Sweat Gazette - Spring 1997

Welcome!

This is the 1997 Spring issue of

The Sweat Gazette!

Serving the Ventura County Native American Community

INYAN: THE SACRED STONE

By Josephine Fire Lame Deer

I am a Lakota-Sioux and more specifically,

Miniconjou. Therefore the teachings that I

share here and now may not reflect the beliefs

of any other tribal people. I do not claim to

know everything. What knowledge I have to

share is here.

Inyan is the name for the stones. An even
older name is Tunkashila or 'Grandfather'.
This name also refers to the Creator, but it
is told that the stone is as old as the
Creator. Some of our oldest stories speak
of a stone, a giant old one, at the center of
the Earth.

This is the way it is said the giant old one

came to be at the center of the Earth.

Long ago, the old one floated in the center of

the Universe: Cold, dark and alone.

The Creator, Wakan Tanka, came upon it and
asked the stone if it was lonely. The stone
said, "Yes.' So the Creator made the Sun,
Wi. Creator then asked the old one if she
would like to be a Grandmother. The stone
replied that she would give it a try. So,
Creator put Earth, Water and Air around the
stone, who had by now been made hot by the
heat of the Sun. Finally, asking if the stone
would like to be a mother and gaining
agreement, Creator gave the stone beautiful
children of all kinds, as life on the surface.

The story of all creation takes four nights
and four days to complete. These four days
were just the parts where Inyan, the first
stone was involved.

Small stones, boulders, and rocky mountains
are all pieces of the first stone. For this
reason they are Holy to our people. Inside
they have power from before time. For
different peoples, various rock or stone places
are recognized as sacred. These rocks are
visited, carried, or utilized as often as possible.

In each of our ceremonies the stone plays an
integral part. Stones can carry messages
long distances between people. They are
messengers, purifiers, healers and destroyers.

no stone is ever worth more than another, if
one thinks in a material sense. However, if
one thinks in a spiritual sense, the most
valuable ones are always the ones with no
monetary value. No one but a child would want
them in today's society.

Today you can go to stores and buy stones.
Nice shiny colorful ones which have been cut and
polished. To a Traditional Lakota, these are
worth nothing. Nature carves the most
powerful stones.

I have never seen any of my Grandparents with
crystals. There are crystals in our area, but
we believe they channel energies and must be
left in or on the ground for this reason. To
take them would leave that channel or energy
pathway broken or silent.

At sometime, you may find a stone amidst many.
For no apparent reason, you feel the need to
pick it up. Perhaps, even take it with you.
These are powerful stones, the ones who find
a person and ask to be with that person. It
is not uncommon to see children picking up a
special stone and talking or playing with it, as
if it were another child. These children being
innocent and open are sensing what Traditional
Lakota People know.

On the mountain tops are the homes of the
Wakinyan, the Thunderbeings. People should not
go to those places. It is for the
Thunderbeings only. No plant grows here.
Animals avoid these places. My people believe
that humans should also stay away. We never
climb to these places. We stay away out of
respect for the energies that reside on the
high mountain tops. We never believe in
conquering.

To write everthing there is to know about
stones could take many more pages. This
brief explanation will hopefully suffice for now.
It may also bring up more specific questions,
which can only be answered by sacrificing time
to search out and learn. There are many
Native Americans who can answer questions
about the beliefs of their tribe. Please do not
make the oft made mistake of assuming all
tribes believe the same.

Josephine Fire Lame Deer

Josephine Fire Lame Deer is a Winwakan

(Holy woman) From the Lakota Tribe. She

comes from a long line of Holy People. In

the tradition of the Lakota People on order to

be a recognized Medicine person, you must have

the lineage to do this. It is a sacred

commitment and is not an easy one, to say the

least. She is a true and Tribally recognized

teacher and Pejuta Wakan ( herb woman ). She

was chosen by her Grandfather, John Fire Lame

Deer, to carry the woman's medicine in her line.

The Lakota people have been with out a

recognized Winwakan for over 300 years and

it is an honor and priviledge to have her write

an article for us.

For more information on the Lame Deer family
please click on the link below.

Thank you
Miranda

~ The Four Directions ~ A poem by Cretia Shire

Rainbow star blanket, so close that I can touch you.

Warm night air, smelling of Grandfather sage.

Looking to the Four Directions, grounded in the Earth.

Beyond time and space I live this moment.

Hear my voice, Hear my voice calling to you.

Winged ones paint the sky in deepest black.

Come to me with the setting of the sun.

Your sacred blackness wraps me in her reverie.

Time now for inner contemplation to pursue.

Looking West the quite of the night surrounds me.

Like the wise old bear I curl in on myself.

Time now to hibernate in a cave of reddest stone.

The howling of the winter wind, coming from the North,

has changed the warm to cold, chilling cold

and I must curl inside upon my many thoughts.

The yellow glow of new day is on the horizon.

Body and consciousness aligned to the East.

All is made clean by the Sun's first rays.

The snow has melted and streams swell banks.

The time to sleep and dream has past.

The door to the South opens, encompassing the

Life and death hang in balanced harmony within me.

Body and soul grow warm, cradled in Creator's heart.

Like sister corn I grow straight and tall and healthy.

Hot white light making me pure and clean and beautiful.

Hear my prayer as I call to you Creator, hear me now.

It is your life which dances through my heart and mind.

It is your breath which animates this sacred vessel.

You are the colors, you are the the textures of this sacred life.

With you I dance in your circle,

I dance with joy.

Cretia Shire is an Oncology Nurse and an accomplished poet in her own right. She is also the Editor and Publisher of the Sweat Gazette Newsletter. She has graciously allowed me to put it online for your reading and viewing pleasure. If you are interested in more of her beautiful poetry, you can see them posted at her homepage.
The links will be posted below.
Thank you Miranda

Let us leave you with the words of Red Moon...

We come from the Earth. We consume the plants and animals of the earth. When our time comes, we will return to the Earth. The lives that we consume feed the fire within us. They live on through us. They see through our eyes. They hear through our ears. They speak from our lips. An animal memory within each and every one of us.

Red Moon

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If you would like to visit kreshia's shire and Butterfly Garden, Please ask her butterfly friend for a ride!

If you would like more information on the Lame Deer Family and Josephine, Please visit ~ Miranda's Native American World ~ There is some introductory information there and I will be posting more as soon as I get the Chance...
Thank you ~ Miranda ~

This wonderful background set is from Full Moon Graphics