A Solstice Message

Solstice
- the longest night of the year

- the time we reflect on our innermost self

A time to recognized where we have failed:

- not taken the time to support one another,

- thought we were alone when Creator was waiting for our prayer,

- forgotten our best intentions,

and a time to relight our commitment:

- to help, to share, to pray, to show our love

- to recognize how our actions affect the interrelated web of

plant/animal/air/water/humankind

- so we provide a future for our children.

Thank You For Participating In Holy Hill Center's Holiday Fundraiser!

The Thanksgiving weekend events were a tremendous success! We applaud and thank everyone who made it happen:

Claudia Schmidt who provided an evening of delightful entertainment,

The donors of a multitude of original art and handmade crafts and gifts,

The generosity of all the bidders,

The attendees of Saturday's filled workshop on Finding Health and Beauty by Eating in the Way of Our Ancestors,

The Lip Balm Ladies of Sunday's workshop,

Program presenters and everyone who came and helped.

We look forward to presenting regular workshops at Holy Hill Center in Leland in the coming new year! Please check back here often to see what's coming next!

Happy Holidays and Thank you!

Press Release: Our Holiday Fundraiser is Fast-Approaching!

The Holy Hill Center of Leland, founded by Keewaydinoquay in 1995, presents a Three Day Holiday Event, beginning with a Benefit Concert and Silent Auction on November 28 featuring:

Claudia Schmidt in Concert Celebrating Family and Friends

A Silent Auction will also be held, offering beautiful and unique items perfect for holiday giving, including a give-away table for those 10 and under. Come shop for the Holidays in a relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere.

The Concert begins at 8 PM, while doors open for the Silent Auction at 6:30 PM.
Refreshments will be available.

We hope to see you at the Unitarian Universalist Church, which is located at 6726 Center Road, Traverse City, Michigan.

Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students and those over 60. They are available at the door and at: The Corner Druggist in Elk Rapids, and in Traverse City at Oryana Natural Foods and Horizon Books.

For more information or to register for the workshops, contact Lee Boisvert at 231-322-2320, poonse@hughes.net or www.holyhillcenter.com.

The second Event, on November 29, is titled "Traditional Foods for Health, Beauty and Strength."
It will be held at the Holy Hill Center 201 Second Street, Leland, from 9 AM to 5 PM with lunch and two snacks provided. This day addresses the work of Sally Fallon, who has extensively researched how whole foods differ from much of the prepared foods available to us. $40 per person.

On the third day, November 30, there will be two workshops at the Holy Hill Center:
1." Make and Take Lip Balm for Holiday Gifting." 1-3 PM for $10/person
2. "Naturally Beautiful Gift Decorating and Wrapping." 3-5 PM for $10/person

We hope to see you all there!

Reminder! Our Events Are Coming Up Soon!

Hello Everyone!

It has been a beautiful fall and it is progressing into a beautiful winter! As you all know, winter is a time for family and friends. Since the holidays are fast-approacing, don't forget Holy Hill Center's Holiday Fundraiser and Workshops! Support a local Michigan non-profit and get your holiday shopping done at the same time!


Click the links below for information:

Holiday Fundraiser!
~Silent Auction
~Concert featuring Claudia Schmidt
~Refreshments
~Give-away table for children

Weekend Workshops!
~Health, Beauty and Strength Through Nourishing Traditional Foods
~Make natural holiday gifts and wrapping
~Taught by knowledgable and qualified instructors

From your friends at Holy Hill Center, keep warm and we hope to see you at our events in a few weeks!

November 28-Concert and Silent Auction

On November 28th there will be a Fund Raiser for the Holy Hill Center! Doors open at 6:30 PM at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation, Center Road, Traverse City, Michigan.

Festivities Include:
~Claudia Schmidt in Concert "Celebrating Family and Friends" at 8 PM
~Refreshments will be available
~Silent Auction will also be held, offering beautiful and unique items perfect for holiday giving, including a give-away table for those 10 and under. Come shop for the Holidays in a relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere.


If you haven't heard of Claudia Schmidt, she is a talented Michigan native who specializes in folk, blues, and jazz music. Come on over and check her out! Not only will there be a concert, but you can also do your holiday shopping at the silent auction!

Tickets are $10 per adult and $5 for students and those over 60. All of the proceeds go to the Holy Hill Center for use in furthering knowledge of native culture.

Don't miss our other upcoming events:

November 29- "Traditional Foods for Health and Happiness"
Location: Holy Hill Center in Leland Michigan
Time: 9 AM to 5 PM
Lunch and two delicious snacks provided. $50 per person.

November 30- Two workshops at the Holy Hill Center
1. "Make and Take Lip Balm for Holiday Gifting." 1-3 PM $10/person
2. "Naturally Beautiful Gift Decorating and Wrapping." 3-5 PM $10/person

Start of the New 500 Year Calendar

Once again hello! We hope you are enjoying the lovely fall weather! One of the friends of the Holy Hill Center sent along this message, and we felt we should share it with all of you! Hopefully you too can participate by making a fire on October 1st!

"THE NEW 500 YEAR CALENDAR

Sunrise October 1, 2008

On July 28, 2008, two members of the Peace Connection Committee, from Northeastern Illinois University, left Chicago to drive 900 miles to Manwiaki, Ontario, Canada to visit with Grandfather William Commanda and invite him to take part in our 09-09-09 World Peace Gathering. Grandfather Commanda is the keeper of the 700 year old Seven Fires Prophecy Belt. His life and work is dedicated to Peace. His annual Circle of All Nations Gatherings at his home, in late July, have attracted peace keepers from all over the world. You can read more of Grandfather William Commanda’s work at http://www.circleofallnations.com/.

On July 29, 2008, at 12:45 p.m., we arrived for our meeting and stepped into Grandfather Commanda’s home. Helpers were busily preparing for the arrival of over 1000 visitors for his annual gathering. Sitting on the couch to the left of the door was Leon Secatero, elder of the Canoncito Band of Navajo, To’Hajiilee, located west of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Years ago Leon founded the Spiritual Elders of Mother Earth, a group in consonance with the ancient teaching of the Americas concerning the eagle and the condor. For several years, Grandfather Leon has been developing a book he has entitled The Sacred Path for the Next 500 Years.

In early February, 2007, Grandfather Secatero suffered a stroke while speaking at a conference in Canada. When Leon experienced his stroke and journeyed to the other side, he found himself among an assembly of Wind Walkers – the spirits of the many elders and medicine people he had known over the decades of his life. The Wind Walkers had knowings they wanted to share. Their communications helped illuminate Leon’s understandings about the sacred path leading into the next 500 years.

You can read the entire article, “Journey Among the Wind Walkers: Grandfather Secatero Recovers from Stroke” by Steve McFadden, April, 2007, Chiron Communications, Santa Fe, New Mexico.



Sunrise, October 1, 2008

Leon stayed for our three hour meeting with Grandfather Commanda and shared, “The new 500 year calendar will begin at sunrise on October 1, 2008. The “Winds of Change” will begin on that day. We asked if it would be a good idea for people to light a sacred fire where ever they live, at sunrise, to begin this new 500 year calendar? Leon nodded his head in approval.

Where ever you are, where ever you live, do what ever feels right for you to connect to the beginning of this new 500 year calendar. We will be lighting our sacred Peace Fire at sunrise (5:48 a.m.) on Wednesday, October 1, 2008, at Northeastern Illinois University, in Chicago. You are welcome to join us. The Fire will be attended and burn all day. You can come and sit for a few minutes or a few hours. We plan to have a gathering and talking circle beginning at 7:00 p.m. in the evening. Bring your own lawn chair, and make sure you get a parking permit if you plan to park on campus.

*excerpts from this message were taken from the “Journey Among the Wind Walkers,” by Steven McFadden.

2ND ANNUAL PEACE CONFERENCE
October 6 & 7, 2008
The Peace Connection Committee along with Academic Development is hosting our 2nd Annual Peace Conference. The conference is free and open to the public. The theme this year is Fire & Water. A Peace Fire and talking circle will open the conference at 6:00 p.m. on Monday, October 6, and the Peace Fire will be used to close the conference on Tuesday, October 7, at 8:00 p.m.

EVERYONE IS WELCOME

If you have any questions contact Dan Creely Jr. at d-creely@neiu.edu "
COMING SOON: List of upcoming events!

Article about Nokomis Keewaydinoquay in the Traverse City Record-Eagle

Hello, my friends!

It has been a little while since you've had any updates from the Holy Hill Center, but there's a great one for today! One of my fellow Holy Hill Center Board Members sent me a lovely article about Nokomis Kee that was published in the Traverse City Record-Eagle in May.

If you haven't had a chance to read "Kee's Lessons: Woman learns, teaches ways of American Indian scholar" yet, you should click on the article title above and the link will take you right to it. I think this passage especially exemplifies what we at the Center feel to be our purpose in spreading the knowledge, culture, and history of this remarkable woman.

"Grandmother said, 'We are family.' I would hear many variations of that over council fires and in many different circles, and I finally came to realize that we weren't just saying, 'I'm a sister, I'm a granddaughter to everyone in the circle.' What we're really saying is that we are all part of all life. Grandmother called that 'interconnectedness'...All humans once lived in earth-based cultures. I think there's a genetic memory, that we all lived close to Mother Earth and knew the power of that closeness."

Since we are all interconnected with the earth and all other things, why not share equally among us all. That way we can all benefit. We all rise together, or we all fall together. Let us hope that the coming years will be a time for us to rise!