Allah, work, bow. Assalamu Alaikum, Arafatullah. I have a very good college brothers and sisters. I give big links to the Iqnah and M.A.S. organizations for inviting me here to Baltimore to speak. The topic as I speak about was Native American, Muslim roots in history. Given our topic, I've been doing a lot of thinking and doing some research and there really is not a lot to speak about in regards to history with Native Americans in Islam. Like the brother introduced me, my name is Lewis Butcher Jr. I'm known within the Uma as Brother Bashir. I converted to Islam in September 2001. So I'm going to give a little story on that because I've told a story about a million times. I know I'm going to tell about another million times. I converted in 2001, September 21st. I was a baptized at Piscopalian. In reservations you find a lot of churches. They've been there for quite a long time. You know, a lot of missionaries, you know, converting my people to their churches. So I was baptized in a Piscopalian church before I converted. I really got back into the church. I was like, you know, doing a lot of bio study and attending church every Sunday, doing involvement in hard manoeuvres and all of that. I met a brother, an African American brother who converted to Islam himself. So we got to visit while we worked. And there's one day he mentioned to me that he asked me, did you know that there are some Native American Muslims? So I said, no, I didn't know that. So I really, I really drew some interest in me. So I started doing some reading, doing some comparative religion between Islam and Christianity. And the more I read, the more interested I became in Islam. Because in our traditional ways, there are a lot of similarities between Islam and what we call Native American spirituality. You know, that connection we have with our creator and all living beings and everything that was created by our sole creator, Alas-Spanal-Watala. Before then, before I converted, I didn't know him as Alas-Spanal-Watala. I knew him as our creator or as God. So as I read more and more, it was a... It really, really, really touched my heart. Everything that Islam taught about being a human being. You know, having good character, morals and manners and etiquettes and how you treat others. How you treat other beings, animals, even nature. And that's what our traditional ways teaches, you know, to believe in our creator, to believe in Alas-Spanal-Watala. So I had my mind made up after I studied for a couple months, two, three months or so. And then September 11th happened. 9-1-1 occurred. And by that time I had my mind made up that I wanted to become a Muslim. So as, as events unfolded, I kind of stepped back in my mind and I told myself, well, let me sit back and wait till the dust, dust, I was gonna see what happens. Then I wanted to see if I still want to become a Muslim. But I thought about it and being a Native American, I'm full blood of Lakota. And all the things that our people have been, you know, going through all this genocide, oppression, everything for hundreds and hundreds of years. I've seen what the Muslims were going through with 9-11. So on. Thank you. Thank you. Sound better? Thank you. So, you know, I made my mind up that I wanted to become a Muslim. And I've seen everything that Muslims were going through. So in my heart, I could see, you know, I can empathize what Muslims were going through because that's some of the things that we're going through as Native Americans, what we're still going through today. So I told the brother, I'm ready to take my Shahada. He's like, are you sure? So I said, yeah, I'm ready to take my Shahada. So, I just up up there. So it was like on Salat to Juma'ah September 21, 2011, I took my Shahada and I've become a Muslim. And I went through a lot being a Native Muslim, you know. There was a lot of things that I was accused of, you know, you know, no offense to anybody one of the things that really upset me was asking me, you know, why I'm a Muslim and all the stuff that associated with terrorism and wanting to be black and all the stuff I went through after I converted. Because it's out of ignorance. People don't, even today, you know, people don't understand what Islam is about. You know, Islam is a way of life. It's a way of life. So there are a lot of similarities between Native spirituality and Islam, you know. But you're too after I converted, I met a brother. I never met him in person, but I contacted him and he was, you know, a man who was a native American and part of his Spanish. He lived in his Bayesian California, he had his own Da'wa organization. It was called Native American and Spanish speaking Islamic outreach. So I look to him as like a mentor. But that relationship, that's very long because he passed away. So you know, as far as you know, Muslim roots for me as a Native American, you know, he was like a mentor I wanted to have because, you know, he was, you know, like part of me. But like I said, that relationship last very long, it was a good relationship, but you know, he passed on, you know. So it's good to see a lot of you. I mean, this is the first time I've been in a large gathering of Muslims. I've been through a lot of like, you know, e-infestibles and stuff, but not, you know, it's places so many Muslims, you know. It's good to see you all, you know, and you know, you know, you know. I have a family. I have a family. I have my wife, she's converted in 2012. She's also a full blooded Native American. We have a, we have two beautiful, we were blessed with two beautiful daughters. We have one is 26 months old and one should be, should be three weeks old on Monday. So, you know, it's really good, you know, to be here, you know, be amongst a huge gathering of my brothers and sisters and faith, but yet still, I miss my, miss my baby less. You know, that's how we say baby in our language, my baby less. Like I said, I really wanted to share a lot about Islamic history with Native Americans, but you know, there's really not a lot, you know, because Islam is pretty new to Native American Muslims. You know, I think in South Dakota, I might say I'm probably the only Muslim in the state of South Dakota who is Native American, but there are like a lot of brothers and sisters, Canada, who are converting into other Native American Muslims here in the United States. I wish there, but there was more here with me, but insha'Allah, someday, you know, you know, this is Islam, this is a circle of Native, North America, because it's a lot of circle of Native Americans insha'Allah. You know. So, you know, I know we're not, you know, some of the similarities that I could touch on is like, you know, like the virtues that we have in Islam, a lot of us talking, there's Native American ways. Okay, so, you know, I'm not, you know, I wish I could make it loud like the previous speaker did, but you know, I got one minute to speak. So, it's really, it's a blessing to be here. I wish I had more time to speak and more to share, but you know, reach out to other minorities. There was something I seen on Facebook today, one of my friends, like, you know, Islam is a most diverse community faith amongst all of the faith. And looking at that, there are, you know, a lot of minority Muslims, you know, Native Americans only stood for like 1% or less of that, but you know, insha'Allah, we're growing. You know, we're growing, there's gonna be more of us, and hopefully insh'Allah, you'll hear more of us, you know, other than myself. Again, I want to say thanks to, you know, the convention organizers, to everybody here, for, you know, taking the time to listen to me, and, you know, you know, being here, just supporting this organization. So, with that, you know, I'm posed, I want to say thank you again, you know, JazakAllah, Khair, Assalamu Alaikum, Malakim, Tulahewabar, dear to you.