I was just going to help with the food. One of the brothers, he put me on the spot, Jose, it's really dark, you couldn't see nothing, he said 'Who's Arturo?' ... He told me 'Look at that staff, that's the Eagle Staff, I want you to pick that up.' I was like -that's an honor dude. I went over and grabbed it in a good way. When someone really puts me out there like that, I humble myself, I really humble myself, because to grab something like that, it's a blessing to be a part of that."

All Nations Healing Through Music Festival - Peace + Dignity Journey Benefit
Saturday, March 22 6pm (doors open 5pm)
MAAC Charter School
1385 Third Avenue, Chula Vista
ALL AGES $10
Red Warrior Drummers, Kumeyaay Bird Singers, Olmeca, Cihuatl-CE, War Club, Raiz Muzik, Guerrilla Queenz, Tierra Y Libertad, Indigenous Radio, DJ Poncho, MC Ras Pablo Aztlan

Comments  (Hide Comments)

by JOY SNODGRASS
Sunday Dec 14th, 2008 3:58 PM
I BROUGHT THE "ISIS STAFF" TO ALASKA TO CHIEF MARIE SMITH JONES POTLATCH. I HAD HER STAFF A FEW YEARS AGO AND SHE ASKED ME TO PUT MINE IN THE RUN. I MET THE RUNNERS WHO CAME IN WITH JOSE, ARTURO, OTHERS. I WANT TO GET ADDRESSES AND EMAIL TO CONTACT THOSE WHO TOOK CARE OF THE ISIS STAFF. I WAS UNABLE TO RUN AND AN AFRICAN GIRL , YMOAT SAID SHE WOULD CARE FOR IT ALL THE WAY. IT HAS RETURNED TO ARIZONA NOW, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO GET CONTACTS FOR THESE VERY SPECIAL PEOPLE. I HAVE VIDEO OF THE CEREMONIES AND CD IMAGES AS WELL TO SHARE. CAN YOU HELP ME? I INTRODUCED MY STAFF TO ARTURO AND CRYSTAL AND YMOAT AT AT HOLISTIC CENTER IN ANCHORAGE ALASKA. WOULD LIKE TO GET IN TOUCH WITH THEM AGAIN AND THANK THEM FOR THE INCREDIBLE JOURNEY THEY MADE. ANY HELP YOU CAN GIVE ME? I ALSO WOULD LIKE TO EXCHANGE DVD AND CD INFO WITH ANYONE WHO TOOK PICTURES ON THAT ROUTE FROM ALASKA TO PANAMA. LOVE AND GRATITUDE, JOY