Timeline of Attempts to approach the Vatican

October 2004, First Council Gathering

            When the Council first convened in 2004, the Oglala Lakota Grandmothers Rita and Beatrice Long Visitor Holy Dance voiced their desire to communicate with the Vatican, requesting that the Pope rescind the 15th Century Papal Bulls and Edicts which laid down the foundation for the systematic oppression of the Indigenous peoples world wide.

April 2005

            The Council drafted a letter in 2005 and were able to have it hand delivered to the Vatican Cardinal Walter Cardinal Kasper Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. Having received no response, the Council agreed to attempt to visit the Vatican and meet with the Pope.

July 2008

            As they prepared their European travels, the Grandmothers were approached by a coalition of indigenous leaders and historians who offered their support to the Grandmothers’ efforts to approach the Vatican. They secured tickets for the Council in a Public Audience of the Pope scheduled for the 9th of July.  The Grandmothers had telephone conferences with the coalition of indigenous leaders and historians to draft a statement for the Vatican. In this way, they would represent not just themselves and their peoples, but an even wider coalition of indigenous peoples in solidarity with the history of attempts to rescind the Papal Bulls.

             Just days before their departure for Italy on July 8th, we heard that the Pope had canceled his public audience. The Council Grandmothers were undaunted. “Pope or no Pope, “ they told us, “We are going to lay our prayers down at the Vatican!” Their filmmaker, Carole Hart was able to secure a permit to film them there, so we brought them to Saint Peter’s square and they spread a beautiful banner with their name and the four directions symbol on the cobblestones of the square in front of the Basilica. The Grandmothers placed their feathers, incense and drums down and began to pray. Their youth ambassador, Lakota great grand daughter Davian Stands began her dance in full regalia.

            Soon a plain-clothed official came and proclaimed vehemently that they had to stop. “What you are doing is anti-Catholic!” he protested. A Police car then skidded up, a police man told them they had to stop praying and they could not, by any means continue to film.

            The Council met the Vatican police with prayers. The police soon realized that they had no grounds to stop them. The Grandmothers prayers were not a threat, but a contribution to peace in the world. It was through this encounter with the police that the Council was escorted into the Basilica to continue their prayers, while Grandmother Mona Polacca,  Jyoti and Davian Stands were able to redeliver the letter to the Pope through the Vatican Swiss Guards.

            Both the Grandmothers and the devoted staff of the Center for Sacred Studies continue to meet the challenge of being peace in a world that values conflict as a means of solving differences. Grandmother Rita Blumenstein told us later that their actions at the Vatican of meeting violence with love is part of the fulfillment of her peoples’ prophecy. These are the prophecies which gave birth to the Council, and make up the fiber of their movement.