(^66) A Wiccan Bible
n June 26 2002, a 73-year-old widow, grandmother, and Cherokee, by the
name of Barbara Crandell, was arrested while praying, sitting on a sacred site
of her ancestors in Newark, Ohio, a site where she had gone to pray for over
20 years. That sacred site is the worlds largest—note: I did not say one of, but
the world’s largest—earthworks. In reference to its world significance, it has
been called the Stonehenge of America. Various attempts to date it have resulted in an
age of between 2,000 and 5,000 years of age. Described as a problem when it comes to
the history of North America, the Octagonal Earthworks of Newark, Ohio, were not
originally built by the Cherokee. Certainly the Cherokee adopted it and used it as sa-
cred ground long before those who currently use it, but the truth is that at this time we
cannot be 100-percent sure who built it.
Although she had with her a copy of the lease that grants the current users permis-
sion to use the site only if they keep it ‘open to the public at all times,’ the folk currently
using that land seem to think that ‘all times’ means the four days of the year on which
the site is ‘open to the public.’ But that fact did not impede her taunting and arrest:
“They cuffed her hands behind her back and ordered her up. When she
couldn’t rise, she said, they dragged her to her feet. Snapshots show a ladder of
fingerprints down her bruised arms.” (From The Columbus Dispatch, July 19
2002, describing Barbara Crandell, written by Barbara Carmen)
How did we get to the place in which our COPs, our Champions of the People,
believe it is acceptable behavior to handcuff, drag, and bruise a 73-year-old grand-
mother because she decided to pray on the sacred ground of her ancestors? Was her
crime really so horrible that the police could not wait until she was done praying before
they inflicted her bruises? Despite the letter of the lease and the statements by the
Ohio Historical Society found in literature and their Websites over and over again that
the Octagon Earthworks are open year round, Barbara Crandell was found guilty of
trespassing. The Ohio Historical Society declined comment on the verdict.^1
So what is this Eighth Man-Made Wonder of the World currently used for? Real-
izing the site had great significant meaning, it was purchased with public money in
- Eventually it was leased to a country club, which did not sit very well with many
folk, so the matter came before the courts of Ohio who ruled that because the property
was of such significant historic value, that it be deeded to the Ohio Historic Society.
With what seems like very questionable wisdom, the Ohio Historic society then
leased the land back to the country club until the year 2078. While one might think the
Ohio Historic Society had the forethought of preserving the site and keeping it open to
the public, great amounts of damage have now been done to the land in the Country
Clubs efforts to maintain and expand their spacious golf course.
So why did someone handcuff, drag, and bruise a 73-year-old widowed grandmother?
Because someone wanted to play golf. Why isn’t the letter of the lease respected, al-
lowing the public access to this sacred site on a more regular basis? Because someone
wanted to play golf. How can historic sites be purchased with our tax money and then
used for a country club? Because someone wanted to play golf.
O
j WB Chap 03.p65 66 7/11/2003, 5:48 PM