To the editor:

Recent letters from Richard Smith (Aug. 16) and George Lauppe (Aug. 8) seem to suggest that those opposed to paving the wetlands are making up stories that this place is spiritually important to Native Americans. I know otherwise.

In 2003, I made my way out to the center of the wetlands to attend a ceremony honoring Pvt. Lori Piestewa. This was shortly after she became the first woman soldier killed in the Iraq War. I have physical disabilities that make it very difficult to walk the half mile of rough puddled pathway out there. I carried a vial of holy water to celebrate the Catholic beliefs of that Hopi mother of two. I know Lori also believed that the spirits of her ancestors returned to the land in falling raindrops. She was born into the Water Clan. When an early snow fell at her memorial service, her brother said it was Lori’s spirit returning home.

The wetlands site was chosen in part because so many Haskell warriors had been sent off to battle from there with “War Journey” ceremonies, what Mr. Lauppe called “49 social dances.” Kiowa introduced other Haskell students to this tradition in the 1890s, back when government officials were determined to suppress it, especially among the young. I have been told it was about publicly expressing promises to those who go into harm’s way that they would never be forgotten.

I will certainly never forget the sense I had of standing in the midst of a place filled with spiritual power. It is hard to see how anyone could believe this wetlands would be the same, or better, with the South Lawrence Trafficway running through it.

Susan Tabor,

Lawrence