Like many, many people, I am feeling anger and anguish about the BP Gulf oil disaster. The specter of pelicans, terns, ibises, sea turtles, and other magnificent creatures covered with oil and dying is just sickening. And then there is the destruction of marshes and wetland habitats, of fish, and the suffering of the people who depend on a healthy Gulf of Mexico for their livelihoods. As the oil continues to spew and to spread farther from the source, who knows how much of our world ocean will be affected?
     The Deepwater Horizon disaster casts a pall on today’s international ’holiday,’ World Oceans Day. This annual day to celebrate the ocean ecosystem and its beauty and diverse life forms was designated just last year by the United Nations, to be observed every June 8. This year, the Gulf oil disaster is focusing the attention of celebration organizers–and of the world–on the fragility of our marine environment and on the need to protect it.Â
    Even before the oil catastrophe, scientists have been warning that pollution, overfishing, and global warming are depleting marine health over much of the world. And dead zones, huge, oxygen-depleted patches of coastal waters where hardly any organism can survive are increasing, off the Gulf coast and off many other coasts as well, according to Bill Mott, director of The Ocean Project.
    Today, on World Oceans Day, I would like to share a couple of things with you. One is a short You Tube video that includes photos of many amazing ocean creatures. Just click  Ocean Beauty .  And I have posted below a Sioux prayer for healing in the face of the Gulf oil disaster. I thank my friend Judy for sending it to me.–April MooreÂ
SIOUX PRAYER REQUESTÂ
A letter from Chief Arvol Looking Horse
(Present Chief and Keeper of the Sacred White Buffalo Calf Pipe of the
 Lakota, Dakota, Nakota Nation of the Sioux)
 Gulf Coast Oil Spill - Sioux Prayer Request
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****** A Great Urgency ******
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To All Nations
Â
My Relatives,
 Time has come to speak to the hearts of our Nations and their
 Leaders. I ask you this from the bottom of my heart, to come together
 from the Spirit of your Nations in prayer.
Â
We, from the heart of Turtle Island, have a great message for the
 World; we are guided to speak from all the White Animals showing
 their sacred color, which have been signs for us to pray for the
 sacred life of all things. As I am sending this message to you, many
 Animal Nations are being threatened, those that swim, those that
 crawl, those that fly, and the plant Nations, eventually all will be
 affected by the oil disaster in the Gulf.
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The dangers we are faced with at this time are not of spirit. The
 catastrophe that has happened with the oil spill which looks like the
 bleeding of Grandmother Earth, is made by human mistakes, mistakes
 that we cannot afford to continue to make.
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I asked, as Spiritual Leaders, that we join together, united in
 prayer with the whole of our Global Communities. My concern is these
 serious issues will continue to worsen, as a domino effect that our
 Ancestors have warned us of in their Prophecies.
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I know in my heart there are millions of people that feel our united
 prayers for the sake of our Grandmother Earth are long overdue. I
 believe we as Spiritual people must gather ourselves and focus our
 thoughts and prayers to allow the healing of the many wounds that
 have been inflicted on the Earth. As we honor the Cycle of Life, let
 us call for Prayer circles globally to assist in healing Grandmother
 Earth (our Unc’I Maka).
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We ask for prayers that the oil spill, this bleeding, will stop. That
 the winds stay calm to assist in the work. Pray for the people to be
 guided in repairing this mistake, and that we may also seek to live
 in harmony, as we make the choice to change the destructive path we
 are on.
 As we pray, we will fully understand that we are all connected. And
that what we create can have lasting effects on all life.
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So let us unite spiritually, All Nations, All Faiths, One Prayer.
 Along with this immediate effort, I also ask to please remember June
21st, World Peace and Prayer Day/Honoring Sacred Sites day. Whether
 it is a natural site, a temple, a church, a synagogue or just yourÂ
own sacred space, let us make a prayer for all life, for good
 decision making by our Nations, for our children’s future and
well-being, and the generations to come.
Â
Onipikte (that we shall live),
 Chief Arvol Looking Horse
9th generation Keeper of the Sacred White Buffalo Calf PipeÂ
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June 8th, 2010 at 9:15 am
The video was exquisitely beautiful but painful in view of the current situation.
June 8th, 2010 at 9:22 am
Exquisite images in this video, and a powerful message for us all from Chief Arvol Looking Horse. Thank you — and your friend Judy — for sharing them.
June 8th, 2010 at 2:06 pm
Thanks so much for sharing this, April. Years ago, I snorkled at the Great Barrier Reef in Cairns, Australia and the beauty I saw was unbelievable–truly a sacred experience. I am very saddened to learn from a friend, that many of those coral reefs are now dead and there is nothing to see any longer. At the time I saw those coral reefs teeming with life in Australia, the natives told me that my visitation was timely—that in 20 years those reefs would be dead and gone,—very sadly, that is now true.
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