The Board of the Bi-National Committee of Solidarity with Indigenous People (BICSIP), met in my home a couple weeks ago. This is the name of our Mexican-American team that worked with the Huichol Indians in 2004 to help heal a childhood epidemic caused by sorcery.

I’ve written about this most astounding healing experience in my professional life (Schlagbytes: May 17, 24, 31, 2004); the magic of that experience has had a profound and lasting impact which continues to this day. Six people came together, each with specific skills and expertise, and found a way to tell a healing story with one voice. In our coming together, we also created the opportunity for the Huichol to make their circle whole and well again.

After our visit to the Huichol country five years ago, our organizer and driving force, Fernando Ortiz Monasterio, formed the BICSIP so we could get together periodically and use our influence to support the tribe. BICSIP petitioned the Mexican government to stop the building of a paved road deep into the inaccessible Huichol homeland because the tribe never approved construction of this road, and the government eventually relented.

At this year’s Board meeting, after our traditional welcoming ceremonies (which can last for days), we submitted another petition to the presidents of Mexico and the United States, on behalf of the Huicholes. We encouraged President Obama to adopt the 2007 United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People.

This declaration supports the respect for human rights, non-discrimination, and good governance, for indigenous people; it also includes the good faith that sacred relics and skeletal remains be returned to the indigenous tribes from where they were obtained (almost always without tribal approval). The UN declaration was signed by 143 member nations; only the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand refused.

The American Museum of Natural History and the Smithsonian, among others, hold more than 20,000 Huichol sacred objects and remains. These are revered because of their spiritual significance which keeps their communities whole. This is a good time for us to join the community of nations to honor and respect our indigenous relatives.

On May 18-29, 2009, the U.N. Permanent Council on Indigenous People will meet in New York City, and we hope the United States will sign on to the resolution. Fernando, our beloved “driver,” will be there to present our petition and also to suggest that the BICSIP would be willing couriers to return the Huichol treasures. We are shamelessly committed to continue going back to the Sierra Madres, so that we can keep working on ourselves.

Do you remember in those old Western movies, the Marshall was chasing outlaws who were trying to make it to Mexico? If they made across the border, the Marshal would abruptly pull up his horse, announcing he was out of his jurisdiction. The fugitives had escaped into a place of sanctuary.

With cell phones and computers, there are few places to escape to anymore that guarantee sanctuary from pursuers. A couple of weeks ago, I managed to escape with one of my closest friends, affectionately known as The Cosmic Peg. Twenty years ago, we would regularly escape for three and four day camping trips. Over the last several years, however, it’s become harder for us to get away; but even if we have only a day and night, we can still manage to escape.

Our first escape was into the Waffle House. We retreated from the world of healthful food into an orgy of fat and carbs. If you go to the Waffle House during certain hours, you can order unlimited food, and it’s made to order. They’ll make you pancakes, waffles, eggs with home-fried potatoes smothered in onions and covered with cheese, a bowl of grits, chili, and a cheeseburger. By the time you finish, your face is beginning to get numb, your eyelids are drooping, and your bowels are screaming for mercy.

We continued our escape three miles down a dirt road to a secret hot spring that we know. After days of rain, the road was inches deep in mud and we were lucky to get out. We ended up at Tonto Natural Bridge State Park which features the world’s largest travertine bridge — 180 feet high, 400 feet long and about 100 feet thick on top.

Mid-week and mid-winter, in a drizzling rain, and we were here alone; we had crossed the border, and without pursuers. We descended into the narrow gorge of exposed sandstone, contrasting vegetation, and lots of birds, into a magical world of waterfalls, deep pools, and hidden caves; it is a world that makes the awesome visible.

No matter how hard it is to escape from your ordinary world, there is always a way to find a place where the only sound is falling rain. Where the afternoon sun creates a stroboscopic effect so you can watch a single drop of water fall for hours, and nobody can find you except yourself.