RESTITUTION
Restitution takes many forms. At AHC, we gather for prayer walks, a practice taught by our elders to restore balance and heal injustice. We collaborate with Tribal members, communities, and state and federal boards to change derogatory names of sacred sites.
"Changing the name of a place, changes it's vibration, lifts the energy of oppression." ~ Basil Braveheart, Lakota Spiritual Elder
HARNEY PEAK RENAMED
BLACK ELK PEAK
SOUTH DAKOTA - 750 mile Native American Prayer Walk from Harney Peak, Black Hills, South Dakota, to
Ft. Laramie Wyoming, to Blue Water Creek Massacre Site, to Little Thunder's Grave Rosebud Reservation -- full circle to Black Elk Peak, formally Harney Peak.
More information on Black Elk Peak prayer walk
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Phil Litle Thunder Sr. and Paul Harney Soderman
HARNEY CHANNEL RENAMED
CAYOU CHANNEL
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WASHINGTON - Executive Director Paul Harney Soderman met with the State Board of Natural Resources of Washington in support of removing his ancestor's name from Harney Channel in Washington state. With family support from Henry Cayou's descendants, and the locals communities in San Juan County, the board approved the renaming of the waterway that runs between Shaw Island and Orcas Island, changing the name from Harney Channel to Cayou Channel.
Various geographic locations in Oregon,
Nevada, Nebraska, Kansas, and Florida still carry the Harney name.
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MT. EVANS RENAMED
MT. BLUE SKY
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COLORADO - Ancestral Healing Circle embarked on a 250 mile prayer walk from Sand Creek Massacre site to Mt. Evans to change the name to Mt. Blue Sky, honoring the indigenous Arapaho and Cheyenne tribes.
The mountain had been named after former territorial Governor John Evans. Evans authorized the San Creek Massacre in 1864 that killed over 200 noncombatant Cheyenne and Arapaho people, mostly women and children, in southeastern Colorado.