The Creator planted within us a way of life to live, follow and uphold. We have been born into this way of life which has been transferred generation-to-generation, mouth-to-ear since the beginning. We have been instructed to care for His Creation and we are responsible for this caretaking by following and renewing this way of life. We, the Original Nations and Peoples of this Land, have been consistently expressing our sense of urgency and objection to the violations of the Creator’s Natural Law by the actions and activities of the newcomers to this land. Our voice has been dismissed, ignored, silenced and violated because the newcomers seem to only listen to economy. This blind pursuit for money has brought us to this place where the violations of the sanctity of Creator’s Natural Law is common place. The lack of respect for all living beings has diminished the sacredness of life.
The newcomer’s disregard and disrespect for our responsibilities to uphold the sacred instructions has been detrimental to the natural world and the peoples of this land. The manipulation of science and numbers continues to further degrade and destroy the people of the Earth and the natural world. This manipulation of words and numbers isn’t fooling the Good Spirit. It only provides the newcomers with a delusional perception to escape the reality that they are consistently violating the sacredness of the Creator’s Natural Law.
Today we are not escaping the fact there are consequences for violating the Laws of Creation. Aboriginal Indigenous Peoples ways of life around the World have been created by the Creator to live in harmony and balance with His Creation. It is this sacred way of life that is being violated and dismissed by the newcomers and their Nation States and corporations that have organized themselves under these chaotic and destructive self-made rules and laws.
The so-called COVID-19 virus is demonstrating how connected we are globally, not only as human beings but also with the rest of the natural world. From the largest mountain to the smallest organism we are related, even the great stars above. This is what we have been expressing. When you violate our sacred places it affects All Creation. I recall a meeting on top of Doko’oosliid (San Francisco Peaks) many years ago at the very beginning of the reclaimed wastewater discussion with the Forest Service and my Elders. The Elders told the Forest Service at that time, “What you’re doing here is creating a new disease”. I’m sure that same conversation was being expressed around the world by other Indigenous elders and medicine peoples. However because of a lack of respect for who we are, the Forest Service and Snowbowl moved forward with their plans. Almost same as today with the agassiz chairlift.
This self-destructive behavior must change. However we don’t see any changes happening unless there is a foundational change. Laws such as the 1872 mining law and laws that require CEO’s and Presidents of companies to show a profit at any cost as long as it does not violate their own man-made laws must change. Man-made laws that have been violating and abusing Mother Earth and the Aboriginal Indigenous Peoples must be abandoned, if we hope to survive into the future.
During this time of reflection we want to give clear guidance. Snowbowl, City of Flagstaff and the US Forest Service MUST STOP pursuing the continued destruction of the Natural World and the Aboriginal Indigenous Peoples Way of Life. The true owners of Snowbowl, City of Flagstaff officials and the US Forest Service need to sit down with us to discuss a new path forward. This virus presents us with an invitation to change. How we respond to this invitation will determine our future.
This quote by whomever expressed it, “the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results”, pertains to our situation. If the American people decide to continue to live by the same laws, policies and rules after this global disaster, then we see everyone crying in the future. We now have an opportunity to change, we better take it. When the sun rises it just doesn’t shine on the rich people, federal employees and politicians. We are all connected and your ill-informed decisions are impacting us all. We are all responsible and we are all accountable for working together for a better tomorrow for All Life.
We must reunite under the Creator’s Natural Law to have respect, love and compassion for one another and ask for forgiveness for trespassing on our spiritual relatives which include the sacred elements, plants, animals, clouds, trees, insects, fish, birds, mountains, valleys, rivers, streams, canyons, rocks and all the other beings above and below that we have violated. As we said we are providing clear direction. Do not violate the Sacred Laws of Creation which are interwoven with our Aboriginal Indigenous Ways of Life. You need to reverse the agassiz chairlift decision, terminate the use of reclaimed wastewater for snowmaking and sit down and work with us, the Original Caretakers of Mother Earth, so we can have spiritually informed decision-making that considers All Life, while we all have this opportunity.
Respectfully,
Shawn Mulford
