Fran Dancing Feather

Many indigenous peoples around the world believe that we can help each other heal from any affliction of the body, mind or spirit by using prayers, natural medicines from the earth and other components of ceremony. These beliefs for many of us, are older than any of us can remember. The skills of healing ceremonies have been carefully guarded and passed from one generation to another throughout the ages for thousands of years. The words and actions of various rituals have been held sacred and very private for most Tribal members and extended families. It is insulting, dangerous and disrespectful when these rituals are copied and corrupted by others who attempt to steal them for profit and recognition. Just last year, a non-native man from our area was arrested for attempting to imitate a Native American ritual that was performed outside Tribal or even Inter-tribal protocol without consulting local Tribal elders. As the result the innocent attendees were charged nine thousand dollars apiece and instructed to trust his leadership without question. Three of them died! The fake “spiritual guru” was jailed and the native community spoke out harshly against his actions in the media. This was a great tragedy and a valuable lesson for everyone. Ancient Tribal culture is not a game or a fantasy. It is to be practiced only under the direction of the Tribal elders being represented. Read the rest of this entry »

Kateri Tekakwitha was one of the victims of the genocide imposed by the early settlers of New England around the year 1660. Her people received blankets that were infected with smallpox and she fell ill and nearly died at the tender age of four years old. The outbreak of the disease killed her brother and both parents and many others of her Mohawk Tribesmen and women. She recovered but her face was severely disfigured and she was left with other resulting physical problems as well. At her Catholic baptism, she was given the name Kateri Tekakwitha, which means “one who puts things in order”. Kateri was shunned by members of her Tribe because of her conversion but she loved the Creator and did not back down to criticism. She devoutly practiced her Tribal traditional spirituality in combination with Catholicism. The virtues of her Tribal loyalty combined with Catholic obedience have served as an ecumenical bridge for many native Americans who feel shunned or discriminated against by early Christians. She is the patron of the environment and ecology, a cause for which many American Indian people, is the very root of our spirituality. She died April 17, 1680. Miraculous events occurred at the moment of her death which qualified her to be considered for Sainthood. Pope Benedict XVI approved her canonization and this year she will become an official Saint. Read the rest of this entry »

The droning sound of powerful jet engines changes to more of a whine as the plane makes it’s final descent over a land of hundreds of deep water lakes and pristine wilderness areas into the airport of a city divided by one of the largest rivers in the country. We will travel by car across a thousand miles of Indian reservations from here into a small native community in Canada. The entire journey is one of great purpose that will nurture me throughout time, in ways I could never imagine. I have no idea of the events that lay ahead or why I would be taken through such a powerful rights-of passage in just a few short days. The driver who would pick me up at the airport knew but I did not. The younger native man is tall with short hair and he meets me at the luggage claim area, carrying a cardboard sign with my name painted on it. I laugh to see my name appear this way and the grin on my new friend’s face. I had wondered why I was asked to make this long trip ahead by land, in a car, instead of flying directly into Canada. I had been asked to serve the people in a particular way and I was concerned but had surrendered to a new adventure. Now it is in the hands of my Creator. Read the rest of this entry »

Before European contact the people lived in harmony with the seasons of the year. The four seasons of the earth each present unique degrees of difficulty. In today’s modern world ,we have lost the awareness and necessity of honoring the cycles of nature. Little effort is needed to move with the heartbeat of Creation. Read the rest of this entry »

The subliminal place within us is beneath the hardwood floor of our consciousness. The subliminal is the unconscious behavior, desires and the place of dreams. For deep healing to occur, it does best to sink beneath the consciousness of our daily reality. It can be an exciting journey to try to discover all the ways Creation attempts to reach inside us to create miraculous events. The most romantic and powerful poetry is written in the natural world. Read the rest of this entry »

We were committed. The fire had been lit at sunset that would burn throughout the deepest, coldest and longest night of the year. It was the Solstice time when we would honor the frozen earth. We were committed to stand barefoot on the icy ground around the fire and pray. These are ancient scared rites and if they are done properly, no one suffers but all are renewed by the experience of the ceremony. Holy herbs are offered and burned as we sing in a language that is nearly forgotten in the modern world. We were near the top of the sacred mountain where the Creator is known by the local Tribe (in English) as the “Greatness of All Things”. We were sober natives from various Tribes and we made our prayers in the wilderness where we would remain unobserved by outsiders. The purpose of our prayers was for the next seven generations of the keepers of the mother earth, to have the strength to endure the coldest winds of winter and keep our traditions alive. They were also for our elders to survive this years winter purification and for our ancestors who have gone before us. Read the rest of this entry »

The icy cold dawn kisses my cheeks with the blush of the Winter Purification. Bundled tight in snow gear, I walk fast to the upper mesa. Heavy dark clouds hide the sunrise and morning barely glows awake with the threat of a blizzard. Occasional shafts of purple illuminate the road and what is left of the dead leaves of sycamore and mulberry. Ah, the ever-living pines that grace the top of the trail are silhouetted black instead of green against a steel colored sky. My heart pounds with the accelerated walking, my commitment to a strong durable winter body. I will prevail over the cold months and honor the purification time. Slim and seemingly delicate deer pass by bounding through the brush. Long ago my ancestors lived in longhouses in the northeastern woodlands without forced-air heating or memory-foam beds. They hunted the fat deer and elk and walked everywhere. We are made for walking and honoring the seasons, whatever they may bring. We were made to respect the mother earth and all her passing moods of change. Read the rest of this entry »

We are not physical beings having a spiritual experience but rather spiritual beings having a physical experience. Our spirits are eternal and our experiences are transitory. We are on a journey—a physical journey that is a part of forever. If we change the world in even the smallest way, let that change bear the mark of our love and foreverness. If we see ourselves as eternal, we are more likely to relax and enjoy the ride instead of becoming stressed and anxious in the use of our time. When we loose ourselves to resentments and shame, we waste those precious moments and hours of life that we could have spent happy, joyous and free. We are all plagued by grudges at times but we have the 12 steps to overcome these things. There are no unique resentments. They are all the same. They are fueled by the fear that we will not get something we want or that we will loose something we cherish. Loosing things we love and not always getting what we want is life-on-life’s terms. We learn in recovery to strive for success but to leave the outcome to our Creator. Read the rest of this entry »

The earth is a gift from our Creator and it is our responsibility to do all we can to protect and defend her for as long as the next seven generations. She gives us every material thing there is. She provides both the products of nature and the elemental ingredients for everything man-made as well. She is the keeper of the sacred medicines—the herbal remedies, fruits and vegetables, grains and spices. Shaken Skunk said that every medicine to cure every single illness of humanity, both known illnesses and unknown illnesses, exists within a two-square-mile area of any mountain slope. The medicine healer knows where, when and how to harvest them. She said that when the harvester is worthy, the medicines they require will be revealed to them. If the harvester is not of “good spiritual heart” the medicines will hide from them. The earth also provides building materials for our homes and furniture and fibers for cloth used to make clothing. The earth provides animals for us to hunt and eat and use the hides for drums, warm clothes, moccasins and the bones for tools. She provides minerals and the elements of fire, water and wind. If we follow the seasons and watch the night sky, we will know when to plant and harvest, rest and work. Read the rest of this entry »

The Cherokee have a saying; “Listen! Or your tongue will make you deaf.”

Listening is a ceremony, only when we listen with our whole attention. It is a time for gathering seeds of wisdom. We can go out in nature where the wilderness is pristine, to the quietest place we can find. We can sit there and listen to the quiet until it becomes filled with the secret sounds of Creation. Listen until the business in our head becomes less busy. Listen to the tiny sounds of the earth. A bird in the distance or tiny creatures moving through the woodlands can capture our senses if we become quiet enough. If we listen deeply we can hear our own breathing and feel the beat of our own heart. This is meditation. There may be water nearby or a breeze in the leaves or pine needles or the sound of footfalls on bark as a squirrel scampers towards the treetop. Read the rest of this entry »