Ryan D.Wilcox, aid to Senator Mike Lee was our MC and helped orchestrate good vibes!
Scouts along with Harrison Johnson prepared for Flag Ceremony
Suzette Morris, Irene Jones and Danielle Shirley- part of the warrior brigade
Jami Bayles, Stewards of San Juan, President spoke first.
Her message is also on our Ad in this weeks San Juan Record.
~~~~~~~~
Rally Speech by Jami Bayles
Our little
community has been through a lot over the last year. We’ve dealt with
fake fliers, biased journalism, and hateful comments on articles that we stayed
up late nights to write. We’ve been intentionally left out of surveys and push
polls, and most recently, our personal stories have been referred to as
#FAKENEWS. We’ve been called "right-wing nutjobs",
"snowflakes", "tame Indians", and "token
Navajos". We’ve stood in disbelief as we watched our Navajo and Ute
friends be lied to and ignored by individuals who used their power and position
to deceive and destroy.
On social
media we’ve been misquoted, degraded, personally attacked, and our entire
county was even blocked by a certain state official. Ranchers have had
their livestock put in harm’s way, and sisters were banned from a press
conference hosted by companies including Black Diamond and Patagonia because
they weren’t wearing the right pro-monument t-shirts. We’ve been told by out of
state recreation enthusiasts, “My hobby is more important than your livelihood,
so if you don’t like it, you need to move somewhere else."
If you’re
like me, I’ll bet you didn’t expect the last 10 months to play out like they
did. Talk about crazy!! But I’ll tell you what.I KNOW, the other side didn’t
expect it either! They didn't expect to see such a huge group of people - the
real people who love and care for this land the most - fight as hard as we have
fought.
Over these
last 10 months, this community has done extraordinary things. We have
accomplished next to the impossible. We have raised thousands of dollars
overnight, organized ‘next day’ events in a matter of hours, participated in
parades that were hundreds of miles away, put together information booths,
written thousands upon thousands of letters, organized phone-a-thons, community
dinners, traveled to Kansas, Richfield, Washington DC, and several times to the
State Capitol. Not to mention, we pulled off a pretty amazing Freedom Fest
concert having only a few weeks to plan it. We have silently and
respectfully protested, and if the other side was smart, they'd take a page
from our book. We’ve rescued stranded hikers, pulled people out of the snow,
and we’ve spent a great deal of time talking to and educating those who were on
the other side, but genuinely wanted to learn more. We’ve changed minds, made
friends, and formed amazing relationships with others that are battling the
same land issues as we are right now.
And we did
this together, on our own time, and on our own dime. We did it without the
millions of dollars from celebrities like Leonardo Dicaprio and big name
corporations like Hewlett Packard. We paid for our own commercials and our own
online advertising. YOU have helped pay for these – even the guy who stopped us
on the street and gave us the last $5 dollars out of his pocket,
telling us, "I know this isn’t much, but I just want to help."
I honestly
don’t know what’s going to happen in the next 5 weeks. What I do know, is
this.... We have fought, and we will continue to fight with everything that we
have, and we will continue to do it with grace and decency. We will never cave,
and we will never sell ourselves out. We know the truth and we will keep
fighting for what is right. We’ve transcended religion, race, cultural, and
political differences. We know that this isn’t a Republic vs Democratic thing,
or a Native American vs Anglo thing, or even a Mormon vs Non-Mormon thing. This
is simply about what’s right and what’s wrong, and this monument that was done
TO us rather than WITH us, was wrong. And we will continue to fight until this
monument is rescinded and it can finally be done the right way.
Several
months ago, my son was heading to bed and apparently I was looking pretty tired
and defeated that night. My son said to me, “Mom, we’re gonna lose, huh.” I
told him, “I don’t know babe, but it’s kind of looking that way.” Then he
said, “So if we’re gonna lose, then why don’t you just quit? Why do you keep
getting online, and researching, and posting stuff, and talking about it all
day long?” And I told him “Well babe, because if we DO lose, I’ll at least know
that I tried and that I fought with everything that I am.” He then said to me,
“Ok. Well, I think you’re awesome, mom, and I think you need a hug.”
So that’s
what today is all about. That’s how I see all of you. You continue to fight with everything that you are, and you all could
use a hug too!
~~~~~
Commissioner Phil Lyman, spoke encouraging words
~~~~~~
Rally Speech by Eva Clarke Workman
What a
beautiful day, friends! Family! And Friends who are like family.
I’m so incredibly happy to see your faces here! Thank you for taking the time
to come and lift each other. As I look thru the crowd I can name so many reasons
why you are here, so many reasons to celebrate this beautiful place, and the
many different reasons we are passionate about this cause. How cool is it that
no matter how different we are, we become such a force when we act as One?
Over the course of nearly a year, we have entered into a community Boot Camp of
sorts. We have learned a lot about each other. This is another reason to
celebrate. It’s like a political version of Survivor and Family Feud. And we’re
All. Still. Here. So while I have your attention at this “family reunion” of
sorts, I hope you know how dear you are to me. Your loud voices are so brave.
Your soft voices are encouraging and remind me you are with us. Thank you, for
being here. Thank you for not giving up.
As we
celebrate together today, I hope the energy and prayers bring new strength. In
Native American Mythology, bears are symbols of strength and wisdom, and are
associated with healing. In this battle we have all felt vulnerable at times.
At one point, a plan that we thought was for our good, evolved into something
we didn’t recognize. We stepped back, we re-grouped, we did not settle. We drew
new strength, we healed and we persevered.
As we move
forward, and work tirelessly into the midnight hour of the incoming news, I
hope we have taken lessons from our earlier disappointments, our personal
failures, our unwanted surprises and recognize the need we now have to stay
continually engaged in the decisions being made about our land. The
discussions, the meetings, the policies that seem so distant when discussed in
Washington DC, or on Capitol Hill in Salt Lake City, or even as far, far away
as our County Commission meetings in Monticello, are all so important.
May we be ever
vigilant, as we no longer have the luxury of anonymity.
May we be ever
studying, as we learn to better protect our freedoms.
May we be ever
present, and ready to do the work that requires our Rural American hearts.
From the
Stewards of San Juan, from my ancestors whose hands first loved this beautiful
red earth, and from the families who joined together then and now to love this
place, THANK YOU and KEEP UP THE GOOD FIGHT!
~~~~
The surprise of the afternoon was Senator Mike Lee's live feed, a great ending to our program.
We so appreciate his support.
Merri Shumway was one of approximately 100 people providing oral testimonies.
She spoke on our concerns to protect SITLA lands in San Juan County
Truly there were never "such devoted sisters" in such a cause as this!
Jami Bayles and Devin Bayles Hancock
All generations of stewards came to our Rally.Iva Lou Perkins, and Joey Holliday, are behind the scenes "go to" gals
Shout out to Ted Black who is always so willing to help his energizer bunny wife !
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