Being Spiritual and Indian

[Dave]

My Spirit Soars
A Cherokee/Sioux Woman Talks about Being Spiritual and Being Indian
by Amy Walker

What is it all about?
What does it mean to be a Native person? Who are we? I am always asking these questions. I think the answers will be revealed to me slowly, over time. But one thing I know --we are a spiritual beings. You can peel back all the different ways we worship: It is all the same. It's about loving, caring, and treating people with respect. it is about looking inward at our own personal journey.

My First Spiritual Connection
We call it having a "relationship with God" or sometimes being "born again." But it was more than that for me. I had a spiritual connection to the Creator. I learned to look inside myself, to find the Creator there, and depend on the Creator for guidance, support, strength, wisdom, knowledge and all the things I couldn't do for myself.

Let me describe it this way: The feeling from God/Creator is like a fountain that comes up. It bubbles up through you, through your body and out your head.

Worship at sweat lodge, stomp dance, church
It was then that my beliefs started to change. or, more accurately, the way I express my beliefs have changed. I would say that I have practiced traditional spirituality. I lead sweat lodges. I practice Cherokee water treatments.

I am friends withe the local ministers, and we all help each other. i get the same sence of spirit whether i am in a sweat lodge, at a stomp dance, or in a church.

Taking care of our spirit, talking to God/Creator, going for a walk in the woods, following the 12 steps -- we do what works for us. but we must do something. We cannot be physically healthy without nurturing our Spirit.

Take care of the Spirit. join hands with other spiritual people. When I do this, the Creator enters me. my knees get shaky with joy. I know my Spirit wants to dance.

Finding the Spirit in our own way
by Dinah Grant, Cherokee Nation

God has help me understand people and be compassionate. It has helped me be accepting.

God or Jesus or the Great Creator or Grandmother or Grandfather ... everyone has a different view, but when it comes down to it, it is all the same thing.

Ask yourself the question: What do you believe, and why is it important? For me and others who have pondered the question, the answers are not simple. They may change day-to-day. What we feel may not be easily explained in words. Maybe we cannot nail it down, but we know it is a strong feeling.

[Richard]

We are Spiritual
Lorelei DeCora, of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska

In 1995, I was at a Sun Dance on the Cheyenne River Reservation in South Dakota. That's where my mother is from. It was hot 118 degrees. I prayed to be shown a way to help our people. Just hen the wind blew, and i looked at the Sun Dance tree, at two buffalo hides hanging from the tree. One was shaped like a buffalo, the other shaped like a human. They were hanging side by side, of equal importance. I thought, "Oh my gosh, the answer has been in front of me all this time."

There is a spiritual connection between people and the gifts of Mother Earth ... We need to return to our spiritual connection with...our families, our communities and Mother Earth.

Acknowledging ourselves as a spiritual people is the first step... (of awareness)... i have always believed we need to merge the spirit, emotions and science. But I wanted to ask my people. I felt nobody had really asked us what we thought......

From:Health for Native Life, Number 9, April 2006

[Dave]

Hey - you do read the stuff I send you.

[Dave]

Oh Great Spirit, Whose voice I hear in the winds,

And whose breath gives life to all the world, hear me!

I am small and weak. I need Your strength and wisdom.

Let me walk in beauty, and make my eyes ever behold the red and purple sunset.

Make my hands respect the things You have made and my ears sharp to hear Your voice.

Make me wise so that I may understand the things You have taught my people.

Let me learn the lesson you have hidden in every leaf and rock.

I seek strength, not to be greater than my brother, but to fight my greatest enemy – myself.

Make me always ready to come to You with clean hands and straight eyes.

So when life fades, as the fading sunset, my spirit my come to You without shame.





(Cherokee Prayer BC - before Columbus)

Hear me, O Great Spirit

Whose realm is the sunlight

Whose voice is the whirlwind

Whose strength is the oak tree

Whose cradle, the earth

Come down from on high

On the breath of the wind

Through the Tree of Knowledge

And beam Your White light

To the pathway of Life Everlasting

[Dave]

Mary’s story

During my time here at the Colville Indian Reservation, I have met many interesting people, who have many interesting stories. Although, Colville is the name of the Reservation, there is no such thing as a Colville Indian. This Reservation is populated by many tribes. The reservation is managed by a council with chair members from the following tribes: Methow, Okanogan, Arrow Lakes, San Poil, Nespelem, Chelan, Entiat, Moses-Coplumbia, Wenatchi, Nez Perce, and Palus. Yet, my friend Melynda, is a Flat Head from Northern Montana and my immediate supervisor is a Hopi form Northern Arizona.

The blending of so many Native American cultures together also concentrates a wealth of ancient stories and religious heritage. I engage as many people here as I can in conversations of religious implications. It is amazing how very easy it is here. I originally come from the Mid-West. Ask the average person there about spirits or demons – they back away from you as if you are crazy or just weird.

Then I come here and one day I asked a 90 year old elder lady, “So, have you ever seen a Big-Foot.” She calmly answered, “NO, but her mother and grandmother use to feed one when she was little.” I had absolutely no reason to doubt her. Slowly, and over the months of being here, I have heard many things that my old Christian Pastor would have just called – fairy tales and myths.

A few months ago, I was told a story about one of the patients, "Mary," whom I use to see almost weekly. Frequent Flyers we call them from the back room. People who claim to be hurting and ill, but modern medicine is unable to pin point the cause. I have only been on the rez about a year and only met this particular patient once or twice –

October 2012, Mary stopped coming to this house of orthodox medicine. The usual question arose: did she move away? Is she alright? Has she transferred to another physician? Slowly the answers became clear – she is all better now. Amazing we thought, did she have a therapy, take a pill, see a specialist, or what?

You see Mary had a back ache. Her back hurt her so much, that some days she never got out of bed. She couldn’t hold a job, or look after her own kids. Many x-rays and MRIs were performed. Many different pain management drugs were tried. But we didn’t seem to be helping her.

Then last October, as she lay sleeping on the bed, she began to moan and groan. Her mother looked in on her and saw something unusual on her back. Her mother called the two other women from within the house and they all looked at her back in the light.

There - in the middle of her back – was the outline of a man’s face!

Once Mary woke up her back returned to normal.

The family called their local priest – who also happens to be a “Shaker.” A shaker is a cross between an Indian Medicine man and a Catholic Priest. I have seen them come into the health facility here, dressed in ceremonial gown, chanting as they go from room to room praying and sprinkling Holy Water.

Two Shakers, two male helpers, and four women performed rites of exorcism for Mary. It began with a prayer vigil overnight in and around the house. All the lights were turned off and the procedure was carried out by candle light. The story goes that as the spirit was called out; everyone in the room could see a shadow lifting up and out of the Mary’s body. The story continues as the two male helpers and the four women all grabbed onto this shadowy form and a tug of war went on for several minutes. Once the shadowy form left Mary’s body, it let out a large scream and disappeared.

Not one of my family or friends back in the Mid-West would believe this story. Yet, I have spoken to at three of the participants of Mary’s exorcism and all tell the same story. They tell the story as if they were talking about going fishing or having a picnic. These are not kids pulling a prank! This is not one old crazy guy spinning a yarn. These were nine adults, some related, others not, and two of the nine were Catholic Priest, and of course Mary; who has stopped her weekly visits to the doctor.

I have tried to speak to Father Jake, who led the ceremony, but he refuses to discuss the dark world, or the private lives of his congregation. And I can respect that.

However, many of his congregation are eager to talk about Father Jake. The most common story I hear is about his Sue-Mich. The Indian believe that each of us has three accompanying spirits that guide us, if we listen. One day at a gathering of Elders and Medicine Men in the Long House near Nespelem Washington. One Old Elder stood up and stated that his Sue-Mich told him to point to the most powerful Sue-Mich within the room. Many of the Elders sat upright, thinking it was surely them.

The Old Elder, chanted, walked around the room touching each member on the shoulder, until he stopped at Father Jake. The Old Elder lay on both hands and proclaimed that Father Jake was guided by the most powerful Sue-Mich there. The other Elders, were stunned with amazement, Father Jake is not even an Indian, So they asked Father Jake who was his Sue-Mich. And like a true servant of the Church, Father Jake said – The Holy Spirit!

Attachments:

[Dave]

Old vs. Young:

We must acknowledge that there is a difference between becoming an elder and just getting older. I may get grief for saying that, but I know it will be from the ones who think being older automatically makes one an elder. Elders are created by their choices, values, actions and contribution to others. Olders are created by the hands of time. Elders in our Native communities have dedicated themselves to collecting wisdom, knowledge and experience in order to benefit the village they serve. They are quick to provide encouragement, guidance, love, home cooking and support to those who need it. They also teach the traditions and history that makes us who we are. They have chosen a path to constantly improve, not just for their sake, but so that they may be more effective in strengthening their people. Getting older is automatic – but becoming an elder is a path we choose to follow and is done with purpose, on purpose.

There is also a difference between being a warrior and simply being young and brash. Being at full volume and willing to fight is not what makes a warrior – it’s the dedication to fight with honor for something positive that is bigger than us. Our upcoming warriors in our Native communities have dedicated themselves to get education, learn business skills, technology and understanding how the changing world works in order to benefit the village they serve. They are quick to provide insight, new tools, fresh ways of thinking, a helping hand and motivation to those who need it. They also learn the traditions and history that make us who we are. They have chosen a path to constantly improve, not just for their sake, but so that they may be more effective in strengthening their people. We are all young for a time – but becoming a warrior is a path we choose to follow and is done with purpose, on purpose.

D.J. Eagle Bear Vanas
Native Discovery Inc.

[melynda67]

We as young those of us lucky enough to grow up with medicine men and seen the healing grew up to realize the spiritual side of our elders those of us who still practice what we were taught are very few, I have seen things in my life at 45 years old that i am still unable to explain in my lifetime and have dealt with things that i just don't quite understand yet, and i am being mentored by a medicine woman for the past couple of years but this is after i have decided to not hide from my gifts but to except them and it is hard because we are losing our elders and how many of are truly following the path we are suppose to? is my question

[melynda67]

Yes Dave right about me being Flathead from Montana, but I am also from the San Poil Band here on the Colville reservation a home grown rez girl