I remember the persecution of European spirituality and earth-based ways of life, and with that I see the universally acceptable in the revolutionary founding of the USA.

I remember the massacring and grave injustices toward the original stewards of Turtle Island, and with that I see the universally scornful and hypocritical in the colonization of the land we call the Americas.

In the middle of these pillars of past memory, one may walk toward universal realization of the USA’s mantra, “liberty and justice for all.”

–

Mamwlad is Welsh for motherland. In this song, indigenous poet Lyla June sings about the conquering of the indigenous peoples of Europe, singing with loving forgiveness; truth and compassion; and forward-looking faith.

“Great grandmothers burned at the stake for holding the earth in their hands…persecuted…these were not evil people, these were Europe’s healers. They were healers.

This old heart of mine, it weeps away. This old heart of mine, it feels the pain, of all our ceremonies going up in flames. But feeling is healing and these tears are falling like rain…and this is why we remember their names…and this is why we wash away the pain. So let it rain on this land.

My mother’s medicine lives in the Earth. Rising from the ashes as we remember. I can hear her songs running through my veins, as my brother’s blow on embers of old bards’ stories. I will place my feet in the streams to mend the tattered edges of my father’s dreams. I will see past blood and I will remember the beauty, the beauty of a people before the conquerors came. I will not choose war, I will choose peace, and honor the ancestors that live inside of me.”

With the soil of our ancestors and the seeds of future generations, we can grow a present worth gifting.

Much thanks ?