I am happy to announce that I have scheduled the following book signings:

Hastings Books at 315 N 9th St. in Wenatchee. 10 AM to 2 PM Friday April 10, 2015.

Corner Shelf Books at 6 N. Main St. in Omak. 11 AM to 3 PM.Saturday April 18, 2015.

I’ll feature my new book, Go-La’-Ka Wa-Wal-Sh (Raven Speaks) but my other two Coyote Finishes the People and Last Chief Standing will be available for signing.

Hope to see you there!

Lam Lampt

Wendell

Book signing at Hastings went well despite the notice in the newspaper being absent. People came by and bought books after lengthy discussions.Generated some more interest. One person was a retired teacher from Okanogan who taught my two younger children, English I think, Kathy and Rob. Introduced my two grandchildren, Amy and Moses who are Rob’s, to him. He is living in Wenatchee now and went to Wenatchee High about the same time I did.

Book signing in Omak went about as well as the one in Wenatchee. My cousin who gave a good review in Amazon for my book Last Chief Standing was there and purchased all three books.

My next events are both during the weekend of May 16. In the morning at 10 AM I will participate in the dedication of the Entiat Park and in the afternoon starting at 3 PM I will be at the River Ramble at the Rocky Reach Dam story telling. It will be a busy day and I may even bring some books for a book signing.

GOOD NEWS!

Rufus Woods asked me to submit another article for the Wenatchee World. I sent it in today and it should be published in the next few days. The title is “Little Joe learns about the statue of freedom”. It continues my theme of connecting with nature. The next one will be more specific.Hope you enjoy it.

Wendell

July 12, 2015 Wenatchee World article

LITTLE JOE LEARNS ABOUT THE STATUE OF FREEDOM

Little Joe was excited after his school-sponsored trip to Washington, D.C.

“Uncle (Twasen), nobody seems to know the story behind the Statue on top of the U.S. Capitol building.”

“It started with Jefferson Davis who was the U.S. Secretary of War and later the President of the Confederacy. He objected to the proposed cap of a Roman symbol of an emancipated slave. So it was changed in 1855 to an eagle head and crest of feathers. 1855 was coincidently the year of the beginning of the Yakama Indian War. The statue is a visual symbol of the evolution of America. The female body indicates justice, the military helmet and sword are self-evident, and the eagle’s head, crest of feathers and native blanket are American Indian. And, finally, the statue faces East, the first direction of the American Indian Medicine Wheel.”

“Then American Indians were recognized.”

“But it was ironic because the great American land grab named the Manifest Destiny in 1847 was a movement to usurp land occupied by the Indians. Some of the land was given back to the Indians through treaties and executive orders but that encountered a political wall in some cases. For example, the Wenatchi tribe was promised a six mile square reservation by Article 10 of the Yakama Treaty of 1855. Now, 160 years later, the reservation is yet to be.”

“Indians need to learn the art of politics to make the happen.”

“Another irony is the female gender of the statue was meant to signify justice but women couldn’t vote until 1920 and Indians had to wait until 1924.”

“Probably due to the passive nature of women and Indians.”

“The Eagle’s head represents liberty, freedom and independence as initially shown on the U.S. Seal. This mirrors the Indian way of life. If fully realized a new consciousness would evolve in our Nation. Women were always important to Indians which is reflected in the belief that the wings of an eagle represent the balance needed between male and female. This is similar to the Chinese Yin-Yang philosophy of opposite forces being interdependent. They interact to form a dynamic system in which the whole is greater than the parts. When these are balanced peace can be achieved.”

“You mentioned before that American Indians tend to think with their right brain which makes them intuitive, spiritual and perceptive. But today we are taught to think with our left brain which makes us competitive, controlling and technology oriented.”

“Very true, Little Joe, the rule of nature is to pair up opposites to enable a balance. We have to recognize we are an integral part of nature to achieve this balance. We are our worst enemy because we have created a false self, the ego, as a substitute for our true self as spirit. This keeps us separate from nature’s laws and prevents us from obtaining a balance.”

“Well, uncle (Twasen) you have a clear message. Maybe the new generation will bring in the new consciousness.”

Tower of Babel – Chapter 11:3 Book of Genesis: “Come let us build ourselves…a tower with its top in the sky.”

Space exploration – We have landed a man on the moon and have plans for a manned mission to Mars.

Each has in common the theme – “Reaching for the sky”. And in the words of Star Trek: “Where no man has gone before.”

An astronaut is carved on the Mayan leader Pacal Votan’s 683 A.D. tombstone discovered in 1947. Pacal Votan is shown in what looks like an ancient spaceship or time machine. He is sitting in a cockpit,his hands are turning instruments, his foot appears to be on a pedal, a tube is inserted into his nose as if he is receiving oxygen and wisps of smoke or exhaust appear to be shooting from the bottom of the ship.

But the Mayans weren’t describing a spaceship or time machine. They were describing the nature of human consciousness. Humans are evolving (or maybe reverting) into a new consciousness where we are aware of our connection to all nature including trees, plants, animals, earth, planets, stars and the entire universe.

The internet has been a leap forward to this; the ultimate situation, because it expands our awareness. Fr. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin called the final stage; the Omega Point. Ray Kurzweil said the Omega Point is the Singularity where we will be totally conscious of everything. To do that we must have a common language as people had before the tower of Babel came tumbling down. There is hope for humanity yet.

Some say Indians don’t have any humor. Maybe it’s because we think differently.

Old time Indians said: Walk a mile in their moccasins before you criticize someone; then you are a mile away and have their moccasins.

Today’s Indian says: Don’t complain because you have leaves in your swimming pool because you still have a swimming pool.

I’m waiting for a few more people to get on my reader list but I would like to thank Don and Colleen for their comments. I knew you would join me on this venture.

The name of my great-grandfather, Chilcosahaskt, means Grabbing or reaching for the sky. The sculpture by tribal artist Smoker Marchand is at the new Entiat Park. It memorializes the transition of the old ways to the new. Indian Country has changed but Indians will always maintain their culture and pass it on to others.