In light of a recent article written by Karen Brittingham-Edmond for Echo Press (New Jersey's oldest Black-owned newspaper), I have decided it is high time that Beyond Clouds' supporters receive an update on what we know about the murder of our beloved Muriyd 'Two Clouds'.
Much of what will be stated has already been expressed in various videos created by me, his mother, but here you will find details in one place. Please understand that very little can be shared at this time as we remain hopeful that the murderer/s and conspirators of Two Clouds will soon be brought to justice in a court of law. Therefore, most of what is known must be protected. Rest assured, as soon as we are able, the full truth and all players involved in this horrendous act- whether they were hands-on or wilfully withheld information- will be exposed publicly.
Friday, July 1, 2022
Two Clouds drove to Massachusetts for an annual powwow, but most importantly, for a meeting with Indigenous dignitaries to solicit assistance in ridding his tribe of a fellow Native who had been harassing and terrorizing the Ramapough people for years. He had recently shown up onto the land issuing threats. Many tribal members- including women and elders- were apparently afraid of this menace who *insists the Ramapough are not true Indians and therefore not the rightful owners of the land which they claim. Two Clouds had been voted in as war chief a few weeks before, so it was his job to bring an end to the persistent and unwarranted persecution in as peaceful and quiet a manner as possible. Unfortunately, the meeting was either cancelled or never set up; that aspect of the trip was a bust.
Along for the journey were at least two of three people constantly in Two Clouds' space- two men and one woman. From this point on they will be referred to as S1 (the murderer), S2 (the woman), and S3 (the sidekick). S1 and S2 were with him that weekend.
Saturday, July 2, 2022
This day was somewhat documented on Two Clouds' Instagram page. He spent much of this time alone in New England woods, walking and exploring creation, as he often loved to do. There is unnarrated footage of him sharing his findings with IG followers. He also visited the Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center where he recorded additional footage of expansive dioramas and exhibits. In one video he stated, "This museum is crazy. I've been in many a museum, but never one like this," as he began schooling us all on the prehistoric mastodon and its relation to his Indigenous Lenape ancestors.
Later, he made his way back to New Jersey and spent time with a friend before retreating to the 14-acre religious land that he secured for the tribe when he first moved to the reservation to help the people fight against forces that were steadily moving in to steal the only parcel of land they owned. Two Clouds had set up a tent, and besides occasional supporters who came to camp out a night or two from time to time, he stayed there alone for months- until finally a Mohawk elder came down from Akwasasne Indian Reservation to accompany him permanently- defying ruling after ruling that he needed to abandon his position as surrounding wealthy neighbors demanded. (We will revisit this in detail another day.)
Two Clouds absolutely loved being on that land. It was his peaceful place, where he communed with nature, and prayed to Creator. It is where he found himself through his Ramapough ancestors, and where he met his fate.
That night he went there to relax as he always did; to look at the stars in wonder. At some point, S1 and S3 joined him, and according to their initial testament, stayed with him until 1:30 am Sunday morning, hanging out. (Remember this information.)
Sunday, July 3, 2022
Two Clouds was in contact with friends and family via text throughout the morning. He was in Mahwah on the Ramapough reservation solely because he was waiting for the phone call to pick up his toddler son so they could go to a children's birthday party together. Two Clouds was extremely excited to spend time with his son in such a setting because it had been only recently that they he had been allowed to be together. He had gone out of his way to make sure he would be in town to not miss the meeting, and he and his son's mom were communicating until right before noon when he abruptly stopped replying.
No one has heard from him since then.
Although Two Clouds had not shown up for his son nor called with an explanation or to cancel (neither of which he would have done), no one seemed to have been concerned. His son's mom has stated that she tried calling Sunday when he had not replied to multiple texts, but when her calls were met with an automated "We're sorry. The person you are trying to call cannot be reached at this time" she chalked it up to irresponsibility and waited for him to eventually show up.
Monday, July 4, 2022
No word from Two Clouds (day two).
Information has been received by the family that claims S1 phoned down to the Ramapough reservation allegedly from Akwasasne, arbitrarily asking if anything was "going on down there". That was apparently uncommon for him to do. When it was asked if Two Clouds was with him (as he was almost always with Two Clouds, even when he was not invited) he simply said no and hanged up. Several people found that to be quite strange.
Tuesday, July 5, 2022
No word from Two Clouds (day three).
It is by this time that I realized I had not heard from my son in a few days. We had spoken twice Saturday afternoon, and he confided in me several tribal issues with several tribal members that he was dealing with, still. It was not unusual for us to go more than two days without talking nor was it unusual for us to talk daily, but I knew he had been traveling. Normally, he would contact me to let me know he was safe, or quite often, send his digital location with a text giving particulars. He would certainly call and let me know he returned from his travels, especially since we talked about him possibly coming home for two weeks when he finished his business that weekend. There was nothing, so I phoned him and received what I suppose was the same automated response that answered his son's mother.
That was odd. Very odd. I knew for a fact that he had paid his phone bill a week and a half before, yet the message seemed to mean that his phone was off, had no service. That didn't seem right, but I didn't know what it meant. I waited for a call.
Wednesday, July 6, 2022
No word from Two Clouds (day four).
Receiving no call from my son, I called him twice that day and got the same message. I began to worry because it was totally abnormal for him to not contact me via Facebook or Instagram if something was wrong with his phone, letting me know to not worry.
Something was definitely wrong.
I went to his Facebook page and commented, "Call your mother."
Approximately four o'clock that afternoon I received a call from my daughter. The mother of Two Clouds' son had messaged her asking if she had heard from her brother; he had not come by on Sunday as they had planned. I immediately started to panic. My daughter told me to calm down, that it didn't mean he was in trouble. I knew better because there was no way on earth he would not show up to see his son nor call in four days to apologize or explain what kept him away. Firstly, he adored his son beyond words. To see them together- how they looked at each other, played, taught and learned from one another- was the epitome of love. Secondly, it took him two years to be able to see his son, and there was nothing short of death or imprisonment that could possibly cause him to break their date.
I disconnected from the call and tried to hush my pounding heart. Soon after my daughter and I ended our conversation she texted me a screenshot of a second message from the mother. Someone had told her that a drowned body was pulled from the river, and no one could get Two Clouds on the phone. I knew without a doubt that my son was dead.
I began sobbing and calling out to Creator to let it not be true that my child, my baby was gone. I ran to get my car keys and dashed out the door to begin the longest three hours I had ever experienced in my life. I called every important person I could think of as I sped down the interstate: our imam, my cousin, my best friends, my surrogate mother. Each time one of them answered their phone I screamed out between sobs, "OUR BABY IS DEAD!! THEY KILLED OUR BABY!! THEY KILLED OUR BABY!!" I knew immediately that my first-born child, Muriyd- Two Clouds- had absolutely, without a doubt been murdered.
And it was apparent to me that it had been done by someone close who could easily get to him.
* Two Clouds has proven in court multiple times that the Ramapough are who they say they are, and that they are indeed the original inhabitants of the land, by using deeds and treaties. In fact, the court reissued dozens of acres of land back to the Ramapough because he was able to prove ownership. As we all know, there is no way such prime real estate would have been returned without proving, unequivocally, that the land belonged to the Ramapough. Their having the good sense to incorporate is not proof of falsehood on their part. Accusations to the contrary are unfounded, and frankly, absurd.