Today is the day. Today is the first day of the Okiciyap Quilt Auction - the day that bidding begins.
It will be remembered in different ways by those who read and participate - some may make note of it and come back later, while others may eagerly jump into the fray. As with all things, a beginning is but a moment in time that denotes the start of something. It reminds me of a quote, variants of which appeared in each of the starting chapters of Robert Jordan's
Wheel of Time series:
The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again. In one Age, called the Third Age by some, an Age yet to come, an Age long past, a wind rose in the Mountains of Mist. The wind was not the beginning. There are neither beginnings nor endings to the turning of the Wheel of Time. But it was a beginning.
That particular variant is of significant meaning for me, as the phrase "Mountains of Mist" reminds me strongly of the Native American family name of my friends BugBear and her father
Crow. Their name in Comanche is
Asetoyabe1 (which I may be completely mangling in my spelling), and it means something like "grey mountains" but along the lines of (by my poor comprehension) "mountains in the distance that appear grey as with the morning mist"...
I can't do the name justice, but I can at least grasp a semblance enough of the meaning to attempt to share it.
In any event, today is the day. Bidding starts for Okiciyap Quilt Auction; proceeds will benefit the Okiciyap Food Pantry on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation.
March 27 is more than a date on a calendar.2 It's a marker - a pointer to events past that comprise our collective history insofar as historical records (oral as well as written) go. Here's a couple of other significant events, for example, that also occurred on March 27 in years past:
- In 1866, President Johnson vetoed a civil rights bill that later went on to become the 14th amendment. Four years and three days later, on March 30 in 1870, the Fifteenth Amendment was ratified. It finally recognized the natural right of all men to vote, including Indians. Women continued to be second-class citizens.3
- In 1973, at the 45th Academy Awards, Marlon Brando turned down his Oscar for best actor to show his support for Native Americans. He asked the president of National Native American Affirmative Image Committee, Sacheen Littlefeather, to represent him and respectfully decline to accept the award on his behalf. (You can read more about it here: * New Day * - Your favorite Oscar moment? +REMINDER: Register for Netroots Nation 2013! by navajo and here: OSCAR MOMENTs ...from Marlon Brando to VAWA Have we learned anything? by LOrion)
Every moment of every day has significance for someone, somewhere, at some time.
For me, at this moment, on this day, I'm looking forward to inviting my friends to participate in the Okiciyap Quilt Auction. To those who are unable to participate, I invite them to help spread the word to others, to widen our circle of community and help bring about more awareness of the auction.
To those who would prefer to donate directly, there's a link at the bottom of the diary (over the mist-like orange squiggle) that will take you to the Okiciyap website's donation page, where donations can be made either through PayPal or by check.
As with Jordan's Wheel of Time quote, this auction is neither the beginning nor the end. But it is a beginning.
Make the jump to check out the rules, find links to past related diaries and to get to the direct donation link.
Thank you.
Namaste.
OKICIYAP QUILT AUCTION RULES 2013
1) Auction begins on Wednesday, March 27. Bids will first be accepted in the diary published by GreyHawk [this very diary]. The final day of the auction is Sunday, April 7, 2013, at approximately 7:00 p.m. CT. The last two+ hours of the auction will be held online from 5:00 p.m. central until 7 p.m. central in the DKQG diary. If no higher bids are posted by 7:10 p.m. the best bid before 7:00 p.m. central will be declared the winner.
1.1)The auction will end as soon as no higher bids are posted within 10 minutes of the highest bid received. Final bids will be decided by the time posted on the message. The decision of the judges on winning bid is final.
1.2)After the final bid is decided and the successful bidder notified, the donation to the pantry will be made, and once confirmed, BeadLady will send the quilt to the lucky winner! The pantry is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, this donation can be tax deductable.
2) Bids will be accepted by making comments in diaries, as well as by kosmailing weck and/or glorificus at any time to make arrangements for anonymous or absentee bidding.
2.1) If you wish to remain anonymous, you may set that up with weck or glorificus in advance, and we will use a number when we post your bids in a diary. (example = Anon-02)
2.2) If you want to leave an absentee bid, you may do that with either weck or glorificus. We will need to know the highest amount you are willing to bid and we will place those bids for you in 10 dollar increments as the bidding progresses throughout the auction. If the bidding goes higher than you first authorized, you may contact the same person again with a new top limit, or bid in the diaries. Absentee bids should be placed with weck or glorificus as far in advance as possible.
3) Bidding by groups or organizations is allowed, as long as only one contact name is used. Please let us know the details of your group or organization and who is the official spokesperson for the group or organization.
4) Bidding is in minimum increments of $10.00. You may bid in higher increments that can be divided evenly by $10.00.
4.1) Bids must be in U.S. funds.
5) weck and glorificus will do their best to inform all bidders of the newest high bid. To receive this information in you Kosmail box, please ask weck or glorificus to join Daily Kos Quilt Guild Auction Alliance group.
5.1) We will send groupmail to everyone (Each member will be made an editor for the duration of the auction) Reminder: A groupmail won't show up on your main page; you will have to check for messages manually.
6) A PayPal link will be included for other donations to Okiciyap. While we cherish the thought that you may choose to donate to Okiciyap during the auction, there is no advantage in the auction to doing that. It is not necessary to donate through the PayPal to Okiciyap to bid in the auction. To use the paypal link, click on the link that goes to the Okiciyap Pantry's new website. http://okiciyap.weebly.com/....
7) The winning bidder can make payment arrangements that are not through PayPal with weck or glorificus. We know that some folks don't use PayPal.
8) The winning bidder will have 48 hours to confirm their success. After 48 hours, the judges may, at their discretion, offer the second highest bidder the opportunity to redeem the quilt. The decision of the judges is final.
Previous Diaries in the Okiciyap Auction Series
Meteor Blades
BeadLady
Aji
Winifred3
Glen the Plumber
One Pissed Off Liberal
leu2500
Pam from Calif
Greyhawk
glorificus
Weck
If you cannot afford to bid on the quilt, or if you were outbid, you can contribute to Okiciyap here:
Okiciyap Food Pantry
P.O. Box 172
Isabel, S.D. 57633
Click here to go to the Okiciyap Pantry's new website or click the image below to go to their website's Donate page for their PayPal Donation Button:
Footnotes
1 Check out
Ojibwa's recent piece called
Indians 201: Renaming Indians for some insight on the topic of names...
2 Remember the significance of
calendars?
3 The 1870s were a hot mess with regard to civil rights, particularly relating to Native Americans, tribal sovereignty and Federal/State relationships with tribes. Via
Legends of America: Native American timeline:
March 3, 1871 Indian Appropriation Act - This Congressional Act specified that no tribe thereafter would be recognized as an independent nation with which the federal government could make a treaty. (From 1607 to 1776, at least 175 treaties had been signed with the British and colonial governments, and from 1778 to 1868, 371 treaties were ratified the US government.) All future Indian policies would not negotiated with Indian tribes through treaties, but rather would be determined by passing Congressional statutes or executive orders. Marking a significant step backwards, the act made tribal members wards of the state rather than preserving their rights as members of sovereign nations.