I. Thou shalt love and honor the Earth for it blesses thy life and governs thy survival.

II. Thou shalt keep each day sacred to the Earth and celebrate the turning of its seasons.

III. Thou shalt not hold thyself above other living things nor drive them to extinction.

IV. Thou shalt give thanks for thy food, to creatures and plants that nourish thee.

V. Though shalt educate thy offspring for multitudes of people are a blessing unto the Earth when we live in harmony.

VI. Thou shalt not kill, nor waste Earths riches upon weapons of war.

VII. Thou shalt not pursue profit at the Earths expense but strive to restore its damaged majesty.

VIII. Thou shalt not hide from thyself or others the consequences of thy actions upon the Earth.

IX. Thou shalt not steal from future generations by impoverishing or poisoning the Earth.

X. Thou shalt consume material goods in moderation so all may share the Earth's bounty.

 There have been and remain many issues and myth surrounding the whole Columbus Day holiday, I for one refuse to celebrate this day as an American Holiday for personal reasons many of which are below....

Ok , I am not a big fan of Wiki (Wkipedia), but in this instance when directly quoted and with reference.. I will post this entry: The following is an exerpt from the Wiki Encyclopedia..

It is commonly believed that opposition to Columbus celebrations dates to the later part of the 20th century. However, the current group of American Indian activists are not alone historically. In the nineteenth century, for example, "patriotic" activists sought to eradicate Columbus Day celebrations because they thought the Catholics would use the holiday to take over the country. Similarly, the notion that Columbus was responsible for more calamity and destruction than progress and prosperity has been a recurrent theme ever since Columbus's voyage. Even the notion of connecting Columbus and indigenous population collapse has been repeated periodically for centuries.

In the late 20th century, groups on the political left have voiced opposition to Columbus celebrations. Indigenous groups in particular have opposed the holidays as celebrating the man who initiated the European colonization of the new world. Opposition often focuses on the cruel treatment indigenous peoples faced at the hands of Columbus and later European settlers and the fact that the European conquest directly and indirectly caused a massive decline in population among the indigenous peoples. Some have argued that the responsibility of contemporary governments and their citizens for allegedly ongoing acts of genocide against Native Americans are masked by positive Columbus myths and celebrations. These critics argue that a particular understanding of the legacy of Columbus has been used to legitimize their actions, and it is this misuse of history that must be exposed. Thus, American Indian Movement leader and activist Ward Churchill (formerly professor of Ethnic Studies at University of Colorado at Boulder) has argued that:

Very high on the list of those expressions of non-indigenous sensibility which contribute to the perpetuation of genocidal policies against Indians are the annual Columbus Day celebration, events in which it is baldly asserted that the process, events, and circumstances described above are, at best, either acceptable or unimportant. More often, the sentiments expressed by the participants are, quite frankly, that the fate of Native America embodied in Columbus and the Columbian legacy is a matter to be openly and enthusiastically applauded as an unrivaled "boon to all mankind". Undeniably, the situation of American Indians will not — in fact cannot — change for the better so long as such attitudes are deemed socially acceptable by the mainstream populace. Hence, such celebrations as Columbus Day must be stopped. (in "Bringing the Law Back Home")

The claim made here is that certain myths about Columbus, and celebrations of Columbus, make it easier for people today to avoid taking responsibility for their own actions, or the actions of their governments.

Norman Solomon reflects in "Columbus Day: A Clash of Myth and History" that many people choose to hold onto the myths surrounding Columbus whereas historians who deal with the evidence are frequently depicted as "politically correct" revisionists. He quotes from the logbook Columbus's initial description of the Indians: "They do not bear arms, and do not know them, for I showed them a sword, they took it by the edge and cut themselves out of ignorance… They would make fine servants… With 50 men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want." In 1495, during the Second Voyage, Indians were transported to Spain as slaves, many dying en route. "Let us in the name of the Holy Trinity," Columbus later wrote, "go on sending all the slaves that can be sold." Indians were ordered to bring to the Spanish a quota of gold and those who failed had their hands cut off and were left to bleed to death.

Solomon states that the most important contemporary documentary evidence is the multi volume "History of the Indies" by the Catholic priest Bartolome de las Casas. In contrast to "the myth" Solomon quotes Las Casas who describes Spaniards driven by "insatiable greed" — "killing, terrorizing, afflicting, and torturing the native peoples" with "the strangest and most varied new methods of cruelty." and how systematic violence was aimed at preventing "Indians from daring to think of themselves as human beings." The Spaniards "thought nothing of knifing Indians by tens and twenties and of cutting slices off them to test the sharpness of their blades," wrote Las Casas. "My eyes have seen these acts so foreign to human nature, and now I tremble as I write."

In time for the observation of Columbus Day 2004, the final volume of a compendium of Columbus era documents was published by UCLA's Medieval and Renaissance Center. Geoffrey Symcox, the general editor of the project asserted: "While giving the brilliant mariner his due, the collection portrays Columbus as an unrelenting social climber and self-promoter who stopped at nothing— not even exploitation, slavery, or twisting Biblical scripture— to advance his ambitions… Many of the unflattering documents have been known for the last century or more, but nobody paid much attention to them until recently… The fact that Columbus brought slavery, enormous exploitation or devastating diseases to the Americas used to be seen as a minor detail - if it was recognized at all - in light of his role as the great bringer of white man's civilization to the benighted idolatrous American continent. But to historians today this information is very important. It changes our whole view of the enterprise."

In the summer of 1990, 350 Native Americans, representatives from all over the hemisphere, met in Quito, Ecuador, at the first Intercontinental Gathering of Indigenous People in the Americas, to mobilize against the quincentennial celebration of Columbus Day. The following summer, in Davis, California, more than a hundred Native Americans gathered for a follow-up meeting to the Quito conference. They declared October 12, 1992, "International Day of Solidarity with Indigenous People." The largest ecumenical body in the United States, the National Council of Churches, called on Christians to refrain from celebrating the Columbus quincentennial, saying, "What represented newness of freedom, hope, and opportunity for some was the occasion for oppression, degradation and genocide for others."

Venezuela's Chávez complied, renaming the Día de la Raza holiday the Día de la Resistencia Indígena (Day of Indigenous Resistance) (see above). Since 1994, Costa Rica had changed the offical holiday from Día de la Raza to Día de las Culturas (Day of the cultures) to recognize the mix of European, American, African and Asian cultures that helped to compose Costa Rican (and Latin American) culture.

F. David Peat asserts that many cultural myths of North America exclude or diminish the culture and myths of Native Americans and refers to the comments of Michael Berliner of the Ayn Rand Institute , on Columbus Day 1992, for his display of "prejudice" and "factual ignorance." Berliner hailed the European conquest claiming that Western civilization brought “reason, science, self-reliance, individualism, ambition, and productive achievement” to a people who were based in “primitivism, mysticism, and collectivism”, and to a land that was “sparsely inhabited, unused, and underdeveloped."

American anthropologist Jack Weatherford criticized that the Americans celebrate the greatest waves of genocide of the Indians known in history each year on Columbus Day. "Columbus' voyage has even less meaning for North Americans than for South Americans because Columbus never set foot on our continent, nor did he open it to European trade" he said.

Well I have no particular subject in mind for this day. However I do have a couple stats folks might be interested in knowing..Then again maybe not...lol.

When dealing with wars and campaigns of the modern era..

more than 8000 Native Americans served in WW-I, 25,000 in WW-II, 41,000 in Vietnam, and 24,000 in Operation Desert Storm. I do not have an accurate accounting of current members serving in Iraq/ Afgan campaigns at present.

 I found it interesting that the more things where still being fought for here on American soils in relationship to Native American rights and properties, that the number of those having served this nation on foriegn lands increased. I won't go any furthur than that with that statement but just thought I would throw that out there..

There are few memorials honoring those having served from the Native communities, yet... they still continue to serve with honor and tenacity along side all their other brothers and sisters under one nation. I am not saying they deserve special recognition, just that they deserve the same amount and for the same reasons as the many others that have managed to gain historical importance and recognitions..

There are countless national monuments and memorials rendering the names of the many individuals having beared the cross of service to nation, yet only a minute amount of monumental rememberances of the many Native Americans having done the same. I am not really sure as to the why here... are Americans ashamed to have their original counterparts serve in their time of need? Are the names of these individuals not worthy of mention and so insignificant that they can be forgotten and don't warrent such recognitions? I just dont understand I guess... Our ancestors be they white, Native, Black, or imigrants from the many nations around the globe all faught side by side, yet we tend to cast a shadow on their behalf when it comes time to pay honor and tribute to those having given all they possessed to serve our nation.

On the behalf of the nation, I must admit that in recent times.. some recognition has been given, but ever heard the adage "a day late and a dollar short". We have recognized our "Code Talkers" and in that, other attention has come to the forefront of the services the Native Americans have rendered over time, and again should not have taken this long to be so.

Well I won't go on and on, just something I had been thinking about recently.

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