Abused Pit Bull dog

GANDHI’S WORDS ~ The greatness of a nation is measured by how it treats the Animals.”

SO WHAT CAN WE SAY ABOUT THE GREATNESS OF THE UNITED STATES?

Dog fighting is illegal in all the states, but despite the law, it rampantly goes on. It is hidden as all violence to life is, it is BIG MONEY…..often the driver of immense violence since this country was established, and it is the cause of immeasurable suffering to our DOMESTIC DOGS.

Our domestic dogs…who go to war for us, who help the blind see, who protect children from seizures, and give us unabashed companionship in our isolating world. And this is the thanks we give them….. THEY HAVE NO VOICE…..and there is no punishment for those who heap this suffering on them.

BUT….. on the other hand, the Internet is full of stories detailing amazing and compassionate people who will respond to the suffering of A PARTICULAR DOG…ONE DOG.  So those connections are truly there inside us!  There are many of those ONE DOGS out there.

And one of those ONE dogs is Coyote!   Like our domestic dogs who suffer at the hands of humans, COYOTE also does. In fact, violent humans pit our domestic dogs against our wild ones, using them to chase down and kill Coyotes and Wolves. This is the ultimate betrayal to the canine species.

Coyote has NO voice but yours! There is NO punishment for the cruelty heaped on them.  So let yourself be that human who responds to their suffering….and ACT.  Each Coyote who suffers is ONE wild dog who is waiting for you to speak up.

GANDHI’S WORDS~ May we evolve to be truly human!

Split Rock by Richard Letham

This poignant work of art by renowned Maine artist Richard Letham can be viewed along with 49 other extraordinary works of art at the University of New England’s Gallery in Portland, Maine. The exhibition titled “Coyote Connections” will be up for our communities to experience until January 15, 2015.

We asked each artist to write a reflection regarding their art piece, and the following is his:

“In pondering your challenge ((he speaks of “challenge” as our invitation to participate in this special exhibit), it was first necessary to read the book you recommended on Coyote behavior for background information(that book is The Voice of the Coyote by Frank Dobie).  Then a thorough immersion into Coyote Reader by William Bright to absorb the legendary myths passed down mostly from the Native American point of view.

That provoked me to re-read “Black Elk Speaks” and “Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee” which rekindled my outrage at our history of genocide and loss of the Indian environmental wisdom.

The resulting large painting called “Split Rock” refers to one of those Native American legends which predicts the emergence of a new world paradigm of peace and appreciation for life on earth when the rock splits.”

And so this artist set Coyote in the context of that “split rock” ……Coyote comes before us and speaks…..”How will you continue to treat me….for how you treat me predicts the measure of the emergence of the new world paradigm.”

“Open Season” by Sandra Crowell

Artists from all over Maine are participating in the University of New England Gallery exhibition ~ “Coyote Connections”  October 9, 2014 to January 15, 2015 in Portland, Maine.

This powerful piece, created by artist Sandra Crowell, depicts numerous Coyote pelts displayed after their slaughter. But in front of the pelts stands a beautiful Coyote staring out at you…..maybe she is asking “Why?”

Each artist was asked to write a short reflection on their art piece. And this is Sandra’s~

“Bait and shoot, leg or neck hold trap and shoot, chase them down with dogs and shoot, all year long, night or day, no bag limit! Come, quench your blood lust, and pose for photos that make you look like a real hunter.”

Here she reflects what many, many Maine people have shared with me ….that those who slaughter Coyotes relentlessly have nothing to do with real Maine hunting….they dishonor the tradition!

Jaguars and Coyotes have much in common~

Both live only in the New World…the Jaguar in South and Central America, and limited areas
of Southwestern United States. The Coyote in North and Central America.

Both are very old species that have survived the Pleistocene time when the great Glaciers
covered large areas of the earth, and the climate was erratic and extreme. Many others succumbed…but they found a way to survive.
Both are smaller than their larger counterparts: the jaguar smaller than the lion or cheetah; the coyote smaller than the wolf.

Both have a diverse diet…not relying on only one kind of food

Both have been Icons to the Native peoples of the New World. The following are the words of present day Native people~
Words of the indigenous peoples of Costa Rica, the Cahecar: “The Jaguar is weaker now (referring to all the persecution and killing of this great cat) all the animals are weaker, so the world is weaker……people are much weaker too.”

Words of Native American poet Dell Hynes regarding Coyote: “Never will he go from this Land, here always, this is how Coyote is on the land.”

“The Ghosts of Evergreen Cemetery by Mark McCullough

Coyote Comes to Portland, Maine!

In a wonderful collaborative effort, the University of New England Gallery in Portland, Maine, 31 artist from all over the state and myself offer to our communities……“Coyote Connections.”  This very special exhibit will be up for our communities to experience from October 9, 2014 until January 15, 2015

This unique art exhibition is all about Coyote’s connections, or you could say, relationships here in Maine (and all over our American continent). Our very talented Maine artists express these relationships through their thoughtful, powerful, and beautiful works.

Here is just one example ~ a large oil painting by Mark McCullough. Each artist was asked to write a short reflection of their work. And here is his ~

“Resilient and clever, eastern coyotes thrive in downtown Portland and other eastern cities.  Last winter I tracked a family group in the snow in Evergreen Cemetery adjacent to the University of New England campus.  Like ghosts, their tracks weaved through the Victorian tombstones. Coyote will be here long after we are gone.”

Other intelligent and socially complex species share this same experience as Coyotes…..

This book you see here the Last Chain on Billie touches deeply on the words of Frank Dobie. I highly encourage everyone to read this book. The author, Carol Bradley follows the life of Billie, and Asian elephant stolen from his mother as a baby, and details the 50 years of abuse and suffering at the hands of the Circus. But it is also about the lives of hundreds of these highly intelligent social beings (like Coyote) who have experienced the intolerable suffering at the hands of humans.

OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH WILD BEINGS HAS A GREAT DEAL TO DO WITH OUR PERCEPTIONS OF OURSELVES……Why is it that as a society we allow the imprisonment and suffering of wild beings? We allow their imprisonment for our entertainment…..like Elephants and Killer whales, and we allow the slaughter of those who are free like Coyotes and Wolves, punishing them for their freedom……

WHAT DO WE WANT TO TEACH OUR CHILDREN?  Taking our children to be entertained by imprisoned and suffering wild beings teaches our children one thing……it teaches about relationships with them that express a deep lack of respect for who they really are…..and for who we really are.

wolf killers

Historians teach us that we need to look to the PAST for us to understand the PRESENT……

So here are two photos…one from the PAST  and one from the PRESENT~

First of all, both photos are taken of very violent people who HATE someone they do not even know. The Klu Klux Klan …our African Americans ; The wolf killers who hate all carnivores

Second…neither of these violent people want to show their faces why????

Third….instruments of their violence proudly displayed~ the Past…the noose, the Present…the gun

Fourth…as an American citizen I find it intolerable that they stand behind our FLAG….THEY ARE THE FURTHEREST THING FROM A PATRIOT…THEY ARE THE VIOLENT EXPRESSION OF HATE IN A WORLD LONGING FOR RESPECT AND PEACE.

It is time…..that Americans cease to tolerate this violence to our wildlife.

What kind of world do you wish to hand down to your children? Speak up to your legislators! Let them hear your voice.

Klu Klux Klan

photo by Christine Hanrahan

HUNTING SEASON IN MAINE HAS ARRIVED

If these two Coyote mates could speak…what would they say to you….

If you are a landowner in Maine, and you have a Coyote family living on your land…they are creating a healthy landscape for you to live on…..for all they do to keep your land healthy, they would ask this of you, “Protect us from those who seek to kill us.”

Until the laws of Maine protect this important carnivore, Coyote….

YOU PROTECT THEM

During hunting season, welcome our real and ethical hunters on your land if you wish. But as a landowner I encourage you to BE THE LAW ON YOUR LAND and not allow those who would kill coyotes for the fun of it, and have their dogs chase Coyotes to their death…and then tear them apart.

When that activity happens on your Land….what happens to you…inside….?

photo by Janet Kessler

“We shall take your Land…and you will soon disappear.”

This is how the white man that came to the American continent thought and spoke regarding our Native Americans here in Maine ~ the Penobscots, the Paasamaquoddy, the Micmacs and the Maliseets (and Native Americans across this continent).

They did steal their land, but our Native people did not disappear. And here in Maine, our Native Americans lead the way to a rebirth of their people in the last quarter of the 20th century.

And it just so happens that in that last quarter of the 20th century, Coyote expanded their range to Maine and beyond. The white man had said the same of our carnivores, “That we will take away your habitat, and we will kill you, and you will disappear.” Sadly many of our carnivores live on the brink of existence due to this continued behavior of the white man.

But not Coyote! Coyote is a great symbol of the rebirth of our Native people in Maine…..together they have survived and will not disappear. So Coyote is like the New Wolf  for our Native people who once lived with wolf here in Maine. In fact, Coyote may be carrying the wolf genetics of the descendants of those who once lived here….picked up on their journey through Canada.

Coyote is a great symbol of REBIRTH of our Native People…… and if we are open…. a rebirth for each one of us……

portrait by Geoffrey Vollers

HUNTING SEASON IS HERE IN MAINE…..

Over a 100 years ago, hunting regulations were put in place here in Maine….for two reasons…

The first reason~ to protect wildlife populations from the “free for all” exploitation Europeans placed on all our wildlife. If not, there would be no wildlife to hunt today.

The second reason ~ to henceforth control human behavior toward our wildlife in the form of limited hunting times and numbers to be hunted.

The result ~ Real Maine subsistence hunters are able to hunt today.

Who do you ask are the real Maine hunters? And I have met many of them….. They are the hunters who RESPECT the animal they are killing, they kill them HUMANELY, they EAT THEIR BODIES …no waste.

SO WHAT ARE THE HUNTING REGULATIONS REGARDING COYOTE?

* Year round killing, with no restrictions regarding the number an individual can kill.

* Kill them any way you want.

* Killing during the night year round with the exception of a short time from September through December.

* Coyote killing games for fun and sport are permitted.

* The use of Coyote’s fellow domestic dogs to chase them down and kill them is permitted.

Are these hunting regulations …. or…. are they permission for exploitation? Why do we allow this abuse?

LOOK INTO THE SEARCHING EYES OF THIS PORTRAIT OF COYOTE asking, “WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO US?”