Narrative of the 2003 Honoring Pole

Beginnings

On September 3, 2002, the Lummi Nation was crossing the United States to deliver the Healing Pole to the American Nation, and the people of New York, to help bring healing after the terrorist attack on the World Trade Towers.  As it made its way across Ohio the delegation made the acquaintance of a “first-responder” who had been at the crash site of United Flight 93 on September 11, 2001.  This coincidental meeting led the delegation to make an unscheduled trip south, to Shanksville, Pennsylvania, the site of the crash of United Flight 93.  While at the site with the Healing Pole, the delegation met Ernie Stull, the Mayor of Shanksville, and was asked to bring a totem pole to Shanksville to commemorate the events, there, on September 11, 2001.

We have not forgotten:  Journey of the 2003 Honoring Pole

The 4,300-mile journey of the Honoring Pole in 2003 was dedicated to all those who suffered losses in the crash of Flight 93.  The theme of the journey, “We have not forgotten” was also directed to present as well as past members of American’s Armed Forces.  The service and sacrifices of these individuals would be witnessed on the journey by an intertribal Color Guard that would take part in each of the Honoring Pole ceremonies. 

The journey began on August 26, 2003, with a blessing ceremony for the Honoring Poles at the ancient Lummi village site of Semiahmah, near Blaine, Washington.  Over the next two weeks the Honoring Pole would hold ceremonies in 6 sites, culminating in the event at Shanksville on September 7, 2003.  Ceremonies for the Honoring Pole were held at the following sites:

1. Grand Ronde tribe of Oregon
2. Las Vegas, Nevada, at the annual meeting of the National Federation of Women Legislators
3. Hopi Nation in Arizona
4. Denver, Colorado at Tall Bull Memorial Park
5. New River Gorge, West Virginia, in an event organized by Congressman Nick Rahall, II.
6. Shanksville, Pennsylvania in cooperation with Mayor Stull and the people of Shanksville

These ceremonies involved individuals from tribes from across the United States as well as civic groups and veteran’s organizations.  Each ceremony brought together Native teachings, words of healing for those in grief, blessings on the Honoring Pole, and words of thanks and encouragement to past and present members of America’s Armed Forces.  But perhaps the most important message was the reminder that we, the Native People, have not forgotten.  We have not forgotten the importance of service and sacrifice.  We have not forgotten the importance of healing that which grieves us, as a Nation.  We have not forgotten that we are all related, all come from one Creator, and that only good can come when with respect and humility we focus on the forces that bring us together. 

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