It's the First Day of Spring . . .

Yes, Respect is Due.

Respect for the earth. Respect for the water. Respect for each other and other peoples' opinions - even if you may not agree with them, and their way of life. This new line of fur clothing and accessories has a story and the moral of the story is Respect Is Due. 

NO new animals were farmed or harmed to create these beauties.

They were created first as a desire to give back to the brave #WaterProtectors on The Great Souix Nation from the #StandingRock reservation. In 2016-17 the YOUTH began a stand, the likes of which we have never seen in our lifetime. They stood up to the big oil company who rerouted the DAPL pipeline onto their reservation and underneath the mighty Missouri River - the primary source of drinking water for 18M people! The oil company did this against and in direct violation of the Treaty of 1861. In case you do not know this, treaties are the highest law of the land. They supercede any local, state or even federal laws.  If you are not in the know about the big oil industry it will be shocking for your to discover their practices of profit over safety for the earth and people.
Pipelines leak. Pipelines leak a lot and companies have an abysmal track record of ignoring this, not cleaning up their messes and lying.

What happened at Standing Rock is nothing short of historic. Unfortunately, this story was not told truthfully in the media.

It began on April 1, 2016. Ironic that it was April Fool's Day but this is no joke considering these seven brave  youth members discussed this amongst themselves. They said 'Why doesn't somebody DO something about this?' Another said, 'Nobody cares about Indian Country.' Then another said, 'Why don't WE do something?' They then went to their elders and discussed the matter with them and told them of their intentions. Their elders agreed the time had come to make a stand. They supported the youth in this effort. Being like most young people today and media savvy, they put out a call to the world for people to come and support them in a peaceful prayerful stand to protect the water, which in the Lakota language is #MniWiconi. A quite amazing thing happened. Over 10,000 people from around the world from as far away as Japan, Sweden & South America came to Stand in Peace against this pipeline.

This angered the oil company and they threw the full weight of their resources behind destroying their protests. They militarized the local police department with weapons no police department should ever have - weapons that are AGAINST GENEVA Conventions! YES, a private for-profit oil company actually used LRADS (a sound weapon), dogs, water cannons, rubber bullets and a host of other evil weaponry against PEACEFUL Water Protectors in AMERICA. It is the single most disgusting abuse of power in America I have ever witnessed.

One day in early fall the police raided the camps. They brought their military vehicles onto the sovereign territory of the Souix reservation and destroyed tipis, confiscated personal & sacred objects from the camp and arrested! a lot of people. I was watching a live video feed that day and was horrified. A few days later I was watching a live feed by Dallas Goldtooth who was driving in his vehicle and talking about this raid. As he was driving down the highway not far from camp he saw a mountain of trash dumped by the side of the road that wasn't there before. As he gets closer he stops and realizes in horror that this was all the the stuff the police had confiscated from the camp. In the mountain of 'trash' dumped by the side of the road he sees their tipis, clothing and many sacred objects - Eagle featherd pipes and prayer sticks. Imagine if you will, the police barging into your church on a Sunday morning, harrassing the parissioners, arresting them for practicing their reliigious rights and then destroying the church and confiscating the crosses, chalices, the icons, the statues of Jesus & the Blessed Virgin Mary. Now if this is not disgusting enough, imagine finding those sacred objects dumped along the side of the road destroyed, uninated & deficated on, just to make sure you got the message that THEY are more powerful than you. This is what happened at #StandingRock that day.

I was so horrified by what I witnessed, my brain started to think of what I could do to help - to show my support against these egregious and illegal acts and maybe return something the the first people of our nation. What began as realizing a long-time wish of creating clothing and accessories with leather turned out in very short order into what you see here . . . the line of RESPECT IS DUE. I never intended to work with fur or enter into a full blown apprenticeship in the fur trade. But this is exactly what happened when I began to look for the leather I wanted. I not only found the leather, I found out that the fur trade has indeed an enourmous number of practices that are hugely disrespectful to the animals- and so I also ended up having materials coming to me from many directions as I shared the story of Standing Rock and what had & still is happening there.

#RespectIsDue.

I want to share just one more thing with you . . . .

In Native & First people's culture around the world part of their teachings are not only about respect for the land, Mother Earth who provides everything we need, but also for each of the animals. They believe that every animal has a lesson for us, for humanity. These lessons are called 'Medicine'. If we observe the ways of the animals, we will learn very important lessons about how to live our own lives.

I have been studying this Medicine since 1988 when a very special woman named Jamie Sams published a book called Animal Medicine. I highly recommend you borrow it from your library or better yet, purchase your own copy from her website HERE:  jamiesamsbooks.com/medicinecards.cfm 

These lessons and this Medicine has literally changed my life for the better more than any other single thing I have ever done. What started as a way to give back to the brave Natives of #StandingRock in some small way what was lost but making a special gift for every one I knew who stood up and took a Stand for what is right and honorable, became an ever greater personal blessing and responsibility for myself to share this story and this Medicine with a wider audience outside of Indian country.  I have come to realize this is a huge opportunity for a teaching moment in history. It is my way of giving back. Giving back and honoring the sacred Native ways of the eagle, the otter, the fox, linx, bobcat, rabbit, beaver, Jamie Sams for her contribution to the world, the youth from Stand Rock and those who came to stand with them and most importantly, the water.

We are All Related. You can't drink oil. #WaterIsLIFE

I do not have endless supplies of material to work with to create these clothing and accessories.
If after checking out my slideshow of most of the things I have created and you are interesed is purchasing something, please contact me directly via feedback to this post for any information about special orders, pricing or just to comment.

Don't you just love to get good mail? You may remember the mail that you could actually hold in your hand, came in an envelope with a postage stamp and was delivered by the postman? Most people's mailbox never sees anything more exciting these days than monthly bills or flyers for weekly sales at your drug store or super market. The simple joy of receiving 'good mail' from a thoughtful friend or relative brings a special kind of recognition that you are loved.

To that end I have created a line of #GoodMail with all original art for note cards, greetings cards and postcards to share the love. Available in 2 sizes of Note Cards & Greeting Cards and box sets of 10 & 20.

If you would like to purchase some #GoodMail  just click on the individual item in the slideshow and it will take you directly to the site that manufactures these.  There are two different sites that actually make them. You will also see a number of different ways these designs are used on other products so feel free to browse, comment and shop.

Don't forget to check for special sale prices and discounts for multiple purchases.
Find the DISCOUNT CODE on the individual sales pages.

 manufactueNEXT GEN CHILDREN'S CLOTHING . . . .

ALL ORIGINAL DESIGNS YOU WON'T FIND IN ANY STORE OR AROUND THE WEB - ALL FOR A GOOD CAUSE.
ALL PROCEEDS SUPPORT Further GOOD WORKS OF THE CULTURAL COMPASS INSTITUTE PROGRAMS . . .

                                                   To purchase click on individual item.

*These products are manufactured by two different companies so don't be surprised if you click on different items and a second site opens*

It's a word I realized recently we rarely hear or even see any more. 

I'd like to bring some dignity into our collective consciousness. Won't you help make this a reality?

Dignity can only exist where there is also RESPECT.

​Respect is Due.   Pass it on . . . .

 
This is a Public Service Announcement.

It is time to wake up and realize your own personal power. No matter what negativity your life may have at this very moment, nor what horrors you have experienced in the past, it is absolutely possible to transform it into a life you LOVE from this point forward. This I promise you. 

Invest the next 18 minutes and 37 seconds into the beginning of this transformation.
​Listen in to this TEDx Talk recently by the amazing Mary Morrissey.  
It's called The Hidden Code For Transforming Dreams Into Reality .
Do share your thoughts in the comments below afterwards. 

It's time to tell the story. High time. 

The story of Native peoples, their TRUE story is just now beginning to be told, not by others this time, but by Natives themselves. 
And it is one of beauty and oh, so much pain . . .We have so much to learn from them.

​If you have seen Rise, Red Power or other documentaries, give us your thoughts . . .

I am sharing this recent interview from Democracy Now! with two indigenous women filmmakers at the Sundance Film Festival this year.

Published on Feb 28, 2017 http://democracynow.org - We speak with the filmmakers behind RISE, a new VICELAND series that examines indigenous resistance past and present, from the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation’s resistance to the Dakota Access Pipeline to “Red Power,” which looks at past indigenous resistance and the evolution of the Red Power Movement. Michelle Latimer is a Toronto based filmmaker, programmer, actor and activist of Métis and Algonquin descent; and Sarain Carson-Fox is an Anishinaabe artist, activist and the host of the series. The RISE series airs on Fridays at 9pm EST.

A powerful and moving  official trailer for this upcoming documentary film of the same name - More Than A Pipeline.  

So absolutely cross-culturally aware, Filmmaker, Robert Bridgeman literally lives his name. This film so eloquently bridges the culture and commonalities of positive path.   

​

​

 Hello My Relatives,

I have been away from this blog these past three months because I have been focusing on a very important development from Indian Country across my other social media platforms. Literally every single day since the last week of August unbelievale events have been happing at #StandingRock - both beautiful and horrid.
​
 If you have not yet heard what is happening with the original inhabitants or our country - on the Standing Rock Souix Tribal lands in South Dakota, I am not entirely surprised. There has been a virtual media blackout of the absolutely historic events going on there which began on April 1st.
 
This is a peaceful spiritual battle for the protection of our waters, specifically Lake Oahe and the Missouri & Mississippi Rivers. Every day begins with prayer & ceremony for the water and for the oil company too that they will see that this must change. It began in the most beautiful of ways . . .the Indigeonous Youth of the Youth Council of the Souix Nation were sitting around early this year and talking amongst themselves about this pipeline project and saying, 'Whay doesn't someone DO SOMETHING about this???' Then they said, 'Hey, Why don't WE do something?' They then went to speak to their elders about this. The elders wholeheartedly supported them in taking this stand because #WaterIsLIFE . This is the basis of their cultural beliefs. 

This is in no way an issue that touches or effects only the Souix Indians. They have taken a stand for the protection of these waters - 'For as long as it takes'  - the primary source of drinking water for 18M people in the United States against an oil company trying to build a 1200mile pipeline thru their lands and under their waters. 

For non-natives to fully understand the context of this epic story and history in the making, a couple things must be clear . .  . We ARE water. Our bodies are literally more water than anything else . . .

​Our waters are seriously in danger. You also may not know this because of the corporate greed and level of media manipulation regarding reporting on this.

Do not worry so that these numbers differ some. You get the point, I hope!  What's more, when we are still in the womb, we are 100% water! Throughout our lives we lose more & more water down to approximately 60%.

Please understand also, that Peace is not passive. Peace will not back down. The  #WaterProtectors as they call themselves, are not protestors but PROTECTORS of the water, what natives believe to be the 'first medicine' and source of life.  It is the very core of the belief system. 

The map above depicts exactly what has been quietly or not so quietly happening around our country for the past few years. YES, the level is shocking . . . .
Worse, these pipelines are built along fault lines, major damns & aquafers. 



The force with which this specific pipeline company, CEO Kelcy Warren and Energy Transfer Partners has met with the peaceful resistance is horrifyingly overwhelming and against the law in a staggering number of ways. Worse, this is SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) for these companies and cozy politicos across the globe. The arrogance and path of destruction behind them is mind numbing. 

Just to bring you up to speed, The governor of South Dakota (a total patsy for big oil and decidedly NOT the citizens of his own state, has mobilized the National Guard (at tax payer expense against Americans). The pipeline company has a private militia there which has deliberately driven 20 miles out of its way to bulldoze sacred burial lands and use all of this military hardware against the #WaterProtectors in the most sadistic way. The State, Morton County Police Force and the private militia of Energy Transfer Partners is equiped with TANKS, MRAPs, Concussion GRENADES, WATER CANNONS (used in sub-zero temperatures), SOUND WEAPONS, RUBBER BULLETS, TEAR GAS, BATONS (used with abandon) DOG KENNELS (for prisoners, not dogs), ATTACK DOGS, HELICOPTERS, CHEMICAL-SPRAYING PLANES, SNIPERS, AGENT PROVOCATEURS, ELECTRONIC JAMMING DEVICES & SOULESS THUGS shooting PRAYERFUL YOUTH & ELDERS, MEDICS, JOURNALISTS in the FACE,  IN the BACK.

This is a movement, the likes of which this country has not been seen in more than 150 years! Perhaps EVER because it is not only the 420 Indian Nations of our country coming to the aid of the #StandingRock Souix, but literally First Peoples from all of Turtle Island, all over the globe AND non'natives from the entire world.  

This is a historic STAND. 

You can't drink OIL. 

What is being addressed at #StandingRock is a shift back to a more healthy path, a RESPECT for the life-giving properties of our planet and a demand that new decision-making criteria be immediately implemented.

That it is simply NOT OK to endanger the primary source of drinking water for 18M people. 
NO Corporation has that right. 

The numbers at the camp have grown from a group of 7 youth council members to 10,000 at its peak in just eight months. Winters in the Dakotas is cruel, it is not for everyone but new re-enforcements have just arrived. A beautiful turn of events and prayers answered. 4,000 VETERANS have shown up from the four directions to lend their support.  They began immediately by being a human buffer between the private & government terrorists and the unarmed #WaterProtectors .

They got down on their knees. 4,000 Veterans of The United States of America, lead by Wesley Clark, Jr., got down on their knees and they asked the Tribe for foregiveness for the sins of their grandfathers and elders before them who commited past wrongs against the First People, for their own racism, for the lack of respect shown by them towards the WWII Native Code Talkers. It was the most beautiful amazing plublic healing I have ever witnessed in my life . . .and the HEALING of our past and co-creation of our future continues. We need YOU because democracy is an audience participation sport!

​Stay tuned. There is soooo much more to this story . . . .  #WaterIsLIFE

#DefundDAPL
#NODAPL
​#MniWiconi

ENJOY
If you need to put a smile on your face today, check out these humorous memes on our Pinterest Board "Thinks that Make Me Smile'.  You'll be glad you did. Here's the link :  
https://www.pinterest.com/culturalcompass/things-that-make-me-smile/ 

Have a look around. There is another board titled: 'Things That Make Me Laugh''
Find it HERE:
https://www.pinterest.com/culturalcompass/things-that-make-me-laugh/

ENJOY!  Tell us which ones put the biggest smile on your face today.

If you've ever doubted that one individual can make a difference, fear not. YOU are one of the most powerful transmitters in the universe and together, WE, can sort out all the things in our world that are not working quite right. True, we have a monumental task before us, but truth and love will prevail.

Thanks for stopping by again. After last week's posts I hope you all are sharing your Citizen Wishes.
Just click on the "CITIZEN WISH LIST tab on this website. You can answer each category individually from here.

Forgiveness is golden . . . Share a little kindness. It's contagious. 

 The #CitizenWishList Project is about finding the common ground across political parties and dare I say, in spite of them sometimes. There is a whole lotta common ground we are not maximizing for positive change, friends. I aim to prove this to you, with your help of course.
The #CitizenWishList is not only about WISHES but also collecting REAL EXAMPLES of what IS working.
The reasoning behind this is simple. Not everything is broken even though the system may pain us in ways we feel powerless to change. We actually ARE doing some things right.

Let's make sure we keep doing those things that ARE working.  
More than that, let's duplicate those REAL EXAMPLES as often as possible, wherever possible.

So here are the first statistics about WISHES  & REAL EXAMPLES in the initial conversation categories. 
I will only discuss the breakdown of these two things in this blog post.
I do not want to significance of tracking these two items to get lost as this adventure grows legs. . .

Please keep two things in mind as you read this.
     1. These are the very first responses. 
     2. The number of participants will continue to grow and these numbers will change AND the conversations will go deeper and deeper and each category will divide into multiple sub-category conversations about more & more specific things.

Remember too that YOU have the power to make this happen first by participating yourself, and secondly by sharing this #CITIZENWISHLIST Project with as many people as you can. We even want to hear from children. Afterall, this is for THEM as well as all the children for seven generations to come. 
Let's be good caretakers in the present in such a way we not only have a WAY to participate , but DO make good decisions about the future. So, having said all that, here are the first stats from the Citizen Wish list Project . . .

1.  #CWL4WORK
50% of participants shared WISHES for something they would like to see.
50% of the participants share REAL EXAMPLES of what is working regarding any aspect of WORK.
Hmm, interesting.
If you listen to the media today, one might expect the numbers sharing WISHES to be higher.
Great news is that 50% did not.

2. #CWL4FAMILY
57% shared WISHES for good family relations in any way that the democratic system helps or hinders us.
43% shared REAL EXAMPLES of good family relations.
A sign of a healthy population might show far more real examples of what IS working instead of wishes for improvements. More than half did not do that with these initial stats. 
The good news is NEARLY half of the respondents did share GOOD EXAMPLES of what is working for them regarding Family and all points of our democracies that touch family life.

3. #CWL4EDUCATION
71% share WISHES for something different they would like to see.
29% shared REAL EXAMPLES of what IS working regarding education in all its forms.
This is a sad example of reality today. Woe is us. The educational system is showing visible signs of wear & tear. The good news is almost 1/3 of the respondents are showing us examples of HOW.

4. #CWL4TheENVIRONMENT
50% of respondents shared WISHES.
50% shared REAL EXAMPLES of what IS working with regards to The ENVIRONMENT.
Frankly, I'm pleasantly surprised by this split. The glass is half full but half is not good enough for me.
Is doing something half well good enough for YOU? It's not like we've got another planet we can move to.
Be kind to your Mother.

5. #CWL4HEALTHCARE
72% have WISHES :  (
28% shared REAL EXAMPLES of what we are doing right with healthcare.
No surprises here. We NEED to do better here. Let's put our heads together. Almost one third of the participants are showing us success stories in healthcare. Let's duplicate those things and expand on them.

6. #CWL4CRIME&PUNISHMENT
71+% have WISHES.
29% have REAL EXAMPLES of what IS working well about security.
Crime & punishment really boil down to security, don't you think?
We are really not doing too good in this department. More than 70% of the people are not satisfied.
We can do better.

7. #CWL4PR&TheMEDIA
 Nearly ALL respondents gave REAL EXAMPLES of how to have good communications :  )
They could have shared WISHES, but they didn't. Remember, these are just the first responders. (That was not a typo. I meant to say first responders because that's what they are. They care enough about the future we create for their grandchildren to act now.) This also means we will surely see this percentages shift as more people participate in the process and learn to use this new tool. 


8. #CWL4MONEY
54% have WISHES,
46% shared REAL EXAMPLES about MONEY & good fiscal policy, be it personal finances or any part of that as it relates to how our democracies deal with money.
We could certainly move towards more REAL EXAMPLES than WISHES but I was again pleasantly surprised by so many REAL EXAMPLES! 

So that's the breakdown of WISHES & REAL EXAMPLES in this first look at the statistics for the Citizen Wish List Project. My next post will discuss statistics about what kind of people are participating and why there were some odd control questions.
I hope this post is not only interesting for you but useful.

Perhaps you are wondering why all the hashtags (#s) and capital letters. . . .
This is the way the internet works. Hashtags make information easier to find on the internet. It is also easier for us to manage the conversation categories by building in some organization from the beginning.
As for all the capital letters . . .Until more people learn about this new tool for participating in the democratic process, we need to get everyone familiar with the parts. No shouting necessary.  I know this isn't perfect. If I 
waited for a perfect version it would be too late for us to save the day . . .

To begin using the #CITIZENWISHLIST      Click HERE. 

To speak up is not enough for me otherwise the best I can hope for is only a clarification of any problem.
I subscribe to the Dale Carnegie school of business - 'Speak up about a problem but also offer a possible solution.'
If you want to know why, read the short page on The Cultural Compass Institute website WHY #CWL . 
To add to that 'why' I'll add that I believe at this time in history, the 21st century, We the People, are intelligent enough, educated enough, caring enough, & technologically savvy enough to solve any problem we set our sights on with a peaceful resolution. What's more, for the first time in history, we have tools to have an actual conversation about this in an adult way; openly, honestly and all at the SAME TIME !

We need a new way to engage in the democratic process.  

I have already dedicated five years of my life to this purpose. I am committed  for the duration to convincing YOU this is a reasonable way to participate in creating the democracy we deserve. . . a way to make #TheVoiceofThePeople audible.  Really, what kind of world do you want your children and great grandchildren to grow up in? We are creating it today.
​
This is where you begin to make your #CitizenWish come true :  Citizen Wish List 

This is a social experiment.
YOU are the 99%, start acting like it.

The Citizen Wish List Project is a new tool to participate in the democratic process.
Think about it for a minute . . .how do we participate in the process now?
We vote. How's that working?
We write letters to our representatives. Have you lately? Have you ever?
We write, share, & sign petitions. That works sometimes. 
We talk about it all the time with each other. Really, what does THAT help?
It's time for each and every one of us to take a vested interest in the this to make some adjustments.

This is a new tool and a platform to move the millions of dinner table, coffeehouse and talk radio conversations going on every day to a place we can ALL be a part of them and vote these ideas up or down with a collective voice to define & implement what it is we REALLY need. 

There is more common ground here Friends & Neighbors than we are being led to believe exists. 

Transparency NOW. Let's do this together. Peacefully. Respectfully. Of the people, By the people.
Let's make decisions so good that seven generations down the road into the future, our Grandchildren will say 'Thank You for being good caretakers and standing up for the things that matter'.

These are Global, Continental, State, Regional & Local conversation starters in eight initial categories which are common to all human beings.

The categories are:  
WORK, FAMILY, EDUCATION, The ENVIRONMENT, HEALTHCARE, CRIME & PUNISHMENT, COMMUNICATIONS & MONEY .

Good ideas and examples of what IS working will rise to the top and IF, only IF we do this with a critical mass of participants, our collective voice cannot be ignored.

Do It NOW.  Let's do this together. We are the 99%. 

START the #CitizenWishList   NOW.

A worthy question and inspirational video for your viewing enjoyment . . .
Common Sense Wisdom: Thought to Live By with Pepper de Callier.