"Sunalei Woya"
My name Brenda in Cherokee
is Quenida and it is
pronounced Kway-nee-dah
"Being Indian is mainly in your heart. It's a way of walking with the earth instead of upon it. A lot of the history books talk about us Indians in the past tense, but we don't plan on going anywhere... We have lost so much, but the thing that holds us together is that we all belong to, and are protectors of the earth; that's the reason for us being here. Mother Earth is not a resource, she is an heirloom."
David Ipinia, Yurok Indian Artist
What is The Red Road?
The Red Road is a long winding road that began in the stars, spilled onto the mountain tops, was carried in the snow to the streams, to the rivers, to the ocean. It covers Canada, Alaska, America, Mexico to Guatemala, and keeps winding around the Indigenous.
The Red Road is a circle of people standing hand in hand, people in this world, people between people in the Spirit world, star people, animal people, stone people, river people, tree people. The Sacred Hoop.
To walk the Red Road is to know sacrifice, suffering. It is to understand humility. It is the ability to stand naked before the Creator in all things for your wrong doings, for your lack of strength, for your discompassionate way, for your arrogance - because to walk the Red Road, you always know you can do better. And you know, when you do good things, it is through the Creator, and you are grateful.
To walk the Red Road is to know you stand on equal ground with all living things. It is to know that because you were born human, it gives you superiority over nothing. It is to know that every creation carries a Spirit, and the river knows more than you do, the mountains know more than you do, the stone people know more than you do, the trees know more than you do, the wind is wiser than you are, and animal people carry wisdom.
You can learn from every one of them, because they have something you don't. They are void of evil thoughts. They wish vengeance on no one, they seek Justice.
To Walk the Red Road, you have given rights. You have the right to pray, you have the right to dance, you have the right to think, you have the right to protect, you have the right to know Mother Earth, you have the right to dream, you have the right to vision, you have the right to teach, you have the right to learn, you have a right to grieve, you have a right to happiness, you have the right to fix the wrongs, you have the right to truth, you have a right to the Spirit World.
To Walk the Red Road is to know your Ancestors, to call to them for assistance. It is to know that there is good medicine, and there is bad medicine. It is to know that Evil exists, but is cowardly, as it is often in disguise. It is to know there are evil spirits who are in constant watch for a way to gain strength for themselves at the expense of you.
To Walk the Red Road, you have less fear of being wrong, because you know that life is a journey, a continuous circle, a sacred hoop. Mistakes will be made, and mistakes can be corrected - if you will be humble, for if you cannot be humble, you will never know when you have made a mistake.
If you walk the Red Road, you know that every sorrow leads to a better understanding, every horror cannot be explained, but can offer growth.
To Walk the Red Road is to look for beauty in all things.
To Walk the Red Road is to know you will one day cross to the Spirit World,and you will not be afraid.
Author Unknown