William Commanda Quotes
We must come together with one heart, one mind, one love and one determination.
Commanda, William. Quoted in Thumbadoo, Romola V. Circle of All Nations: A Culture of Peace. Circle of All Nations, 2005.
Hall’s novel was banned in England and America on obscenity grounds for the quoted sentence. The characters were both women and the veiled implication of possible sex between two women was then considered pornography per se. The New York Judge who found the publisher guilty said “the book tends to debauch public morals.” The guilty verdict was overturned on appeal. As a result of the “negative publicity” the book sold over 1 million copies in the author’s lifetime and was translated into 11 languages. Suppression had the effect of giving the book enormous publicity which is often true in censorship cases. If nothing else, people want to see what the society says that they should not read.
He had been exiled to the United States. The “house divided” phrase was probably suggested by Abraham Lincoln’s famous speech of 1958 (see {619494}) although they both probably referenced the Biblical references of Mark 3:25; also Matthew 12:25. The Irish radicals followed the American political scene intently at the time.
William Commanda OC (Algonquin name: Ojshigkwanàng, normally written Ojigkwanong, meaning "Morning Star") was an Algonquin elder, spiritual leader, and promoter of environmental stewardship. Commanda served as Band Chief of the Kitigàn-zìbì Anishinàbeg First Nation near Maniwaki, Quebec, from 1951 to 1970. In his life, he worked as a guide, a trapper and woodsman, and was a skilled craftsman and artisan who excelled at constructing birch bark canoes. He was Keeper of several Algonquin wampum shell belts, which held records of prophecies, history, treaties and agreements. In 2008, Commanda was appointed to the rank of officer of the Order of Canada.
