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Many visitors have asked about the turtle
theme, and its relevance to this site. Here is the
fascinating reason that was learnt by the webmaster:
- The plans for the roundhouse in
Indian Canyon show it to be turtle shaped. A
roundhouse, as the name suggests, is usually round.
- According to Ann Marie Sayers
the symbol of the turtle is "turtle island", which in the
indigenous world represents the America's, North, Central
and South. In many cultures the turtle is a sacred
animal.
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The Hopi of Northern America told their
version of the turtle in "The Book of the
Hopi," the first time Hopi traditions were
ever recorded in writing. The ancient
stories, handed down from generation to
generation, orally, recall long and ancient
migration routes, first entering into the
Americas through the Bering Straight, going
into the Four Corners region of North America
and then heading off into all directions as
they were told to do by the Great Spirit;
stopping only when they reached water. Some
believe that "turtle island" is North America
with one flipper of the turtle being Baja,
another the Bay Area peninsula, another
Florida, and the other being Nova Scotia.
...from
Turtle Island Institute Website |
- When the idea of building the
roundhouse in Indian Canyon was first conceived, Ann-Marie
Sayers and architectural designer Gene DeSmidt visited many
existing roundhouses to talk to the elders to gain consensus
on how it should be built.
- Consensus building, as we all
know, is difficult, so Gene suggested designing the building
according to the vision of Ann-Marie, and Ann-Marie agreed.
- A week later, Gene received a
large package from Ann-Marie; in it was a large turtle
shell. Puzzled, Gene asked Ann-Marie for an
explanation. Ann-Marie's explanation was that in
a dream, she was the feather on the wing of an eagle soaring
in the skies. As the feather, she was separated from
the eagle, and down, down she floated to the ground and
ended up in a hollow dark spot. After recovering from
the fall, she dusted herself off, and found that she had
fallen through the top of, and landed within, the turtle
shell, and at that time she knew that the round house would
be turtle shaped.
- The developer and webmaster of
this site initially heard about the turtle shaped
roundhouse, went looking for turtle pictures, and found many
interesting and fascinating turtle pictures to share;
in particular, the busy racing turtle that appears on the
top left hand corner of the pages of this website was most
interesting. Most people have either loved it or hated
it, but it has always provoked a reaction. Since her
daughter Kanyon loved it, Ann-Marie invoked executive
privilege and so it is staying.
- And that is how the racing turtle
got onto the pages of this web site, and why there is such a
strong turtle theme to this site.
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A Friend of
Indian Canyon built this website to raise awareness of the
proposed Village House in Indian Canyon. For further
information contact Ann Marie Sayers, tribal chairperson, by
email or phone at
831-637-4238. For information
about this website please contact
webmaster.
Revised:
03/17/08.
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