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This page was last updated on Friday, 28 August 2009 10:37:41 AM

As the solitary Australian's we are back from the Return of The Ancestors Gathering (R.O.T.A) in Arizona many people the world over have asked how did it go and I will say here and now that the intent to hold a Gathering and bring together tribal elders from North, Central and South America was 150 % correct and the right thing to do at this time and we honour that.
As a group we took to the ceremonies extremely well and particularly enjoyed the Condor Dancers and Spotted Eagle from the Lautoka Tribe but in reality the event in terms of communication was poorly orchestrated and executed.

In hindsight an information tent on the actual site with the day's events blown up on a large A3 sheet in various languages would have helped as would having the organisers wear brightly coloured T Shirt's with the words "Organiser .. English" or "Organiser .. Spanish" or "Organiser .. Portugese" so that the folk who did come, could at least communicate with some body in their spoken language for guidance and direction as to what was going on.

We were extremely disappointed with the zealousness taken in the approach to no cameras permitted on the grounds of the Gathering because it was alleged that the Elders believed their spirit / soul would be taken. (Shades of Crazy Horse) Yet in plain view of everybody was a film crew filming the whole event for a future documentary and many of the Elders sitting in the front row had digital cameras on their laps taking photos.
It's fair to say many cathedrals in Europe have a no camera rule when a ceremony is taking place or you can pay them a small token sum and you get a photographer's sticker to take photos before and after the ceremony but it's important to realise that Andre Rieu and his orchestra is performing before ten's of thousands the world over with a live film crew. Andre insists on all his advertising "please bring your camera's" so everybody goes home with memories this approach has seen Andre become the largest seller of DVD's in Australia.

We have no photos to give you and hence no dream time story and no fond memories to give you. "Sorry"

I have to say none of us or the overseas visitors we linked up with, could tell you Who was Who or let alone what tribe they belong to or let alone what country or state they come from. "Again, we are Sorry" without stories there is no tomorrow.

Two Sweat Lodges were erected at Cottonwood, one for male and female both lodges could hold up to 15 people so providing the Gathering had 30 people turn up it would have been suitable but when you have 300 attendees including Elders ... then you do the math.

We followed our own intuition and left the Gathering after 2 and 1/2 days and our subsequent voyage of self discovery as seen by the photos of the local area around Sedona brought the physical appearances and attention of Condors, Eagles and the solitary Bald Eagle to show we were on the right track.
Four days later we met up with the remnants of the Gathering at Mather Point on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon for the Sunrise Ceremony it was an extremely cold and windy morning yet the drumming and chanting kept people warm and their minds occupied until the Sun popped up. It was here at the Grand Canyon that we learnt that the day at The University of Northern Arizona at Flagstaff and the two days at Hopi had been cancelled.

Now that we are back home, sitting in our email box is documentation from the Hopi Tribal Council which reveals that the R.O.T.A organisers were advised before the event took place that the Elders and the participants of the Gathering were not welcome on the Hopi Lands. Click here to read the Hopi Press Release

This will come as a shock i am sure to most people but in reality it showed us once again you have to trust your own feelings and intuition and go within.
Are we disappointed, Yes! particularly for you the reader .. as we had expectations and we wanted to convert those expectations into stories it was about building bridges between cultures and remembering our relations.

What is the next step .. from our personal travels throughout the Four Corners (Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Nevada) we learnt much and discovered that there were other like minded Gatherings with the intent to bring people together for the remainder of the year in America and Canada so perhaps not all is lost.

We wish you all well .. Perhaps we should look for the positive and unfold our photo story of the Four Corners that was the real story ! click to Sacred Tours main page

Mr Athletic's is back ..
Yes, Brisbane's Mr Pat Brown
The Healing Weekend
Secret World (Somerset; UK)

Join the Fitness Fun Walk at 2.45 pm for mums, dads, grandparents come and walk the dog, push the pram --- its all about fun and it's Free

The 2nd Weekend in July 2009
Friday 10th to Sunday 12th July

www.thehealingweekend.co.uk
click our Sacred Tours for phone numbers and contacts

Check out this seasons athletic program on our Events Calendar
Every Saturday till end of July

We are always traveling the world looking for music:
Perhaps you can you send your music to Radio FM88 Australia in wave or mp3 format, or give us a tingle on
(61+7) 3290 4488 and tell us what you've got to share.

For the month of May
Your country's music (classical or folk or story telling) For the month of June
Nature Sounds, i.e. animals, wind, surf, waterfalls, storms, lightning For the month of July
Soundtracks from Hollywood, Bollywood, European Movies

For the month of August
Children Stories For the month of September
Choirs singing contemporary and Gregorian chants Check our archive section for previous front page stories

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We were extremely disappointed with the zealousness taken in the approach to no cameras permitted on the grounds of the Gathering because it was alleged that the Elders believed their spirit / soul would be taken. (Shades of Crazy Horse) Yet in plain view of everybody was a film crew filming the whole event for a future documentary and many of the Elders sitting in the front row had digital cameras on their laps taking photos. It's fair to say many cathedrals in Europe have a no camera rule when a ceremony is taking place or you can pay them a small token sum and you get a photographer's sticker to take photos before and after the ceremony but it's important to realise that Andre Rieu and his orchestra is performing before ten's of thousands the world over with a live film crew. Andre insists on all his advertising "please bring your camera's" so everybody goes home with memories this approach has seen Andre become the largest seller of DVD's in Australia. We have no photos to give you and hence no dream time story and no fond memories to give you. "Sorry" I have to say none of us or the overseas visitors we linked up with, could tell you Who was Who or let alone what tribe they belong to or let alone what country or state they come from. "Again, we are Sorry" without stories there is no tomorrow. Two Sweat Lodges were erected at Cottonwood, one for male and female both lodges could hold up to 15 people so providing the Gathering had 30 people turn up it would have been suitable but when you have 300 attendees including Elders ... then you do the math. We followed our own intuition and left the Gathering after 2 and 1/2 days and our subsequent voyage of self discovery as seen by the photos of the local area around Sedona brought the physical appearances and attention of Condors, Eagles and the solitary Bald Eagle to show we were on the right track. Four days later we met up with the remnants of the Gathering at Mather Point on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon for the Sunrise Ceremony it was an extremely cold and windy morning yet the drumming and chanting kept people warm and their minds occupied until the Sun popped up. It was here at the Grand Canyon that we learnt that the day at The University of Northern Arizona at Flagstaff and the two days at Hopi had been cancelled.

Now that we are back home, sitting in our email box is documentation from the Hopi Tribal Council which reveals that the R.O.T.A organisers were advised before the event took place that the Elders and the participants of the Gathering were not welcome on the Hopi Lands. Click here to read the Hopi Press Release This will come as a shock i am sure to most people but in reality it showed us once again you have to trust your own feelings and intuition and go within. Are we disappointed, Yes! particularly for you the reader .. as we had expectations and we wanted to convert those expectations into stories it was about building bridges between cultures and remembering our relations. What is the next step .. from our personal travels throughout the Four Corners (Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Nevada) we learnt much and discovered that there were other like minded Gatherings with the intent to bring people together for the remainder of the year in America and Canada so perhaps not all is lost. We wish you all well .. Perhaps we should look for the positive and unfold our photo story of the Four Corners that was the real story ! click to Sacred Tours main page


Mr Athletic's is back .. Yes, Brisbane's Mr Pat Brown		The Healing Weekend Secret World (Somerset; UK)
	Join the Fitness Fun Walk at 2.45 pm for mums, dads, grandparents come and walk the dog, push the pram --- its all about fun and it's Free	The 2nd Weekend in July 2009 Friday 10th to Sunday 12th July www.thehealingweekend.co.uk click our Sacred Tours for phone numbers and contacts
Check out this seasons athletic program on our Events Calendar Every Saturday till end of July

We are always traveling the world looking for music: Perhaps you can you send your music to Radio FM88 Australia in wave or mp3 format, or give us a tingle on (61+7) 3290 4488 and tell us what you've got to share.

For the month of May Your country's music (classical or folk or story telling)	For the month of June Nature Sounds, i.e. animals, wind, surf, waterfalls, storms, lightning	For the month of July Soundtracks from Hollywood, Bollywood, European Movies
For the month of August Children Stories	For the month of September Choirs singing contemporary and Gregorian chants	Check our archive section for previous front page stories