Sisterhood

Her Hopi name was White Bear Girl. But the U.S. Army knew her as Pfc. Lori Ann Piestewa. Her 4 year old son, Brandon, and 3 year old daughter, Carla, knew her as Mommy. She was one of the few Native American women in the military and the first to die in combat. In fact, she is the only American servicewoman to die in this war. Yet hers is a story of which we have heard little. While the television screens have been full of pictures of Lori's friend and roommate, Jessica Lynch, we have seen only a few still photos of Lori. Her home town of Tuba City, AZ, is mainly Navajo, but sits on the edge of a Hopi reservation, where poverty is rampant, with more than half of the people there unemployed. Most of its inhabitants live in trailers or small homes with only the very basic conveniences. Like many other Native American reservations, it is far from the public eye.

The daughter of a Vietnam veteran and the granddaughter of a World War II veteran, Lori was the commanding officer of her high school Junior ROTC unit. When her marriage ended in divorce, she joined the army not only because of her interest in the military, but also to provide for her children. Like so many young people in this all-volunteer army, Lori saw the military as one of the few avenues to financial stability or to higher education. Most of these young people are people of color or come from families of the poor. Indeed, African Americans form the largest ethnic group in today's armed forces, followed by Native Americans. In the past generation the numbers of young people of color in the armed forces has increased greatly. In 1973, 23% of the military were people of color, today that number has grown to about 35%. Said The New York Times, "A survey of the American military's endlessly compiled and analyzed demographics paints a picture of a fighting force that is anything but a cross-section of America, with minorities over-represented and the wealthy and the underclass essentially absent."

This is certainly true for young women of color. For instance, there are more black women in the military than white women, far out of their proportion to the general population. In the Army, 15% of the women are single parents. Shoshanna Johnson, the African American woman who was one of the POWs found after the fall of Baghdad, is one example of such young single mothers. Her family has said she wanted to become a chef, but couldn�t afford the training and therefore entered the army to try to get it. What does it mean when there are single mothers serving, many of whom were enticed into the military by the promise of education and training as well as health care for their families and a steady income? What does it mean to our nation that our volunteer army has few wealthy enlistees but an overabundance of young people from working class families and reservists who needed additional income to support their families? What does it mean when people of color are disproportionately serving in the military and within the military disproportionately found in such units as combat and supply while hardly at all in the pilots ranks?

Every morning since the war began I found myself waking up with a knot in the pit of my stomach. A knot caused by the fear that we will be losing young men and women needlessly. Fear that there will be orphans on both sides whose lives will never be the same. So, I say a prayer and work for an end to all war for all time. There must be a better way. It,s Lori,s way, the way celebrated at her funeral ceremony in Tuba City. It is the way of love.

The honor of the people lies in the moccasin tracks of the woman. Walk the good road.... Be dutiful, respectful, gentle and modest my daughter... Be strong with the warm, strong heart of the earth. No people goes down until their women are weak and dishonored, or dead upon the ground. Be strong and sing the strength of the Great Powers within you, all around you."

The Elders say the Native American women will lead the healing among the tribes. We need to especially pray for our women, and ask the Creator to bless them and give them strength. Inside them are the powers of love and strength given by the Moon and the Earth. When everyone else gives up, it is the women who sings the songs of strength. She is the backbone of the people. So, to our women we say, sing your songs of strength; pray for your special powers; keep our people strong; be respectful, gentle and modest.

Oh, Great One, bless our women. Make them strong today.

ALRIGHT WOMEN/MEN, Lets do this !!!!!! :-) Please read and pass this on. It would be wonderful if 2003 were the year a cure for breast cancer was found!!!! This is one e-mail you should be glad to pass on. The notion that we could raise $35 million by buying a book of stamps is powerful! As you may be aware, the US Postal Service recently released its new "Fund the Cure" stamp to help fund breast cancer research. The stamp was designed by Ethel Kessler of Bethesda, Maryland. It is important that we take a stand against this disease that affects so many of our Mothers, Sisters and Friends. Instead of the normal 37 cents for a stamp, this one costs 40 cents. The additional 3 cents will go to breast cancer research. A "normal" book costs $7.40. This one is only $8.00. It takes a few minutes in line at the Post Office and means so much. If all stamps are sold, it will raise an additional $35,000,000 for this vital research. Just as important as the money is our support. What a statement it would make if the stamp outsold the lottery this week. What a statement it would make that we care. I would urge you to do two things TODAY:

1. Go out and purchase some of these stamps.

2. E-mail your friends to do the same. We all know women and their families whose lives are turned upside-down by breast cancer. It takes so little to do so much in this drive. I think we can all afford the 60 cents. Please help & pass it on.

Bight Star Woman and Little Bird Holtz
July 2003

UPDATE on Amina's Story (see below)
Nigerian Woman Escapes Stoning Sentence 09/25/03 - An Islamic appeals court Thursday overturned the conviction of a Nigerian woman sentenced to death by stoning for committing adultery, a case that sharpened the divide between Muslims and Christians in Africa's most-populous country. Amina Lawal would have been the first woman stoned to death since 12 northern states began adopting strict Islamic law, or Shariah, in 1999. Four of five judges on the court voted to throw out the case, citing procedural errors in her trial. Wrapped in a light orange veil, her eyes downcast, Lawal cradled her nearly 2-year-old daughter as the court announced its decision. Police and lawyers hustled her away afterward. "It's a victory for law. It's a victory for justice," said defense attorney Hauwa Ibrahim. "And it's a victory for what we stand for � dignity and fundamental human rights."

An Islamic court first convicted Lawal, 32, in March 2002 after the birth of her daughter two years after she divorced her husband. Judges rejected Lawal's first appeal five months later. Prosecutors, who argued Lawal's child was living proof she committed adultery, said they were satisfied with the verdict but had 30 days to appeal. The verdict drew international condemnation. The government of President Olusegun Obasanjo called for Lawal's life to be spared, and Brazil offered her asylum. The Islamic appeals panel ruled the conviction couldn't stand because Lawal wasn't given enough time to understand the charges against her; only one judge, instead of the required three, presided at her trial; and she was not caught in the act of sex out of wedlock. In the sole dissenting opinion, Judge Sule Sada said Lawal had confessed to the crime and the conviction should stand. But the defense had argued that the court should reject Lawal's confession because no lawyers were present when she made it.

The introduction of strict Islamic law in a dozen northern states has triggered deadly clashes between Christians and Muslims. Five people, including Lawal, have been sentenced to death by stoning. Three have had their convictions overturned. "We think the death penalty for adultery is contrary to the Nigerian constitution," said Francois Cantier, a lawyer with French group Avocats Sans Frontieres, or Lawyers Without Borders, who was advising the defense. "We think that death by stoning is contrary to international treaties against torture which Nigeria has ratified. We think that death by stoning is degrading human treatment."

Also under Shariah, one man has been hanged for killing a woman and her two children and Muslim authorities have amputated the hands of three people for stealing. Many Muslims in the predominantly Islamic north have welcomed Shariah, saying it's a key part of their religion and discourages crime. Lead defense lawyer Aliyu Musa Yawuri said Lawal � a poor, uneducated woman from a rural family � didn't understand the charges against her at the time. Lawal has identified her alleged sexual partner, Yahaya Mohammed, and said he promised to marry her. Mohammed, who would also have faced death by stoning denied any wrongdoing and was acquitted for lack of evidence. Lawal is the second Nigerian woman to be condemned to death for having sex out of wedlock under Islamic law. The first, Safiya Hussaini, had her sentence overturned on appeal in March � the same time that Lawal was convicted.

If the pledge below sounds like truth to you... check out the www.notinourname.net website TODAY!

We believe that as people living in the United States it is our responsibility to resist the injustices done by our government, in our names... Not in our name will you wage endless war there can be no more deaths no more transfusions of blood for oil. Not in our name will you invade countries bomb civilians, kill more children letting history take its course over the graves of the nameless. Not in our name will you erode the very freedoms you have claimed to fight for Not by our hands will we supply weapons and funding for the annihilation of families on foreign soil. Not by our mouths will we let fear silence us. Not by our hearts will we allow whole peoples or countries to be deemed evil. Not by our will and Not in our name We pledge resistance... We pledge alliance with those who have come under attack for voicing opposition to the war or for their religion or ethnicity. We pledge to make common cause with the people of the world to bring about justice, freedom and peace Another world is possible and we pledge to make it real.

We MUST look after each other, sisters... what happens to one of us, happens to all of us.

Sisters are such special people. They can out think, out do and love us better than anyone in the world. They stand with us in difficult times, rejoice with us in the good times, and talk to us with loving words to lift us up. The Cherokee calls these special people their a na da lv � beloved sisters. Sisters never complain when we get lost in time and space � never forget to welcome us home. Sisters don�t have to be blood kin � for what does that matter when the relationship is stronger than ancestry. Love transcends so many dry places and makes us family by choice. What could be better than to be a beloved sister?

Burden Basket Bearer

Into the basket we place our hopes and fears; experiences and dreams; the weight of our needs; and the burdens of caring for others, for other species, and for this Earth. For the truly sensitized, it can be one heavy basket. Those who see and feel enough, those given to love, truly can be said to carry the weight of the world � on willing shoulders. The key word here is willing. One usually has the option of "keeping it light," of ignoring the gravity of unfolding events while suppressing intuition, instinct, and emotion. In modem society, illusions receive widespread support, and denial is seen as an acceptable way of dealing. On the other hand, for the most conscious and engaged, the basket may house the accumulative transgressions of our kind, the mistakes of the past and the formidable weight of our future choices. Yet, always, it's a load we voluntarily pick up and carry.

In a joint venture, The Oprah Winfrey Show and Amnesty International USA unite to help save Amina Lawal from death by stoning.

Amina Lawal, a 30 year-old Muslim woman, was sentenced to stoning to death by a Shari'ah court at Bakori in Katsina State in northern Nigeria. Amina allegedly confessed to having had a child while divorced. Pregnancy outside of marriage constitutes sufficient evidence for a woman to be convicted of adultery according to the new Shari'ah-based penal code for Muslims, introduced in Katsina State.

Amnesty International is gravely concerned at the recent decision by a Shari'ah court of appeals in Funtua, Katsina State, Nigeria, to uphold the sentence of death by stoning imposed on Amina Lawal, a young Nigerian woman accused of giving birth to a child out of wedlock. Lawal and her lawyer have been granted now less than 20 days to appeal the decision! I urge you to is urging its members and the public at large to participate in planned actions directed to the US House of Representatives and to Nigeria's secular government in Abuja, which in the past has deemed the Shari'ah penal code unconstitutional.

TAKE ACTION! -
Write to the Nigerian ambassador to the US and your US Representative:
Ambassador Jibril Muhammad Aminu
Embassy of Nigeria
1333 16th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036

Tell him that these punishments are in breach of international human rights standards and violate international human rights instruments signed and ratified by his Government.

Go to http://www.mertonai.org/amina/ to see the latest.

IF I HAD MY LIFE TO LIVE OVER
by Erma Bombeck (written after she found out she was dying from cancer)

I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren't there for the day. I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage. I would have talked less and listened more. I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained, or the sofa faded.

I would have eaten the popcorn in the 'good' living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace. I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.

I would have shared more of the responsibility carried by my husband. I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed. I would have sat on the lawn with my grass s stains. I would have cried and laughed less while watching television and more while watching life.

I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, wouldn't show soil, or was guaranteed to last a lifetime. Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I'd have cherished every moment and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle.

When my kids kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, "Later. Now go get washed up for dinner." There would have been more "I love you's." More "I'm sorry's."

But mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute...look at it and really see it ... live it ..and never give it back. Stop sweating the small stuff. Don't worry about who doesn't like you, who has more, or who's doing what. Instead, let's cherish the relationships we have with those who do love us.

Let's think about what God HAS blessed us with. And what we are doing each day to promote ourselves mentally, physically, emotionally, as well shot at this and then it's gone. I hope you all have a blessed day.

Health is not simply the absence of sickness
~Hannah Green / I Never Promised You a Rose Garden (1964)