I am writing to express my sincere gratitude for the enormous gift my community has received from two members of the Eastern Shoshone Nation, Bennie and Jola LeBeau. I have lived in the community of Big Bear in the San Bernardino Mountains of Southern California for many years. During the fifth year of drought in October 2003, the entire mountain was evacuated due to wild fires. Many trees had died due to the lack of water, and subsequent bark beetle infestation. The fires burned over 91,000 acres, and came up the west end of the mountain destroying hundreds of homes. In a “miraculous” shift of weather conditions, the fires stopped eight miles from Big Bear. The fire was a wake-up call for me, and I am sure, for many mountain residents, as we considered the likelihood of losing our homes and the beauty that has surrounded us.
Many local residents attended Journey to the Heart’s conference The Gathering: An Alliance of Elders, Healers and Wisdom Keepers held in Big Bear September 9-12 of this year. Kim Langbecker, the director of Journey to the Heart, invited Bennie LeBeau as well as many other representatives of the Indigenous Nations from all over the world to speak on behalf of Mother Earth’s healing ceremonies. I attended Bennie’s presentation about the Magnificent 19 + 1 = 20 Medicine Wheel Ceremony held on May 8th, 2004. I asked him if he would meet with us to see if he could help us with our devastating drought, now in its sixth year. He explained how development had disconnected the harmony of Mother Earth’s ley lines and caused the drought, and how the energy grid could be reconnected. We were very excited to have an opportunity to correct, even in a small way, the damage that had been done to our mountain, so we invited Bennie to return to Big Bear to work with us.
At the same time, our local government and water agencies had voted to spend $166,000 per year for 3 years to seed the clouds with silver iodide. After attending The Gathering, the Big Bear residents went back to the community and started working on two projects: stopping the cloud seeding, and bringing Bennie back to help us heal Mother Earth. Joe Bradley, a local high school physics teacher, spent hundreds of hours researching and documenting the harmful effects of silver iodide. His efforts were successful in stopping the cloud seeding. I focused on raising the funds to pay Bennie’s expenses and organizing community support for the Big Bear Medicine Wheel.
Bennie and Jola arrived in late October and started working with other Native Americans as well as people of all races to prepare the sites on the spokes of the Big Bear Medicine Wheel. They provided a training class to about 25 people on October 26 which ended in a ceremony that brought over two feet of snow, a month before we would have expected it in non-drought years! The Medicine Wheel Ceremony took place simultaneously at all 9 sites on November 15, with over 200 people participating. Following an honoring celebration on November 20, three feet of snow fell!
We can feel the gratitude of the earth, the trees, and the animals, for the blessings of moisture. Many in our group have clear visions and hear the ancestors, even though they are not Native American in this lifetime. Our purpose is to heal the earth and return to harmony, not to serve anyone’s personal needs. There was a lot of media attention due to the unusual and unexplainable weather, and unfortunately, many inaccuracies were reported. Bennie has never referred to himself as a shaman, or claimed to be doing a rain or snow dance. Bennie and Jola have not received any payment for their loving assistance. We have not even covered all of the expenses yet.
I believe that Bennie LeBeau serves all of mankind in his natural ability to wake people up to the reality of what we have done to our Mother, and the urgent need to heal Her. He honors the earth knowledge of all indigenous cultures, and all cultures having a clear vision of bringing the races together in the healing of Mother Earth. This man is a gift to all of us at this crucial time, and we in Big Bear are particularly grateful that we have been guided to work with him.
With deep respect,
Gina Weiss
P. O. Box 1641
Big Bear Lake, CA 92315
(909) 585-7228
ginaweiss@charter.net
cc: Wind River News/ Lander Journal
Riverton Journal
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