Curtis Zunigha Speaks at Ribbons of Hope Ceremony

Former Chief Curtis Zunigha offered an opening prayer at the “Ribbons of Hope” ceremony in Battery Park in New York City to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the September 11th attacks. The event was organized by Prepare New York, a coalition of New York based interfaith organizations that promotes healing and reconciliation in anticipation of the tenth anniversary of 9/11. The event, which featured 50,000 hand-written ribbons from people of all ages and backgrounds, took place along the Gardens of Remembrance in Battery Park, which is a short walk from Ground Zero.

According to an article in Newsday, “The panel of ribbons will travel throughout the city and will allow people to interact with each other and express their feelings,’ said Robert Chase, founding director of Intersections, which helped organize ‘Ribbons of Hope.’ Curtis Zunigha, 58, of Oklahoma, a member of the Delaware tribe of Native Americans, offered an opening prayer. ‘We turn to the Creator and ask from our own hearts and minds and pray that we may honor those who died and those who are working to make life better,’ said Zunigha, wearing traditional cultural clothing of his Lenape group. He said Americans will never forget 9/11 and reminded those at the ceremony that ‘our greatest vulnerability is ignorance.'”

For more information, please see http://www.newsday.com/911-anniversary/ribbonscalled-symbolic-and-emotional-1.3164545.