When I decided to make some pages available for the public on information
concerning the Lakota way of Life, I could not decide where to begin or
what information to post. I wrestled with it for a while and have finally
decided that the best way for me to explain is the simple story of my own
experience with the Lame Deer Family. In order to do that, I need to present
some background so that you will understand who these people are and why
they mean so much to me personally.
I never had the honor or privilege to meet John Fire Lame Deer, who some
call " the old Man ", myself. But I do know those who have
had that honor, and I am familiar with his descendants. His son Archie
Fire Lame Deer was the first Holy Man I ever met, and he is like a member
of my own family. There really is no way and probably no need to
express what it has meant to be able to sit with him and learn from him.
All I can say is, I know that he 'literally' saved my life and I will always
be grateful.
When I first met Archie, I was terrified by the stories of the power that
he carries. The first time I saw him, he was standing at the bottom
of the back steps of my house. He had come for a ceremony to open
the sweatlodges that had been put up on our family land for some of the
sundancers that needed to prepare for the dance that year. I was
shaken to the core of my being when he looked at me. I'm sure he
knew that I was scared to death of him and had probably run into it before.
When he looked at me I felt a shiver of energy run all the way through
me and I knew at that time that I would never be able to fool him or lie
to him, because I felt him look deep inside my soul. He knew with
one look everything there was to know about me, so there was no sense trying
to hide from him. Since that time he has told me, " It is a gift
I recieved from my own father when he passed away. It is a part of
what I must carry until I pass it to my own children."
He grinned that big wide smile of his at me, then wrapped his arms around
me in a big ' bear-hug ' and said, " Hey ! I'm not going to bite you !
I've come to help you, you know ! " And from that day on my life
has never been the same. My husband and I fell 'in love' with him
and I think (hope) the feeling was mutual ! He has come on a regular
basis every year to keep an eye on things, and to run sweatlodges and healing
ceremonies for the people in our area. Sometimes he will council with people
who have problems and at others he is busy 'putting people on the hill'
for their vision quest, mostly the sundancers. When he is here life
is hectic, but good and things always change for the better. When
he is not here, or at home in South Dakota with his family, you can find
him traveling and teaching in Europe and other places in the world.
It is the work he has been given to do and though it is a hardship on him
and his family, he continues to do it. He has dined with Kings and
with paupers, it is all the same to him. You will often hear him
say, " All life is sacred and the Creator of us all is color-blind."
This is one of the reasons he is so very special to me.
Two years ago he came to us with his daughter, Josephine. He had
told some wild stories of his daughter the 'Superwoman', who he calls 'Mean
Jo Bean'. She had a reputation of chasing men with a baseball bat
to keep them in line and eating small children for breakfast ! Now,
Josephine lives here in California with her husband Harry who works for
a local cable network, and their new son Aidan. (Aidan was a year old in
February 98) She is one of the most beautiful women I have ever had
the privilege of knowing in my life. She is kind, compassionate,
caring and wise beyond her years, and her patience with the people around
her is unbelieveable. And when she prays in the sweatlodge, you can
not keep your eyes from tearing. She truely is a Holy Woman and walks in
beauty. ( And I found out she doesn't really eat children, no matter
what her father says ! )
Josephine entered the sundance at the age of 3. She is the first
recognized Holy Woman (for those of you who are used to the term - Medicine
Woman ) in the Lakota tribe in over three hundred years. This means
that she is the ONLY woman who is recognized and approved by the Lakota
tribe at this time, to be a teacher and Holy Woman. It gives her
a tremendous amount of responsibility and distinction to carry. When
you think about it, that is a long time for the 'People' to go without
a Winwakan. She is humble and takes no advantage of her position.
In fact it is a burden to her at times. She has been a 'mother' to
the people here in California, at the sweatlodge, and I know 'I don't know
what I'd do without her'!
Archie also has a son, John and another daughter Sarah, as well as his
wife, Sandra, who is a remarkably beautiful woman, inside and out.
John and Sarah are sundancers as well as Josephine. All of them entered
into the sundance at an early age and will be a part of it for the rest
of their lives, which of course is the tradition. Josephine is currently
on sabatical as she has just had a child a little over a year ago.
Archie's wife Sandra, was born in Arkansas. Her family moved to Santa
Barbara when she was just a baby, and that is where she and Archie met.
All three of their children were born in California, then the family moved
to South Dakota, where they are currently located. Sandra is from
a Spanish/Chumash/Celtic decent and has some wonderful insights to living
between these cultural worlds. She is stong and confident in the
ways of a woman on the 'Red Road', and has plenty of stories to tell of
being the wife of a famous holy man. She is also 'chock full' of
information on the woman's teachings, phases of the moon and herbal medicines.
She is also a natural born comedian, very funny and lots of fun to be with
!
John, who was named for his grandfather and chosen by him to carry on after
Archie's retirement, is a 'giant' of a man, physically and spiritually.
Athough he is still young, he is very impressive to be around. He
has 'poured water' in the sweatlodge since he could walk, and is a strong
healer and leader for his people already, and I have been told by Josephine
that he will someday lead a sundance of his own, following in the footsteps
of his father and grandfather. He is married and has a daughter,
who is a 'little angel', named Clarisse. (Joey calls her Risse) She
is a natural charmer and can talk the 'pants' off a stranger !
John's wife Alexis is an all around handy woman and can cook like no tomorrow.
Which by the way comes in handy, since the family is always welcoming visitors
and hosting them when they come for the sundance in the summer. You
are never a stranger to the Lame Deer's, whether you are from the U.S.
or another country. It never matters what color your skin or what
your family does for a living, the only things that matter are your heart
and your intent. You will not be turned away as long as you want
to learn and walk in a good way on 'Mother Earth'.
Sarah is the youngest of the Lame Deer children and is to finish high school
this year. She is confident and beautiful, just like her mother.
Since Sarah is still young, to my knowledge, she has not decided what she
wants to do with her life yet. But what ever it is, I am sure it
will 'rock the world' just like everyone else in her family. One
thing is for sure, it takes a lot of strength and courage to carry on the
family traditions. The Lame Deer family line goes all the way back
to the beginning of the oral history of the Lakota people and there is
a wonderful story about how the family line started, which I am going to
ask Josephine to relay so I can post it for them. In any case, Sarah
is a strong woman and can hold her own, and my personal wish is for her
happiness, what ever she decides to do with her life.
I am grateful to everyone in the Lame Deer family for their love and kindness
to all of us. Without people like them to carry on in the 'Traditional'
way, the culture and teachings of the Lakota people will whither and die
like so many other native traditions have done. I have posted this
page as a personal introduction to people I feel are geniune and real teachers
of 'Tradition'. Unlike so many others who claim to be a 'Medicine
Man' or 'Medicine Woman', these are people who come from a long lineage
of Holy People and have the right by birth and action to claim that privilege.
Although, they will never say it, and that is what makes them the wonderful
teachers they truely are.
Josephine has always told me, " You have to be born in a family line, to
be a medicine person. You can't just pay three or four hundred dollars
and have someone make you one. It is a birth right and it needs to
stay that way. Too many people now a days go around touting themselves
as a medicine person and that is wrong. It makes it harder for those
of us who carry the responsibility for our tribe to do our jobs, with all
these people crawling out of the woodwork. To find out if someone
is really a medicine person, contact their tribe and see if they are recognized
by the Elders and Leaders of that Nation. Don't just take their word
for it. People can be hurt and their families can suffer if they
are walking the wrong way on this road. Remember to be responsible
for your actions because you are the ones who are going to teach the children
and they are the HOPE OF THE WORLD."
Mitakuye
Oyasin
~
Miranda ~
For more information on
John Fire Lame Deer There is a book
available written by
RICHARD ERDOES
called
"Lame Deer - Seeker of Visions".
For more information on
Chief Archie Fire Lame Deer There
is a book by
RICHARD ERDOES
called
"Gift of Power:
the life and teachings
of a Lakota Medicine Man".
