I am a Peacemaker. Since September 16, 1997 I have been following the path of the Peacemaker. I have travelled to many countries and many sacred spaces to learn and to share my story.
In December of 2000 I was at a conference in Madrid at the invitation of the former Secretary General of UNESCO. The inaugural meeting of the Foundation for a Culture of Peace. At this conference, I met Boutros Ghali who invited me to visit him in Paris.
I had some time to prepare myself for my meeting with Boutros-Ghali. I called Boutros office to determine an optimum time to visit him. We established a time on January 19th.
I prepared myself in another way as well. Spiritually. As I have mentioned, I carry a Sacred Drum. This drum is the Unity Drum. Two years ago, I was invited to participate in the Unity Ride, a journey over sacred territory called for by Chief Arvol Looking Horse of the Lakota Nation. He is the 19th Generation Keeper of the Sacred White Buffalo Calf Pipe and Prophecy. This prophecy indicated that when the White Buffalo Calf is born, that the Red Man is going to call the Nations to come together in Unity to heal the Earth. Each year since 1995, after the White Buffalo Calf was declared born at the Heider Ranch just north west of Chicago, a ride took place over sacred territory. I was on the thrid year of the ride under the direction of Chief Ernest (Ernie) Sundown of the Joseph Bighead Reserve. I rode Chief Arvol Looking Horse's horse Babe, and carried both the sacred bundle and carried one of the sacred Staff's from time to time. When you carried the Staff, no other rider was allowed to go in front of you. On the fourth day of the ride a deer was shot to help feed the sixty people involved in the ride. I asked Chief for the skin to make a drum. I worked with some of the others as we cleaned the skin. It was decided by all those there (Elders) that the drum carry the heartbeat of the ride. Just when I was getting ready to leave the ride an Elk was taken and the skin brought to me as well. I made two drums using the skills that my friend Pat Henricksen (White Cloud) had taught me. The Unity Drum has accompanied me on my world travels and is generally played by an elder rather than myself. I am a drum carrier, not a drummer. In First Nations protocols you have to learn more to call one self a drummer. However, I do use the drum to bring myself to contemplation of important ideas for myself and to call in the Spiritual aspects of myself. It seems to work for me. The smaller Drum was painted by Artist Remmie Geneste at the We All Care Multi Faith Ceremony that took place in Edmonton in August 1998. Since that time, I have given the smaller drum with the picture on it to a Holy man who travels the world telling the story, and I use the larger drum to do the same in my own way.
So I used my Sacred Drum to prepare myself for my meeting with Boutros Ghali. Preparation involves smudging myself and the drum with sweetgrass and focussing my attention on my highest good and the good of all. I sing the Shmay facing all directions and also invoke the names of all the gods and prophets that I know and seek wisdom from. I do this until I feel that I am ready to ask a question, or often an answer comes to me before I ask a question.
My meeting was not what I expected at all. It was rather formal and I presented my ideas again, and to make a long story short he agreed to support our work Institutionally. Boutros- Boutros Ghali would lend his "institutional support" where he could and that it made sense. I took a little video of him agreeing to support me in this manner. And basically that was it.
My biggest meeting took a little over an hour and now I was free to go and visit the Louvres. I spent the rest of the day at the Louvres videoing the many fantastic works of art representing various stages of the artistic progress of humanity. The most intriguing thing I learned was that every one in the world has been misspelling "Monna Lisa". This is not to diminish in any sense the incredible works that are on display. The Louvres can hold ones attention for a number of days and I just skimmed the surface. Any one painting could hold you for an hour. I got a good taste.
Exhausted after an emotional few days I returned home to Canada to be greeted by a wonderful letter from Dr. Young Seek Choue.
