It is said every person is born with free will and every person has a specific purpose to accomplish during their lifetime. When our life is relatively free from obstacles and issues, we are walking the path we were meant to walk. If our life is full of obstacles and issues, we are not doing what it is we were meant to do. That is when Creator with the help of the all the realms guides us through it all `til we are where we are meant to be. We need to pay attention to things that happen, coincidences, the synchronicity of events that unfold around us. If we are aware of these, we often can recognize the path which Creator is showing us. If we are unsure …remember to ask that it be shown in ways that we can understand.
I do not believe in coincidences…I believe we are given the tools we need and ask for, and if we do not see our path clearly Creator helps us along. Sometimes when we are to stubborn or distracted to see the help that is being provided, we are pushed along to our path until we see it and land on it with a thump. I say this from experience, because at times I can be a stubborn bear and have often had to been pushed with a 2 x 4 by the Ancestors to get me where it was I was supposed to be.
It often is in a way we least suspect,or even sometimes when it is answered and we are taken by surprise for it had been just a notion or thought of something in our minds’ Yet an answer or opportunity will arrive on our doorstep and there we stand with what we needed in that very moment.
When that happens, do not write it off as a coincidence, or shake your head in disbelief…. open your heart to the joy of it, and tell Creator and the Ancestors…
I ask that today and all days to come…help guide us to our paths, freely and clearly. Show us our purpose and what where we are meant to be. Help us to become and walk through the obstacles that are presented in our lives, with grace and dignity in a way that honors all the ancestors.
Blessings
bear Medicinewalker
Music by Ryan Little Eagle Molina part of the Wolf and the bear Network family. the song is entitled “She Who is in the Stars”
On December 29, 1890 the U.S. Army’s 7th Cavalry surrounded a band of Ghost Dancers under Big Foot, a Lakota Sioux chief, near Wounded Knee Creek and demanded they surrender their weapons. As that was happening, a fight broke out between an Indian and a U.S. soldier and a shot was fired, although it’s unclear from which side. A brutal massacre followed, 300+ Indians were murdered and nearly half of them were women and children. The United States Cavalry lost 25 men.
This is a story I heard again and again as I grew older, something our Ancestors did not have the opportunity to do. As those years past, so did the truths of the event. It has been 124 years past and still it makes me tremble in despair and heartache. The reason however is not what some may think, for Our Ancestors do not want us to live our lives holding bitterness and hate within our hearts. Instead they wish us to remain proud and honorable People, to move ahead and make a difference for our young children, to remind them and all of the old ways.
To treat All Life as Sacred, to evolve and revolve within our own Sacred Hoop and in turn mending the Great Hoop itself. Honoring the Creator and remembering we are all no better or less than each other. Understanding we all have purpose, we all imprint on the life that surrounds us. To remember that we need to contribute positive to those imprints to help our Young grow strong both in Spirit, Body and Thought.
So today I stand in humbleness, and remember the Ancestors that walked before us and the sacrifices they gave so that we would have better, be better, see a better future. So I ask you to join me, to remember that We Are All Related, “Mitakuye O’yasin”
Winter time came and with it the winds brought the snow and ice that covered the earth and sealed the waters.
To this point the animals had never seen the snow and ice. In the beginning they frolicked and played in it, enjoying making imprints and sliding along the glass like ice. But as the temperatures began to drop, the animals became scared. The small ones were being buried in the snow and the larger creatures were finding it harder and harder to walk. Food was becoming scarce and the temperatures were frigid. If they did not figure out what to do, they would surely all die.
“We must send a messenger to the Creator,” Owl spoke out, “and we must ask that the earth can be warm again so that Spirit Snow will leave us in peace.” All the creatures thought this would be a good plan and talked amongst them selves about who should be the one to go and ask the Creator for this great favor.
Since the Owl’s sight was limited in the daylight, they all agreed he should not be the one. Coyote was too easily distracted and was known as the Trickster so it was agreed that he could not be trusted. Turtle although held great knowledge and would surely be reliable, yet they all agreed he was too slow and would not survive the trip. Then the Rainbow Crow stepped forward. Everyone looked to him with his shimmering feathers of the rainbow listening to his beautiful singing voice, they all agreed he was the best choice to go and speak with the Creator and the Rainbow Crow accepted.
The journey was a long and difficult challenge, high into the heavens, beyond the trees and clouds, higher than Grandmother Moon and Father Sun and out beyond the Stars he flew. The Sacred Winds blew and helped him a little, but there was no where for him to rest so he continued his flight knowing that he needed to reach the heavens for all the Creatures below were depending on him.
When the Rainbow Crow finally reached the Sacred place, he called out to the Creator, but received no response. The Creator was busy and did not notice this most beautiful of birds. So Rainbow Crow decided to sing his most beautiful song in hopes the Creator would hear.
Soon the most beautiful of song reached the Creator’s ears and looked to see where the song was coming from. Smiling the Creator greeted the Rainbow Crow asking what gift he could give in return for the beautiful song he had shared. The Rainbow Crow asked the Creator to stop the snow and ice from covering the earth and the creatures below causing them to freeze to death. The Creator listened and then explained to the Rainbow Crow that the snow and the ice had spirits of their own and could not be destroyed.
“What can be done to help my friends so that they will not all freeze or be smothered by the snow and ice?” asked the Rainbow Crow.
I will send the Sacred Fire to the Earth Mother; it will be something that will warm all creatures during these very cold times.”
The Creator then stuck a stick towards Father Sun and the end ignited and blazed with a bright, glowing fire which created a warming heat. “This is Sacred Fire,” he explained to the Rainbow Crow, handing him the cool end of the stick. “You must hurry down to your friends as fast as you can before the stick burns up and the Sacred Fire burns out.”
The Rainbow Crow bowed to the Creator in gratitude and thanks, then flew as fast as he could back to his friends and the Great Earth Mother. The stick was large and heavy, but the Sacred Fire kept the Rainbow Crow warm as he descended from the Heavens and down through the path of stars. Then the Sacred Fire grew hot as it came closer to the Rainbow Crows feathers and as he flew passed Father Sun, his tail caught on fire, turning the shimmering beautiful feathers black. By the time he flew passed Grandmother Moon, his entire body was black with soot. As he soared into the Sky and flew through the clouds, the smoke got into his throat, strangling his beautiful singing voice.
By the time the Rainbow Crow reached his friends, he was black as tar and could only Caw instead of sing. He delivered the fire to the animals melting the snow and bringing warmth to the littlest animals from the snow drifts where they lay buried.
All the creatures rejoiced for the Sacred Fire had been brought to the Earth Mother. The Rainbow Crow sat in the background of the festivities, saddened by his dull ugly feathers and his rasping voice. Then he felt the touch of the Sacred Wind on his face. He looked up and saw the Creator moving towards him.
“Do not be sad little one,” the Creator said. “All animals will honor you for the sacrifice you have made for them. And when the tribes come, they will not hunt you, for I have made your flesh taste of smoke so that it is not good to eat. Your black feathers and hoarse voice will prevent man from putting you into a cage to sing for him. You will remain free.”
Then the Creator stretched out his hand towards the Rainbow Crow’s black feathers, and before his very eyes, the Rainbow Crow saw the dull feathers become shiny and inside each one, he could see all the colors of the rainbow. “This will remind everyone who sees you of the great sacrifice you offered for your people that saved them all.”
In the early spring a young hunter who lived in a lodge with his wife and little ones far apart from his village left his home to go hunt the woods for food. Father Sun was high in the sky sending his rays to warm the earth and melt the white blankets of snow that remained. The piles of snow disappeared into the ground as he walked through the trees. Laughing the young hunter began to laugh and talk to the snow, “You are not afraid of Father Sun are you Snow?”
A strong booming voice startled him as it replied back, “Do not speak to me in that tone! I am here because the Ancestors of the North sent me, but I must only stay a season as I am instructed. Father Sun helps me to disappear. But since you have dishonored me in this way, by making light of my worth, you will be tested when next I return! Be Prepared!”
The young hunter looked around him hearing the voice but seeing no one he turned to leave wondering if someone was playing tricks on him. As he did he heard the voice once again as it spoke out loud, “Who is scared now? Remember next winter, be prepared.”
The young hunter felt chills and headed home at a run. Reaching his lodge he shared with his wife and children what had happened. His wife looked at home and encouraged him to seek guidance from the Elders in the village so gathering his courage to speak of it again he went to them telling them all that had happened.
“If you heard the Snow Man speak,” said the Elders, “you must prepare for what he said he will do, he will do!” The Elders all agreed and shook their heads, “It is no wonder that the Snow Man was angry with you, you made fun of him telling him he was scared, however he said when he returned you would be tested so you must prepare to meet him next winter.”
“And how am I to prepare for his return?” asked the young hunter.
“You must begin now to hunt the Deer, Bear, Buffalo, and any other large creatures that you can find. You must press out their fat and oil, and put it all in skin bags. You must also fill some bags with pitch. Then you must cut and lay aside a great deal of wood full of knots. After that you must build yourself a lodge apart from every one, with a door to the south. Take Pine pitch and fill up all the cracks in the walls, and hang a closely braided mat before the door, so that nothing can get through. Inside you must build a fireplace with a small smoke-hole. Then carry into the lodge your supply of wood and the skins full of fat, oil, and pitch. You will need all you can get, for the test will be long and difficult.”
Agreeing and understanding what must be done, the young hunter left to begin to prepare for the test.. Spending the entire summer and autumn seasons he hunted by night and cut wood and prepared the other things by day. He made grease and tallow cakes and bars of all sizes, and filled skin bags with oil and pitch. Last but not least he built his lodge as he had been instructed to do. Winter was fast approaching and the young hunter began to tremble, bidding his family good-bye he entered the lodge he had built and locked himself in. In the beginning his fire was small, but as the days progressed and the winter’s breath grew colder, he began adding more and more wood in order to stay warm.
One cold evening there came a fierce wind that whipped and swept around outside the lodge howling as if it was in pain. Louder and louder the sound grew until the young hunter thought the snow had returned for him, but no one came.
The next evening the sound came back, louder tan before and the winds stirred and whipped around the lodge. Soon the young hunter became very cold as he felt the temperature drop some more, so he made a large fire. The trees and bushes outside snapped and cracked louder and louder, as the wind tore through them. Snow has finally come for me he thought, but no one came. The next night the young hunter stirred the fire as the cold grew worse and worse, and the wind howled and shrieked damaging trees and brush outside. I wonder if tonight he will come for me thought the hunter, but still no one came.
Time passed and soon mid winter arrived but the young hunter had no concept of time, so he was unaware. Then at last he saw him through the tightly pitched and chinked lodge and its closely woven mat over the door, a Manlike-Object-of-Snow walked about. It passed close to the young hunter and as its icy breath filled the lodge, the fire began to dim. The young hunter rose to his feet and threw on more wood but saving the better wood for later. The Manlike-Object-of-Snow sat down opposite him staring at him with its icy eyes. The lodge grew colder and colder chilling the young hunter down to the bone. Again the fire was beginning to die almost going out until the young hunter remembered what the Elder had said, and he added more wood to the fire. Soon the winter was almost over yet the young hunter did not know.
As the young hunter felt his limbs getting numb he began to use the best wood for the fire and the flames encircled him with their warmth. The Snow Man groaned as the young hunter began to throw the grease and tallow on the flames to make them shoot up sputtering and sizzling with heat. Then the Snow Man groaned again, but still he sat there with his icy stare, and his breath numbed the young hunter’s body. Soon winter was over, but the young hunter did not know it! Soon the young hunter began to throw on the pitch and piled up his largest logs into the fireplace. The Snow Man groaned horribly growing smaller and smaller gasping and groaning again. Then the young hunter poured on the oil, and soon only a little lump of ice lay where the Snow Man had sat. Soon a voice cried out, “Aho young hunter! You have won! You are greater than I and I give up to you!” But the young hunter did not stop continuing to pour oil, pitch and wood into the fireplace.
Soon the Snow Man cried out, “Stop young hunter! I have spoken the truth. I will return to the North where I have power. You shall live in this lodge becoming a great hunter. Your wife and children may always go barefooted in the snow, and I will not hurt them. Your name from now on shall be ‘The-Man-who-Mastered-the-Winter.’ ” With those words, the Snow Man disappeared. The young hunter lifted the mat at the door looking out through the doorway he felt Father Sun’s warmth, saw the grass was green, the flowers were blooming, the birds were singing, for winter was gone and it was once again spring!
“I am Dedicated to Educating and sharing the Native culture with the World. It is not enough merely to teach the ways of our Elders. We must honor those traditions by sharing and educating the World. Inspiring others …Inspiring our Youth. Through the Music… the Arts…the stories…” Mitakuye O’yasin ~bear Medicinewalker
The Gift Jim Brickman piano version available on I tunes and used as Creative Commons
The First Story I will set about tackling in 2015 for the Sacred Hoop Project will be “How Raven Steals the Sun.”
I am already working on sketches for the master painting, It will be accompanied by sculpture and also something that I am just finishing up with, custom fabric that will have the main image on to transform into hoops, shawls, and our Sacred Ribbon Shirts.
Very excited, that it is all leading to a path of happening. It is so important that the stories and culture are not lost. To take what is core, add a contemporary twist that will make it once again new without loosing it’s original integrity for all those that have not been yet exposed to it, will keep it alive and honor the Ancestors in the process.
Sacred White… it was predicted the Sacred White Buffalo would return one day, and with it would come the Pride of the People returned… we would dance again…gather again…pray again in the way it was in the beginning. The White Buffalo has indeed returned, with it we have seen many sacred White Animals… although Rare…they have been showing them selves to us in greater numbers.
They are believed to hold mystical powers and energy… they are to be Revered. This is one of the story’s that was shared with me long ago… and now I share it with you…
Legend of the White Raven Spirit
At the beginning, when the Earth was fresh and new, the Creator sent down His Raven to enjoy this new creation. As Raven soared down from cloud to cloud he began to take the color of the snow crystals that touched his wings, each crystal being different, like the creation on the earth. The Creator told him, you will be like the snow flakes you have gathered on your wings, a part of everything new, everything that I have created. You will be for all people. As White Raven soared in the clouds the cool air rushed under his wings, he was singing and shouting songs of praise to the Creator.
One day he wanted to touch and feel the ground and taste the earth below. He wanted someone to keep him company, but he knew when he landed he would soil his feathers having to settle on the ground below. So the Creator wishing to please this special one, created a special spirit mate for White Raven, a White Buffalo where he could land and rest. Now there were many of these new Buffalo but only one as white as the snow. They moved about and covered many lands. White Raven found his spirit mate, the White Buffalo below and would ride on his back, resting and smelling the sweetness of earth, making many pleasant sounds in thanks for his new home. Now he could help White Buffalo and his brothers and sisters find good places to roam for food.
Every day White Raven would fly high into the air soaring around, spotting fine places of grass for his brother. When he would look down, he could see White Buffalo as bright as the mornings sun among the others that were colored like the dark earth they roamed.. White Buffalo could be found easily and then led to the good eating places. He would sing to the White Buffalo, “Come here, come here, come here, the grass is good, good, good then laugh”. They would fly, and run, play, eat and enjoy all that was given to them.
Then came a time when the Creator put new creatures on the Earth. They were called humans and walked on two legs. The humans were the color of the earth, the place where they came from, and were very smart. They would sing and make fires to The Creator in thanks for their life and the beauty He had given them. But the human became very hungry and asked the Creator what they should do.
The Creator pointed them to the White Raven and told them, “I gave to the White Raven the White Buffalo, so he could guide him to places where his brothers and sisters could eat the good grasses. Now I will give you any buffalo except the White one, to fill your lodges and stomachs and keep you warm so you and your families will never go hungry and never be cold. But remember without the White Buffalo it will be hard to see the others and hunt because they are like you, the color of the Earth.
The humans did what they were told, and after a hunt would first thank the Creator, then the buffalo for his spirit, food and skin for warmth and protection. All things were very happy and gave thanks every day.
One morning, White Raven woke up from a good sleep on the soft back of White Buffalo, and stretched his wings. Flying high into the air looked for a nice place for his brother to eat for the day. While high above the hills he saw a different kind of human, although they looked the same he could feel their hearts were not the same as the others he had known. The new humans were thoughtless caring only for themselves killing many animals that they could not eat or use for their families.
White Raven talked to the Creator asking what are these humans doing, they do not thank You or the ones whose spirit they send to you. They gather up much that they cannot take or use and it goes to waste, the Creator was unhappy.
On that very day, one of the new humans saw the beautiful White Buffalo who was not paying attention to the ground, but looking up in the air to follow White Raven to a new area to eat and play. The new human crept up on White Buffalo and took his life and spirit, not following the command of the Creator. Then the new human did not thank Creator or the White Buffalo for this spirit, food or skin, leaving much of the body there to rot in the sun.
This made Creator very sad, he began to cry and from the clouds and sent sharp streaks of bright anger to the ground.. White Raven was very sad, his spirit mate had been taken from him and he had no place to stand or sleep any longer. White Buffalo’s brothers and sisters ran off causing a great rumbling that went to the heavens and began to shake the earth and the clouds. Creator let his tears begin to fall from the clouds showing his sadness. White Raven cried and yelled as he circled his spirit mate’s lifeless body from high above.
As the days past and the tears continued, White Raven began to tire since he no longer had his place to rest. The streams began to overflow and the seas and the lakes rose to a point where there was very little dirt left. After many days, exhausted and soaked with rain, White Raven landed on a small piece of muddy ground. The dirt splashed up on his body and wings. He tried to move about but he got more and more discolored with the mud. He began to change color to black as the mud spread all over his body, flopping around trying to get back into the air. A day or two passed and White Raven now was completely black and covered with mud. The water had risen to a point where the only piece of ground left was being covered with the rising flood.
Far away White Raven saw an old man and his family floating towards him in a large canoe and he cried out “here, here, come, here, come here .” The Elder noticed him and came over to him and picked him up.. The Elder was very kind and began to feed the Raven and dry him off. Now by this time the entire earth was covered with water and the tears had stopped, the Creator now would mourn silently.
White Raven told the Elder of his journey and what had happened to him and his friend, White Buffalo. Elder told him that the Creator had spared him from the great rains to look for anything good, but there was much evil in the world and there was not much to save. The Elder explained that again, along time in the future not only will there be good on the earth but evil also. When this time comes the Creator will have to again cleanse the earth of this evil.
White Raven was now strong enough to fly back into the heavens. As he left the elder and his family he thanked him for his kindness and began to soar back to the Creator.
The Creator explained to the Elder that from that point on only the black Raven would be created in order to remind all peoples of the evil that man can create and that in the future when the earth is filled with evil the White Raven will once again be sent. Next time he will not turn to black or be soiled, but remain forever white the color that had been given to him in the beginning. One will see White Raven and he will give this message to many Nations and to all who will listen to him and what he says about the Creator. This one will be giving a warning to all, the need to remember the beginnings and honor all that is Sacred.
White Raven will again have the soft white back of his spirit mate to rest on, and everyone should listen to his warning, “Return to the Creator, sing songs of praise. Burn fires that will let their smokes rise up filled with the scents of sacred Sage, Cedar and Sweetgrass. Put away your evil ways and desires and follow the Great Grandfather teachings and place the Creator in your hearts as the way to walk and all will be well.”
White Raven then soared up towards the Creator into the clouds. The snow crystals began to cleanse the feathers of White Raven as he flew through the clouds going ever higher until he again became as he was in the beginning, the way the Creator had intended.
So the time is drawing near for the return of the White Raven. This will call us to look to the Creator and understand and honor All Life as Sacred.
We will still try our evil ways, destroying what the Creator has done for us. Will we do the things that we were meant to do in the beginning.
Love the Creator, learn to live in peace with all, love the Creator loves…Unconditionally. This is what is written, this is The Way it must be for the Sacred Hoop to remain Unbroken!
“My father was David Israel, a full-blood Cherokee and my mother was Martha Jane Miller Israel, a quarter Cherokee. They were born in Georgia. My mother in 1836 and my father in 1837. They were brought to Indian Territory by their parents over the “Trail of Tears” when the Indians were driven from their eastern homes by the United States Troops. They were too young to know of the tragedies and sorrows of that terrible event. My aunt, who was 15 years old at the time, told me of the awful suffering along the journey. Almost everyone had to walk as the conveyance they had were inadequate for transporting what few possessions they had and their meager supply of food. Only the old people and little children were allowed to ride. They died by the hundreds and were buried by the roadside. As they were not allowed to remove any of their household goods, they arrived at their destination with nothing with which to start housekeeping.”
~ from Life and Experience of a Cherokee Woman
More than 100 years ago, the Cherokee people were driven from their home mountains when white men discovered gold in the mountains of Tears. Some of the people traveled across Marengo County in West Alabama. It would seems that they left the mountains and traveled far south so not have to climb more mountains.
It was early summer and very hot, and of the people had to walk. Tempers were short and the soldiers that were supposed to be traveling as guides were mean and relentless as they pushed the people towards their destination. Men were so frustrated with the treatment of their women and children. The soldiers were unhappy about the fact they had to travel with the Indians that often it was the women and children that would suffer for it. Men would get short tempered and angry, so often fights would break out and many men were killed in the process. Many people died from illnesses due to hardships. Women wept for their losses, their ways of life, homes and dignity. The Elders knew that they must do something to help the women to maintain their strength if they were to help the children survive.
One evening after everyone had made camp along the Trail of Tears, the old men sitting around the dying campfire called up to the Creator in Galunati (heaven) to help them all and bring hope and faith back to the people. They spoke and prayed for the people, for the suffering and the little ones they feared would not survive to rebuild the Cherokee Nation.
The Creator spoke to them, “Yes, I have seen the sorrows of the women and I can help them to keep their strength to help the children. Tell the women in the morning to look back where their tears have fallen to the ground. I will cause to grow quickly a plant. They will see a little green plant at first with a stem growing up. It will grow up and up and fall back down to touch the ground where another stem will begin to grow. I’ll make the plant grow so fast at first that by afternoon they’ll see a white rose, a beautiful blossom with five petals. In the center of the rose, I will put a pile of gold to remind them of the gold which the white man wanted when his greed drove the Cherokee from their ancestral home.”
The Creator explained that the green leaves would have seven leaflets, one for each of the seven clans of the Cherokee. This plant will begin to spread out all over, a very strong plant, a plant which will grow in large, strong clumps and it will take back some of the land they had lost. It will have small thorns on every stem to protect it from anything that tries to move it away.
The next morning the Elders told the women to look back for the sign from the Creator. So the women looked and found the plant beginning as a tiny shoot and growing up and up until it spread out over the land. They watched as a blossom formed so beautifully that they forgot to weep and they once again felt beautiful and strong. By the afternoon they saw many white blossoms as far as they could see. The women began to think about their strength given them to bring up their children as the new Cherokee Nation. They all understood that the plant marked the path of the brutal Trail of Tears and it would not be forgotten. The Cherokee women saw that the Cherokee Rose was strong enough to take back what they thought they had lost and renew their lives as Cherokee People once again.
