The White Falcon - 13.02.1976, Blaðsíða 3

February 13, 1976 Page 3
Hiawatha and humanity as a soaring Spruce tree
by P01 Ron Charles
Equal Opportunity Program Specialist
"Walk a mile in my shoes." How many
times have’, you heard that phrase? Would
you be surprised to learn that it comes
from an old American Indian saying:
"Before I judge another human being I
should walk a day in his moccasins."
(The term human being is used because
many American Indian tribe’s names mean
simply "the people" or "the human
beings.")
Indian Ecology
Or, how about ecology? European
"civilization" is just now coming around
to one of the basic tenents of native
American life, living in "harmony" with
nature.
America for all Americans
The Association for the Study of
Afro-American Life and History has de-
signated the month of February this year
as not only Black History Month, but
also to support the theme "America for
all Americans."
One of the most advanced philosophies
in practice in the world at the time of,
and well before the American Revolution,
was that of an American Indian nation.
The following is a condensed article
from Robert Kelley’s The Shaping of the
American Past. It is the story of one
of "the peoples" who lived in America
before any white person dreamed of com-
ing to a new land.
The five tribes
of the Iroquois
An extraordinary Indian named Hia-
watha was the moving force behind the
creation of this remarkable confedera-
tion. Born in one of the "Five Tribes"
in the 16th century. He undertook to
unify the then constantly warring
Iroquois tribes by moving back and forth
from tribe to tribe, trying to teach
them to live peacefully with the rest of
the five tribes, the Mohawk, Oneida,
Seneca, Cayuga and Onondaga tribes. The
times were right for such a program, for
many of the Iroquois were looking for
the coming of a messiah, as promised by
the "Master of Life" in their mythology.
A prophet and mystic
Ancient hatreds and suspicians, how-
ever, • barred Hiawatha’s way. Then an
extraordinary man, Deganawidah, inspired
Hiawatha with ideals even more enlight-
ened than those simply of unity among
the Five Tribes. A wandering prophet
and mystic, reputedly of virgin birth,
he had had visions in which he saw hu-
manity as a soaring Spruce tree rooted
in the fertilizing soil of three sets of
double principles of life:
Sanity of mind and health of body
linked to peace between individuals and
groups.
Ethical righteousness in actions
linked to equality and justice among
peoples.
Physical strength and civil power
linked to the power of the Orenda, the
extended matri-lineal family (i.e., one
in which descent is taken from the
mother), which was the basic unit in
Iroquois life.
The ideals Deganawidah saw in his
vision could be extended to encompass
all mankind, bringing peace and unity to
everyone. Destructive warfare, constant
and bloody, would finally end, and just-
ice and dignity would prevail.
The Iroquois Confederacy
He inspired Hiawatha with this great
vision and these ideals just when
Hiawatha was most discouraged and unsuc-
cessful. Joined in a common crusade,
they were able to convert their most in-
veterate enemy, the great chief of the
Onondagas, Atotarho. This climactic and
legendary scene was comparable, in
Iroquois history, to the conversion of
the Emperor Constantine to Christianity.
The government of the Iroquois Confed-
eracy was fashioned thereafter under the
guidance of Hiawatha and Deganawidah. A
completely civil confederacy, it did not
allow warriors to be representatives to
the federal councils, for they might
tend to take warlike stands. Each tribe
had a given number of representatives,
who could be removed for wrongdoing by
their tribes.
200 years of strife
Throughout their empirer the Iroquois
tried to teach the conquered! tribes the
ideals of Deganawidah. They discouraged
fighting among tribes and sent parties
of experienced chiefs to conciliate and
arbitrate disputes. Some tribes volun-
tarily asked for Iroquois protection,
often against the white man. Fragments
of tribes that had been decimated by
white attacks took their way to the land
of Hiawatha, seeking shelter and peace.
Through 200 years of almost constant
troubles, Hiawatha’s confederation re-
tained its unity against the world, both
red and white. Its defeat finally came
in the American Revolution, during which
the Iroquois took the side of their an-
cient allies, the British.
Brotherhood and peace
Thus ended an extraordinary military
empire devoted to humanitarian ideals of
brotherhood and peace, conceived and
realized by an Indian people before the
coming of the white man-and taught today
in the traditions of the Iroquois who
still live in the Mohawk valley.
Family Services—
Hospitality &
Story \ photos by JOT John Wood
"Oh, no Our wadcrachet was packed-
out accidentally. How will we survive?"
"What do you mean, tne shipment
hasn't arrived yet? What will I do
without my snarfling gear?"
Fear not, departees and arrivees.
The NATO base Family Services Center may
have the supplies you need to set up or
mantain housekeeping—particularly dur-
ing those trying days of establishing
and disestablishing the household upon
relocation.
Although they are rather limited in
wadcrachets and snarfling gear, the fam-
ily Services Center has a good supply of
utensils, linens, baby items, small ap-
pliances, dishware and other items to
helpfulness
help make your moving days a little less
hectic. No transformers are available,
but all items in stock may be taken off
the Agreed Area, with proper forms.
A Hospitality kit, consisting of
things you select from the shelves, may
be checked-out at the Center next to the
Thrift Shop and the Yputh Center. The
kits are loaned for a period of three
months, and the loan may be extended if
necessary.
No money down and no 'money to pay—
because the services provided at the
Center are free. There is a small
charge for linen and bed items to defray
the cost of laundry and a late charge
for items overdue that have not been
extended, but the Center is a non-profit
‘
I J
I 1 i

CHARLOTTE JACKSON ASSISTS PNC CHRIS CRISTWELL in locating information in the base
file. Information is available on Stateside and overseas bases.
FAMILY SERVICES CENTER COORDINATORS Beverly Buzzell (left) and Jane Castle confer.
service for your convenience.
Family Services, sometimes called
Personal Services, provides more than
family aid. Single and married, accom-
panied and unaccompanied, sponsored and
unsponsored, people from all services
and all ranks and rates have found the
Center to be an aid. One service that
many people are probably not familiar
with is the Base File. The Center has
a large file of listings of many mili-
tary stations and related information.
If you have orders, or are just curious
about a certain station, perhaps the in-
formation you desire is in that file.
File material may be checked-out on a
24-hour basis. If the area of your in-
terest is not in the file, see the vol-
unteer on duty for information on their
Station Correspondence Service.
The staff at the Center is all-volun-
teer and most of the items have been
donated by kindly folks like you. Major
purchases and "short": items are supplied
by Flea Market proceeds. The Center
hosts a Flea Market twice a year, and
the auction action, with your help,
should provide the funds to sustain the
helping hands of hospitality for another
six months.
The next Flea Market is scheduled for
May 15, probably at Hangar 885, and the
Family Services Center staff is already
accumulating items to be auctioned.
Call the Center at 5200 or 6203 to see
how you can help or to get more informa-
tion on donating items. Volunteer auc-
tioneers will also be needed—Would you
like to lend your lip and larynx?
The success of the Family Services
Center thus far, according to coordina-
tors Jane Castle and Beverly Buzzell, is
due to the cooperation and generosity of
the volunteer workers and contributors—
with a special thanks to Mary Harrison,
the former coordinator.
The Family Services Center, open from
9 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays, provides free
nursery service for the volunteers. The
workers usually have a three-hour shift
one day a week. Some volunteers have
found the work sufficiently rewarding to
extend their services several days a
week. Perhaps this is your opportunity
to enhance your tour by making good use
of those extra hours. Navy, Air Force,
Marine, Coast Guard, Army and dependent
personnel on base may find a trip tc the
Family Services Center beneficial in
several ways. Look into it.
Who knows what boogie lurks in the hearts of
by Pat Crandall
Since the Rolling Stones or Elton
John have not appeared in Iceland during
their concert tours, rock and roll fans
in the area, (and rest assured, they are
not a minority), are faced with the
question of how to cope with the "limit-
ed" supply of musical entertainment.
One could, I suppose, go to the stereo
shop every week and buy the top forty
records, but that still remains a vicar-
ious pleasure.
Four men from Patrol Squadron 56,
presently deployed to Keflavik Naval
Station, have come up with their own
solution. They all have a love for good
rock music and all have had prior train-
ing and experience with musical instru-
ments.
Thus was born a new rock group,
SHADOW.
However, four musicians do not a band
make, so it took some experimentation
and re-arranging to come up with the
successful combination. With Roger
Baugus at lead guitar, Steve Sieglein at
bass guitar, Steve Brown working the
drums and John Lankford handling rhythm
guitar and vocals, the group started to
mellow.
Using some standard rock numbers and
with Baugus and Lankford collaborating
on some original material, the group
began the arduous task of getting it all
together before booking a gig at the
local club.
New Year’s Eve marked their debut and
Shadow?
following a roundly appreciative re-
sponse, the group has been on call for
other engagements.
The group feels there is still plenty
of room for improvement and they plan to
continue to play together when they re-
turn to Jacksonville, Fla. with the Dra-
gons of VP-56.
The SHADOW will appear at the Mid-
night Sun Club tomorrow night. Who
Knows What Boogie Lurks In The Hearts Of
Men...The SHADOW Do!