Happy Birthday Jake Swamp, Rest in Peace
Today is the birthday of Jake Swamp, Mohawk sub-chief and founder of the Great Tree of Peace Society. Jake died last year and was buried on his birthday.
“To be a human being is an honor, and we offer thanksgiving for all the gifts of life…” ~Jake Swamp
Jake Swamp, A Man of Roots
Tekaronianeken, or Jake Swamp as he was commonly known, was born at Akwesasne in 1941. He was of the generation born under the old dispensation of colonial shame but arriving to the 1960s and ’70s with a sense of purpose and a strong, proud voice. As a young man, he had been taught by Christian priests in St. Regis to consider the Longhouse a Pagan menace. So often the case with the Haudenosaunee (“People of the Longhouse”), a woman made short work of that. His wife Judy gradually brought him around, and so one year during Strawberry Festival time he went to the Longhouse and listened, out of curiosity. That decision changed his life.
Jake Swamp dedicated his life thereafter to the message of the Peacemaker, as he understood it. The story of the Peacemaker, and the origins of the Five Nations Confederacy, is something I heard as a child. It is, to phrase matters in the most terse way possible, a story of people on the edge of self-extinction being brought to their senses. The Peacemaker was able to impress upon the Cayuga, Mohawks, Onondaga, Oneida, and Seneca the literal dead-end of warfare, and the result was a consensus based and highly complex system of self-governance which has persisted to this day. Jake on more than one occasion noted that the dark times of the Peacemaker were not unlike our own, a hopeful and practical and terrifying observation, all at the same time.
TO READ THE ABOVE ARTICLE IN ITS ENTIRETY, CLICK HERE
FOR VIDEO OF JAKE SWAMP, CLICK HERE
“Mother Earth, we thank you for giving us everything we need.”~Jake Swamp
“In the beginning, when our Creator made humans, everything needed to survive was provided. Our Creator asked only one thing: Never forget to appreciate the gifts of Mother Earth. Our people were instructed how to be grateful and how to survive.” ~Jake Swamp
MORE ABOUT JAKE SWAMP:
http://blog.leeandlow.com/2010/10/15/tekaronianeken-jake-swamp-remembered/
http://www.betterworldheroes.com/swamp.htm
October 19, 2011 at 1:31 pm
Take refuge under the great tree of peace. Jake is now in the spirit world
and his legacy must continue. Keep his mission alive–honor your
dear mother, and yourself.
October 20, 2011 at 12:33 pm
Planted Apple trees in his honor to bear fruit from the earth of mother
whom Jake joins with the 4 corners of the universe. -[]-[]-A-[]-[]-
October 20, 2011 at 1:17 pm
I never met Jake Swamp, but in putting together this bit with images and text from Bill Myers (pictured above with Jake Swamp, In braids and obviously-reverential smile) I got a chill. Reading about Jake, reading his words, scanning his kind and mesmerizing face, and feeling his aura emanating from the digitized pixels that comprise his images here, I realize a man whom to have met is not necessary in order to feel his love, his spirit, and his hopes; for no amount of digitizing can mute his simple-yet-eloquent-and-boundless message.
I hope to meet Jake Swamp in some form or another one day, and wonder if I already have, if he is the red-tailed hawk recently seen in our neighborhood, seemingly out of nowhere and for no good reason, for I now believe Jake swamp is, and should be, everywhere, in all things beautiful and about which mere words do no ‘justice’ — the thing for which he tirelessly labored. .
October 20, 2011 at 3:15 pm
Jake was a tireless worker for peace, the planet, and all Her inhabitants. He planted Trees of Peace all over the map. See: http://www.treeofpeacesociety.info/
October 20, 2011 at 1:40 pm
I met Jake Swamp many years ago when he gave a talk about his work and life on the reservation. When I spoke with him afterwards, he made me feel at home with him, and talked of things and people he had known in Amherst, MA, when he worked as an iron worker on the UMass library. He was a man of many talents and gifts. I have found great peace in just that little conversation I had in that moment. I know his spirit will carry on….
October 20, 2011 at 1:58 pm
Kanienkehaka
Anioniha tewaten:ron
Kahnawake ietsi:tewe
Tsethiiaken se:ra’na niha
Ne iethinoronhk wa
Kak are’ non:wa tsi tekanato:ken
E:tho tiotirharenion
Kak are’non:wa tsi tekanato:ken
E:tho tiotirharenion
October 20, 2011 at 2:02 pm
Translation in English:
Friends, let’s go back to Kahnnawake
We will go home and see our loved ones
They will be out for a walk
Up and down the land
Waiting for our return.
Nia:wen, Billie
October 20, 2011 at 11:41 pm
I have felt Jake Swamp’s gentle presence in my midst throughout these past seasons. Since learning about his life and legacy from Billie, I have read and heard about him, heard and read his words, watched how he listened and spoke with intention, and saw the kindness in his being, as I stepped into the familiar collection of images, full of such light and warmth. To be witness to someone, something so powerful, is an honor and an inspiration, and I carry this with me. I am grateful to know the white pine as a symbol, illuminating the hopeful and peaceful path we all walk together. . . Thank you, Jake. Thank you for this beautiful tribute. Peace
October 21, 2011 at 12:28 pm
The world is a richer place because he was here.
The world is a poorer place because he is gone.
But we can make the world a better place by keeping
his message alive.
Travel well, tree planter
October 21, 2011 at 1:04 pm
Planted trees in Merlun France. Blessings
October 22, 2011 at 1:13 am
Having a tree planting event in Honolulu for Jake. Thank You for
keeping his spirit with us always, and walk the good red road.
I miss the woodlands and the eastern white pines.
October 24, 2011 at 4:49 pm
wOW, Thanks for this tribute. Many great memories, Hogansburg, Akwesasne, St Regis. Elders, and young ones at Sacred Circles,
the community center, or at Jake’s. Not much going on now that
he is gone, but I guess that it is up to all of us to ACT. I planted
white pines.
with respect!!! >>>>Kanien’keha:ka<<<<<<<
October 31, 2011 at 3:36 am
Thanks for this. Jake was a kind and soft mohawk. he helped build
massive buildings. He was humble, and spoke for everyone.
Don’t abuse our great mother, she will heal herself and will not
be so sympathetic. The trees that Jake helped to plant are
disappearing. Do your part.
October 31, 2011 at 3:43 am
Skennen’ko:wa Konor’onkwa!