"Micky Mousing It"

‎

"Mickey Mousing It" is a term used by Grandfather Wallace Black-Elk 

? Why do people my age feel compelled to preach/teach through the Entire Inipi when they are sitting behind the bucket? Why can't they be like our Elders...saving their thoughts/words for when the door is open or before ceremony? Why won't they just shut up and let us pray? Isn't praying what we came there for?  How are we supposed to be able to hear the Spirits speak to us when all we can hear is the lecturer? Where's the respect for our prayers?

I mean...if you are so busy preaching how will you know if someone is in need of help? Aren't you supposed to be be praying for the people in the lodge & being mindful of what the purpose of the lodge is? Aren't you supposed to be taking ...care of the people in the Initi?  I don't believe you can do this if your thoughts are focused elsewhere.

This is one of the reasons I no longer go to ceremony, it seems to be about people hearing themselves preach/talk, not about helping the people who are praying (or trying to).....

 

Another ?: In Inipi the Elders (not my peers) always pass Mne/water after the second round as "medicine", because they know we are becoming dehydrated & going into the strongest prayer round... So why is it my contemporaries refuse to pass water to the people unless someone almost begs for it? And even then, it is given to us grudgingly. What the hell is with that? Don't people get ill from being dehydrated?

 I realize that some may choose to suffer through sacrifice, but, not all sacrifice must be accompanied by suffering....

Most of the medicine people tell us that "We are not here (in Inipi) to suffer, but to give our suffering up to the Tonka Oyate"...so why are they trying to hurt the people by depriving them of Mne?

I'm just trying to get this clear....because This Is NOT how our Elders taught us! So where do these contemporary people get these ideas?

Every time I go into a lodge, it's just so "half-way" from how my Grandfathers & Uncles & Aunties ran them.....who changed the ways of the ceremonies? When? & Why?

When the "traditional ways" of ceremony are changed, doesn't that effect the Spirits & how they relate to us? Doesn't it bother them that we take short-cuts? Doesn't it make them, just the tiniest bit upset to have the original instructions ignored?  Doesn't it make them want to ignore us?

You can tell this bothers me...so much so, that I don't even want to go to ceremony any longer, unless it's with one of the Traditional Elders....and as far as I know, there aren't too many of them remaining.

A sister of mine would accuse me of "letting people keep me away from my prayers"...well that's her limited view. They only keep me away from ceremony.....

Nothing Keeps me away from my Prayers nor from Creator..... Besides when going into a lodge where people "Mickey-Mouse it" (Grandpa Wallace's term), I feel as if I'm being kept from my prayers just through the distraction of the preaching, the explanation of every song sung, the denial of Mne, the lack of Cannunpa.....the half-wayness of the entire ceremony...keeps me distracted. Hence I stay at home....which is probably a better place for me, because then I'm not dehydrated & more at peace with the world.

 

MI Takuye Oyacin

 

Love: Elders' Meditation: April 18, 2009

"Women know more about love than men do...Love is taking. Love is sharing. Love is learning things about each other."

--Mary Leitka, HOH

The Elders say Mother Earth shares Her special gifts of love with the Women. The Women know about bringing forth life and nurturing their offspring. Through this gift of love the Earth really makes the Woman special. Men should look upon the Woman with a Sacred Eye. She should be respected. The Woman is a role model for love. When the Woman talks, we should listen; when she shares, we should be grateful. We should all learn about each other.

Grandmother, teach me to love with the power of the Woman.


I like today's meditation. Mostly because it points out the true nature of women, and what we are capable of. What, maybe is forgotten about us...

I find, that are certain people that when I'm around that I really want to love...I really reach out to...Those that just being around causes my heart to open. I don't always know what to do with that, because there is that fear & knowing that once I leave...everything will go back to as it was before; the silence, the isolation, the feeling of being forgotten about, & the unfulfilled desire. And for sure that is anti-love and totally crazy-making.... hopefully one day very soon, we will find ourselves back in the arms of those that truly and deeply love & comfort us and for whom we feel the same.

360: Song-Elders' Meditation: June 17, 2008

"Your power comes from the songs."

--Ethel Wilson, COWICHAN

If you do not know any of the songs, ask an Elder to teach you. Get yourself a drum. When you sing a song and play the drum, you'll be surprised how your mind, body, and spirit will react. Everything becomes calm and joyful. Our bodies love the songs. The songs allow us to touch the hand of the Creator. When we sing and touch the Great Spirit's hand, He gives us power. Songs are another way to pray.

My Grandfather, teach me a song today.

...we know this is so......

Why is it then, when we go into a "traditional" Inipi, very few of the designated singers know the Traditional Inipi songs?

Why are so many of our Brothers changing the songs, adding syllables that come from the Peyote Ceremony?

Adding "hey ya yo" at the end of a line makes so we are changing the original words to those prayer songs, therefore changing the meanings to those song!

Why are we mixing medicines, does not each particular ceremony have its own prayer songs?

We are not singing to Old MacDonald, we are singing to the Spirits, we are offering them specific prayers, the same prayers that our Ancestors offered up.

There are tapes out there of the original Traditional Inipi songs, recorded by our Ancestors. I say, let's get back on track, do the work to find them...and learn from them.

Mi Takuye Oyacin

360: Elders' Meditation: June 13, 2008

"Today, what is important for us is to realize that the old sacred ways are correct, and that if we do not follow them we will be lost and without a guide."
--Thomas Yellowtail, CROW
A long time ago the Creator gave to the people all the knowledge on how we should live and conduct ourselves. The Native people have been influenced be outside "tribes" who don't know about the Sacred Way. Our Elders still know about the old sacred ways. We need to consult and talk to them before it's too late. Every family needs to seriously evaluate whether they are living according to the old knowledge. If we are faultfinding, putting one another down, being selfish, being violent to our spouses or children, if we are cheating and being dishonest, then we are not living the old Sacred Way. The old way is about respect, love, forgiveness and sharing.

Great Spirt, today, teach me the old Sacred Way you taught my ancestors.

360: Sundance Season: August 9, 2007

I want to offer my prayers of thanksgiving to all those who are sacrificing (and have sacrificed) their lives on our behalf by dancing those 4 days in the sun, Wiwangyang Wacipi.

There is a Wacipi going on in N.D. these here days, and I thank all of you who read this for praying for those who are making that sacrifice so that we all might live and that these ceremonies never die.

Thank-you to my "sister" Manuela...for you I eat well and drink plenty of water!



Elder's Meditation of the Day - August 8



"The Creator told everyone of us in our tribal beginnings to look after our ceremonies, and each other."

--Barney Bush, SHAWNEE



Our ceremonies are important and each has a purpose. They teach us about the Creator and about each other. The ceremonies teach us to be humble and teach us to pray. They teach us to look inside ourselves. We should remember to pray each morning. Ask the Creator to guide our thinking. Think only good thoughts. Think good thoughts about our relatives and about our brothers and sisters. Pray for our children in ceremony. Give thanks to the Great Mystery for life. All life is sacred. Pray in a sacred way.


Oh Great Spirit, I come to You this morning in ceremony. I come to this sacred place to talk to You. I thank You for Your guidance and protection. Give me Your eyes today so I may see the beauty in all things.

360: Inipi Protocol: August 1, 2007

These instructions were handed down to my Tiospaye by Wallace Black Elk and Grace Spotted Eagle:

These ways are sacred...we ask that you Respect them as you would have us respect your ways...

1. Please listen to the Firekeeper & person running the lodge, they will instruct you. Please refrain from saying "That's not how I was taught!" There are 500+ nations and many Clans within those Nations, we all have our different Altars & instructions.

2. The fire and the altar are Sacred. Please refrain from: walking between the lodge, altar & fire path; placing, touching, or removing anything on the altar; putting anything into the fire (including tobacco) without first asking the Firekeeper.

3. Women, Please keep yourself covered at all times: loose dresses, skirts and tees are to be worn both outside and inside of the lodge.

4. If you are in need of special prayers it is appropriate to offer the person running the lodge a package of tobacco and presenting your request. It is also a good thing to offer both the Firekeeper & person running the lodge tobacco as a thank-you for their "give-away".

5. Please do not wear your medicine objects, jewelery or contact lenses into the lodge, give them to the Firekeeper for safe keeping.

6. Please humble yourself by entering the lodge on your hands & knees and saying "Mi Takuye Oyacin" or "We Are All Related".

7. There are times of silence, Please respect them and ask permission to speak. In the same manner, Please do not sing louder than the main singer, or shout your prayers...Spirit can hear you and knows what is in your heart.

8. Yes it is Hot inside the lodge. This is not a torture chamber, we are not here to make you suffer....put your head to the ground (the earth will cool you), pray harder, or wait until there is silence and ask "Permission to leave". However, DO NOT EVER stick your body parts outside of the lodge in order to cool off...You do not know what is out there, and we Do Not want you bringing it inside, it could harm someone.

9. When the Canunpa is passed to you (and you don't want to smoke it), take it with the bowl in your left hand & stem in the right and touch your right shoulder then your left with the stem and pass it on.

10. If there is a pot-luck afterwards, bring the food you like to eat to share...please bring your own plate, cup & utensils as often as possible.

11. A lodge with Integrity NEVER Charges for ceremony or "shames" you into making a donation to support the person running the lodge. However, it is a good thing to make a donation for/of firewood, blankets, and tarps for the lodge itself.

12. We come in Peace to Pray....Alcohol, Drugs, and Weapons Are Forbidden!

13. Come early, stay late, help set up & clean up...you'll learn alot.

Mi Takuye Oyacin

360: Tobacco Offerings: July 27, 2007

This is why, when I go out to the land, I put down tobacco. I know my
prayers are heard, for all involved. For the land, the Spirits of the land,
the crops (pumpkins & gourds), for the one who care takes that land & crops, and for myself.

I believe putting down tobacco (and cedar) really does make a difference,
and the love & caring (even though not evident) it is there and on a soul's
level can be felt...and even the most wee bit of love can be felt....
Whether we choose to allow that wee bit of love into our hearts (to mend our
bruised ego and comfort us) is something else.

When kind words and loving actions fail....I rely on the tobacco and Creator
to let my heart be revealed. For that is all that remains to be done.

Elder's Meditation of the Day - July 29

"When we want to talk to Him we burn tobacco and it takes our prayers all
the way up to the Sky World."
--Louis Farmer, ONONDAGA


Our herbs and our medicines are all here for the purpose of serving.
Offering tobacco as a gift to the Creator is proper use of our medicine. In
this way, we are able to communicate from the physical world to the
spiritual world. Sometimes we have a hard time coming up with the right
words when we pray especially if we are really mixed up. The tobacco and the
sage will take the intent to the spirit world. The meaning behind the words
are more important the the words. The Creator always knows our intent. The
tobacco helps us get to the Sky World.


Today, my Creator, I offer You this tobacco. I want to thank You for being
in my life. I want to tell You how much I appreciate the honor of being here
to serve You. Tell me this morning what I can do for You. You are the reason
I live.

360: Wondering Aloud: July 26, 2007

I was sitting in a "traditional" Inipi (sweat lodge) last Saturday, once again wondering what happened to the offerings of tobacco robes and ties we once made when we sat before those Tonka Oyate and the Tunkashilas. I mean I make my 14, 25, 50+ "Thank-you" ties and hang them above me, but I'm talking about the ones for the lodge itself. Then I got to wondering about the lack of Canunpa on the altar.....

I remember, back maybe 8-10 years past, when I would sit in lodge and the people would put up the robes and ties as thanksgiving offerings in every lodge that took place as well as having a filled Canunpa on the altar.

I remember my Grandpa Wallace teaching us, that these are offerings to the Spirits to thank them for coming and sitting with us, for hearing and answering our prayers....like that. That the Spirits come in the Initi (lodge) and see the robes & ties and pass through them and around them (dance around them is Grandpa's term), and they are happy with those offerings we made.

That the Canunpa is what takes our prayers to Creator... for as it sits on that altar between the Initi and the Peta (Fire), that those Spirits pass through it, around it...like that and pay attention to the prayers that go into it.

So then, as I think about those things....I wonder what the Spirits think, now that we are neglecting to make those offerings of thanksgiving... Will there come a day, when the Spirits begin to feel neglected and unappreciated? Will there come a day, when the Spirits decide not to come when we call?

I don't know...just wondering aloud.

Mi Takuye Oyacin

360: Wallace Teachings: July 14, 2007

Well...it was a bit back then, when Wallace was still in his "robe" that he was explaining about his family's belief of heaven & hell.

So he was saying how when he was a child back out there on the Rosebud...back in the 20's they had it hard, and that the wasicu who dressed in black (priests) would tell the people how's if they didn't do what they were being told to do, how they'd be going to hell. But if they did what them wasicu directed and lived in the prescribed manner, why then they'd be going to heaven.

And then Grandpa would laugh his laugh..."huh huh huh" and say: "But they didn't know they didn't scare us, because we don't believe in no heaven or hell. We believe in Tunkashila."

So yeah he was a pretty cool Elder. He liked to call his self a "Dumb Indian", because he had no formal education. But, I'll tell you this, he was by far the most informed Being I have Ever met. It was because he listened to those Spirits all the time.

All I ever had to do was "think" at him, and he'd answer me; in a dream, in my head, or sometimes with actual words....he'd just start talking away to me.

I didn't get to learn as much as I might have, but I learned what I needed/was willing to at the time.

And I could talk to him about most anything, he was a Real Person, not someone to be "Worshiped" or even to be put up on a pedestal. Sure, to be respected...no doubt about that, but so many people forgot that he was like us too....and you could just sit & shoot the breeze! He could be really funny...had a great sense of humor!

I miss him in the physical sense, but I still hear him and know he's still with me...heck, he even sits in the back of my truck and sometimes goes to ceremony with me!

So it's like that!

Mi Takuye Oyacin

360: Canka Luta Waste: May 7, 2007

I have spent 20+ years on this Canka Luta Waste (Good Red Road). I carry a Canunpa for the people...I have spent 20 years under the tutelage of both Wanbli Cekela (Wallace Black Elk) Lakota and Marcellus Bear Heart, Muskogee. I have been taught that these are the ways of the People...for all people.

What is shameful about wanting to know the ways of the people and the ways of Creator? What is shameful is those persons who run Inipi (sweat lodge) without the "authorization" of a FBI elder or tribal medicine elder. There is a way to do these things, Creator gave us these specific instructions. When we change them to fit our needs and beliefs, we create chaos, and invite the harmful spirits to join us.

When you follow the Canka Luta Waste...that is the way of Creator...that Canunpa is what is going to take care of you. That person sitting behind that bucket has to have integrity, and they are responsible for your life and well being while in that Inipi. For any medicine person, they run that ceremony on your behalf...they are responsible for the well being of all who attend. It's not about their personal agenda...if that happens to come up...you know they are not doing what is best for all people.

This is about "Mi Takuye Oyacin"...All My Relations...We ARE All Related. Not just us two legged, the tall standing ones (trees), the winged ones, creepy crawlies, green ones, four-legged, swimming ones, the rocks...all living beings. We are responsible for all living beings..that is the Lakota way.

We do not pray for ourselves, we pray for the next 7 generations to come. This is not our Earth to use and dispose of....we are borrowing this Earth from our future generations. It's like this, the Lakota way....

The 2-legged were given dominion over the rest of the living beings...not domination. We are here to care take the life on this Unci Maka (Mother Earth)...but we seek to destroy her through our thoughtless acts and wasteful use of resources. Mindfulness...is what the Lakota and others have tried to teach us. Greed, destruction, wastefulness...this is what is going to kill us....Wake Up people.... Be a part of the solution, stop being a part of the problem.

Red is not merely a skin color...Red is a way of life, a way of believing...a way of living, a way of walking in balance...living life for the good of ALL. We all bleed Red when we are cut open.....you want to live this life, so be it. The Canka Luta Waste is not for everyone, but it is for those who believe Mi Takuye Oyacin and live that belief.
Read the books...

* "Sacred Fireplace" Pete S. Catches
* "Black Elk Speaks" Nicholas Black Elk
* "The Sacred Pipe" Nicholas Black Elk
* "Black Elk" Wallace Black Elk
* "Fools Crow" Thomas Mails
* "Gift of Power" Archie Fire Lame Deer &
Richard Erdoes
* "Lame Deer" John Fire Lame Deer & Richard
Erdoes
* "The Wind is My Mother" Bear Heart
* "Crow Dog" Leonard Crow Dog
* Prison Writings" Leonard Peltier

These are the books you want to read and learn from......these are the words of the people who have walked the "give-away", who have lived and sacrificed their lives so the rest of us can live and have these ceremonies.

So it is that way....Mi Takuye Oyacin