The Native American Chief Joseph RiverWind and his wife, Laralyn arrived Sunday for a tour of Samaria. Chief RiverWind is the Peace Chief of the Arawak Taino Nation.
The two, who came from the United States, visited factories in the Barkan industrial zone, took in the view from Har Bracha (Mount of Blessing) of Joseph's Tomb in Shechem (Nablus), and tasted local Samaria wines at the award-winning Har Bracha winery.
In a meeting with the head of the Samaria Regional Council, Yossi Dagan, RiverWind revealed the warm feelings of the Native American community towards the State of Israel in general and Judea and Samaria in particular. He said that the story of the Jewish people and their return to their land is an inspiration for them and gives them hope for their own future.
RiverWind said: "It is an honor for us to be here and to meet such wonderful people, the people of this land. Your story, the people of Israel, gives us a lot of hope. Your return to your language, your land, your return to your spirituality. For Native Americans this is an exciting success story."
"We share a similar story. They took from us our language, our identity, our land, and here there is the story of returning to Israel. It is an honor for us to be in Samaria and to encourage people in America and overseas to support Israel, including Samaria, to speak against the BDS movement and to support any way to help Israel, we are doing what we can to stop the propaganda and the Israel.
He added: "The Arab occupation must be stopped and Samaria should be returned to the Jewish people as they have restored Jerusalem and the rest of the country to its owners." The two played and sang a traditional Native American song, which they wrote and composed especially for the celebrations marking the 70th anniversary of Israel's independence.
"It's exciting to see leaders from all over the world come to Israel, come to Samaria and identify with the story of the Jewish people," Dagan said. "This is something that happens to us quite a bit despite the attempts to demonize this area and the people living here. Many leaders see and hear beyond these attempts and come here to get to know better and connect. What we see is the realization of the prophets ' vision as a reality."
Last week, the Seneca Nation, a Native American nation in New York State, celebrated "the 70th Anniversary of Israel's Independence."
The proclamation stated that "the Seneca Nation and the State of Israel share in common a passion for freedom and a willingness to fight for and defend our sovereignty and our shared right to be a free and independent people."