Here at the ranch in North Idaho, alongside of Cable Creek, is an old native camp site . . . an ancient Coeur d'Alene campsite from a couple of hundred years ago or more. The tribe camped here for generations, on the point and along the creek under the old cottonwood trees .. The ranch is in an area where the winter is least harsh, and the summer breezes most pleasant, the soil excellent for gardens, near the natural path of deer and elk coming up and down the mountain for water, a natural habitat for turkey, grouse, quail, rabbits, and the occasional bear, and a half mile from the river and good fishing. We have caught 24 inch trout and salmon in the creek when spawning. There are about 200 quail now in the thicket between the corral and the house, that I see most days.
We held a pipe ceremony to the left of this photo, up on the rise, to dedicate and bless four chanunpa, sacred pipes, during an hour of prayer and meditation for global peace ... The creek and cottonwoods are down to the left about 200 yards ... This is a photo of spring bloom ... the area was logged about 30 or 40 years ago so the trees are small ... before it was logged the trees were about 150 foot tall, and a little more open ...
It was snowing big flakes gently during the ceremony, the mountains, the trees and the meadow, white, gorgeous and pristine ...
A sacred fire was started and consecrated with prayers and tobacco to Grandfather and Earth Mother, and continued to burn far into the night, bringing a bit of Light into the world.
This Prayer was used to open the Pipe Ceremony ...
Grandfather, Mysterious One,
We search for you along this
Great Red Road you have set us on.
Sky Father, Tunkashila,
We thank you for this world.
We thank you for our own existence.
We ask only for your blessing and for your instruction.
Grandfather, Sacred One,
Put our feet on the holy path that leads to you,
and give us the strength and the will
to lead ourselves and our children
past the darkness we have entered.
Teach us to heal ourselves,
to heal each other and to heal the world.
Let us begin this very day,
this very hour,
the Great Healing to come.
Let us walk the Red Road in Peace.
Four Pipes were blessed and dedicated, each in turn, in each of the seven directions to Wakan Tanka, Great Mystery Sacred Spirit, to Tunkashila Grandfather, to Earth Mother, and to all Peoples of the World in the four directions in Peace and in Truth, that they may know and experience both in their lives and the lives of their grandchildren's grandchildren.
Black Eagle Pipe ...
White Buffalo Pipe ...
Eagle Head Pipe ...
The fourth pipe is a small one, with many imperfections and blemishes, made from just a scrap of sacred red pipestone, but even a small one, imperfect though it may be, can be and is the symbol and messenger of Love and Hope and Peace and TRUTH, and an altar to Grandfather in respect and reverence.
So also, the littlest and weakest of us, each of whom has many blemishes and imperfections, can be a symbol and messenger, and an altar to the Creator in respect and reverence, as we gather together, in Peace and in Love, into the Sacred Hoop!!!
During the pipe ceremony we prayed that we each bring peace into our own little corner of the world by knowing the TRUTH of our own hatreds, denials, misunderstandings and egos, setting them aside ... forgiving ourselves and one another as we have been taught.
We prayed that All should come to know the Great TRUTH, that we are all ONE in the eyes and mind of the Creator.
To that end have I made the Pipes and dedicated and consecrated them to LOVE and PEACE and TRUTH and RECOVERY for everyone, everywhere in this world.
A week and a half later I finished this pipe, the Eagle Claw Pipe, an eagle claw holding the globe of the world. It too has been dedicated and blessed ...
When I started work on it last month, it became symbolic of this TRUTH
~~ "He has the whole world in His hands!!" ~~
Buckskin pouches for the Eagle Claw Pipe and Stem
These are things that I know -----
Peace and happiness are available in every moment.
Peace is in every step.
We shall learn to walk hand in hand.
There are no political or religious solutions to spiritual problems.
Remember, If the Creator put it there, it is in the right place. The soul would have no rainbow if the eyes had no tears.
I know that All must be brought into the Sacred Hoop for it to be mended. I often wonder how we will bring those who do not see even the simplest of Circles into the greatest Circle of all. Then I remember it is a thing that has been promised by Spirit.
That is how I know it will come to be.
Hokh!!! Mitakuye oyasin, maka sitomni, hecitu welo!!!
We are related to all things, all things on earth, it is indeed so!!!
A ho!
Love and Peace, Barefoot
