SHOOTING LUPUS DEAD -- AND NOW A HIGHLY SIGNIFICANT PERSONAL MEDICAL UPDATE [HUNTER GRAY / HUNTER BEAR LATE FEBRUARY 2009] ALSO TRADITIONAL MEDICINE/WESTERN MEDICINE [HUNTER BEAR SEPTEMBER 21 2008] -- AND FIGHTING FOR SOME VERY CONTEMPORARY POLITICAL THINGS [HUNTER BEAR FALL 2008] -- WITH COMMENTS AND UPDATES AND VARIOUS ADDITIONS
"When I was getting fairly well into the then still not diagnosed oft-lethal horror [Systemic Lupus], around late July 2003 or so, I had an interesting dream. Far up on my traditional trails, I suddenly encountered Something dressed in a black suit and wearing a wide-brimmed black hat. I could smell the overwhelming odor of rotting grain. The face under the hat was that of a male-type Medusa full of wiggly things -- demonic to the extreme with the most hateful, predatory eyes I have ever seen. I knew it was directly responsible for my awful condition. I quickly drew my revolver -- and I do indeed have one, a Ruger single action .22 Magnum. With one shot I killed the Thing. For a moment, I was convinced I'd now killed the illness. I then awoke, covered with sweat. But the illness remained. The revolver still resided [and resides] in its holster on my dresser."
SIGNIFICANT PERSONAL MEDICAL UPDATE [LATE FEBRUARY 2009]
______________________________________________
Sam Friedman:
___________________________________________
Mary Ann Hall Winters:
|
Hi Mr. Salter,
Happy to hear the great news in your
battle against SLE . I like that you
continue to use humor in your
fight/descriptions . Particularly liked the
analogies
re : Napoleon & Hitler vs. Russian
winters (smile) .
You're absolutely correct when you
stated that sometimes those chemo drugs are
more deadly than the disease itself .
WWW,
Mary Ann
____________________________
Scott Colborn:
Hello Hunter,
It's great to get
good news these days, although I suspect
that there truly is much good news that
gets shunted out of the public eye.
Thank you for
being my friend.
Peace. Scott
____________________________
|
Heather Booth:
AND BOB ADDS:
|
Sam said
it all, The Bears will sing in joy, that you have lived...
RWG
|
The Homer ILV, Independent Living Vehicle is now on-line.
http://homers4u.
Mary Ann Hall Winters:
AMEN !!!!!!
________________________________________________
NOTE BY HUNTER BEAR: March 6 2009
_____________________________________________
Joseph Bruchac:
Dear Hunter Bear,
AND NOW, ANOTHER AND EARLIER QUITE RELEVANT DREAM RELATING TO THE FOREGOING, [HUNTER GRAY/HUNTER BEAR], ORIGINALLY POSTED ON REDBADBEAR, FEBRUARY 2004 -- AND POSTED ON THIS WEBPAGE MARCH 2009
NOTE BY HUNTER BEAR [JUNE 4 2008]
After we heard this from my good doctor, I told Eldri that I was inclined to revert 'way back to my early 20s and a few other times when I and my friends would celebrate with a quart or two of whiskey [good stuff or otherwise] and lots of ice. [Eldri has her Jim Beam but handles it in very conservative fashion.] But we decided it was best not to push things too far at this point.
__________________________________
TRADITIONAL MEDICINE/WESTERN MEDICINE [HUNTER BEAR SEPTEMBER 21 2008]
|
NOTE BY HUNTER BEAR: [September 21
2008]
I must say, in all honesty, that I am not a great
admirer of "western medicine". I was at least
generally wary of it even back in the days when I
was many decades away from elder status -- taking my
basic cues from my Native father, who I recall went
forty years or more without consulting a "western"
physician. [If he, a fine father, excellent artist
and teacher, and admirable figure on many
significant fronts, had not consulted a new quart of
100 proof Old Crow each day for decades, he would
have lived far beyond the 80 years he completed
before transition.]
When it was clear, a little over five years ago, that I was seriously ill with something, I did, after dragging my feet for a good while, go to a doctor. At that point, ignorance of autoimmune diseases by those particular docs, confused opinions and a botched colonoscopy searching for non-existent cancer -- all of this in the context of severe anemia -- led to near death via cardiac arrest [my heart was fine before that and is just fine now]. And even when, after a dozen medics finally and jointly diagnosed "it" as a full blown case of systemic lupus [genetic and incurable], the initial primary control med -- prednisone -- gave me a severe case of diabetes and a near death coma. [The diabetes ended when that medicine was terminated and replaced.] Now, I go as infrequently as I can to a good and listening doc who honors my concerns and inhibitions, and I take as little western medicine as possible -- avoiding all chemo drugs.
Anyway, that's my pitch on that.
We have a great deal of faith in traditional
medicine [ritual and ceremony and natural remedies]
as practiced by bona fide medicine people. A Navajo
medicine man often trains for as many as 17 years
before he's considered a full-fledged practitioner.
There are comparable examples in numerous other
Native tribal society/nations in the Americas -- as
well as globally. Anyone who observes a trained
medicine person practice is genuinely impressed from
many perspectives.
On the other hand, one can find some good things
to say about "western medicine" -- properly used.
In several months, our grandson/son, Thomas, will
become an M.D. via the University of Minnesota --
but his program also contains, by design and by his
own initiative, exposure to inter-cultural
[especially vis-a-vis Natives] traditional medical
approaches. His spouse, Mimie [Yrengah], from Zambia
is in the health field as well. We take
their advice quite seriously.
Around 1950, when I was sixteen, my parents and
I, traveling from Flagstaff to Window Rock and Fort
Defiance and Chinle on the vast Navajo reservation,
stopped at nearby Ganado and visited a hospital.
The head person, a Dr Clarence Salsbury, complained
that few Navajo people came -- and no elders. My
parents and I did not find that unusual. That
cultural inhibition at Navajo [and many other Native
settings] modified a little as subsequent years
passed, but it was not until United States Indian
Health Service reached out to the medicine people,
and indicated a willingness to work jointly in a
context of mutual respect, that some things changed
for the better. The increasing number of Native
people entering the mainline health fields-- M.D.s,
R.N.s, the full array -- is a signal and
obviously positive development. But Natives into
professional western medicine are almost always
very cognizant of, and very sensitive to, the
critical importance of traditional cultural views
and practices.
The following article from the Salt Lake Tribune
discusses some of this -- with the focus on the
Navajo and cancer. It should be emphatically noted
that most cancer at Navajo [and Laguna Pueblo] --
and some other serious diseases as well -- stem
directly from the mining, milling, and refining of
uranium within the Navajo Nation and its environs
and some other Western American settings. [Canadian
Natives have had their own lethal experiences.]
That all began in the late '40s and the '50s and
continued for decades, with broadly lethal
effects, killing and profoundly impairing thousands
of people in many locations -- and wreaking
poisonous havoc on livestock, wild animal life, air
and water and earth. [The Navajo Nation government
has now banned any uranium development in and around
the vast reservation. [We have things on our
website about the Southwestern uranium tragedy and
here is one page with a few related
background pieces:
http://www.hunterbear.org/a_native_rights_sampling.htm
I should add that, around my neck, I wear a Bear Claw -- and an Ignatius Loyola holy medal.
Hunter [Hunter Bear]
FOUR SORT OF RELATED POSTS: PETA, HUNTING WILD GAME, FORCES OF NATURE, MEDICAL EXPERIMENTATION WITH ANIMALS [HUNTER BEAR JANUARY 21/22 2009]
A little tired of political stuff for the
moment, I happened to run across an hour HBO
special featuring one of the co-founders of
PETA -- People for the Ethical Treatment of
Animals. There was a time, and it was a
fairly long time, that I was politely
critical of the group -- though I really
knew little about it. My inclinations were
to sort of write "them" off as East
Coast/West Coast do-gooders, well meaning
folks, maybe a little cracked. I was
surprised when I learned that an old lawyer
companero, Phil Hirschkop, had become their
attorney. We had encountered the very good
Phil when he was a finishing-up Georgetown
University law student -- and he came down
to help us in Eastern North Carolina. Soon
thereafter, as a lawyer, he was a great and
loyal help, much involved with Kunstler and
Kinoy and Stavis in some key cases our
campaign engendered. His most famous case,
not connected with our work, was the signal
Loving v Virginia -- which ended all
remaining anti-miscegenation laws in the U,S.
Later, he represented the Hunt brothers in
Texas [silver speculation etc] and
eventually, among other things, came to
represent PETA.
But despite Phil's work with the
organization, I remained -- as many still do
-- sort of critical of the PETA
"busy-bodies." But somewhere along the
line, I did -- at a glacial pace -- undergo
something of a process of change. My great
pet coyote of yore, Good, was a key factor
in this -- to say nothing of the long string
of our family's furry friends [virtually all
of them strays, later some from local
pounds], and clearly the Great Cloudy [and
now of course, the equally great Sky.]
I'm not a vegetarian by any stretch and
our freezer is packed with elk meat, thanks
to Cameron and Josie. I strongly support
hunting for meat -- and, in very special
cases, as Ritual. I don't really like city
hunters -- and I very much scorn those who
are after "trophies." I haven't trapped in
decades [Thomas, during his recent visit
here, was fascinated by my one surviving
Number 4 Victor Doublespring and by
my trapping tales -- especially the time I
caught an eagle by accident and spent the
better part of two hours freeing the
understandably very crabby bird.]. I do
support trapping as economic subsistence --
Natives, farm and ranch kids, anyone. How
could the great great great grandson of John
Gray [Hatchiorauquasha] -- leader of the
Mohawk [with some St Francis Abenaki] fur
hunters in the Columbia and Snake river
country and the Family Culture Hero -- ever
say otherwise? No way.
PETA and I obviously disagree on all of
the foregoing.
But I agree with PETA when it comes to
its opposition to medical or other
experiments with animals. And I'm appalled,
more each year, about the growing number of
dogs and cats that are callously abandoned
by their owners -- and I certainly agree
super strongly with the "do gooders"on the awfulness
of that endless river of tragedies.
PETA doesn't understand wild-life matters
in the rural areas -- and especially in the
wilderness context. There is a natural
balance of nature. A now time-honored
example -- which occurred long, long before
PETA and back in my own early time --
involved the mule deer in the North Kaibab.
That's a heavily timbered wilderness setting
bordered by the Grand Canyon on the south,
and high desert to the north and east and
west. It's a large area, but exists as its
own isolated world. The mule deer cannot
easily get into the Canyon and the high
desert is not their habitat by any stretch.
Bounty hunters began to enter the area after
lions for whom mule deer are natural prey --
Arizona in those days was paying $150 per
lion scalp -- and wiped out almost all of
the North Kaibab lions. The mule deer herds
multiplied astronomically -- and were then
struck pervasively by consequent famine and
disease. When the lions slowly"returned,"
the balance was slowly restored.
But, when I watched the co-founder of
PETA patiently "doing her thing," I liked
her -- and thought again that the outfit is
truly on the Good Side. I'm still surprised
that I've changed my mind so substantially.
Not known for doing that.
Anyway, just a few words and thoughts on
a slow late afternoon.
And the psychic Sky is watching me very,
very closely as I write this.
Yours, H.
______________________________________________________
You're always taking up for those Big
City people, Sam. But I guess they
sometimes need a good advocate like
you. Seriously, if in addition to "the
sport of it", they are also interested
in meat, I can go along with their
doings. They're obviously a factor --
vis a vis my very clearly pointed North
Kaibab example -- in maintaining the
balance of nature along with the more
numerous local hunters. But many of the
city hunters I've seen are poorly
trained in hunting and gun safety, more
than likely drink alcohol [which never
mixes sensibly with firearms], often
start forest fires, and wind up getting
lost or stranded in inclement weather,
even when such has been preceded via
radio warnings by local authorities.
Some are interested only in "the head
and the horns" for taxidermy/mounting
purposes.
I recall an elk season in Northern
Arizona where a great many of the
Phoenix and Tucson dudes failed to heed
heavy snow warnings. Several hundred
were trapped and had to, via great local
effort and expense, be rescued by Forest
Service personnel, sheriff's men, and no
end of local volunteers. Nineteen were
never rescued and obviously died. In
some cases, their scattered bones were
found in the spring. [With my Model A,
I got two out and their vehicle as
well -- one man had suffered a moderate
heart attack. The other man was an Air
Force colonel and did, without my
solicitation, write a very laudatory
letter of reference re me to the
Coconino National Forest -- and that
letter followed me into the Army in due
course.]
So I have seen the "difficult" side
of Big City hunters. I think many of
them need the services of professional
guides.
Among the blessings of my Special
Lands, the vast Sycamore
Canyon Wilderness Area, was the fact
there were no other hunters of any kind
within many, many miles. I've always
been a lone hunter.
I am now against any
medical experimentation using animals.
We had a big flap here at Pocatello
about that -- and it stopped.
All best, H
____________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
[Hunter Bear's Wrap Up] I don't consider my opposition to laboratory experimentation with animals to be anything other than perfectly consistent with my basic cultural values. I wouldn't tag those values "Luddite" or "Anarcho Primitivist" or any other such western-world ideological gobbledygook term -- just Traditional, emanating from my deepest headwaters. Domestic animals [cattle, sheep, goats and pigs et al.] are conceived, nurtured, fed -- and, in time, feed their people: a fair bargain truly in accord with eons-old Cosmic Balance. [Horses and mules are frequently buddies of people.] Meat is necessary for a genuinely healthy human body -- but, of course, vegetables and fruit are as well. If I had to choose between those categories, I'll take meat. [I have always felt that excellent nutrition is critical in preventing and dealing effectively with illness -- and I'm also very partial to first-rate natural vitamins.]
The hunting process is an
ages-old contest between human and wild
animal -- almost always in the context of a
kind of equality. I've always been inclined
to see it as a mystical -- even spiritual --
affair. Others, of course, from other
backgrounds, may see hunting in a purely
secular context. Either way, however, there
is the element of egalitarian contest.
But taking dogs and cats, mice and rats,
into a cold-blooded laboratory setting, and
slicing them up intricately, exploring their
most private facets -- or injecting them
with diseases --well, I just don't buy that.
Dogs and cats are natural friends of
Humanity, and mice and rats can be as well.
Some years ago, a "lab rat" was given to
Josie, then at St Mary's school at Grand
Forks. Wonderful little friend, who we
named Betty. I used to feed her Ritz
Crackers in the early morning hours -- and
she happily danced and ran excitedly
whenever she saw me. And then, suddenly,
she had large malignant tumors. We spent
around one hundred dollars in an effort to
save her -- but she passed on.
Some hair-splitters would probably accuse
me of "inconsistencies" -- logic-wise.
And they might have a point -- in their
culture.
But, as I say, I'm a Traditionalist -- in
my Cosmic Circle.
Hunter Bear
HUNTER GRAY [HUNTER BEAR/JOHN R SALTER JR]
Mi'kmaq /St. Francis
Abenaki/St. Regis Mohawk Protected by NaŽshdoŽiŽbaŽiŽ and Ohkwari' LETTER TO A NATIVE WOMAN WITH LUPUS [HUNTER BEAR] 12 / 18 /2008
From Helen, a Native lady and one of several Lupus people with
whom I communicate:
Hunter, just read your post I wish I could express myself the way you do, I haven't been through some of the bad things you have, but the pass few months has been difficult. I don't look sick at all, people just don't believe that I am, I don't go out too much any more, because I get so very tired breathing is so hard, pass along some Indian wisdom for me. regards to all Helen From Hunter: Dear Helen: I've given your letter considerable thought. I wish I had the magic formula that would "make things right" for Lupus people. I certainly know "whereof you speak." One of your own personally impressive dimensions is that your basic impulse is to serve needy People -- and, of course, by doing that you and others so committed and involved serve the Creator as well. And that's my basic impulse, too. Continuing to do that -- serving Humanity [and Creator] -- is very, very solid Good Medicine. You are doing that -- keep it up, tough as it may sometimes be. It means more to people than we all sometimes realize. One fairly general characteristic of Lupus people is that we tend to pull back, withdraw. There are even some that feel ashamed of having Lupus -- something that's difficult for me to fully understand. We were born with this predatory genetic situation -- which has such a preference for Native people and some other "minorities" There are worse diseases -- Lou Gehrig's, Huntingtons and so forth -- but that's really not much consolation. Lupus is a purely ugly disease and the fact that you so bravely, and myself, and others, keep on keeping on is proof aplenty that we are Not suicidal. The "withdrawal" tendency is something we all have to combat at every point. It's critical to see and visit with other people. It's important to write to other people, or communicate in other ways -- not necessarily about Lupus, but about matters of concern and interest to them as well as to ourselves. A couple of days ago, I hit a kind of rock bottom. When it continued into yesterday, I went out and shoveled snow. I'm not advising that in your case, Helen, and I know snow is somewhat scarce in southern North Carolina, but you are a person of many interests and many fine abilities. If, for example, sewing is helpful, Sew. I've always found that keeping hands and mind busy are my best medicine. Music has been helpful to me. My Cat is a great friend and partner! She seems to sense when I'm "down" and faithfully "takes care of me." We are both, as is Crissy, fortunate that we have a strong family/friends support network. That's absolutely critical. [There is a lady here in Pocatello as badly afflicted as we -- no family anywhere around and few friends.] Hope is critical. One of these days better medicines will come along. And too, there are Forces within us, and around us -- Good Spirits -- that one of these days may well produce, if not a cure, then a substantial and long-term remission. In the meantime, write me anytime -- anytime -- that you wish. It's always so very good to hear from you, Helen. You are not only a fine friend but a genuine Inspiration to myself. Our very best to all. Just Keep Fighting. Nialetch/Onen, Hunter [Hunter Bear] HUNTER GRAY [HUNTER BEAR/JOHN R SALTER JR] Mi'kmaq /St. Francis Abenaki/St. Regis Mohawk Protected by NaŽshdoŽiŽbaŽiŽ and Ohkwari' Check out our Hunterbear website Directory http://hunterbear. [The site is dedicated to our one-half Bobcat, Cloudy Gray: http://hunterbear. See http://www.hunterbe And see Hunter's Movement Life Interview: http://hunterbear. INSERT: BATTLEFIELD NOTE [HUNTER BEAR OCTOBER 6 2008]
Although
Lupus problems occasionally flare, and things
always remain problematic, there is nothing like
a great Kitty and political provocation to keep
me going. I posted the following yesterday:
Slow day on our Idaho hill. Colder
now, snow higher up, wind and rain have just
cleared, leaves beginning to fall. Slow
day, too, on most discussion lists -- with
my only exceptions being Hybrid Cats and
Bobcat/Lynx. On that note, Sky Gray has
emerged as the most active Kitty I've known
-- and, especially toward me, fully as
attached and affectionate as Cloudy; Cloudy
being very likely, judging from virtually
every facet of Sky's behavior, Sky's former
incarnation or at least her faithful spirit
guide.
It's day that I could have used a
good Western flick. My standard with those
is that, preferably, the Indians win -- or
at least don't lose; no John Wayne and
maybe no Clint Eastwood; and no psychiatric
twists. Not too much love stuff -- and lots
of guns with filming in the geographical
Real West. Couldn't find anything that fit
my bill, so I watched CNN.
And there I saw Sarah Palin's
attempted attack on Obama, focusing on the
contrived Ayers "terrorist connection."
That factor, non-existent re Obama, and
extremely remote for the now long-standing
respectable Ayers, struck me as far more
desperately pathetic than sinister and a
good indication of how thoroughly bankrupt
the Republican party has become. [Not that
I'm always a fervent admirer of the
Democrats.]
The last time I saw eyes like
Palin's were those of a coiled rattler a
couple of years ago on the sagebrush slopes
just above us here. Its tongue flickered
back and forth and its eyes glittered with
excitement. But there were a couple of
differences: the rattler just wanted to be
left alone [and we, of course, honored
that.] And the rattler was smart, sharp --
shifting its position with
defensive finesse.
Palin isn't smart nor sharp -- nor
is McCain. But she is quick-cunning so,
like our friend in the sage, she bears
some watching. But never to the point of
slowing one's momentum.
We remember the Weatherman
"outbreak", such as it was, in Chicago in
the fall of '69. A cloudy and rainy day
and our family was driving far down on the
south-east end of the city, passing by a
large open gravel pit. We heard the
spectacle on the Near Northside being
breathlessly narrated on one of the radio
stations but, frankly, we were not all that
interested. I, with a growing and fine
staff, was digging in for what became more
than four years of hard, grassroots
organizing on the city's South/Southwest
Side -- and the Weatherman thing seemed as
remote as a falling star.
At that point, Baby Mack, riding in
a baby seat, was about one month old. Now
he's a top-flight editor for the Lee
newspaper chain with three kids -- two of
whom are in what's now calculated as "young
adulthood."
That was a long time ago and I
really don't see many Americans --
especially in our wracked nation of today --
giving a damn about any of that.
But I do always like to see a
rattler or two. Fellow Ishmaelites.
Yours, Hunter
___________________________________________________ MARTHA TURE COMMENTS ON THE POST IMMEDIATELY ABOVE: Excellent post, Hunter. Im with you down the line. I look at the Iowa Electronic Market, run by the University of Iowa business school. It is a real time electronic futures market. They have Obama 74.5 to McCain 25.5 today. So I think Palin is just a poot in a windstorm. And a great distraction because meanwhile, the Bush administration may be behind the coup of tribal government that has just taken place at Hopi, and this is no joke all the coal and good quality water are at stake its Peabody, of course. If you want to know more I will tell you. And PS the Indians I mean the people who live in the villages and try to just mind their own business - are losing again. If I get a minute I will send you a copy of my book, Joe Walker. It occurs in 1863-1865 in Arizona. Id be intrigued to have your opinion of it. Best, Martha E Ture
AND MARY ANN HALL WINTERS [LATE OF OUR MISSISSIPPI MOVEMENT] ADDS:
|
COMMENTS ON THE LUPUS WAR: RE MY JUNE 4 2008 POST
SAM FRIEDMAN:
KATHY MARDEN:
______________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
DAVID MCREYNOLDS:
Very glad to have the health report. Now keep it
that way!
Peace,
David McReynolds
__________________________________________________________________________
Hello, Hunter -
Note by Hunter: Found and sent the nice piece by Martha.
___________________________________________________________________________________
MARY ANN HALL WINTERS:
Hallelujah !
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You sound in fine shape, Steve. I gather that you travel with some frequency and, while I envy you, I hope you continue doing that. Other people, other turf settings -- that's key, in my opinion, to staying young. I miss those nomadic days, but they may return -- at least to some extent.
____________________________________________________________________
Hello Hunter Bear--
__________________________________________________________________
We all saw your medical note a couple of days earlier and were encouraged by it. I worry about situational depression almost as much as I do about your physical condition.
Good to hear your Lupus may be backing off; I was contemplating a ritual sacrifice of a wolf, but I'll put that on hold.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
TIM MCGOWAN:
[Tim and Theresa McGowan are God-parents of our youngest, Josie. I am God-father of their son, Mark.]
John,
______________________________________________________________________
JYRI KOKKONEN:
Dear Hunter,
____________________________________________________________________________________________
HUNTER GRAY TO DISCUSSION LISTS AND FRIENDS [EXCERPT]: JUNE 15 2008
________________________________________________________________________
JOHN M. SOLBACH:
Hunter, Good to hear from you. We were
thinking of you on the 45th anniversary of the tragic shooting in
Jackson. Hope you are are spot on with regard to the Presidential race.
Be well, cousin.
John M. Solbach
.
HUNTER GRAY [HUNTER BEAR/JOHN R SALTER JR] Mi'kmaq
/St. Francis
Abenaki/St. Regis Mohawk
Protected by NaŽshdoŽiŽbaŽiŽ
and Ohkwari'