We are heart broken over all that is happening to our brothers and sisters in Cannon Ball North Dakota. We send up prayers and smoke for justice, peace and protection over every Water Protector. Mni Wiconi !!!!

The Great Father above is a Shepherd Chief. I am His and with Him all I need is provided. He throws out to me a rescue rope named love. He draws me to where the grass is green and the water gives me peace. I eat and lie down and am satisfied. Sometimes my heart is very weak and I fall down, but He lifts me up again and draws me into the good Red Road. His Tribal Name is, “Wonderful.”

Sometimes, He will draw me into the valley where shadows of the death angel dwells. It is dark there, but I am not afraid, for it is in between those mountains that the Shepherd Chief will meet me and the hunger that I have in my heart throughout my life, will be satisfied.

Sometimes He makes the love rope into teaching truth I did not know, but afterwards He gives me a staff to lean upon. He spreads a table before me with all kinds of foods while my enemies look on with envy. He puts His hand upon my head and all my fears are gone. The burden bundle of my soul, He fills until it spills over. What I tell you is true. I will not lie. He will always be beside me as I walk The Red Road. He sends two great ones to feed me every day; One is called, “No penalty of wrongs,” and the other is, “All Good things.” He will always be with me through this life and when it is time to cross over; I will go to live in the Great Lodge in the sky above.  I will sit down with the Shepherd Chief and be with Him forever.

I find it interesting that certain movies like Dances with Wolves and A Man Called Horse focus on white men who have found peace by becoming one with indigenous people of Turtle Island. (Native Americans) In both of these movies what is revealed is men trying to find themselves, men looking for peace and their place in this world. History shows it was not uncommon for white men to want to become, "Indian." In their heart of hearts, white men who were caught up in a world of dog-eat-dog competition and meaningless existences felt they were lost. For so many people in western society there is a sense of aimless floating from one cause to another. There is an endless hunt for meaning and purpose. No matter how much land they own, how many possessions they have, or how much power they wield there is still an emptiness.

The reality is that Native Americans were living Biblical principles long before the white man got here. This is clearly shown by the life style of "being in the world but not part of the world". We are just passing through and it is our responsibility to not own the earth but to be the stewards and protectors of it during our pilgrimage here. Treat others the way you would want to be treated was built into the protocol of honor for all living things. This is the way of the Medicine Wheel.

In our world today as we watch life move at lightening speed; more and more people are lost and thus the suicide rates keep climbing. For many there is an aching for simplicity, relationships, friends, and community. I believe that it was God's intention for Europeans to come to this land to learn how to slow down when things were moving so fast. Today more than ever there is a need to unplug from the matrix and find what is really important in life. The fact is our Native American hosts have known these truths for thousands of years. Yes God gave us The Book of Heaven and this gift was intended to be shared with our Native brothers and sisters, NOT our religion. Religion, they knew intuitively, is what separates us from God, breeds prejudice, and stops God from being free to lead us deeper into a relationship with Him and others.

Over the many years I have lived in the world system, I find that it engulfs us; it is sucking the life out of us all. The fact is we work to live. From cradle to grave many live numbed lives of existence and at the end die unfulfilled, knowing all the years were wasted for the job’s sake. It is not that we should all quit our jobs today, however our Native brothers and sisters and our Native ancestors who knew the Jesus Way long before any fair skinned people ever sit foot on Turtle Island, hold more keys than we have for our current comprehension to grasp. Yes there is a place for science, industry and inventions, however the fact is, when all is said and done, we need to face what in our own lives is dross. What is in our lives may simply be wood, hay, and stubble? What have you laid up for yourselves in the treasure house of heaven? It has been said, "We will not be judged by how much we did but how much we loved". There is a story in the Book of Heaven, The Bible, of a man who worked his whole life and at the end sat back and said to his soul, "Soul, take your ease. The barns are full, your bank account is filled to the top.” It was at this point the Creator said, "Today your soul is required of you". I believe by walking the Sacred  Red Road we will find our way back to the Creator and His intention for us individually and as a nation. What we are looking for is what the Blackfoot Native People call, "Sk Na" - - Peace !

My heart is Yakama, Apache, Shoshone, Blackfoot, Absaaslooke, and my ancestors, Powhatan. I cannot change the color of my skin but beneath the surface my heart is Native.