AOM Ministries
Ps 2:8 Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.
1928 E Oklahoma St, Tulsa, Ok, 74110
Email: [email protected]
Face book: https://www.facebook.com/chriskaren.walsh
Tel: 918 851 4070
Peach Trees for Peace
Any American Christian that would like to experience the heart of God, in their own particular ‘trail of tears’ need not look over sea’s to the impoverished and oppressed countries of the earth; but only need to study the history of the First Nations peoples of the United States of America.
It is estimated that 80-100 million Indians lived on this continent in 1492, when Columbus ‘discovered’ this land.
http://www.datesandevents.org/events-timelines/27-native-american-history-timeline.htm
When the US census was taken in 1900, after the last free Indian had been confined to a reservation, it is estimated that there were 500,000 Indians left
What happened to the Indians?
Primarily, they died of diseases brought here by European’s, and then wars and genocide occurred.
“Our nation was born in genocide when it embraced the doctrine that the original American, the Indian, was an inferior race. Even before there were large numbers of Negroes on our shore, the scar of racial hatred had already disfigured colonial society. From the sixteenth century forward, blood flowed in battles over racial supremacy. We are perhaps the only nation which tried as a matter of national policy to wipe out its indigenous population. Moreover, we elevated that tragic experience into a noble crusade. Indeed, even today we have not permitted ourselves to reject or feel remorse for this shameful episode. Our literature, our films, our drama, our folklore all exalt it. Our children are still taught to respect the violence which reduced a red-skinned people of an earlier culture into a few fragmented groups herded into impoverished reservations.”
― Martin Luther King Jr.
Whether from disease, or the devilish doctrine taught in many main-line Christian denominations called ‘manifest destiny ’, the great Indian tribes that walked this land before the white man arrived, were ultimately the prey of satan himself, operating through sickness and disease , and wicked, treacherous, and murderous settlers who killed indiscriminately anyone that contested their lusts for lands and gold.
Yet, true Christians also came, and the gospel came to America. Christian missionaries were known to walk the ‘trail of tears’ with the Cherokee and Choctaw people, and there were many great heroes of the faith during this time.
I am convinced of this one thing about America. We are committed to freedom, liberty, and justice for all. To some degree, the plight of the black man in America has been heard, and victories won, in the Civil war against slavery, and the Civil rights movement against racism.
Yet, the plight and case of the red man, has truly never been heard in the land!
It is my prayer that God would race up leaders to champion their cause, that their stories might be heard.
Each tribe has its only culture, language, traditions, and history.
Many books have been written, but there is one, ‘Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee’ that is often used as a textbook on Indian reservations, that chronicles the conquering, and resulting enslavement of each Indian tribe upon reservations.
Before the white man came, in the year 1050, the Iroquois confederacy was formed, it’s ‘Great Law of Peace’ chronicled on Wampum belts, using shells to depict each of the oral traditions, passed down through the generations.
The five tribes, planted a peace tree, on top of a mound of weapons of war, a white pine whose braches had clumps of five needles each symbolizing the five great tribes of the confederacy, that for all practical purposes, ruled North America from 1050-1700.
The Iroquois leaders met with our founding fathers, and recited this ‘great law of peace’ to them, and in 1988, it was recognized to be one of the founding documents used in drawing up our US constitution.
The peace tree, the symbol of peace, stated simply: ‘As long as our weapons of war remain in the earth, and this tree shall remain, there shall be peace in the land, to all who desire peace.’
From the initial proclamation of the great peace we read: ‘Roots have spread out from the Tree of the Great Peace, one to the north, one to the east, one to the south and one to the west. The name of these roots is The Great White Roots and their nature is Peace and Strength’
The tradition of the peace tree is still recognized by many, many tribes across this land.
In the case of the conquest of the Navajo, that resulted in ‘the long walk’.
Let’s look at snapshot I have taken from the history of the Navajo people for a minute:
Kit Carson and the long walk of the Navajo’s
I would encourage you to read the story of Kit Carson, the rope thrower, from the Navajo perspective, as recorded in ‘Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee’ by Dee Brown.
I quote:
The final surrender and conquest of the Navajo by the US Calvary, was in the Canyon de Chelley campaign. In order to prevent the Navajo from attempting to leave the reservation they were sentenced to, a ‘scorched earth’ campaign had been waged, to destroy all of their crops and winter food supplies.
Canyon de Chelley was known as the last Navajo stronghold, and the ‘bread basket’ of the Navajo nation, with much fertile soil, and many varied crops were grown.
When the last free Navajo surrendered, Carson ordered his men ‘the complete destruction of Navajo properties in the canyon-including their fine peach orchards, more than five thousand trees. The Navajo could forgive the Rope Thrower for fighting them as a soldier, for making prisoners of them, even for destroying their winter food supplies, but the one act they never forgave him was cutting down their beloved peach trees.’ Dee Brown, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, p 27.
Proposed Peach tree/Peach Tree Ceremony on Navajo reservation, to heal the land.
In the Iroquois tradition, the peace tree symbolized an end to war amongst the tribes who would willingly submit to ‘The Great Law of Peace’ given by the great peacemaker.
Imagine with me, if you will, the protocol, ceremony, the strength, honor, and joy, the day the Iroquois confederacy was formed. I can picture in my mind’s eye, the five, and finally the sixth great tribes of the Iroquois, coming in full protocol and honor procession to the site of the planting of the peace tree.
A great hole was dug in the earth, and as the chief of each tribe stood as silent witness, his war chief would lead his warriors to this hole beside a sacred council fire, and one by one, each brave would hurl his weapons of war into the hole, to be used no more in fighting warriors from other tribes.
Ceremonially, each tribe would take their turn, and in grand procession, they too would lay down their weapons of earthly violence, until each nation had come to the hole.
Then, the hole was covered up, a white pine (with its bundle of five needles, symbolic of the five tribes) was planted, a peace tree.
From the initial proclamation of the great law of peace we read:’Roots have spread out from the Tree of the Great Peace, one to the north, one to the east, one to the south and one to the west. The name of these roots is The Great White Roots and their nature is Peace and Strength’
http://www.iroquoisdemocracy.pdx.edu/html/greatlaw. ‘
In the Bible, the Word of God we read:
2 Chronicles 7:14
New King James Version (NKJV)
14 if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
This July, as the Tribal Conference, in Window Rock, Arizona, capital of the Navajo nation, with 100 tribes present, with the chief of the Navajo, we propose to donate, 100 peach trees to the Navajo nation, as a peace offering, and offering of love, reconciliation, and repentance, that God might have mercy upon America, and heal our land. That roots of these trees, would find the blessing of God, and somehow bring both to the Navajo, and America the nature of the law of peace – Strength and Peace.
There is a cute story, called ‘The Legend of the Three Trees’, which is a cute animated movie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktYroQP5A1c&safe=active
In my story, there are also three types of tree: Peach trees, the white pine or ‘Peace tree’ of the Iroquois, and the tree, we who know Jesus call the cross, upon which Jesus died, for the sin and healing of all humanity.
Only His shed blood can truly heal any human heart, or any land on this war torn planet we call earth. This is the same earth from which God our Father, the Creator, the Great Spirit reached into, and formed Adam, the first man, from. In this sense, truly the earth is the mother of us all.
Romans 8:20-24
New King James Version (NKJV)
20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; 21 because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. 23 Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. 24 For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees?
The purpose of this trip, is to bring Jesus, Yeshua, the only way back to God our Father, the one and only mediator accepted by God ad s the sacrifice of our sins. It is our prayer, that He will do what only the Creator can do, recreate the relationship between the Navajo nation and the United States, fresh, new, in truth and honor free from the trail of blood, betrayal, lies, and treachery, in strength and peace. God heal this land!
When He is received, honored, and invited into the mess and mayhem of the creation, God literally recreates, redeems, heals, and delivers not only the people living in any particular land, but also according to this verse, the land itself.
It is my prayer, that despite the atrocities that have occurred on Navajo lands, all the way back to the time of Adam, that God would forgive, redeem, and heal all who live there, and the land itself!