Background/Hopes/Her Stories

a preamble

Equinox

I must keep from breaking into the story by force
for if I do I will find myself with a war club in my hand
and the smoke of grief staggering toward the sun,
your nation dead beside you.

I keep walking away though it has been an eternity
and from each drop of blood
spring up sons, and daughters, trees,
a mountain of sorrows, of songs.

I tell you this from the dusk of a small city in the north
not far from the birthplace of cars and industry.
geese are returning to mate and crocuses have
broken through the frozen earth.

Soon they will come for me and I will make my stand
before the jury of destiny. Yes, I will answer in the clatter
of the new world, I have broken my addiction to war
and desire. Yes, I will reply, I have buried the dead

and made songs of the blood, the marrow.
----Joy Harjo

 The Solidarity Women Organizing Team would like to respectfully honor the original peoples who lived  on this sacred land for thousands of years:
the Serrano.

Before we begin, we seek their permission and their blessings to be here:
to share, to break bread together, to be together.
This was their land. This is their land.

The Serrano peoples, as well as the Cahuilla, two important Native North American communities (alongside  many other diverse  Native communities) have  lived here for over 4000 years.

Then came the Conquests.

Dorothy Ramon, Serrano Elder, speaks of  her peoples’ times/places…:

It's there. They call it 'Twentynine Palms' nowadays. That was their place of origin, the territory of the Mamaytam Serrano. There was nothing but Mamaytam living there. It was their home. There were different tribes. There were many different kinds. The Serrano territory was extensive. It ended at the Colorado River. Their territory extended over here on the other side. Today they call it 'San Bernardino'. It continued all the way through Los Angeles to the coast (where the oil wells are). That was the Serrano people's territory long ago. I don't know how wide it was. That's what they used to say and that's what I say now. That's the extent of it. That's what they used to say, and that's what I say. There were others living at the place known as Maarrênga' 'Twentynine Palms'. That was the place of origin of the Maarrênga 'yam Hiddith 'the Orthodox Serrano'. Then all the Serrano got scattered. There are different tribes. There are a number of tribes. Today I only know (the name of) some of their tribes. I still know that Twentynine Palms was the territory of the Mamaytam. There were also Muhatna 'yam Maarrêng 'yam living there. That was the tribe of my relative, of my father's father. They also had an extensive territory. It's going to be that way forever. No one is ever going to own it. That land belongs to our Lord. It is not our property. That is all.