MARQUETTE -- A water ceremony was held on June 19 in observance of National Sacred Places Prayer Day and in honor of Eagle Rock and Lake Superior. The ceremony was held at sunrise (6 a.m.) at Little Presque Isle Point, Marquette, on the shores of Lake Superior to pray for threatened sacred places and to honor Lake Superior and all water and Mother Earth. The ceremony was open to the public and over 40 people were in attendance.
Participants in the June 19 National Sacred Places Prayer Day at Little Presque Isle Point, Marquette, prepare for the water ceremony. (Photo courtesy Stand for the Land)According to ceremony leader Cheryl Boyd, "The water is very important to us. We can’t live without it. It’s the women’s responsibility to pray for the water, to ask the creator to heal the water. We continue to say prayers for the Gulf waters too and for the animals and life there as well."
Nearly three weeks ago, May 27, heavily armed state and local police officers raided an Eagle Rock encampment arresting two KBIC (Keweenaw Bay Indian Community) members.
"Eagle Rock, a sacred place to Anishinaabe people, is currently threatened as the proposed mine portal for the Rio Tinto/Kennecott Eagle Mine on the Yellow Dog Plains. Our fresh groundwater, waterways and Lake Superior are threatened by the Eagle Mine and increasing sulfide and uranium mining interests throughout the Great Lakes region," said KBIC member Jessica Koski.
Koski is also the co-founder of the new group Oshkinawe-Ogichidaag Akiing, "New Warriors for the Earth," who, along with Stand for the Land, helped to organize the ceremony.
Observances and ceremonies are being held across the country from June 18 through June 23 to mark the 2010 National Days of Prayer to Protect Native American Sacred Places.... Read more on Stand for the Land.
No comments:
Post a Comment