From: EP.LLD@forsythe.stanford.edu (Lara)
Subject: The Good Road, 10/10, Shoreline
Organization: Stanford University, California, USA
Date: Mon, 12 Oct 1992 17:10:37 GMT

The Good Road PowWow

Saturday 10/10 at shoreline amphitheater.
12 hours of Rock for the collective Soul

we showed up at 12:00, expecting many people to be
interested in the drum circle at 1:00, but in that aspect only
we were disappointed, the place was fairly empty at that
point.  however, we parked about 10 feet from the front
door, so got home by about 11:15!

the sun shined down seriously all day, the sunset was
gorgeous if rather mild, but when the full moon peaked
(peeked?) over the stage-cover awning, no one was left
unmoved.  it was very cool to see people all around and
down below point it out to their friends, and of course, the
woman was smiling down on us all :)  Bathed in sunlight
by day and awash in full-moonlight by night, it was very
healing.

during the opening ceremonies, several speakers were
introduced, and i wasn't yet taking notes at that point. but
when they brought out Carlos at the end of the opening,
his last comments were quite note worthy:

  "CLEAN AIR, CLEAN WATER, CLEAN CONSCIENCE!"

Red Thunder, the 'premiere native american rock band',
played first, and they were excellent.  everyone who was
there from the beginning probably was getting into the
deeper spirit of the day, and these guys certainly helped
bring on the mood.  Then 'white boy and the wagon
burners' rocked us pretty good and got the crowd prepped
for mickey.  Note: 'white boy' could be seen on-stage
during mickey with a little kodak camera 'remembering the
moments' :)

Mickey had d/Cuckoo (a band consisting of four women
who could DRUM) onstage with him for his act, also
Michael Shreve, and several others whose names i didn't
get, but alas, no jerry.  Then Steve Miller came out and
jammed for a song or two, then Carlos joined Mickey, first
on cowbell for one song, then his axe for another.

{there's more ODC coming up, so don't kill this file yet
:>}

there was about 1/2 hour between each act for
clearing/setting the stage, and they did stick to the time
schedule pretty well, as carlos finished at 11:00 p.m.

Ry Cooder and John Lee Hooker played.  After the first
song, John Lee said 'i'm gonna do blues, i don't care, i
don't do rock' or something like that.  the guys behind me
said, hey, which one's ry cooder !! (the band is just
terrific, that is really what i think, and by the way, which
one's PINK?)

John Trudell was on-stage with a band, altho i assumed
that he would just speak to us.  actually, he did speak,
through all the songs: in one translating the words of an
elder, in the others either speaking the lyrics while they
weren't being otherwise sung, or repeating the lyrics.
unusual, and very moving.  "One does not sell the earth
that the people walk on ... crazy horse, we hear what you
are saying."  but the most moving moment of the show, for
me, was yet to come.

Roberta Blackgoat (i believe, don't have program here)
spoke and was very inspirational.  she is a very old
woman, probably in her 80s or 90s.  She is a Dine' elder
from black mountain, arizona.  her voice is not unlike
elmo on sesame street, very childlike, and yet very brave.

Some of her comments "We are in tears ... it's really
hurting my feelings, hurting my heart for my nation ... The
climate is changing, missing the rain ... more more more of
the starvation, we are faced with.  the government is
putting us into starvation ... Now i had a call from home,
my daughter, the rangers are out there, they're going to
take my horses.  probably right now they're taking my
horses ... we have prayers and song in the corrals with the
livestock.  it's holy to us, it's part of the body, and it's
part of the mother earth.  it's the part they want ... they're
going to have the land [for] coal, uranium, gas, gold. ....
we have our heart, liver, guts, and this is what [the
government] has been wanting ... all of you people in here
are sitting in [Mother Earth's] lap ... [permits] this is not
our laws, we had our own laws.  ... I don't call it united
states.  i call it Indian Country, MY COUNTRY! (big
cheer) ... I want all you people to help me by writing to
the congressional leaders ... i do really want our country to
be free and i want our mother to be cured... i want to have
ny mother earth healed!   Heal, heal, heal, is what i stand
for!"

Then May Shea, also from the Dine' reservation of big
mountain, az, spoke.  she's married to chief keeshea (SP),
the leader of the sovereign nation.  she spoke in her native
language, and this is the translation:

On behalf of our people i come to speak words and the
pain from back home.  Since '74, they have been told to
get off the land.  they're still there to preserve & protect
the culture.  Livestock reductions [as expressed by both her
and roberta, the government continually confiscates their
livestock, horses, sheep, goats, chickens, etc.].  They must
have permits for everything, even to bring water and wood
to their homes.  it's getting cold, and they can't even bring
in wood without a permit!  The weaving project has helped
a lot, to remain on their land. Thank you from her heart
for all the people across the country who are helping.  She
always watches this kind of thing on TV and wonders how
do they get here.  She's honored to be here on behalf of
her people. [end of translation.]

while waiting for steve miller to come on, and at various
points, we checked out the powwow outside.  i got to see
the hopi hummingbird dance, which is one of the few
dances that they perform in public.  we also saw the band
red thunder performing again.  they dedicated a song to
leonard peltier.  one of the best moments for me was as he
sang this song, we all held hands, the full moon was
hanging smiling over the healing tree and the spirit was
manifested physically.

there were also several twirlers doing their thing while red
thunder played, one in particular dancing briefly, yet
intricately, with a piece of paper which was floating just
off the grass :) (and there's 1 in 10,000 that comes for the
show!).  after red thunder sang this time (again, this is at
the outside the amph. powwow), Joe Killsright Stuntz'
widow and son were introduced, and she spoke briefly.

Steve miller had started playing by the time we went in, he
was terrific, totally in form, and i don't usually keep track
of setlists, so you'll have to get that from somebody else,
but he DID encore space cowboy :>:):>:)

Jackson Browne was, well, jackson browne.  At first he
didn't seem very relaxed (hmmmmm) but i think we got
him warmed up finally :> i believe he did before the
deluge first and had david lindley sitting in with him for
that (huge :>, oooh, baby, he can play that fiddle!), then
Bonnie Raitt sat in for a couple of songs.  Jackson told us
that it was his birthday, and the crowd sang happy birthday
to him, and the second round if it, he interrupted to thank
his roadies, possibly because when they kept handing him
his guitars, there was a glitch each of the first two times:
he's one who seriously DOES appreciate the hard work of
his roadies.  personally, i didn't enjoy hearing him as
much as i would have a week ago, due to my
disappointment at his personal problems.  yeah, he's
human, and all, there's two sides to every story, but
physical abuse just doesn't cut it.  that's why, to me, it
was quite appropriate that he closed with 'The Pretender',
and i kept remembering the line "say a prayer for the
pretender," and i did...

after jackson browne's set, Susan Shown-Harjo, a cheyenne
woman who works in DC spoke, and she had a very
interesting (witty, sharp, sarcastic, mostly very pointed)
poem which she read.  she started out by saying that she
was glad to be in california, where Humboldt State has
declared itself a 'columbus free zone', where the city of
berkeley declared 10/10 'Indigenous people's day'.  She
also spoke in terms of needing to go to congress and get a
statute.  "In the spirit of Leonard Peltier, in the spirit of
Bill Graham.  We're here today because a year and a half
ago, it was bill who said 'let's do something on columbus
day besides celebrate columbus!' Bill knew something
about forced relocation, as his people were subject to it ..."
she said she had a button, wished she still had it.  It said
"Fuck Columbus, he was lost!!!"

while she was speaking, there was a still of bill graham
overhead.

but when she was done, Bill came to life, and introduced
Santana.  i can't describe to you how that felt.  the words
'eerie and very moving' don't even come close.  may he
rest in peace.

Then Carlos played.  And this is another instance where
words fail: carlos works so hard for himself and US while
he's up there, and he's having such a DAMNED good
time.  I know that Bill was boogying with us all.  Again, i
don't do setlists ..... He had Ry Cooder sit in with him for
2-3 songs, then steve miller joined them, then Red thunder
and bonnie raitt, then they did a new song, 'Sacred Fire'
and everyone came onstage (except i don't recall seeing JB
... but i'll look at the pics when i get them back :>).

it was a wonderful experience, and i feel privileged to have
been there.  i tried to keep some track of things and keep
them in order, but i was pretty busy experiencing it.  the
guys next to us saw me writing after jackson mentioned it
was his birthday, and said 'you're writing that down, oh,
that's CUTE!' {8<-} i tried to explain, but i should have
just stuck with 'yeah, i'm a journalist!'

in the spirit of leonard peltier, annie mae, crazy horse, and
our future, since we can't change our past ...

lara
-<-@

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