Former Row of Big Boulders (Part Two)

  As if one had horns or antlers growing out of one's head...

   “It’s a blessing and a curse,” just like Mr. Monk says, this business of learning to recognize Indigenous Ceremonial Landscape features that most people are just not aware of, here in what has come to be called New England.  On one hand the observer is struck with a sense of wonder, walking past stonework of unknown age with the feeling that one is in a vast open air cathedral, one of the largest rock gardens ever made in this world, here on this corner of Turtle Island. On the other hand, when one talks about the possibility that the stonework isn’t what we’ve been taught to believe - that it's not evidence of Yankee Farmers taming a wild howling wilderness by tossing stones out of never before plowed fields and more probably is Indigenous Stonework, one is often suspected of being in need of professional mental health services and, perhaps, medication.

"Patriot Plowing" with an apology to Mr. Hedu for desecrating his fine illustration...

    There’s a cultural bias that nothing happened here, and hardly anyone lived here, before 1620, or more precisely before 1673 in the town I live in.

     There’s a deep cultural bias that often shockingly boils down to “New England Indians were too stupid and lazy to build with stone” that simply is not true – and would make this cultural group unique in the world as the only people who didn’t construct things with the stone available to them.

    Just as my friend Diane Dix says, “Because of this deep cultural bias, the lithic remains of the Native Americans of New England remained hidden in plain view for centuries.  Many of these features are constructed with stone and blend quietly and reverently into the natural surroundings. Yet, once one awakens to their presence they seem to be everywhere. Most were constructed hundreds, even thousands of years ago, when the Indians burned much of the land to control the vegetation and foliage did not obstruct the sightlines. Often these monuments lead the eyes to the place where the earth meets the sky.” 

     Diane Dix’s writing is taken from the Nolumbeka website (a group that was instrumental in having the Turners Falls Sacred Hill site recognized by the Federal government as an Indigenous Sacred Ceremonial Stone Landscape in New England): https://nolumbekaproject.org/sacred-site-preservation/

 

           Recently, I had an unsettling experience at a land trust property (briefly described in the previous post to this one) where the former executive director was interested in Indigenous Ceremonial Landscape features. We had talked quite a bit about it, exchanged emails and photographs, and I was even asked to give a little presentation about the subject back in 2016: https://wakinguponturtleisland.blogspot.com/2016/09/stonewall-visions-at-flanders-nature.html

          Since that time, I underwent treatment for a couple different rather serious health issues -  and all those other “events” that have happened since September 2016 as well that have hindered me from re-establishing a relationship with the land trust and indeed, hindering me from the long walks along rows of stones in the more remote locations where they are more likely to be uncompromised. I did find myself “hooked up” to a couple other groups of people on social media, kind of vicariously continuing to explore through photos (drawings, maps and even 3D models as well) that other people were posting.

 

    So: Recently I found myself discussing a site in Massachusetts (I think) where large boulders featured prominently in photos I’m seeking permission to use…

(To be continued…)

"Delusional:"

As if one had horns or antlers growing out of one's head...