A ceremony to Wipe Away The Tears is a specific ceremony where cedar and tobaco, symbols of Native people's covenant with our Creator, carries prayers and wishes of the people to the Creator as it cleanses the site of any spiritual negativity. This ceremony is an expression of compassion and love for all human beings as expressd through our tradtional beliefs, and it is our hope that it will relieve some of the pain and suffering of the survivors.

     On September 12 of this year a ceremony to Wipe Away the Tears took place at the World Trade Center Site (Family and Visitors Site). Two spiritual leaders officiated at the site. Linda Poolaw, Grand Chief of the Delaware Nation, returned from Oklahoma in a magnificent and selfless gesture of peace and prayer. She offered tobacoo and burned cedar on behalf of the original Lenape Nation (now often called the Delaware) on whose ancestral lands the tragedy of September 11 2001 occurred. Chief Jake Swamp (Mohawk), a Faithkeeper of the Haudenosaunee, conducted a condolence ceremony that prayed for the release of any souls that may have been left behind to travel west and go home to the Great Father.

     After Chief Poolaw and Chief Swamp completed their ceremonies Kevin Tarrant (Hopi/Ho-Chunk) and George Stonefish (Delaware/ Ojibway), members of the Silvercloud Singers, sang an Honoring Song for the victims and survivors of the tragedy. The title of the song they rendered was "New York, New York" and was composed by the group. It lifted the spirits of those in attendance, many of whom had worked at the site. It was agreed by all who were there that the prayers, songs, and condolences unifed our spirits, hearts, and minds so we could all go forward with a presence of peace and harmony, and taking from this sacred site, a powerful teaching for all humanity.

Joe Cross (Caddo)

Joe assisted the elders in the ceremonies. He conceived of and organized the event with the wish that the condolence be conducted specifically by a man and a woman and to be held on behalf of Native peoples throughout the Western Hemisphere. He thanks Diane Fraher of American Indian Artists, Inc. (Amerinda) and Etain O'Malley of Hell's Kitchen/Clinton Theatre Project for thier assistance with this project.

For their belief in the qualities and experience which render him capable of inspiring both Native people and the public at large, Joe thanks the Lower Manhattan Culural Council and the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs for the financial assistance that made the condolence ceremony at the World Trade Site more possible.

Joe is co-founder, with his wife Donna, of Leaf Arrow Storytellers. Joe and Donna are long-time members of the New York Native artistic community.

Graphic by Patrick Tafoya

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