Spiritwalk Traditions: Native American

Spiritwalk

Spiritual Traditions

Native American

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References, Notations & Credits

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Native American Spirituality

This is the earth-borne spirituality of America, especially North America. This is the
birthright of every American and the wisdom contained in these traditions is beautiful
and profound and one would benefit greatly in exploring this area. To be connected to
the spirituality of the earth means to be connected to the aboriginal, indigenous
spirituality of place.

Quotations Index

Black Elk

Chief Seattle

Carlos White Eagle

Ojibway prayer

The Story of White Buffalo Calf Woman ~Chief Arvol Looking Horse

Black Elk

THE TRUE PEACE

The first peace, which is the most important,

is that which comes within the souls of people

when they realize their relationship,

their oneness, with the universe and all its powers,

and when they realize that at the center

of the universe dwells Wakan-Taka(the Great Spirit),

and that this center is really everywhere, it is within each of us.

This is the real peace, and the others are but reflections of this.

The second peace is that which is made between two individuals,

and the third is that which is made between two nations.

But above all you should understand that there can never

be peace between nations until there is known that true peace,

which, as I have often said, is within the souls of men.

~ Black Elk

Native American spiritual leader

I am blind and do not see the things of this world;

but when the light comes from above,

it enlightens my heart and I can see,

for the Eye of my heart sees everything;

and through this vision I can help my people.

The heart is a sanctuary at the center of which there is little space,

wherin the Great Spirit dwells, and this is the Eye.

This is the Eye of the Great Spirit by which He sees all things,

and through which we see Him.

If the heart is not pure, the Great Spirit cannot be seen.

~ Black Elk

The Sacred Hoop

I was standing on the highest mountain of them all, and round about beneath me was

the whole hoop of the world. And while Istood there I saw more than I can tell and I

understood more than I saw; for I was seeing in a sacred manner the shapes of all

things in the spirit, and the shape of all shapes as they must live together like one

being. And I saw that the sacred hoop of my people was one of many hoops that made

one circle, wide as daylight and as starlight, and in the center grew one mighty flowering

tree to shelter all children of one mother and one father. And I saw that it was holy...

But anywhere is the center of the world.

~ Black Elk

The Great Circle (Mandala)

You have noticed that everything an Indian does is in a circle, and that is because the

Power of the World always works in circles, and everything tries to be round. In the old

days when we were a strong and happy people, all our power came to us from the sacred

hoop of the nation, and so long as the hoop was unbroken, the people flourished. The

flowering tree was the living center of the hoop, and the circle of the four quarters

nourished it. The east gave peace and light, the south gave warmth, the west gave

rain, and the north with its cold and mighty wind gave strength and endurance. This

knowledge came to us from the outer world with our religion. Everything the Power

of the World does is done in a circle. The sky is round, and I have heard that the earth

is round like a ball, and so are all the stars. The wind, in its greatest power, whirls. Birds

make their nests in circles, for theirs is the same religion as ours. The sun comes forth

and goes down again in a circle. The moon does the same, and both are round. Even the

seasons form a great circle in their changing, and always come back again to where they

were. The life of a man is a circle from childhood to childhood, and so it is in everything

where power moves. Our teepees were round like the nests of birds, and these were

always set in a circle, the nation’s hoop, a nest of many nests, where the Great Spirit

meant for us to hatch our children.

~ Black Elk

Receiving Medicine Power

I cured with the power that came through me. Of course, it was not I who cured, it

was the power from the Outer World, the visions and the ceremonies had only made

me like a hole through which the power could come to the two-leggeds."

"If I thought that I was doing it myself, the hole would close up and no power could

come through. Then everything I could do would be foolish.

~ Black Elk

Black Elk's Earth Prayer

Grandfather, Great Spirit, once more behold me on earth and lean to hear my feeble

voice. You lived first, and you are older than all need, older than all prayer. All things

belong to you -- the two-legged, the four-legged, the wings of the air, and all green

things that live.

"You have set the powers of the four quarters of the earth to cross each other. You have made me cross the good road and road of difficulties, and where they cross, the place is holy. Day in, day out, forevermore, you are the life of things."

Hey! Lean to hear my feeble voice.

At the center of the sacred hoop

You have said that I should make the tree to bloom.

With tears running, O Great Spirit, my Grandfather,

With running eyes I must say

The tree has never bloomed

Here I stand, and the tree is withered.

Again, I recall the great vision you gave me.

It may be that some little root of the sacred tree still lives.

Nourish it then

That it may leaf

And bloom

And fill with singing birds!

Hear me, that the people may once again

Find the good road

And the shielding tree.

The Sunset

Then I was standing on the highest mountain of them all, and round about beneath

me was the whole hoop of the world. And while I stood there I saw more than I can tell

and I understood more than I saw; for I was seeing in a sacred manner the shapes of all

things in the spirit, and the shape of all shapes as they must live together like one being.

And I say the sacred hoop of my people was one of the many hoops that made one circle,

wide as daylight and as starlight, and in the center grew one mighty flowering tree to

shelter all the children of one mother and one father.

And I saw that it was holy...

A long time ago my father told me what his father had told him, that there was once a

Lakota holy man, called "Drinks Water", who dreamed what was to be... He dreamed

that the four-leggeds were going back to the Earth, and that a strange race would

weave a web all around the Lakotas. He said, "You shall live in square gray houses,

in a barren land..." Sometimes dreams are wiser than waking.

~ Black Elk (1932)

Literature

Chief Seattle's Address

Every part of this Earth is sacred to my people;

Every shining pine needle, every sandy shore.

Every mist in the dark wood,

Every clearing and every humming insect is holy in the memory of my people.

The sap which courses through the trees carries the memories of my people.

The perfumed flowers are our sisters.

We are part of the Earth, and the Earth is part of us.

The deer, the horse, the great eagle are our brothers.

We all belong to the same family.

If we sell you our land, you mst remember that it is sacred.

The shining water that moves in the streams and rivers is not only water,

but the blood of our people.

If we sell you our land, you must remember and teach your children

to give the rivers the kindness that you would give your brother.

The red man has always retreated before the advancing white man

as the mist of the mountains runs before the morning sun.

The white man does not understand our ways.

He treats his Mother, the Earth, as a thing to be bought and sold.

He will devour the Earth and leave behind only a desert.

Where is the thicket? Gone.

Where is the eagle? Gone.

Goodbye to the swift pony and the hunt.

The end of living and the beginning of survival.

For some special purpose God had given you dominion over this land.

That destiny is a mystery to us.

The Earth is precious to God.

To harm the Earth is to harm its Creator.

If we sell our land, you must keep it sacred;

A place to taste the wind that is sweetened by the meadow flowers.

All things are connected.

What is there to life if a man cannot hear the lovely cry of the whipporwill?

What is there to life without the beasts?

And what is man without the beasts?

If the beasts were gone, man would die from a great loneliness of spirit.

All things are connected.

If we sell you our land, teach your children the the Earth is our Mother.

Every part of this Earth is sacred to my people.

This we know:

The Earth does not belong to Man. Man belongs to the Earth.

All things are connected, like the blood which unites one family.

We do not weave the web of life.

We are but a strand in the web of life.

What we do to the web we do to ourselves.

All things are connected.

Every part of this Earth is sacred to my people.

The red man loves the Earth like a newborn loves its mother's heartbeat.

If we sell you our land, love the land as we have loved it.

Care for the land as we have cared.

Hold in your mind the memory of the land as it was when you take it.

And with all your strength, with all your mind, with all your heart,

Preserve it for your children.

And love it, as God loves us all.

One thing we know: our God is the same God.

We may be brothers after all.

We shall see.

~ Chief Seattle

More on Chief Seattle

Ojibway prayer

Grandfather,
Look at our brokenness.
We know that in all creation
Only the human family has strayed from the Sacred Way.
We know that we are the ones who are divided.
And we are the ones who must come back together,
To walk in the Sacred Way.


Grandfather,
O Sacred One,
Teach us love, compassion and honor
That we may heal the earth
And heal each other.

Carlos White Eagle

WHITE EAGLE

A long time ago when I was a boy, a time for change had come.
I must leave childhood behind, the things of the child’s world I must shun.
So I went to my friend Strongheart. He was the wisest one I knew.
I told him, "Old one! My time has come. What in the world should I do?"
"Go to that hill. Sit and Wait."


So off I went up the hill with a blanket in my hand and a lot on my mind.
I was so tired. "Why can’t Creator talk to me down below?"
But, I sat down in the best place I could find.
Well, I sat for a very long time. It got very late.
"Just how long for the Creator do I have to wait."

Morning was here and my head fell to my knees.
I woke to be encircled with warm rings of white light.
In front of me, a campfire; and sitting across from me
Sat a figure of a huge White Eagle.

They were a magnificent sight.
Yes, I said they because they were male and female both.
Their words were like a breeze blowing through my mind.
They told me Creator said for me to be his word.
But, I must be good and listen and never be unkind.
As you can see the White Eagles and I are one.


But I didn’t want to listen. I wanted to have fun.
So now, if I speak, don’t think I’m some kind of nut.
Now what Creator tells me, I repeat, no matter what.
Respect and appreciation are the words that I must say.
Live by these and every day will be a great day.

~ Carlos White Eagle

ANGEL

Seen an angel lately, son.
Well, I did and it was fun.
Think all of them have wings and fly?
Better not! Or they might pass you by.
Mine had long black, sweeping hair.
Face divine, brown, and beauty rare.
There I lay at death’s door.
Looked up, there she was standing right on the floor.
Dressed only in a sheet of mist.
Shape so lovely, no man could resist.
Didn’t stay long or say a thing.
But a nuance of hope and life she did bring.
Now I’m up and fit as a fiddle.
Even getting a little pouch in the middle.
Hey! Angel this poem’s for you.
Thanks for being there and seeing me through.

~ Carlos White Eagle

Check out Roger's Notes on Meeting Carlos White Eagle

The Story of White Buffalo Calf Woman Excerpt from a Speech to the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization -
January 1995, The Netherlands by Arvol Looking Horse

Hua Kola, my name is Arvol Looking Horse, my Lakota name is Horse Man. I humbly stand
before you as Keeper of the Sacred Pipe, which White Buffalo Calf Woman brought 19
generations ago. Wakan Tanka, Great Spirit, created everything upon mother earth. Paha
Sapa, the Sacred Black Hills in South Dakota, is where our spiritual power and identity flows,
the heart of everything that is. Our stories tell us that our ancestors emerged from the
place we now know as Wind Cave. Many of our stories and Star Knowledge inform our way
of life.

A prophecy which has great significance for us is the story of the Great Flood which came
to this sacred island [North America] long before the contact with the Europeans. A flood
was sent to purify mother Earth and our people were residing in an area we now call
Pipestone, Minnesota. This sacred stone [pipestone] represents the blood of our ancestors.

It was some time after the flood that the Sacred Pipe was brought to our people by a spirit
woman who we now refer to as the White Buffalo Calf Woman. She instructed our people
in sacred ceremonies and how to live in balance with all life.

"The bowl of the pipe is made of the Inyansa (red stone of our mother) and it also
represents the female. The stem of the pipe is made of wood and represents the tree of life
and the male. The tree of life represents the root of our ancestors, as this tree grows so
does the spirit of ancestors people. The only time the pipe is put together is when you are
in prayer."

After she had given these instructions to our ancestors, she said she would return as a
White Buffalo Calf.

Our prophet Black Elk said the Nation's Sacred Hoop was broken at the Massacre of
Wounded Knee in 1890. To begin mending the hoop we have led a spiritual ride to wipe the
Tears of the Seventh Generation from 1986 to 1990. The Nation's Hoop has begun to heal
and mend. The prophecy tells us the White Buffalo Calf will return.

In August of 1994, a White Buffalo Female Calf was born [in Wisconsin]. This tells us it is
time to take our rightful place in leading the people towards Peace and Balance once again.
We will be strong and the people will heal. Our healing is global.

On June 21st of 1996 we will return to the Sacred Black Hills to pray for world peace. We
will pray for the return of our holy land. We will pray for the two-legged, four-legged and
winged ones, and for mother Earth. We ask you to pray with us. Indigenous nations know
our earth is suffering. Humanity is heading towards total chaos and destruction, that is both
a scientific and spiritual fact. The new millennium will make harmony or the end of life as we
know it.

Starvation, war and toxic waste have been the mark of the Great Myth of Progress and
Development. As caretakers of the heart of mother Earth it is our responsibility to tell our
brothers and sisters to seek peace.

We ask every Nation to declare June 21 World Peace and Prayer Day. Pray at this time with
us from your sacred areas, churches, temples and mosques, pray for the seventh
generation to have world Peace and harmony. This is the message I bring to you, may
Peace be with you all.

Mitakaye Oyasin, Arvol Looking Horse

Looking Horse Family Keepers Of Original Lakota Sacred Pipe

First published September 13, 1994 - Copyright 1994 by Neal White and the Beloit Daily
News - Third of three parts - By Neal White, City Editor

Janesville - For 18 generations Arvol’s family had served as the protector of both the future
and the past.

It was his grandmother's final dream in life to see that responsibility become his. He was
only 12-years-old when that trust was passed down from her deathbed.

Twenty-eight years later in rural Janesville, Dr. Arvol Looking Horse, Keeper of the Sacred
Pipe, 19th generation, is watched his family's destiny unfold.

Centuries ago, the spirit of the White Buffalo Calf Woman came to the Lakota Sioux and
presented them with a sacred pipe, which was to be used to bring peace to the warring
nations. The elders of the different nations gathered and smoked from the pipe.

While there was harmony, it was told that dissension would return. After many years of
discord and destruction, the spirit of the White Buffalo Calf Woman would return, and the
nations would be joined once again.

Since that time, members of the Looking Horse family, based in Pine Fork, S.D., have been
entrusted with the protection of the sacred pipe.

On Monday, in a farm yard pasture in rural Janesville, Looking Horse brought out the sacred
pipe as a white buffalo calf danced on the hill behind him.

The second coming had arrived.

"The prophesies are being fulfilled up to this point. We are starting to see a coming together
of people going back to their natural ways,'' said Looking Horse, as he prepared for
unification ceremony.

The gathering, which drew elders from several tribes across North America, was held in
honor of the white buffalo calf born Aug. 20, on David and Valerie Heider's exotic animal
farm.

Squatting down in the shade of lone fence post, Looking Horse explained that in these
times, the white buffalo calf ``is like an oasis of divine intervention coming up from Mother
Earth.''

"The things the elders have talked about for so long, now we can identify with what we
have been taught,'' he said. ``We are given this time to strengthen each other. This is an
important time in history.''

Pausing, trying to find the words in English, he said it was during the 1890s, when the
buffalo was nearly driven to extinction and the Indians were placed on Reservations, the
elders began praying for the white calf to return.

"It would be seven generations before we could talk about our way of life again,'' Looking
Horse said.

The sacred hoop of nations had been broken at Wounded Knee, (S.D.) ``The spirit of the
buffalo had ended, and with it, a way of life,'' he added.

The Lakota, as other tribes, only killed the buffalo for food and clothing. Nothing was
wasted. The warrior who killed the buffalo drank its blood, capturing its spirit.

Like the buffalo, Looking Horse explained the Lakota stood into the wind, regardless of how
cold it was. When the buffalo was gone, the Lakota were forced to eat cattle, which stands
with its rear to the wind.

"Our elders say that's why our way of life is backwards now,'' he said, smiling for the first
time. ``This is the seventh generation. The time has come to set things right.''

In 1990, Looking Horse said the spirit of the buffalo came back, but only after four years of
walking, and of mending.

"In 1987, '88, '89 and '90, we took the same route as Chief Big Foot took to Wounded
Knee trying to mend the hoop,'' he said. ``In 1990, the elders confirmed the spirit had
returned. They were preparing for the prophecy to flourish.''

Since that time, Looking Horse said a lot of young people have come back to their
traditional heritage.

"People are overwhelmed. The kids know something is happening. We're doing a lot of
healing,'' he added.

"We are starting to see an awareness of the prophesies,'' Looking Horse said. ``I want to
bring this awareness to the people and tell them what is important: Values and tradition.

"Today there is so much confusion. Kids have lost their identity. We've got to unite as a
nation (of all people),'' he added. ``But you have to respect yourself first before you can
relate to others as a nation.''

Pointing his finger out over the horizon, Looking Horse said the healing needs to go beyond
the Indian nations, but all people, of all races. That, he said, is part of his destiny.

Bibliography

Carlos White Eagle: Poems of the Spirit

Carlos White Eagle: The Circle of Life

both books available through Carlos White Eagle's website, http://www.lucernevalley.net/home/cwe/

Black Elk : A Man with a Vision/Carol Greene. Chicago: Children's Press, 1990.

Neihardt, John G.; Black Elk Speaks; 1989; the life story of a beloved Holy Man of the Oglala Sioux.

Turtle, Eagle Walking, story and paintings; Keepers of the Fire, Journey to the Tree of Life; 1987; based on Black Elks Vision.

Black Elk Speaks

Sacred Pipe

Black Elk: Holy Man of the Oglala

Black Elk's Story

Links

Lakota Information Home Page http://web.lemoyne.edu/~bucko/lakota.html

Lakota anti-exploitation page http://maple.lemoyne.edu/~bucko/war.html

Arvol Looking Horse http://indy4.fdl.cc.mn.us/~isk/arvol/arv_menu.html

Carlos White Eagle http://www.lucernevalley.net/home/cwe/

Also see Bison

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