You are all invited to join us for the “Celebration of the Elements Gathering”
on October 17 – 20, 2019 in Grass Valley,
to honor these sacred teachings and ceremonies in community as we continue the work Nathan Standing Bear initiated for us as, “One Earth Family.”
The upcoming Elements gathering will include general Lakota teachings, but will focus upon the universal teachings pertaining to the spirit and significance of the four sacred elements; Fire, Water, Earth and Air.
The altar outside the entry of our willow branch structure/sweat lodge was given to Nathan Standing Bear by Bob Center and other teachers. Nathan had many teachers… and from these teachers he passed the altar on to us. If Nathan and Bob were still on this planet today they would be here telling us sacred stories of creation and the traditional laws of nature, involving this common man’s altar.
Nathan often said we might someday find ourselves out in the country, in a small community such as in Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, where he would go from one family to the next every half mile down the road, and each ceremony or Sundance in each place would teach their altar with sometimes diverse stories and/or the colors in a different order, and though each family’s interpretation might be unique, the sentiments and message spoke to the same universal truths and were always “equally profound, very deep and very good.” Nathan’s teaching through Bob Center comes from the Standing Buffalo Clan of the Lakota people; people with Dakota roots. These teachings were passed down through many generations finally coming to a man named Richard Swallow – (Richard Sparrow Eagle), a Lakota chief.
As the story goes, when chief Richard Swallow was a small boy he saw a flickering light up on a hill which he decided to investigate because he was curious. It was there he met some people who had sacred food laid out upon a table. Being hungry, he asked if he could have some. The old guys observing him, checked him out thoroughly, as though they somehow had been expecting him, and instead of immediately allowing him to partake, asked him to carry some water ‘from there over to here,’ and bring some firewood over, essentially putting him to work before feeding him, which they did as they began to take him under their wing. They soon recognized in him a future leader who was going to be someone who would carry on their teachings and traditions. This is where Nathan‘s and Bob’s altar, and therefore our altar comes from. It was given to Richard Swallow.
According to Nathan Standing Bear, Richard’s father David had a very profound vision at some point, that the medicine of their people was to be shared with everyone….. and that this sharing was crucial. He was not alone in this vision. Crazy horse, Sitting Bull, Frank Fools Crow among many other holy men all shared this same vision. This was not just from the Lakota tribes, this was from many tribes. They believed there would come a time when these teachings would be imperative to pass along and were too important to all people everywhere to remain hidden. They knew these teachings were and would be important to all for our very survival. Accordingly, over recent years, as these teachings have spread globally, we are indeed aware of how increasingly important and critical they are.
It is obvious to most of us these days how essential it is to stand up and spread the word of indigenous people everywhere who honor, respect and want to protect our Mother Earth. David and Richard both shared the same vision, and Richard in honoring his father, traveled out into the world around the west teaching the common man’s altar and we are fortunate some of the people he taught became some of Nathan‘s closest friends. Though Nathan knew Richard, he received even more inspiration, wisdom and teachings from others Richard taught.
The upcoming Elements gathering will include general Lakota teachings, but will focus upon the universal teachings pertaining to the spirit and significance of the four sacred elements; Fire, Water, Earth and Air.
You are all invited to join us for the “Celebration of the Elements,” gathering on October 17 – 20 in Grass Valley, to honor these sacred teachings and ceremonies in community as we continue the work Nathan Standing Bear initiated for us as, “One Earth Family.”
– by Eric
