State of the Church Address

Seventh Generation Native American Church

1011 Winterville Road

Athens, GA     30605

21 April 2023

My Dearest Relatives,

I am writing to you tonight, to bring to you a proclamation of  the State of the Church as we have come to celebrate nearly a year since we embarked on this local, physical journey; this phase of the development of our Church and Church family in Athens, GA.  It has been a remarkable, amazing joinery, one filled with Magic and Miracles.

A year ago, late April 2022, I had been residing in Chattanooga, TN for three years, dodging COVID, locked down, and locked in with a dear relative there.  It had been too long since I had seen my Mother, who, on her next Winter, will celebrate 95 years walking, in a good way, on the breast of our Sacred Mother Earth. I was eager to come here, come home, and visit her.  It was my initial plan to spend only a few days here, then return to Chattanooga.  But, Spirit had other plans.   

Not long after my arriving here in Athens, my brother and his family went on a week’s vacation, four hours away from our Mom.  Realizing if I went back to Chattanooga, as I initially planned, she would be here, alone, with both of her two sons, hours away from her.  I was prompted to stay a while, at least until my brother returned from holiday.  Fortunately, this was one of those moments in which I listened.  Within days, I received a phone call from  her Assisted Living facility, saying Mom had take a nasty fall, and was being transported to the ER.  She and I, ended up in Piedmont Athens Regional Hospital for four days.   

I was staying at a friend’s place a few nights, then another for a few nights, then in rented Air B&Bs in and around Athens.  One evening, while enjoying a comfortable bed in my friends, Wendy and Bryce’s guest room, a text came through.  It was from Victoria (Bradfield), asking if I was ever interested in playing Native American music.  “Of course!”  I replied.  Victoria then made me aware of some up-coming festivals at Rabbit Hole Studios that I might be interested in.

Now, stepping back in the story a few years, I first met Victoria while she was working as a server at a favorite restaurant of mine.  How fortunate was I, we, that Victoria was serving my table that. night.  We had never met until then, but  there was that certain and immediate soul connection between she and me.  I spoke of  Prayer Ceremony I was offering in the Athens area at the time.  She expressed a beautiful interest in my work and offerings.  We exchanged phone numbers, agreeing that I would invite her to my next Ceremony, the latter of which came in November 2018.

We gathered for Prayer Ceremony at our beloved Healing Path Farm, in our yurt, creating a sacred space on a cold November evening.  Little did we know, and who could have imagined then, the Teacher that was coming, and who was cooking already, lurking just around the dark corner, in what would manifest through the sickness now known as COVID.  That would be our last gathering, (until recently) as we navigated our way through an intense Season of the West, that place of darkness, chaos, and confusion, even death, as the whole world ground to a halt.

Stepping back into the present tense of the story, Victoria arranged for me to come to Rabbit Hole, and give a talk.  There I met Mokah Jonson, and Cassie Chantel.  Mokah was running for a local political office, and Cassie was hosting a fund-raising event for her campaign.  Cassie invited me to come and give a talk on the struggles of the Indigenous peoples of Turtle Island.  From there I was invited to a Healing Arts Festival, hosted at Rabbit Hole, a vision of a dear Granddaughter, Alexandria.  From there, offering prayer and Ceremony at a gathering of Sacred Fire.  It soon became apparent to me. that what was unfolding was a “right here, right now” moment of manifesting Destiny, suggesting I might want to stay here a while longer than originally planned and anticipated.

I began to pray, seeking guidance and help from the Ancestors, Elders, Creator, the Earth, praying, “Ancestors, Elders, I need your help, your guidance now.”  Echoing that same prayer, calling on Grandfather, Grandmother, The Sacred Mother Earth, “I am calling on you now!  I need your help, your guidance now.”  I was seeking clarity, a “Yes” from Sprit to and for this moment, this place, this “now”.

Soon, I met with Victoria, Nick (Bradfield), co-owners of Rabbit Hole, and JC Jones, a dear brother with whom I had shared many good prayers and Ceremonies.   I shared with them my vision ~ the Vision that was given to me seven years prior in the culmination of an eight week Vision Quest in the West.  The Quest eventually led me to Hovenweep National Monument, a few miles west of Cortex CO.  I was not supposed to be anywhere near Cortex, but there I was, catching a glimpse of a faded, easily missed, weathered sign reading ~ “Hovenweep  National Monument, 43 miles”. While having dinner that evening, I called my Navigator, asking what she knew of Hovenweep.  Amazing conversation.  Some have called it an interesting coincidence.  The next morning Highlander (my car) and I headed further west, to Hovenweep.

It was there, at Howenweep National Monument,  and on the morning, sunrise, on the fourth day, and like a movie being played out in front of me, the Vision became undeniably, and abundantly clear, just as Sprit was directing the Quest, from preparation for the journey, to and til now. I was to return to Athens create a State of GA Non-Profit Corporation, apply for and secure Federal 501(c)3 Non-Profit status.  This organizing, applications, investigations as regards legitimacy, waiting, waiting, waiting, took nearly three years until all was  officially and legally organized and structured.  I was instructed to do it this way, so-that no outside angry, dark entities could challenge our authenticity.  I was given the name, Seventh Generation Native American Church, consistent with what has come to be known as the Seventh Generation Prophecy, as was given to Crazy Horse.  Many of you have heard me tell that story.  Critical in these instructions was the conviction to create a Sacred Space, grounded and founded on the essential principle of Excellence.

Through the sharing of the Vision for the Church, and all the preparation invested in its infra structure, including websites, Social Media presence, and having secured nearly 1k relatives following the Church world-wide, and through dialogue with Nick, Victoria, JC, it was realized and affirmed that we would begin the physical manifestation of the Vision here, at Rabbit Hole Studios in Athens, GA.  We held our first Sunday Spiritual Celebration Service on the first Sunday of August 2022, beginning at 11:11 AM.  We have not missed a Sunday yet.

Each week our Fellowship is growing, seeing new pilgrims finding their way to our Church family.  Some have lingered for a while,  then moving on in a good way, and hopefully carrying forth the Medicine that is being shared here every Sunday.  Some have come and gone, but we have established a central and core group of the Faithful, consistent in attendance, and support.  I am extraordinarily grateful for each one of you, and honored and blessed by all who have sat in Sacred Space, and made their good prayer at our Altar.

We have resumed our Ceremonial gatherings at Healing Path Farm, praying with the Sacred Pipe.  We enjoyed a beautiful Winter Solstice Ceremony, and Spring Equinox Ceremony.   Our next up-coming event will a teaching on the Medicine Wheel and the creation of a physical Medicine Wheel on the Healing Path property.  In the Fall I will be teaching an eight week series on Walking the Medicine Path, the Medicine Wheel, and the concordant  Seven Sacred Teachings.  We have taken many from our Fellowship to my Tribal Grounds of the Southeastern Mvskoke Nation for Ceremony and Medicine School.  We have begun to sponsor other relatives on their own Vision Quest, opening the land at Healing Path for these sacred journeys.

We have created several Council Fires within the structure of the Church.  We have established a Stewardship Council, which has encouraged me to write this Address, a Logistics Council, responsible for setting up, taking down, for our events, especially our Sunday Spiritual Celebration, as our space, The Grand Hall at Rabbit Hole is a shared, multi-use(d), space.  We have established a Hospitality Council, which is responsible for greeting, welcoming,  and ushering our guest Relatives,  who are new to our services and work. We most recently established a Media & Public Relations Council, and a Technology Council, the latter of which is desperately needed as technology has outran me long ago as I soon will celebrate 72 Winters on my present Earth Walk! Additional Council Fires will be established and added as the need(s) present themselves.

Just within the last two weeks, and through a mutual arrangement and agreement with Nick, Victoria, and the Rabbit Hole Counsel, I have taken an office suite here, in a work-exchange credit agreement in and through which I will be providing mediation, conflict resolution, and counsel to the community here at Rabbit Hole.  I will be sharing this sacred space with you in Open House Ceremony following our Sunday Spiritual Celebration on Sunday, 23 April.

The sacred space that has been created in this office/study, will be a place to provide counsel through our Mental Health entity, White Wolf Counseling.  I finished preparing the space tonight.  It took me Seven Days to create, with Sprit orchestrating, directing each step, just like Spirit directed my preparation for Vision Quest.  “Take this, take that, place it here, place it there…”. I stepped back in awe and amazement earlier this evening, when the awareness of “It is done” and a sense completion came over me.

Nothing here is here by accident; no.  Each and every Sacrament has a story, a connection, with relatives, Ancestors, even my own family, all from the beginning.  The Cherokee, Creek artifacts on the very first piece of furniture I ever purchased, the books on the shelves, the artwork on the walls, the desktop photographs, too much to mention in the writing of this declaration, are all here as a result of Divine Navigation.

As I had that “It is finished” realization, I sat in my chair, and became keenly aware, the Vision has come full circle, here, in this space, in this time, in this moment, in this reality, in this fully and ever present Earth Walk.  And, it is a beautiful space.  You’d just have to see it.

Growth however, is not without its challenges.  Ever keeping true to the demand for excellence, the creation of this space, its consecration and soon dedication, has come at a tremendous financial investment.  Leading up to this moment, everything has been self-funded, and most of it trough my own financial reserves.  I must now practice the Seven Sacred Teachings in the telling of this story, and humble myself (Humility), be honest (Humility), and dig deep for Courage. I stand with and in deepest Respect for you, the young Seventh Generation relatives who have been a part of this development from the beginning, those wayfarers, who have found their way here, and to those of you who have supported me in a good way through this journey from Vision to reality.  I come now to speak a Truth.

When I was realized that yes, here was the place, and now was the time, I leased a small Cabin near the Apalachee River, in Apalachee GA.  The land there is sacred as our Mvskoke ancestors once inhabited that land and settled along the banks of the River.  I made a good prayer to the Creator then, opening my heart, saying if indeed this was/is a moment from the heart of the Divine, I could not do this with out help.

I have never been one who has enjoyed much financial abundance, at least in the physical realm, the realm of the Economy of Man, opting rather and as much as I can, to operate in the Economy of Sprit, wherein principles of generosity and reciprocity, are at its core, and foundation.  I retired several years ago, relying solely on my Social Security benefits to pay my commitments, put food on the table, and fuel in my automobile.  Not much room in that budget for any additional commitments of expense.  My prayer to Creator was phrased, “If this is you I can not do this on my own.  I simply do no have the resources to support it all, especially now, having said yes to a need of the establishment of this office space to offer the Medicine of wise counsel, healing, teaching, and Ceremony.

My understanding of my responsibility to the equation was to provide counseling services, to teach on Principles of Generosity, Gifting, Reciprocity, and operating in the Economy of Spirit..  This I have done.  Moving through the Winter Holiday season, many who began a wisdom walk with me, have not returned, most expressing a restoration of wholeness, and healing, and that’s a wonderful thing. I celebrate and honor that.  It has, however, left a deep hole in my financial posture.  Simply put, I have run out of fiscal resources.

I have come to you, my dear friends, allies, and Relatives to ask for help, your help.  Our annual budget is close to $24k, and we, I, are totally dependent upon the faithful giving of those who come our way, and their generous donations and gifts that have being offered in ways nothing short of Magic and Miracles.  I am grateful for every gift, no matter how large, or seemingly small.  Those weekly donations at our Sacred Altar, however are not nearly enough to support the greater and growing vision of where we are heading.

One would think that funding such a meager budget, particularly given the consideration of how our Church is growing in both, the physical and spiritual realm.  Yet, it is demonstratedly daunting.  As I did when I first began this journey,  my good prayer is to receive the help, support, and assistance needed and necessary to move forward, in a good way.

The Big Black Book reminds and assures us, “Let your prayers rise like smoke to the Great Spirit, for he will see and answer you.  Every step is a prayer, and as you dance upon the earth for the things you seek, the way will open before you.  In the same way, as you search for the true ancient pathways, you will find them.  Answers will come to the ones who ask, good things will be found by the ones who search for them, and the way will open before the ones who keep dancing their prayers.” (Mathew 7:7-8.)

Ideally, I hope you will consider supporting me,  and the greater Vision for the people, our Church, in and through an on-going, consistent, dependable manner.  Many of you already are, and I am richly grateful for that.  We simply need more of you to stand with those who already are.  Together we can accomplish great things.

Many of you, who have opted into our mailing list, I have never met.  Rarely do I see a, or your name, only an email address.  Yet, I consider each of you a Sacred part of our Fellowship. Many of you are from far away places, and perhaps, and understandably so, may wonder how your support will benefit you.  Let me help you with that dilemma.

Creator Sets Free (Jesus) tells a touching story, a parable, of the King, who comes into his kingdom, who will, and on that day, separate the sheep from the goats.  He will place the sheep on his right hand, the goats on his left.  (Parenthetically, the metaphor here is clear: sheep are known to be more docile, peaceful, eager to follow their shepherd, cooperative, etc.  Goats, on the other hand are iconically stubborn, head strong, determined to plow through head first, and head-strong.  They are known to wonder away and go astray.  They buck up against the guidance of their shepherd, seeking their own way.

To those who now stand on his right, the King says, come dear relatives, take your rightful place in the kingdom, for when I was hungry, you gave me food to eat.  When I was naked, you gave me clothes to wear.  When I was thirsty, you satisfied my parched tongue with water.  When I was sick, you came, and when I was in prison, you visited me.  The people marveled when hearing this.  They asked, when did we do these things unto you?  The Kings replied, when you did these things to others, you did them likewise unto me.

Similarly, he will say to the goats, go away from me, for you have bad hearts.  When I was hungry, you did not bring food to my doorway.  When I was thirsty, you offered noting to drink.  When I was naked you offered no coat.  When I was sick, you left me to suffer on my own.  When I was in prison, you ignored me.  For when you did not open your heart to your brother, your sister who was in need, you likewise did them not unto me.  Matthew 25:31-46

Simply put, your blessings enable us to bless others in a good way.  Your gifts have a reciprocal energy that exponentially expands beyond you in a manner that will bless and empower others.  That’s the way the Economy of Sprit works.

Earlier this evening, for example, a young and new relative to our local church family came to sit with me for a while.  He was telling me of having lunch yesterday, with his Mother’s Pastor.  As he, the man who was sitting on my sofa, told me that this Pastor had gifted him $100 bill as he was leaving.  On Sunday, prior, my new and adopted Grandson remained in my office after church, quietly praying.  I had left him sit in quietness, alone. Returning to my office later in the afternoon. Sitting on the Altar, this relative had left a $20 blessing, and now, in less than a week, his blessing me, had taken a life energy of its own, and came back to him five-fold.  Magic and Miracles, yes, but that is the way things work in the realm and economy of Spirit.  Many have come already, seeking wise counsel, Spiritual guidance, healing, and have not the resources to pay for these services as they would in the realm and economy of Man.  No one is ever turned away due to lack of funds.  Your gifts and blessings can help make this a “non-issue”, as we are simply and directly instructed, admonished, to simply go, simply do, simply speak, simply be: present, available, prepared, and paying attention.

Again, the Big Black Book puts it this way: The amount you measure out to others is the amount that comes back to you, like a basket that has been filled to the top, shaken down, and packed together, until it overflows.  What you give out will come back to you - full circle.  (Luke 6:36)

I have multiple platforms available through which you can engage in offering your support to this ministry, either as a one-time-blessing, or as an on-going, regular agreement of support.  PayPal, Venmo, Zelle are the most commonly used and readily available to most, even those who, like me, are techno challenged.  Use SeventhGenerationNativeAmericanChurch@Gmail as your beneficiary through using those apps, or websites; all of which are safe and secure.  Zelle is easiest and has no merchant fees attached to your gifts and blessings.  There are also “Donate” tabs/buttons on my personal website: RobertBlakEagle.com.  There is a “Donate” tab/button also on our Church webpage: SeventhGenerationNativeAmericanChurch.org

Checks, and cards of support are receivable at the following address:

Seventh Generation Native American Church

2301 Experiment Station Road

Suite 301-490

Watkinsville, Ga 30677

I have been blessed to offer Counsel to relatives from far away, England, Ireland, Costa Rica, the Philippines, Egypt, India, Canada, via Zoom or other Face-Time platforms.  Most have not had the resources to offer payment for service, but I have shown up each and every time there has been a need and  query.  I say that to show you just how connected we all are in this Sacred Circle of Life, and how interdepend we all are in the Hoop.

As I finished setting up my office space, a labor of love that took seven days to create,  I was keenly aware earlier in the evening, that this office space, our physical groundedness in this space, is the full and complete culmination of my Vision Quest in 2015.  It has come full circle, and that, while reflecting a sense of completion, the work, the Vision, it is just beginning.  I can not wait to see what lies before us.

We living in critical times, and challenging days.  Many more await us.  And in this perpetual struggle between light, dark, peace, chaos, angry and happy, it is more important now, more than ever in our evolution as human beings to move forward as people of the light, people of peace, people of love, people who are walking and dancing their prayer in good ways, if we are ever to overcome the darkness that wants nothing more than to steal your joy, your peace, your serenity, and interrupt the flow of love, coming down from Divine Source, and spreading horizontally in and among the people.

Will you join me on this epic journey?  Will you share your support, financially as well as and more especially in a prayerful manner?  May I depend on you to stand strong with me, us, as we move forward to teach our young people, this emerging Seventh Generation our old and Indigenous ways, wisdom, story, song, and tradition?

The day of Crazy Horses’s own personal Vision is coming into fruition even as I write these words.  For, In that day (a time of the Seventh Generation), all of the colors of mankind will gather together as one, and the Sacred Circle of Life will be restored, and we will all, stand as one.  That is being fulfilled among us, even now.

Crazy Horse saw a time of Seven Generations, the latter of whom, would come to those (Elders) who carry knowledge and wisdom, and ask for this Medicine, teachings, and traditions.  Especially, the young white ones.  He saw them coming, hungry for this knowledge of harmony and unity among all living things.

That day is this day, and the time is now.  It is so exciting to see it unfold, just as it was prophesied to be, just as it was envisioned to be, and it is incredibly intense, in a good way, to be caught up right in the middle of it all.

This is the work I have been called to.  The is the voice I have been given to speak.  It is this I desire to commit all of my energies, and not be distracted over matters of finance.  Please join me, Relatives, as we move forward in these troubling times.  Let us, together, be that light of the world, a light that sets the captives free.

I have said many times, the hope, the Agreement of this Seventh Generation is one one of healing, returning, reconciliation, restoration to a time and a place of love, unblemished, pure, unconditional, as was intended and created to be, in the beginning.  That time is now, and that place is here.

There is a beautiful scene in the movie, Field of Dreams.  It is, in fact, the final scene.  (If you’ve not seen the film, I encourage you to do so.  It is Medicine in its own way.). The scene has Terrence Mann (played by James Earl Jones) being invited by the “ghost” baseball players to go with them, as they returned to corn field from whence they emerged to play ball on a field created by Ray Kinsella in response to the whisper, If you build it, they will come.

Mann decides to follow the ghost players.  Tentatively, he reaches his hand into the sea of corn stalks, only to see it disappear.  He turns to Ray, and chuckles.  He reaches in a little deeper.  Jerking back his hand, again, he turns to Ray and chuckles.  He then proceeds to channel a great story of great wisdom to Ray, who has been labeled foolish for plowing up his abundant Iowa corn field, to construct a baseball field.  The project that has nearly bankrupted him, has resulted in a bank foreclosure of the land, and close relatives insisting he sell.  Mann’s admonishment  is just as poignant today, perhaps more-so, as it was then.  I close with this:

Ray, people will come, Ray.  They’ll come to Iowa for reasons they can’t even fathom.  They’ll turn up your driveway, not knowing for sure why they’re doing it.  They’ll arrive at your door as innocent as children longing for the past.

“Of course, we don’t mind if you look around,” you’ll say.  “It’s only twenty dollars per person.”  They’ll pass over the money without even thinking about it.  For it is money they have, and peace they lack.  And they’ll walk out to the bleachers, and sit in shirt-sleeves on a perfect afternoon.  They’ll find they have reserved seats somewhere along one of the baselines, where they sat when they were children and cheered their heroes.  And they’ll watch the game, and it will be a as if they have dipped themselves in magic waters.  The memories will be so thick, they’ll have to brush them away from their faces.

People will come, Ray.  The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball.  America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers.  It’s been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again.  But baseball has marked the time.  This field, this game ~ its a part of our past, Ray.  It reminds us of all that once was good, and what could be good again.

Ohhhhhh, people will come, Ray.  People will most definitely come.

I heard the whisper at Hovenweep, If you build it, they will come.  Ohhhhhh, they will most definitely come.  I have built it, and they are, in fact, coming.  And this is a beautiful thing.

So, I invite you now, to come, sit on the bleachers of our Seventh Generation Native American Church. We have reserved seats for you, and here, may you find peace, a peace that passes all understanding, a peace that the world can not give you nor which it can take away.  And together, we will be that one constant that remains and stands the test of time ~ Truth, Wisdom and Love.  Look around, and see what we are building.

  And by the way, it’s only twenty dollars per person (sic)………

I stand with much gratitude for you all.

A’ȟo.  O Mítákuye Oyásíŋ 🦅

Robert Black Eagle

706-340-7134

Note: The Seventh Generation Native American Church meets weekly, 11:11 AM, at Rabbit Hole Studios, 1011 Winterville Road, Athens GA 30605. All who come in a good way are welcome.

As a Federally recognized and registered 501(c)3, your generous donations to the Seventh Generation Native American Church may be tax deductible. Please consult your tax expert for more information.

(Scriptural references are from the First Nations Version of the New Testament)

I Want To Dance, And Fall In Love

I Want To Dance And Fall In Love

A Guide for a Intimate Relationship With Creator

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I want you take a moment, and think about, contemplate something.  It is not a complicated, nor complex question; in fact, it is really quite simple.  The question is this: what is your desire with, for, and from Creator?

If you recall the Eight Keys of Destiny, the first key is Desire.  Everything, at least everything significant, begins with a desire.  It is Desire that influences, shapes, molds, inspires our journey towards our Destiny ~ that “Assignment of Purpose”, that Divine Agreement with which we were in alignment long before we even began our present Earth Walk, our incarnation into this “right here, right now” reality.

So, again, what is your Desire as regards your relationship with Creator?  What is your Desire that is cooking in you even now, and has brought you to this place this morning?

Many years ago, in my more youthful days, I was invited by some buddies, to go to a Country Music, joint.   I suppose you’d call it a “Club” then (Momma’s Country Showcase, in Atlanta GA).  It was nearing Christmas, and a group of people came in, obviously having just left an office Christmas party.  Their rowdiness, laugher, left little doubt they were heavily “influenced” by the Christmas Spirits, with a lot of help of Jack Daniels, Jim Beam, Johnny Walker and a host of their friends.  I trust you get the humor in that.

As the band was playing, I don’t know, perhaps, “Christmas in Dixie” (Alabama), one of the women from the office party, staggered, literally, over to the table where I and my buddies were sitting, slammed her hands down on the table, and with slurred enthusiasm, belted, “I wanna dance, and fall in love!”  Beyond that, I don’t recall if she was successful in that desire or not, but her declaration of it has echoed through my memory for many Winters now ~ “I wanna dance, and fall in love.”

That is my Desire in my relationship with Creator ~ to dance, and fall in love.  I have said many times, Creator invites us, yes, desires for us to live, dance, experience life in the Garden of Magic and Miracles,.  Given that Divine Desire, it is fair to say, that, that desire is mutual, as the heart of Creator, and my, our own human spirit are seeking the same hope, the same desire~ to dance, and fall in love.  To put it another way, that which I seek, is now, seeking me.  The Divine Intimacy that I long for, is mutually longing for me.  It is a simple thing: it is time to come home.

A journalist that I appreciate recently wrote an article about falling in love, in this Generation (what is it now?  X, Y. Z”?  I got lost in all those identities long ago).  The article headlined, “I found true love and a happy marriage using this 90’s style blueprint.  It will work for you too.”  She sub headlined a  synopsis saying, “In this ‘swipe right’ world of the pursuit of relationship(s), I don’t think my husband, Sean and I would have ever fallen in love, gotten married, and had 9nine children together.”

Her article goes on to offer five pointers, tips, if you will, to influence our pursuit of relationships in a precarious era of virtuality, high tech, and now, Artificial Intelligence.

Follow me now, as I weave this back together, aligning with the question that began this talk: What is your Desire with and from Creator?  If that desire is love, a loving relationship of intimacy, of “Dancing, and falling in love”, her “tips” are as relevant in our relationship with Creator, as are those in the natural world of human beings.

First tip:  “Falling in love takes time.  Don’t make snap judgements,”. She writes: “It took time for me to fall in love with Sean, to get past some of the superficial things that were holding me back.”

The Old One’s tell a story of a young man, out hunting for food one day, who slipped and fell from the cliff.  As he was falling, he was lucky to grab hold of a branch of a tree just, above ~ a rather fragile, volatile branch at that.  Looking around him, he realized he was in deep trouble.  If the branch broke, his life would come to an untimely end, and no one wants to be remembered as the brave hunter, who fell from the cliff?  What songs and stories would be told about him, later on that night, around the fire?  In a moment of desperation he cries out, “Creator!  Great Spirit, (God) help me, help me please!  I’m in trouble here!”

He hears a voice coming from the heavens, “Just let go.  Trust me.  I’ve got you.”

Looking about him, and realizing there was nothing but rocks below, the hunter nervously replies, “Um, is there anybody else up there?”

In this “right here, right now” world of instant gratification, it takes time to pursue a relationship with Creator.  Mind you, the love that flows from the heart of Creator, is constant, consistent, unconditional, unwavering, trustable.  It is we Two Legged Beings that complicate things, most often stemming from doubt, skepticism, lack of trust, or simply an inability to believe.  Like the hunter, we make snap judgements, particularly when we are in trouble, and asked to simply let go, trust.  Like him, we often wonder, “Is there anybody else up there?”

The Big Black Book reminds us that love is patient (1 Corinthians: 13).  What grace it is that Creator is patient.  Again, it is we Two Legged Beings who want it all, and want it right now.  Be patient, patient especially with yourself in your pursuit of your desire for intimacy with the Creator.  That patience however, is not passive; it is progressive, ever diligent in its practice and performance.

The second tip: “Stop texting, start talking”.  One of my uncompromisable terms is I do not text about important matters.  No.  I want to be face-to-face, voice-to-ear, in conversation, dialogue.   So it is in our relationship with Creator~ we must engage in conversation.

If, for example, I, you, become inspired by an artist, a musician, an author.  The best way to get to know that person, is through conversation, dialogue.  I want to study the artist, become familiar with the small nuances of their art.  I want to listen to their music, learn the chords and choruses of their songs.  I want to understand the words they are writing.  I can not accomplish that hope through a “text” and I imply that on a much bigger scale, and am speaking somewhat metaphorically.  The point here is I must spend time, patient time in getting to know all I can about the artist.  I want to get to know the heart of Creator, and there really is no substitute for real, “in-person” conversations and the natural progression in a relationship that flows from that dialogue.  If you want to dance and fall in love with Wákán Taka, the Great Spirit, Creator, then learn its heart, listen for its voice, study its Creation.

For us, that pursuit, begins and ends, with Intentional Prayer.  When you pray with intention, don’t  focus on how your prayer will be answered, instead, focus on the what and why of our prayer.  If we get caught up on how or when our prayer will be answered, then we are really just getting caught up in the make-believe scenario of how and when our human desire wants something to happen, and not how Creator needs it to happen to be in alignment with the Sacred Circle of Life.  Creator is not in a hurry; we are, and it all rests on our good prayer(s).

Let me offer you a simple, basic outline of Intentional Prayer that focuses our energies on asking for guidance when we, like the young hunter, need help, especially in troubling times.

1. Begin by calling on your Council of Spirit Guides.

Grandfather, I am calling on you.  I need your help, your guidance now.

Grandmother, I am calling on you .  I need your help,  guidance now.

Elders, Ancestors, I am calling on you.  I need your help, your guidance now.

Creator, I am calling on you .  I need your help, your guidance now.

2. State your prayer in simple terms.

I am facing (this or that). And I do not know what to do.  I bring this to you for your help, your  guidance.  Please bless this prayer with clarity, protection and favor for the highest and best good for all.

3. Pray for our Sacred Mother Earth.

And please bless our Mother Earth with healing and protection and ease the suffering of all her children.

4. Close with gratitude.

Grandfather,I am grateful.   O Mítákuye Oyásíŋ

5.  And this is the most important, Listen.

Grandfather, open my ears so that I may hear your voice.

Third tip: “If you are single, don’t work from home”,

Again, in this virtual, high-tech world we live in, and especially exacerbated by fear and viruses, it is easier to call Door Dash, turn down the lamp, turn on the TV, and isolate.  This has to do with community and communities.  As the Creator observed, “It is not good for my children to be alone.”  It is in and through like-minded community we will find fulfillment, validation, wholeness, healing, and love.  Here, there, we will discover that “When two or more (of you) are gathered together, there am I in the midst of it all.”  You see, the love of Creator falls upon us vertically, and spreads horizontally in and trough community.  Sure, there are moments, times, when we need to go to our quite place, close the door, and seek, through our good prayer(s) the voice of Creator.  The volume of the world can get overwhelming at times.  I am speaking more broadly here, in that when we gather, as we have today, in a good way, Creator’s spirit, Creator’s voice, resonates in all of us and that collective energy brings us closer to its Source.  The point here, is isolation is often fatal, especially when we get into our own mind, our own thoughts.  Someone once said, “When you are alone, you can convince yourself that anything is a good idea”.  That can lead us into trouble.  Simply put, avoid isolation, seek community in which we share the journey, help and support each other in our desire to dance and fall in love.  I assure you: the Garden of Magic and Miracles is not an overcrowded population.

Fourth tip: “Opposites do NOT attract; at least for the long haul”

As is important in community to align ourselves with like-mindedness, so it is in our pursuit of relationship with Creator.  As I stated earlier, the desire of the heart of Creator, is to be in relationship with its creation.  If that too is our desire, a desire of dancing and falling in love, the good news is there is alignment and agreement in that mutual desire.  I, you, Creator, are not opposites, in fact, we all come from the same breath, the same voice, the same spirit, and in that we are all joined as one, as Crazy Horse foresaw many Winters ago, when “in that day” there will be unity and harmony with and in all things, knitted together with the Sacred thread of Creator’s love.

Fifth tip: “Prioritize your love life”.

Our pursuit of a relationship of intimacy with Creator, our love life with him must be our number one priority.  Many people will fill those big houses on Sunday, and then return to their every day world on Monday, and nothing ever changes.  Prayers are forgotten, overlooked, put on hold, and at the end of the day, we stagger home, exhausted, too tired to even remember.  There is a notable difference in a relationship that is on the back burner, so-to-speak, than the relationship that is on the hot eye of passionate pursuit,  It must not be an “every once in a while, only on Sunday” experience or expression.

Stay present, persistent in your practice of prayer, dialogue, Ceremony, today, tomorrow, and always.  Your experience of intimacy with Creator, our mutual desire for that, is  efficaciously congruent to the time we spend together.  We have the assurance from Creator, “Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the earth.”  It is up to us to return that affirmation .  If you truly want to dance and fall in love, you must spend time with the object of your affection.

The truth is that corporations do not love you and your boss will not be holding your hand on your deathbed.  Your community, Creator will though, but only if we take time to invest in that love relationship now.  And when we come to the end of our journey, we will hear the words, “Welcome home, my good and faithful servant.

I close with this.  It comes from a recent  post from an Indigenous group  that I follow.

If you forgot who you are, remember, it is never too late to come home.  Home is our heart and who you really are ~ your Nagi, your spirit, that small child inside that is close to Tunkasila, Grandfather.  The drugs, alcohol, and messed up teaching lead you away from who you really are, and how Creator sees and knows you to be.  I see who you are, deep down, and beneath the fake facade.  You had to be someone else to survive, and I get that.  But you forgot to come home.  It is time now, to come home.

You need you now more than ever.  WE need you now more than ever.  Home.  Creator is calling us home, that place in the Sacred Hoop of Life where all are unified as one, held in the Sacred Hands of Wákán Taka.

A’ȟo  O Mítákuye Oyásíŋ 🦅

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Robert Black Eagle

2 April 2023

Armadillo Medicine

ARMADILLO MEDICINE

A WISDOM GIFT FROM THE NATURAL WORLD

By Robert Black Eagle

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I live in a small, two room cabin, nestled in the woods on five acres of land, near the Apalachee River.  Long ago, my people, the Mvskoke (Creek) people lived near and along  the banks this sacred river.  There are moments when, and most often in the silence of Morning Prayers, or Sunset Songs, I hear their voices,.  I hear their songs whisper in the wind.  I feel the vibration of the Stomp Dance as it rattles the ground beneath my feet. Often I hear the laughter of the little children at play under the ever watchful eye of Mothers and Elders.

Here, on these five acres, live many relatives.  There are the Hawk people, the Wood Pecker people, the Squirrel people, the Deer people, Vulture people, a host of Bird relatives I’ve yet to identify.   And, of course, the Armadillo people, the latter of which is an absolute nemesis to my neighbor, my landlord.  She despises them!  She is tormented by them, to the point of a mad obsession with their destruction.  Mind you, they do wreak havoc on a lawn, and her’s is rather pretty.  She prides herself in a small, well manicured, always green lawn, just down from the steps of her front porch.  The field in front of my cabin looks as though it has been freshly turned by mule and plow.  Armadillo

At night, when the sun dips beneath the Western horizon and falls asleep for the day, the stars come out in abundance and mystery; as do the Armadillo.  So does my neighbor, with spot light torches, a 22 caliber rifle, riding the five acres on her golf cart, guns a blazing.  She messages me during the night to turn on my outside spot lights so that her targets, Armadillo, are better illuminated.   She has numerous and notable notches on the rifle stock, and celebrates each kill as though it were a Safaried trophy.  One can not kill them all,  and yet the process begins again tonight, under the cover of darkness.

Today, it is cold here; tomorrow even colder.  A dreary, chilly rain has fallen day long from the low hanging clouds shrouding an overcast sky.  The field has been covered in Bird People; all day, hundreds of them, like little black ants, regally marching over the wet ground like soldiers on parade.  I tried to count them, the Bird People; that’s my obsessive compulsion over mysteries such as an observations as this one.  I lost my count at seventy-six.  There were the Robin People, the Cardinal People, the Pine Siskin People, the Wren People, the smaller relatives pecking water from the tire track puddles, left over ruts, possibly paths my Ancestors walked from over here to over there.

I was intrigued.  I leaned in for a closer look.  And then, I saw it.  The Bird people were foraging for insects, grubs, earth worms, beetles, and any other host of Food Relatives sleeping in the moist ground, freshly and conveniently  tilled and turned  from the last night’s foraging of their Armadillo Relatives, grateful, for much of their work, most of the process had been done for them already, the night before,  all the while dodging the wrathful, lethal bullets from my neighbor, who sadly, could never see the Magic of Nature and the Miracle  of  Creator’s provision unfolding right in front of her, in her own front yard, just down the steps from her front porch, stepping out and onto her perfectly manicured lawn, always green.

Nature, and our Sacred Mother, the Earth, operate under a different economy than do the Two Leggeds who walk upon her breast, who use and abuse Her gifts and resources as though they were rights rather than the blessings and gifts that they truly are.  Manifest Destiny.

The teacher, Jesus, pointing to the fields around him, very possibly,  and most likely freshly plowed by the Armadillo People, observed, “Look!  See the Bird People; they do not sow nor reap, or store away food in barns, and yet their Father feeds them.” (Matthew 6:26). This is the economy of Spirit, the economy of the Natural World.

Creator sends the Armadillo People to turn the ground in darkness, in order to provide a tasty breakfast for the Bird People in the soft glow of sunrise.  A Gift Economy.

Many Winters ago, and in my youth, while questing in the halls of Academia at Emory University’s Candler School of Theology, I was introduced to a word, a rather profound concept, postulated by  German theologians.  That word was “Weltanschauung”, meaning one’s unique and individual view of the world.  As is the case in many languages (emphasis on most Indigenous languages) there is no adequate, comparable, nor just word in the English language to compliment that term, so the translation, definition, at best, is loose.   

Weltanschauung: One’s view of the world.  There is a whole host of thought to be developed and discussed regarding Weltanschauung.  The point of introducing the term and concept here however, is to inform and emphasize traditional  Native, Indigenous  view(s) of the world (Weltanschauung) as regards a gifting exchange economy, that which I understand and define and speak of as the  The Economy of Spirit.

An Economy of Spirit  sees, understands, and relates to the world differently and in stark and contrasting  juxtaposition of classical Eastern, European, colonialism Weltanschauung, the latter of which was and is predicted on the notion private property, ownership, buy, sell, consume, store up excess, hoard; a concept and notion completely foreign, alien, and incompressible to the Native mind.

Nailed up,  hand painted fence post signs declaring No Trespassing!line the road.  That, juxtaposed to  Native Neon flashing, Welcome!  Always Open!  It is human, and or cultural/societal perspective, Weltanschauung, that will see and shape the world as a gift or commodity.  Only it can not be both.   

  When something is viewed as a gift, the energy engaged in the exchange is fluid, it has and holds “movement”, life (Anima) a transferring transformation of power and empowerment.  That is the nature of a gift.  When something is viewed as a commodity however, something to be bought, something to be sold, whatever measure of energy  involved in that exchange is sterile and stagnant; there is no movement, no power, more and most likely results in dis-empowerment.  A gift has exponential energies whereas a commodity is a product of diminishing returns.  A gift establishes and embraces enduring relationships, whereas the relationship of commodities ends at the point of sale.

Writer and scholar, Lewis Hyde notes, “It is the cardinal difference between a gift and commodity exchange, that a gift establishes a feeling-bond between two people.”

Let me give you a real-life example of the contrast.  During my time and service at the DAPL Resistance Camp, Standing Rock ND in the Winter of 2016, I was asked to facilitate the Mental Health Council during my time there.  This Council was tasked with the responsibility   of providing support and counsel for the mental health and emotional well-being of well over ten thousand Water Protectors.  It was a daunting responsibility, involving many caring and compassionate Relatives from throughout Turtle Island.  One such Relative and mental-health associate with the Council, was Aquila Red Wolf, a dear daughter from somewhere in Texas who heard the call to come, answered it, and came.

Early, on a cold morning, as was our tradition, the Council gathered in the Mental Health Lodge, a small, drafty tipi, for prayer and guidance.  This day, when Red Wolf entered the tipi, she was carrying a long, narrow, Cedar box, Bear Medicine fetish, Medicine Wheel hand-painted on the top, brass hinges, brass clasp.  Holding the box, she told this story, and without quotation marks, I will tell it as I heard it then and remember it today.  I tell it with great humility, not to boast,  or call attention to myself, rather and simply to emphasize and illustrate my point.  I speak now in the first person of Red Wolf.:

One morning I was browsing Native American gendered goods on eBay (An online auction-type platform for the buying and selling of hard good commodities), when this box and its contents, which were being offered for sale, “popped up”. My spirit quickened as I recognized this was a very Sacred object, one that needed not be bartered and sold to the highest bidder.  And yet, here it was, being offered for the hard exchange of dollars and cents.  The box called to me, instructing me to bid/purchase it, and knowing my trip toStanding Rock was imminent, take it along the journey, assuring me, ‘you will know what to do with it once you get there, and KNOW, what to do with it’;’you will know who it belongs to, once you meet them.

Looking at me, she handed me the box, rather, she gifted me the box, saying,

Now I know, now I understand the ‘why’ of this so-called coincidental “popping up” on eBay.  Now I understand why it sang to me.  Now I understand why I was instructed to secure it, why I was instructed to bring it here, how, and why I would know, when and once I knew.  It was sitting in this Circle and under your guidance, counsel, and prayer, that I realized that this belongs to you.  It is a gift from the Universe, for you.  I am simply the vessel of its transfer and exchange.

My breath shortened, my heart beat quickened.  My hands trembled as I held the Cedar box, its contents now, singing to me, with a voice, harmoniously alive, as I sensed what might be sleeping beneath the hand painted lid.  Slowly, my fingers found the brass clasp, and opened the  Cedar box.  I was speechless.  Imagine that.

Inside the Cedar box there was a white, fringed, hand-beaded leather long bag.  I recognized it immediately.  A bag holding, protecting, carrying (a) Chanupa Wakan (a) Sacred Pipe.  Untying the leather strapping closing the top of the bag, revealed the stem, long, fringed, wrapped in the same white leather, intricately, ornately hand-beaded in the vibrant colors of the Earth: clay, coral, red, yellow, white.  Alongside that bag was another, smaller, scarlet, old-world print cloth bag, drawn taught with scarlet lacing and brass end tips.  Inside that bag, and wrapped in its own solid color scarlet cloth, was the bowl: a hand carved catlinite (Pipestone mined exclusively in Minnesota) effigy of Buffalo.  It was heavy, magnificent, alive.  Anima.  I could only imagine the mind that had envisioned it, hands that held the stone, carved and created it, the soul that sang to it and gave it its voice that now, sitting in a cold, wind-ripped tipi, on the prairie, in the middle of a North Dakota Winter, sang to me.

Now, many Winters later, Aquila Red Wolf and I remain close friends, and while we do not speak often, when we do, the re-connect is immediate, and once again, we sing our songs, tell and share our Remember When stories of Standing Rock.  Now, Many Winters later, the Chanupa Wakan, the Sacred Pipe is often offered to our Seventh Generation fellowship for prayer and Ceremony.  It continues to feed.  It continues to bless.  It continues to grow.  It continues to breed relationships and bring people together in a good, prayerful, Sacred manner.  It continues to connect our people to Creator.  It continues to live.

Contrast that with the Economy of Commodity, that which I speak about as the Economy of Man.  There, in that transaction, the energy exchange would have ended the moment the bill was stamped “Paid-In-Full”, and the receipt tendered.  A gift on the other hand, freely given, is a living entity.  It finds you, comes to you, offers itself to you through no action of your own; free, having moved toward you without your beckoning call.  It is not a reward for tasks or behaviors.  Like the Chanupa Wakan, the Sacred Pipe, it can not be bought, sold, exchanged for money.  And yet, here it was, and here it is, this Sacred Pipe, a gift now, with a life, breath,  and song uniquely its own.  Fully alive,  Anima.

Hyde reminds us that in a gifting economy, an Economy of Spirit that is, one’s freely given gifts can not be made into someone else’s capital gain.  In a gifting exchange, the inherent value and power of the gift grows exponentially, ever expanding its efficacy as it is passed from hand-to-hand, growing richer and fuller as it is honored and respected in each ad every exchange

From a Native view of the world, and Indigenous Weltanschauung if you will, a gift economy embraces four basic, intricately interconnected principle, tenets, or virtues. These are Generosity, Gratitude, Respect, and Reciprocity.  These four tenets are the currency of the Economy of Spirit.  An exchange is generously offered, received with and in gratitude, honored and respected, then reciprocated  in the “giving away”, or re-investing.   Deposits into the bank of the Universe.

Lewis Hyde has made extensive studies in the gift economies.  He finds that “objects…will remain plentiful ‘because’ they are treated as gifts.”  A gift relationship with nature is a “formal give-and-take that acknowledges our participation, and dependence upon, natural increase.”  He continues: “We tend to respond to nature as part of ourselves, not a stranger or alien available for exploitation.  Gift exchange is the commerce of choice for it is this commerce that harmonizes with, or participates in the process of nature’s increase.”

When we view the world in this manner, we Two Legged, yes, and even Armadillos are transformed.  The relationship of generosity, gratitude,  respect, and reciprocity, (sadly in the modern word, these traits are traded and lost in the balance sheets, recognizing and reflecting only credits and debits) thus developed, practiced, and exercised, will only increase and enhance the evolutionary, physical ad spiritual fitness of all parties involved, the natural world, and again, even and especially the Armadillo People.  Species, societies, cultures that treat each other as well as the natural world with respect, generosity, gratitude and reciprocity will most certainly pass on genes, energies, memories, stories and songs of a much higher vibration and frequency for all generations, past, present, and future, than those who destroy it, or ride around on golf carts in the middle of the night, camouflaged in the anonymity of darkness, armed, locked and loaded, intent on its death and destruction.

The Earth provides the footing and foundation for the Grass People, who provide warmth and cover for the Grub and Insect People, who  in turn provide food for the Armadillo People, who’s foraging for that food, tills the ground for their tomorrow morning relatives, the Bird People,  And so, the cycle, the story of a gifted life, a gifting Universe continues….

Author Robin Wall Kimmerer, in her fascinating, meaningful book, Braiding Sweetgrass*, recognizes that, “For the greater part of human history, and in places in the world today, common resources were (and are) the rule.  But some invented a different story- a social construct in which everything is a commodity to be bought and sold.  The market economy (ie, the Economy of Man) story has spread like wildfire, with uneven results for human we’ll-being and devastation for the natural word.  But it is a story we have told ourselves, and we are (always) free to tell another, (or better yet)  reclaim the old one.”

Kimmerer continues: “One of these stories sustains the living systems on which we depend.  One of these stories opens the way to living in gratitude and amazement at the richness and generosity of the world.  One of these stories asks us to bestow our own gifts in kind, and to celebrate our kinship with the world.  We can choose.  If all the world is a commodity, how poor we grow.  When all the world is a gift in motion (Anima), how wealthy we become.”

Profound Medicine in those words.  A’ȟo.

I speak the words, O Mítákuye Oyásíŋ often, purposefully, intentionally. These words embody the Native, Indigenous Weltanschauung, our view of the word.  Literally translated, the phrase acknowledges, “My Relatives”. Yet, as is the case with so many things in Native understanding and Indigenous world view, those words  mean and embrace so much more.  We understand and acknowledge that by the virtue of the Shared and Sacred breath of Creator, we and all  things are related,  Yes, even the Armadillo.  For when Creator breathed and spoke life into the Rock People, Tree People,  Grass People,  People of the Air, People of the Water, People of the Under Word, The Squirrel People, The Four Legged, The Slithering People, that same breath breathed and spoke life into all things, all peoples.  Hence, and in the Sacred Hoop of Life, we and all things are related, none more important, none more significant, none more meaningful than its neighbor.

The Commodity Exchange, the Economy of Man has been operative on Turtle Island for over four hundred years, eating up, killing the likes of the Armadillo, and malignantly consuming everything in its path.  Sad. Yet, and consistent with the Seventh Generation Prophecy, that being the manifestation and time of a world longing for the light again, a time of the revival and renewal of Indigenous knowledge of wisdom, unity and harmony among all living things, there is a notable and emerging longing, a desire to live again, in a world made and filled with gifts.  I can sense that time is near.

I can sense, perhaps, that time is now.  I sense it as I notice the grass beginning to grow greener, as the Earth is warmed in anticipation of Spring, soon.  I see it as I marvel over a blanket of daffodils, poking  their majestic yellow heads from Winter’s frost, sunward.  I see it.  I see it as I notice red-buds, pregnant, full, plump, sleeping on limb tips,  waiting.  I see it.  Always first in the natural world, and never more-so than in the transition from the harshness of Winter to the  born again promise of the March Worm Moon.  I see it unfolding as I stand here, observing, as the Bird People dine and feast in the freshly plowed and turned earth, in the field, outside my cabin, in the tracks of the Armadillo Dance, leftover from the night before.  A gift to the Bird People.  No charge.

Oh!  Wait!  Did you hear that?  Someone just said thank you.   Sounded like an Armadillo to me.  What do you think?

And, the cycle of life continues. 

Or so the Old Ones say.

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Photo Credits: Robert Black Eagle

*With all due credit and respect, this story, this writing was inspired and adapted from the book, Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer.

News Reel

Relatives, we recently had an UGA Scool of Journalism student produce a short clip about the Seventh Generation Native American Church for a class assignment. Below is the link to that video. Thank you for viewing, and as always, please share! A’ȟo

https://drive.google.com/file/d/11c2f2v2oaEuks_ljdov070LFkqYney-i/view?usp=drivesdk

Veteran's Day Reflections

Today is Veteran’s Day, 11/11/ 2022. As I write this blog, I am at my Tennessee home in Chattanooga, enjoying the spirit and song of the mountains and the Tennessee River. This morning, at sunrise, I took a drive downtown Chattanooga. My intention? Stand on Veteran’s Bridge, draped and lined, always with American flags. There, Veteran’s Bridge crosses the massive and ancestrally, historically significant and important, Tennessee River. For me, this spot posses and presents a paradoxical juxtaposition. Standing there on a bridge, erected, and dedicated to our United States Warriors, past, present, and future. Off to my right, and along the banks of the River, is a monument. It is called Ross’s Landing.

Ross’s Landing is a monument remembering and honoring the Removal of the Cherokee Indians, on June 6, 1838, and led by Principal Chief John Ross. This site, spot, is the embarkation point for one, among many water and inland routes (there were several) for the Cherokee on what we speak of now, as the Trail of Tears, or, as our Ancestors cried in their native language , the Trail on Which We Wept. On that day, over 1500 Cherokee departed Ross’s Landing in steamboats and barges.

For me, it is a sad place. I remember the first time I stood there at the river bank, a nearly overwhelming sense of grief ~ Ancestral grief, overwhelmed me. The Tennessee River was known among the Cherokee,, as The River That Sings. On that day, there sere no songs from the River sung to me. Only, and rather, the sad spirits that remain yet in that Sacred Site, and who’s tears fell upon my heart, and the collective cries of grief felll upon my ears.

Eventually, many would perish on the Trail. Mostly our Elders, women, and children. Some say between four, five thousand, and others say more (we will never really know), perished along the cold, wintry journey. That however, is not the intended story of this writing; it is spoken of only to add to the tragic memory of this Sacred location, Ross’s Landing.

I personally, am a Veteran, USAF 1971-1979. I received my Draft Notice from the Selective Service Agency in the latter years of the Viet Nam war. Hence, my service requirements were not voluntary (I was drafted into mandatory service for a period of a least two years); my enlistment and subsequent eight years of service in and through the United States Air Force, however, were. The Viet Nam era, in spite of my service, was not a proud nor honorable time, at least for me, yet I served then and there in an honorable way, and was honorably discharged eight years later.

Today, I was proud to stand on Veteran’s Bridge. Admittedly, I felt a sense of pride, or better said, proudness. It was an honor to serve then, and, now, to stand in a place of honoring that service. And yet, the juxtaposition, and reminder of yet another sad and dishonorable event, just over there, in our Nation’s military history. At best, it was and will always be, for me, a paradoxical moment.

As I drove away, lingering thoughts and emotions followed me. The sad whispers of our Ancestors, mixed with cheers of national Military pride remained in my psyche. The moment, the experience had yet another effect. It awakened a memory from my recent past that so vividly, poignantly, and existentially found me experientially in the middle of the conflict. It was a real life, right now , moment for me in which I was living in the moment and in the middle of a paradox of juxtapositions.

The date, 11 November 2016, Standing Rock North Dakota, Očhéthi Šakówiŋ, Dakota Access Pipe Line Resistance Camp. I had travelled there with my dearest friend, and adopted daughter, Anika Salguero. That day was Veteran’s Day. Word spread throughout and among the camp alerting all Veterans present to report to the specific Veterans’ Camp for a march to Backwater Bridge, known to us Warriors as Veterans’ Bridge.

Backwater Bridge was a crucial and often warring place in the conflict between and separating peaceful (I can experientially vouch for that reality) Water Protectors on one side, and Law Enforcement on the other. The bridge crossed a narrow span of the Cannon Ball River, just before merging with the Missouri River, the latter of which was under threat by the pipeline, upstream, and engineered to bore and lay beneath the Missouri, hence rendering vulnerable the only water source for at least two major reservations, a (ironically) casino, and an estimated 18 million people downstream.

It was a bridge along highway 1806 - the only road for miles, across these reservations, and the only road with access, in and out. Law Enforcement had erected barriers, concrete as well as armored vehicles on the West side of the bridge, the side of the Očhéthi Šakówiŋ encampment, which at one point was estimated to include over 10 thousand people from all over the world. As Highway 1806 East was the fastest route in and out, (that matter crucial for emergency response and transportation to nearest medical facilities) these barriers only exacerbated the conflict and tensions between a very delicate and contentious, confrontation of persons, politics, and ideology.

On that day, Veterans’ Day, a delegation of Warriors marched to the cadence of drums and rested, as close to the bridge as we could, given the barriers. We stood, in silence, as we unfurled a massive American Flag. I could not then nor now, guess how many of our Warrior brothers and sisters stood, side-by-side, each one of us holding the Flag, rippling horizontally in the brisk and constant wind from the prairie. It was both, a humbling and endearing moment.

On the blue and white star field of the Flag, stood and elderly WW II relative - a female US Army nurse. She led us in a beautiful prayer, both in her native language and in the English language. A family of a fallen brother, felled in Afghanistan, had sent his ashes to us, requesting we spread them over the River, this day, in honor, respect and remembrance of his service and sacrifice. This we did, along with a Twenty One Gun Salute in his honor. (I retrieved one of the spent cartridges as we were marching away. It remains on my altar. Lest we forget…). It was a monumental day; one I shall never forget.

My service at Standing Rock was the facilitation of the Mental Health Council, a rather daunting, and often ominous task. No more so was this the case, than on the night of 20 November 2016, nine short days after the Veterans’s Freedom March earlier. After our evening prayers, and de-brief, I stepped outside from my Lodge, and Council tepee, into the bitter cold dreary dew and dusk, and never-ending prairie wind. I recall observing, and commenting to an associate that it had been an unusually quiet day. I prayed that was not signaling the quiet before the storm .

That quietness was soon and violently disturbed. Disturbed and interrupted by the desperate cries of water soaked, freezing, tear-gassed Water Protectors, scattered and running to the Medic Healer area (think of a MASH unit, for example), screaming for Medics. Many had been wounded by so-called non-lethal bullets, some stunned from concussion grenades. We would too soon learn that some of our young buck warriors saddled up their horses, determined to go down to the bridge and move the barriers, specifically the armored vehicles which had been burned (which side was responsible was never determined, and blame and responsibility fell upon both) a few weeks prior. Law Enforcement, now including North Dakota National Gurard, responded viciously, with water cannons in sub-freezing weather, tear and other toxic gasses, stun and concussion grenades (I personally had one explode at my feet once called to the front line). and so-called rubber bullets, one of which took the eye of a precious Water Protector niece. When I approached the front line of the violence, it literally resembled a war zone in a third world country. At best, given the setting of the United States of America, a place where just a few days earlier, we stood as proud and fellow warriors, now were under attack by the same country, the same military that many of us served and sacrificed (all gave some, some gave all). and swore to defend, it was a onther wordy, surrealistic moment. A moment of extreme, yet existential paradoxical juxtaposition.

A very profound and telling video of that night is available for your viewing through the following link: https://youtu.be/z3_gxvMi0kQ. A letter from my dear friend and colleague, Matt Salim Grass is posted in the Testimonial section of my web-site, RobertBlackEagle.com. You are encouraged to view and read both, do your own research into that night, the events that called us there in the beginning, and why many remained until yet another, forced removal in February 2017. In its unique way, Standing Rock was vividly and symbolically a reconstruction of previous genocidal wars inflicted upon our Native relatives. Not only was it paradoxically juxtaposed, it was an experience, as a Veteran challenging to reconcile.

For me, the path to that reconciliation, the Medicine for the desire and intention of healing, begins and ends with telling the story, again, lest we forget. Since Standing Rock, I have enjoyed and appreciated the opportunity and honor to speak to literally thousands of people, mostly to the young white ones, coast-to-coast, reaching some, even beyond the borders of this continent. I tell the story of a triumphant yet tragic 500 hundred year history beginning with the 1492 contact, when and where lived an indigenous population estimated to exceed sixty million, through the Massacre at Wounded Knee, 23 December, 1890 who’s population, by then, had been systematically and genocidally decimated to less than a quarter of a million. I speak about how the Dakota Access Pipeline manifested and demonstrated, yet again, the defiance of treaty rights, respect for the land, the environment, and disregard of Native peoples and genocide.

There is always hope. Hope for today, hope for tomorrow, hope for the future, and hope for the forgiveness, reconciliation and healing of the past. I end my talks, as I end this writing, with and through the reminder and reassurance of the Seventh Generation Prophecy, the Vision of Crazy Horse, who saw a time of Seven Generations, when the Circle of Life would become one again through the gathering of all the colors of mankind. A time of awakening, A time of restoration, reconciliation, and renewal A time of longing and yearning for the light again. A time of peace, unity, harmony, and balance within and among all living.things and beings. A time of arriving at that place within you and that place within me, when and where we will all be as one.

That time, dear relatives, is this time, this day, this generation. True, there will always be moments and experiences of paradoxical juxtapositions. It is, however, my conviction, that this emerging Seventh Generation will be the bridge generation. A generation reaching both East and West, North and South, bringing that foreseen peace, unity and harmony, thus saving ourselves, and further generations. That time, is now.

So, on this day, a day to honor our Warriors, past and present, may we likewise honor and empower our future warriors, the warriors of light and love who will usher in a new generation of peace and harmony among all people and all things.

A'ȟo. O Mítákuye Oyásíŋ 🦅

Candid Confession

Relatives, today marks a milestone for me.  Like many, I succumbed to a substantial weight gain throughout and over the COVID 19 Pandemic.  Ashamedly, in April of this year (2022) I was heavier than I have ever been in my 71 year earth walk.  I began a weight loss regimen that same month (April), and as of today, I have lost 50 pounds.  While I still have 20 pounds more to lose to reach my desired goal, this is substantial progress.

I write these words not to brag or boast; not to draw attention to myself, or receive congratulatory accolades or praise.  Rather, I write to inspire you and others in your pursuit of your goals, dreams, and desires.

A dearest friend recently shared with me a motivation formula she shared with her two boys when they were younger.  She spoke of this as the Four “D’s”: Desire, Determination, Discipline, and Dedication.

I have amended that to include two more “D’s”. My formula, if you will, is as follows:

DESIRE

DECISION

DETERMINATION

DISCIPLINE

DEDICATION

DOING

Anyone can have a desire.  One may desire to change this, another that.  One man desires to be a better husband, father, another woman, a better wife, or mother.  One may wish to eliminate a bad habit, another achieve a certain goal or ambition.  We can fill the room with desire, but until we make a decision, the desire is nothing more than a dream or an idea.  Long before I began my weight loss journey, I had a desire - a desire to lose weight, a desire to return to my ideal weight, a desire to get back into clothing that no longer fit, a desire to feel better about myself, a desire to be well again, a desire to stop wearing baggy clothes….

Yet, until I made the decision to engage and proceed, the desire, again, was nothing more than a dream or an idea, and a rather frustrating one at that.  Once you say “Yes” to something, be it your desire, your dream, or the Universe, you will be amazed a how quickly the resources of Source, Spirit, the Universe will align and provide for the fulfillment and manifestation of your desire.  When you make a decision to do, you will be amazed at the power you unleash to support you along your fulfillment journey.  It is as though you leave the darkness and chaos of confusion and conflict, and move to the light realm of clarity and cooperation.

A decision to do, alone, is not enough.  One must find the determination to consistently act on the decision and behave, live in a manner that is in alignment and in integrity with your decision.  I had the desire to lose weight; I made the decision to do so, and yet to continue to remain sedentary, and consume counterproductive food (sugars, high carb, junk, and processed foods)  but until I moved to the mental, physical, and spiritual presence of being determined to succeed, again, there was no momentum, no engagement, and no weight loss would or could ever be successful.

I had the desire.  I made the decision, and  yet, had I continued succumbing to the seductive pleasures of Lay’s potato chips, M&M’s (my favorite are the chocolate covered almonds!), ice cream, pasta, etc, I would not have arrived at the milestone I achieved today.  I had to be determined to succeed, no matter the temptation, no matter the sacrifice, no matter the cost.  Webster’s dictionary offers the following definition of “Determination” - “a firm or fixed intention to achieve a desired end; the act of deciding definitely ad firmly”.  Your desire informs, shapes, and defines your intention.  Your decision to act on that desire, intention,  propels you to a whole other and higher level consciousness and  potential and possibility.  Your determination to act is that which empowers and unleashes  the creative process and power of your mind, consciousness, and the Universe which will all agree and conspire to propel and equip you along your journey.

And yet, desire, decision, and determination again, and alone, are not sufficiently efficacious to arrive at success.  Discipline is essential.  As I write these words, I am visiting in the home of a friend.  In the kitchen are all the reasons I got to where I was in April in the first place: potato chips, ice cream, breads, pasta, vanilla wafers, sugary cereal, and a host of other “foods” that have a voice.  They keep calling me!  “Come!  Grab some!  A little won’t hurt.  All things in moderation”.  An old commercial for Lay’s chips had the slogan, “Bet you can’t eat just one!”  Guess what?  They were correct!  I can’t.  In a matter of a good picture show, the whole bag could be gone, and God forbid the M&Ms.  It would be so easy, so decadent, to indulge; I can not, however.  Why?  I am determined to attain the success, manifestation, and fulfillment of my desired intention - to lose weight.  Therefore, I must be determined to do the things I know (scientifically and nutritionally) and resist and refuse those things which are counterproductive to that desired success and achievement.  This, then, has to do with discipline.  Admittedly, that’s the hard part!

It is my conviction that you, one, can have anything and everything you intend and desire and deserve, in a good way, or all the reasons why you think you can not or do not.  You can have events or excuses, results or reasons why not, but you can not have both.  Discipline is the self-regulation to say “Yes” to the things that support your desired intention and say “No” to the things that do not. Theoretically, it's just that simple, and you alone have the power to determine the overall success or failure based on the depth and determination of your desire, intention,  consistent with your self-discipline to do whatever is necessary to achieve and arrive.  The “sin” of Lay’s potato chips lies not in the bag, but in the hand that holds it.  If I lacked the discipline, specifically self-discipline to say “No”, again, I would never arrived at the empowering milestone I achieved today.

While it takes courage and confidence, honor and respect yourself to walk away from anyone or anything that does not nor no longer serves you, grows you, nurtures your soul, and influences your happiness in a good way.  And that, for me, includes the (metaphorically) Lay’s potato chips.  You get the point.  No one has power over you unless you give or allow it.  Your power lies within you, and you get to decide what to do with it, where to place it, where to engage it, and that all is consistent with the power you give to yourself as regards discipline.

And yet, again, desire, decision, determination, discipline alone is not enough support and secure the success of your intentions; that requires dedication.  Dedication: self-sacrificing devotion and loyalty. When I approach a “thing” with devotion, I am fiercely loyal to that end.  I will put aside my ego and self-centeredness and wholeheartedly devote myself, my actions, my behavior, my thoughts, my prayer, with no exceptions, no compromise, no wavering to the unwavering accomplishment and success of my desired intention.  No, it is not an easy thing to do, and giving in to the temptation of more momentary pleasure is clearly an easier task and path.  You WILL achieve that which you determine to do, and that requires devotion to the desired intention.  Otherwise, I, you, will continue to find frustration and angst as regards your desired intention.

Finally, we must engage in the “Doing”.  This is the day in, day out practice of the preceding sux “D’s”. Nothing happens until something happens.  Nothing begins until something begins.  Nothing change until something changes.  This is all about the “Doing”.  If it is knowledge you lack, educate yourself.  Learn what must be done in order to be successful, then DO those things.  It has been said that the journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.  That has to do with the “do”, or “doing”.  Again that lies within your power to choose your own destiny, outcome, or life you intend to live.

I had the desire to lose weight.  I made the decision to do so.  I was (and continue to be) determined to succeed.  I made the dedication to accomplish my desired results.  I was devoted to the effort, but, until I did something to achieve that, all of those other factors meant nothing, and alone, were not efficacious without taking the first step of the doing, the latter of which can apply to any goal, desire, intention you may be considering.

I have often said, we do not need another book to read, another class to take, another workshop to attend, another certificate to attain.  No.  We pretty well know what we need to know.  We have all the information we need to succeed in life (and if you do not, do whatever it takes to discover that).  What we need now is activity, engagement, first (and subsequent) steps, doing.

When you find yourself, as did I, sick and tired of being sick and tired, and form a desire to change, consider and think about where you are in regards to the six “D’s”: Desire, Decision, Determination, Dedication, and Discipline.  Do you have a desire for whatever is your intention?  Do you have the determination to succeed at that, no matter what?  Are you dedicated to that end result?  Are you disciplined enough to govern and regulate your behavior in a manner that is congruent with your desire, intention?  And, are you actively doing the things you know will make you successful?

Never forget, Creator invites us to dance in the Garden of Magic and Miracles, and this includes the fulfillment of all of your (good) desires and intentions.  The practice of the six un “D’s” is the key to unlock the gate of that Garden.  In all things, we must , show up, be prepared, be available, dream and pray big!  These gems of wisdom will encourage and empower that dance, and that Garden is an amazing place to dance.

A’ȟo.  O Mítákuye Oyásíŋ 🦅

EVENT CANCELLATION

Many have come to our event page for updates regarding Saturday’s event, October 1, 2022. The following was posted i. Our Facebook page earlier today.

Relatives, with much regret and caution, we are cancelling our planned event on  1 October 2022, at Healing Path Farm. I have been watching weather patterns for our area; we already have predictions of 84% chance of rain, and high winds on Saturday, subsequent hurricane Ian.

As this is an outdoor event, it feels best to cancel.  we will post reschedule date as soon as we have everything sorted and confirmed.

Sunday Spiritual Celebration Service, !8 September 2022

What an amazingly beautiful Service we experienced this morning during the Sunday Spiritual Celebration in the Grand Hall of Rabbit Hole Studios. It is such a sweet blessing to watch the emergence of our Seventh Generation fellowship and community. We were blessed today with an attendance of 22, with 8 of those, first-time relatives who gathered for a day of prayer and gratitude. It is a beautiful thing to witness our community coming together in love, responsive to the Great Teacher’s admonition: “I give unto you a New Commandment: that you love each other, even as I have loved you.” To watch our brothers and sisters embrace each other in the true expression and experience of the admonition to carry one another’s burdens.

Thank you all for your continuing love, support, and good prayers, always. A'ȟo. O Mítákuye Oyásíŋ 🦅

Recent Sunday Spiritual Celebration Notes

Black Elk believed he had an obligation to "help to bring my people back into the sacred hoop, that they might again walk the red road in a sacred manner pleasing to the powers of the universe that are one power."

In its final chapter, Black Elk Speaks, Black Elk poignantly reflects on the moment Red Cloud convinced him and others to surrender in the wake of Wounded Knee:

“And so, it was all over. I did not know then how much was ended. When I look back now from this high hill of my old age, I can still see the butchered women and children lying heaped and scattered all along the crooked gulch as plain as when I saw them with eyes still young. And I can see that something else died there in the bloody mud, and was buried in the blizzard. A people's dream died there. It was a beautiful dream.

And I, to whom so great a vision was given in my youth,—you see me now a pitiful old man who has done nothing, for the nation's hoop is broken and scattered.”

I spoke last week about Vision.  We talked about, that, “A people without a vision perish”.  Another translation says it this way: “A people without revelation will fall into unrighteous living, while they that cling to wisdom (Sixth, Sacred Teaching) will flourish.” (Proverbs 29:18)

Today (28 August) I want to explore and expand that teaching a bit deeper, and in a way that is more personally relevant.

We have established amongst ourselves, clearly we are among and in the presence of the Seventh Generation Prophecy (Crazy Horse, 1 September 1877) awakening, fulfillment and manifestation.  Our’s, this generation, is the generation Crazy Horse foresaw as the generation of restoration and reconciliation, of healing and wholeness, of unity and harmony, of peace, and of love for and among all living things; not as this race or that race, this nation or that nation, this party or that party, rather we usher in a race and nation of humanity, when and where, at “that place within you, and I at that place within me, then, we shall be as one.”  That is the destiny of the Seventh Generation.  Simple as that.

But, as we saw in the laminations and angst Black Elk experienced when he said, reflecting on his life’s journey, “Now, here I sit on this high hill of my old age…and I who was given such a great vision of healing and prosperity for my people…realize now, I did nothing…..”

You see, a vision without the doing is nothing more than a illusion; a myth, a fantasy, if you will.  An opportunity without engagement is wasted.  The vision, or revelation, is a gift, a calling even, from the Creator, Great Spirit given sometimes individually, sometimes communally, sometimes corporately.  And yet the vision, command, instruction, to “go” goes nowhere until the first step is taken.  (Note even here how this reasoning follows the Seven Sacred Teachings: we begin by humbling ourselves [“If my people, who are called by my name will humble themselves, pray, and seek my face and turn from  their evil/wicked ways, I will hear their prayer and heal their land,”], et al through the courage and to wisdom and love.). It takes great humility and honesty (integrity ) to be gifted a vision/revelation, it takes great courage to pursue less we succumb to the tragedy, sorrow, and sad legacy Black Elk assigned to himself.  And, what a loss that would be.

So, here is a question: How big is your Vision?  How big is your Divine Dream?  How deep is your Revelation?  The answer to that will likewise shape and define the depth of your prayer (note again the verse above “If my people will call on me, I will hear their prayer and heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 4:17)  (Clearly, and admittedly, we live in a world that Crazy Horse foresaw: a sick world of broken promises, disillusionment, longing for light again.  We all have agreed likewise as we have spoken of this before.)

Something I have learned from my own experience of visionary prayer, is that when I make a good prayer for a need, for example, something in my life that I need to support and sustain myself, I have found that the object of that prayer is exactly what I get.  While that is a magical and miraculous thing in and of itself, what if my dream, my vision, my prayer had been much bigger?  Would the benefit of my prayer not be according to the measure or depth of the vision that informed the prayer?   

What did I learn from that?  I learned to dream bigger.  I learned to dream deep.  I learned to pray bigger, boldly and more confidently.  I expanded my vision and it became bigger.  Subsequently then, my prayer elevated to a much higher level, and my prayer was more in alignment with the agreement of my vision.  My vision began to inform my prayer.

The Big Black Book offers this exultation: “Dear friends, it is my good prayer that you prosper in all things, and in all ways, even as your soul prospers.” (3rd John 1:2)  Now, notice the key to that: “even as your soul prospers”.  Know this: the soul is where your vision is birthed.

The soul is where your vision lies and rests - your Divine Agreement, your purpose, that which you chose to incarnate into this Earth Walk.  You see, when you get that Divine connection aligned in your soul and in your spirit, that vision begins to cook.  It begins to burn.  It becomes brighter it becomes bigger.

And so should that expansion influence the depth, gratitude, greatness, and grandeur of your prayer.  It is my belief that you can have all you desire and deserve, in a good way, or all of the reasons why you think you that you cannot of do not.  But, you can not have both.  You can have events or excuses.  You can have results, or you can have reasons “why not”.  Again, you can not have them both.

So, how big I your vision?  How big is your dream?  Are you walking in the humility, honesty, and courage it takes to be even gifted a vision, a revelation?  How is your vision influencing your prayer?

Perhaps as you are hearing/reading this, you realize identity of your vision has not yet been revealed.  If that is true for you, then go into your quiet place, within you, and begin to pray for a vision, or for clarity of purpose and intention of that which has already been given to you.  In the old days, and still in many indigenous cultures, when a young boy reached the age of puberty he was taken into the wilderness by the Elders to prepare for and cry for a vision.  This was called their Vision Quest (whanblachea in Lakota).  This took great courage as it involved four days of isolation, fasting, refraining from water, and intense prayer, and often terrifying visitations   When he returned to the Elders, the vision was communicated, told to them.  The young boy, now a man, was given a new name, forever marking the advent and impartation of his vision.

If you find yourself yet without a vision, a Divine revelation, or if you seek or need clarity for/on that which you have been given already, go, pray, cry for your vision, your own clarity, and have the courage to do so, and then the courage to engage and implement it.

If we are to fulfill the ultimate destiny of the Seventh Generation Prophecy, we must be a people of great vision.  Can you, will you dare to dream big?

I speak often, and even speak of my own journey as the Journey of Magic and Miracles.  What do I mean by that?  A miracle is that which occurs for and about which there is no logical, reasonable, scientific justification for its occurrence.  The magic is that sense of awe that overwhelms you when the miracle occurs.

Creator invites us to dance in the garden of Magic and Miracles.  He expects and requires of us only five things:

1. Show Up

2. Be Prepared

3. Pay Attention

4. Plant Good Seeds

5. Pray and Dream Big!

Sunday Spiritual Celebration Services

Relatives, we are honored and happy to report that our Athens GA community of the Seventh Generation Native American Church is now hosting weekly Sunday Spiritual Celebration Services at Rabbit Hole Studios, Grand Auditorium, 1001 Winterville Road, Athens GA.

We gather at 11:00 AM, service begins at 11:11 AM, and features inspirational music, pertinent, poignant message, prayer and Sacrament. Pot-luck fellowship follows. We are most grateful for the generosity of Nick Bradfield and Victoria Austin of Rabbit Hole for making this space available to our gatherings.

Can you plan on joining us this Sunday? Soon we will be providing video, live-streaming of these services for our Relatives who live elsewhere. Thank you for your continued support.

https://gofund.me/eb072e47

Relatives! Beginning Sunday, 7 August 2022 at 11:00 am, we will be hosting Sunday Spiritual Celebration Services. Featuring celebratory and worshipful music, teaching and Sacrament, the even is open to all Spiritual Pilgrims, who come in a good way. Following the services, we will enjoy a time of food (pot luck) and fellowship. This will be an on- going, weekly event.

Tremendous News!!!

Relatives, I have exciting news to share with you all. From the infancy of creating the Seventh Generation Church, through nearly three years of a Pandemic, the Seventh Generation Native American Church has partnered with Rabbit Hole Studios & Community Centers as the official and physical space for our gathering, teachings, Ceremony, and Sunday Spiritual Services.

Here, we will be hosting weekly events, currently scheduled for Thursday and Sunday.

On Thursday, 4 August 2022 at 6:00 pm, I will begin teaching an eight-part series on the Seven Sacred Teachings as expressed and experienced in and through the Seven Directions of the Medicine Wheel. This will be an ongoing teaching, repeating every nine-ten weeks.

On Sunday, 7 August 2022 a 11:00 am we will gather for Sunday Spiritual Services and Celebration. This will be a “church” type gathering featuring music, prayer, teaching, and Sacrament. Food (pot-luck) and fellowship will follow.

I will also be holding space at Rabbit Hole for my counseling service, White Wolf Counseling (WhiteWolfCounseling@Gmail.com). I will be providing wise counsel for individuals, couples, families, crisis intervention, mediation, and healing Ceremony.

Relatives, this is the manifestation and fulfillment of many years of prayer, personal financial investment, patience, and assuredly, hard work. This has also been a huge leap of faith, involving, among many things, leasing of personal, office, and stage space, corporate and federal expenses, web and social presence, for example.

Your support is always needed and welcomed, now more than ever before, as the ministry has grown and expanded beyond my personal ability to manage and fund. We have established a fund raising effort. Please gift as you can, and, always, share the good news of who we are, and the tremendous work we are doing. As a contemporaneous example, we were recently invited to Georgia’s 4H Summer Camp Series where I spoke to nearly two thousand fourth and fifth grade campers. What a blessing and honor that was.

https://gofund.me/e75b213f

Any and all contributions may be tax deductible as the Seventh Generation Native American Church is a federally recognized 501(c)3 Charitable entity.

Contact us today for your involvement, or participation in any of our events, all happening locally now, in the Athens area. SeventhGenerationNAC@Gmail.com

SMILES

He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said:

“Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus

Ladonna Brave Bull Allard Passes On

We are deeply saddened to learn today, of the passing of our beloved Sister, and Water Protector, Ladonna Brave Bull. I had the honor of meeting and standing with Ladonna as well as other Water Protector relatives during the Fall 2016 DAPL resistance camps, Standing Rock, ND. She was a powerful woman; an influence and inspiration to many. May your waters run deep and your journey swift, dear friend.

A'ȟo. O Mítákuye Oyásíŋ

Spring, 2021

It is my good prayer that the Spring Equinox today is and will continue as a portal which opens and ushers a season of healing, and fresh beginnings.

May we bend our ears to that still small, assuring voice of Creator, and receive the good news, “Behold! I am making all things new.”

A’ȟo O Mítákuye Oyásíŋ 🦅

SAD NEWS

To establish the continuity of this blog post, I must go back to my Facebook post, dated 6 January 2020:

“Relatives, I have recently connected with a Spirit Daughter, who is the great great granddaughter of Tecumseh. Her Grandfather is Tecumseh's son, of the Shawnee Nation. This dear daughter is currently facing the challenge of cancer. I have assured her that we, the community and fellowship of the Seventh Generation Native American Church will cover her in good prayers. However you pray, I entreat you, now, during this reading, speak a good prayer for our precious daughter. A'ȟo. Robert Black Eagle O Mítákuye Oyásín 🦅”.

It is with great sadness I must report our dear Sister, Julie, left her body earlier this week, 12 February 2020, and began her Journey through the stars, to the Spirit World. It is not often that I get overly emotional over the passing of a relative, but this arrow struck deep. There were literally hundreds of my readers who were aligned in prayer, communally, collectively, corporately covering Julie in our good prayers. Some of you, who are healers, and energy workers, sent your healing Medicine through the realm of the ethers. I am grateful and honored for each one you.

You, we, have demonstrated what a community of like-minded human beings can manifest as we step into the true understanding of O Mítákuye Oyásín, the knowledge that by the virtue of the shared, sacred breath and voice of Creator, we and all things are related.

The peculiarity of this experience, and the beauty of it as well, is, I never had the opportunity to meet Julie, or even physically speak with her. Her earthly home was somewhere in British Columbia. By and through the magic of Social Media, the Internet, etc, we connected in a manner that transcended the limitations of the physical. For me, supporting her, knowing our people were supporting her, compelled the relationship to something much higher, more intimate, if you will, that can only be experienced and acknowledged in the realm of Sprit.

Yes, there is great sadness in death, at least for those of us who remain on this Earth Walk. Julie leaves behind three adult children; there is much sadness for them as well. Yet, when we fix our eyes on the reality that she “ran (her) race with endurance”* and has thus realized the prize of her transition, which is that reality where, “there is no more pain, no more suffering, no more thirst, no more hunger, no more death”, where “all things are being made new”** we can be no less than jubilantly happy that this is her embracing, her experience, her reality, today. And for that we stand in gratitude. Wȟopila!

*Hebrews 12:1-3

**Revelation 21

PRECIOUS MOMENT

Relatives, in response to my Sacred Request from yesterday, to join in prayer and silence for our Sister’’s mother’s transition Ceremony,, we had well over two-hundred agreements to join in prayer today. I am deeply humbled by each of your responses. The strength of our communal prayers was palpable. Thank you all.

I want to share with you a precious moment Creator blessed me with today, at the appointed time. My own Mother ninety years old, is in Assisted Living. I went to visit her this afternoon. While I was there, the time for our prayers occurred. I paused, told my Mother, I needed to have a moment of silence, and make a good prayer. I explained to her why. I suggested perhaps she might wish to join us. After a few quiet moments, my precious Mother began to pray; ninety years old, mind you. The song of her prayer flowed graciously, honorably, and beautifully for someone, people, friends and family she did not even know. I confess: it was an emotional moment for me; precious indeed.

The Big Black Book assures us, “The effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous “one” availeth much.” James 5:16. I have no doubt the angels rejoiced and opened their hearts to receive her good prayer, as well as those from all our dear relatives all across the Sacred Mother Earth. Many of you have posted comments of affirmation yesterday and today, committing and confirming your prayers and acknowledgement of solidarity to cover our Sister with love and light. Again, thank you all.

A dear relative observed this in her comment: “There is no death; only a change of worlds”. (Chief Seattle). Very wise Medicine in those words. She continued: “May we together help her transition well on this Sacred Journey unto the stars….”

Again, the voice of many is far more efficacious than the voice of one. So it is with our good prayers. I am grateful to you all. A'ȟo. O Mítákuye Oyásín 🦅

SACRED REQUEST

My Relatives, I have a very personal, sacred request of you all. Forty days ago, the mother of a very dear friend, and colleague (we served together at Standing Rock DAPL resistance, 2016), crossed over to the Spirit world. Subsequent the appropriate season of mourning, and tomorrow, her family and friends will gather to celebrate her life, and Ceremonially memorialize her journey. The Ceremony will take place Saturday, 1 February 2020, 1:00 PST. I, and the Seventh Generation Native American Church community will pause our day at this time, to lift prayers, and a moment of silence, joining my friend in Spirit from wherever you may be.
This is the efficacy of our communal efforts, and one of the many intentions of our Church fellowship. As I have often expressed, the voice of many is far more powerful than the voice of one; so it is with the breath of our good prayers.
Receive my gracious thankfulness as we join together in support of our Relative. A'ȟo O Mítákuye Oyásín

OUR INSPIRATION

The name and inspiration for the Seventh Generation Native American Church comes from the Vision and Prophecy of Crazy Horse, the great Sioux warrior, as he sat in prayer with Sitting Bull, just four days before he was murdered. In his vision, Crazy Horse saw that, “The Red Nation shall rise again and they will be a blessing for a sick world. A world full of broken promises, selfishness and seperation - a world longing for light again. In that day, there will be those among the Native Elders who will carry knowledge and understanding of unity among all living things, and the young White ones will come to those of my people and ask for this wisdom. That time of the Seven Generations will be when all the colors of mankind, Red, Yellow, Black, and White, will gather under the Sacred Tree of Life, and the whole Earth will become one circle again.”