Dear Nathan Standing Bear,
Thank you for the path you have laid out before for us. Thank you for your life of dedication and devotion to spirit and community. Your heart and your love lives on inside us.
Your life was a beautiful manifestation so clearly seen from this vantage point as we reflect back on it. Our spirits now feel your big hugs.
Your deep appreciation of nature….. birds, and stars, and trees, and rocks, … lives on as as now we see hawks and eagles through your eyes. We now notice that ‘special tree’ along the roadside, and still see the grandparents faces in rocks both great and small.
We remember your love of the ceremonies and the lodges and the people who came to participate. We recall your kindness and gentleness even in times of stress during these gatherings. We remember your love of singing prayer songs and playing the drum.
You always spoke of your longing for land and community and a great family of sweet loved ones caring for each other and drinking from the medicine waters streaming over the land.
You loved to build…with skillfully hewn logs and precious woods, …solid manifestations with artistic style and carpentered perfection. You were a master carpenter. You were most in your element when covered in sawdust.
In your last days you became dedicated to standing with the brothers and sisters of the Native American communities at Standing Rock who were standing to protect the precious and sacred waters of the Missouri river flowing in from Canada.
You were direct in telling us to get the message out:
1. Our precious Mother Earth is the source of life, not just a resource to be exploited. We need to nurture it, protect it, care for it, love it.
2. All creatures on this precious planet are ONE FAMILY and the concepts of borders, culture, and ethnicity are human constructs which should not divide us.; It’s about love, and community.
As we finally cast your ashes to the winds in the Fall of 2018, we dedicated our lives to the pursuit of the noble purposes you outlined, stood for, and lived for. Nathan Standing Bear, we honor you as a noble being who served creator in a special way. …. and we are your legacy.