Many Beads Fruit Tree Planting Program
The TLG Many Beads Fruit Tree Planting Program is scheduled to begin in May of 2008. This Program will provide Navajo families with apricot and other kinds of fruit trees. The trees will be planted by TLG members and volunteers throughout Dinetah (the Navajo reservation).
The purpose of this project is to help heal wounds resulting from the ‘long walk’ and contemporaneous relocation events (ongoing). When the people returned home following their confinement in Fort Redondo concentration camps; where after the inhumane conditions in the camps had been declared a ‘national disaster’ by congress; they soon discovered that the once plentiful, stands of family fruit trees had been cut to the root (while they were being held in military confinement).
No one has ever been able to understand the cause or purpose for the elimination of these trees; nevertheless, this act inflicted great and enduring grief upon Navajo people (who depend on nature for survival).
The TLG Program for returning fruit trees to Dinetah is one way that the TLG hopes to implant new blossoms of happiness into the heart of traditional people. Traditionalists have suffered a long, bitter winter of historical sorrows. Perhaps a little care and consideration might help thaw beautiful lands; the Navajo territories traditionally lie within four great sacred mountains. These mountains are San Francisco peaks (Do’ok’o aslid) westward, Hesperus in Colorado (Dibe’nitsa) Eastward, Blanco in Colorado (Sis najini) Northward, and Mount Taylor in New Mexico (Dzith tso) Southward.
Fruit trees provide sweetness in life. They symbolize lifelong happiness for successive generations of children; little people who will soon be following our own footsteps into this life. We want them to see that their own ancestors did good things; we want them to know that they came from good people. We want them to believe in humanity.
When little babies are found crying for any length of time, many Navajo mothers place fruit juice in their mouths to comfort them. We hope, through this program, to provide yet unborn little Dine’ children with an abundance of sweet fruit nectars. That way, their moms’ will be able to create calm smiles when little children’s tiny tears become too many.
Fruit trees represent a prayer for life. We pray that the first blossoms born of these maturing saplings unfold their petals into the sunbeams of a new day; a time of unprecedented blessings for all. We pray this day visits a just and noble future upon the human race. We pray for tomorrow through the actions we take today.
