Rena White Star, first nation teacher of many, provider for her extended family, and beloved servant of the medicine needs your help. If you have been around the ceremonial fires in the Bay Are and Santa Cruz, you have undoubtedly heard her name spoken with love and...

Pipe Ceremony Susan Branum [from newsletter 2] The first time I attended a Pipe Ceremony, I had an experience of community and spiritual connection that I knew right away felt missing in my daily, self-occupied life. It is an experience so removed from our daily life;...

Ellen Faruna [from newsletter 2] Moontime refers to the time a woman bleeds during her menstrual cycle. Through this cycle, women feel the effects of the moon, like we see the Earth affected by the ocean tides. There is some controversy and confusion about...

David Lemon [from newsletter 11] For me, ceremony is all about prayer. The structure of the ceremony, and the sacrifices many ceremonies include, help me focus my prayer. They remind me why I'm here, and point me toward a good way to pray. It seems to me that the...

Fred Wahpepah [from newsletter 11] There is nothing better than to be in ceremony. That's when you feel you're doing something right, and that feels good. You are closer to the Creator and you are carried away with Spirit embracing you. Whatever the ceremony—Stomp...

Thank You for Being There! Jennifer Walls [from newsletter 11] Our Elders and Children can teach us so much about ceremony. If we make ourselves fully available we can sit with them, listen to them, and watch them as they are—playing, learning, helping, and creating...

Michael Stocker In my family, my Father supplied the food and shelter and my Mother tended the home and prepared the food. The agreement they had regarding their family roles instilled in me the understanding that men are providers and women are nurturers. Due to my...

Which came first, our Red Road, or Life? I once read a Native American Spirituality book that spoke about the seven rites of passage; it spoke about Praying with The Chanupa, The Sweat Lodge, The Hambleche Vision Quest, and The Sundance. Why do we feel like we have...

The first time I met this old man I was bankrupt in every area of my life. But this is not about me, it is about probably the kindest old man I ever met, Martin High Bear – Ivan Hokshiela the Rock Boy. The old man was in Coos Bay, Oregon helping some folks out putting...

My name is Kevin. I have been one of the firemen in the Seven Circles community for a few years now. In these years, and also having had previous experience in community, I have realized that being a man in community is hard work. Wood runs and preparation for...

As far back as I can remember I have longed, often painfully, for something that seemed to be missing from myself.  Misunderstanding the intensity of this longing, I spent years in the addictive cycle of substitution, constantly searching to feel whole.  After a while...

I am finding something that is both difficult and delightful about getting older; as I look back into the past, I have a longer distance to view. It is hard to believe that it was only ten years ago that I was as reckless as I was – with my self assured confidence...

I was at a Tipi meeting at Redwind (San Luis Obispo, California) when I heard for the second time that year about  the all White-man Sundance in Ashland Oregon, and that Wallace Black Elk was the intercessor. In the meeting this white guy had given a woman some cedar...

The original cultures did not have an economy based on acquisition, rather their lifeways were based on giving and receiving. Much in the way that the fruit tree receives nourishment from the earth, and then gives her fruit to the animals, who then return the gift...

We humans are gathering animals. We gather around common experiences. We build relationships by communicating our perspectives to each other. Communicating about common themes forms the threads of ‘community.’ In order for community to exist, we have to weave these...

Of the many homes in my neighborhood, perhaps the most dynamic are the homes in the dead maple tree in my back yard. Over the years Acorn Woodpeckers have progressively excavated more holes to bring their children into the world. This is particularly a blessing...

I am grateful to Creator for all what I received at Vision Quest. Thank you to Creator and Holy Mother Water for my life and for my faith that is even stronger.

There are many paths to the Creator. We call our spiritual path the "Red Road." The sacred pipe is acknowledged. There are different views on the pipe; this one is mine. When we walk behind the pipe, we have our priorities in order. The sacred pipe symbolizes the...

Which came first, our Red Road, or Life? I once read a Native American Spirituality book that spoke about seven rites of passage; it spoke about Praying with a Chanupa, in a Sweat Lodge, at a Hambleche Vision Quest, or a Sundance. Why do we feel like we have been on...

We enter ceremony at times of transition. Our ceremonies may be simple, such as the little things we do to remind us that our daily life is governed by something larger than us, or they may be deep - such as the ceremonies we enter to bond our hearts in love or say...

Those of us who progress from twelve step to sweat lodge find that they can be natural complements. Native-led Sweat Lodges can be appropriately awe-inspiring for those of us who need another day, another week, another moon, or another year of sobriety. About a year...

The first time I attended a Pipe Ceremony, I had an experience of community and spiritual connection that I knew right away felt missing in my daily, self-occupied life. It is an experience so removed from our daily life; we are given permission, even encouraged to...

I wrote this paper on women's moon time & ceremonies, which apply to the sweat lodge ceremonies that I conduct. I learned from Lakota Medicine Man, Pete Catches Fire, in 1983. He said, "All Medicine Men (Lakota) have a difference in their ceremonies and their...