March 25, 2007

• The sacred ways of the Lakota
  By Wallace Black Elk

  One time a young man, a white boy, came, and he wanted to have a Chanunpa ceremony because he had lost three horses.  He also lost his silver-mounted saddle, spurs, martingale, and bridle. Those had belonged to his grandfather, so they were a keepsake for him.  Somebody came along with a loading chute for horses, so he took them away in a truck. He also took his grandfather's keepsakes. That boy didn’t use them or anything like that. But they belonged to his grandfather, so he just valued them for a keepsake.

  Anyway, when this guy was eleven years old he got pneumonia. His grandfather and grandmother were alive then. Down the creek a little ways there lived some old people, an Indian man, a medicine man. So they got acquainted, and they always helped each other. When the old man had a lodge ceremony, the white man would crawl in. They prayed together. So they always helped each other.  So when that boy got sick it was winter. There was snow, heavy snow, and all the roads were blocked. There was no road there for cars, but probably a horse-drawn wagon could go there sometimes. Anyway, this time there was too much snow.  And it was a long way to the main highway.

  So it was impossible to get a doctor out there or to get that kid to the hospital.  Then his grandfather remembered this Indian friend that lived up the creek.  So he waded through that big snow to get to that Indian medicine. Then he brought that medicine man back. The medicine man told them they would need to have a lodge ceremony. But they were nowhere, and there was no lodge there. Well, there was a little chicken coop there, so they decided to use that for the lodge. They pulled out all those chickens and put them into the house. Then they covered that chicken coop. They built a snow shelter and built a fire there to heat up the stone-people.  Then they hauled those hot stones into that chicken coop. Then the mother of that boy dragged him into the lodge.  He was really sick.  He had double pneumonia.  His eyes were turned up, and he took little short breaths.

  Then that old man running the ceremony called in the spirit. The spirit, the real medicine man, came in. So that Indian gave that boy some medicine. While he was being doctored, they were singing songs, short songs, in there.  All of a sudden you could hear gargling.  Like you take water and gargle. That sound was in there.  This boy's lungs were full of fluid, and he was like drowning.  That medicine pulled all that water out. You could hear it coming out. It went out. Then they fanned him. They gave him that pure oxygen. Then his lungs were clear. So he started breathing. He was conscious. They gave him water. So he drank water. Then he was healed. His lungs were cleaned out. So he walked out.

  So that boy, after his grandfather died, he went to college. Later his mother and father died, so he inherited that land. He remembered that old man that had doctored him. He remembered that he had saved his life. He remembered those old people.  He remembered what had happened. He remembered that bond, that prayer. So he respected the Chanunpa and the lodge. So he came over to us. He came over to the reservation in search of the lodge and the Chanunpa. He started asking, "Is there anybody that's a medicine man, or is there any sweat-lodge. Or any of that?"

  So somebody told him, "Yeah You go to Parmalee [South Dakota] and look for Black Elk.  I think he's familiar with all that area. He could lead you."So I was at my dad's place, and there was a pickup that drove up. I heard, "Somebody's here in a pickup." I never saw him before. So he came up to me and said, "Hi. Is your name Black Elk?" "Yeah." "My daddy told me the story [about my cure]. It's a long story, but I'll tell you so you'll get to know. I'll make this long story short and I want to offer you a Sacred Pipe."

  So when he finished that story, I told my dad.  He said, "Yeah.  That's good.  So accept the Chanunpa. I'll give you that honor. You are going to act as interpreter. You are going to interpret for the spirit. Good." So I accepted that honor, that Chanunpa. So we put him to work getting the altar ready. We itemized all the things we would need tobacco, string, eagle feather, eagle plume, conch shell, wood, sacred foods, different colored robes in black, red, yellow, white, blue, and green.  So he wrote it all down. Then he left.

  Later he came back. He brought six bolts of material, the whole thing, the whole bolt. Inside his pickup he had two halves of beef from the slaughterhouse. He had them hanging inside the pickup. He had a rack on it.  Then the corn, He brought a case of corn.  There were six gallon cans of corn in that box.  In another box there were six cans.  There were gallons of fruit. And there was more. There was a box of Bull Durham tobacco in those little sacks. I think there were about two dozen in there.  He brought six of those. And those spools of twine, you know, he brought six of those. When my mom saw all of that she started to really laugh. She said, "Oh, no. We are not going to use all of that.

  " So he said, "Well, I just brought this for distribution among the people. So you take whatever you want. Take whatever you need." So we only took a half-yard each of those materials for the robes and enough to make those prayer ties.  Then he wrote out a check for five hundred dollars to my dad.  My dad said, "Ho. that's good." Then the ceremony began. That boy was sitting behind the altar. He called me "Chief' When the spirit came in, this guy started nudging me. He thought that was an Indian spirit that came in.

  So he said, "You've been with this spirit all your life. But I'm a wasichu.  I'm a white man.  So he might not understand my English language." So I said, "He's a spirit He hears all languages.  He'll hear you." But that doubt was still there.  So he said, "No.  You'd better talk to him because he is an Indian spirit.  So you'd better talk to him in Lakota." So I said,(l said it in Lakota) "Tunkashila, my white brother here said that you're a Lakota spirit.  He's a white man.  He speaks English, and you might not understand English. So he asked that I talk to you in Lakota." Whatever you want to say to him you can tell me, and I'll translate for him. He wants it that way. But I told him that you are spirit. You are sacred. You hear.  You understand. Besides, you see much deeper how he feels, where he comes from and all this. You know when he was born and why he is here and when he's going to die.  You know everything."

  So that spirit came closer. Then that spirit said, "I read his mind. I know the  way he is thinking. That piece of wood and that piece of stone (the Sacred Pipe) lying there is sacred. Tell him that." So I interpreted that. So I told him that the spirit has read his mind. I told him that the spirit has said that he was thinking about that piece of wood and piece of stone because he had a college degree.  So in that language it's just a piece of wood and a piece of stone with maybe a little green in there, like that. That is the way he is thinking. Then I said, "He's a spirit.  He's the one that gave you that language.  If you believe that, then speak to him in that language he gave you.  So that spirit is going to speak English."

  So to my surprise this white boy said, "Gee, Tunkashila. I'm very sorry. I'm terribly sorry.  I shouldn't have doubted this. It's your medicine people that helped me. A long time ago, when I way a boy, I was dying.  You came, and you doctored me. You made me well though this Indian friend of my grandfather. All that I remember is that old Indian that rescued me. He gave me my health back. So I owe my life to that old man. So that has stayed with me all this time. That is the reason I came here. But I don't know these sacred powers. So I came here because I need your help. I lost three horses, and I lost my grandfather's saddle.  It's not for me to keep or use.

   But those horses, I paid a lot of money for them.  That saddle horse especially, that one horse, I paid twenty thousand dollars for him.  I want to keep those horses. I don't want to work them every day. I just want to keep them for harnessing to the wagon and just driving around.  I want to keep them for my kids.  So that's the only reason I want those horses back. Now a truck backed into the loading chute, and somebody loaded up those horses and took them away.  The sheriff has been there, and even the FBI came there. All they found was one little tire track.  So they traced that tread pattern.  But there are thousands of tires with that brand that are sold in this area.  So there is no way to trace that truck down.  As soon as it drove onto the blacktop that trail ended.  So they could not find it." So that spirit said, "Sing four songs.  I'll backtrack for this white boy.  I'm going to backtrack for him." So we started singing those songs.

  Then that spirit took off to backtrack that truck.  He went over to the house where that white boy lived.  There he Picked up the trail and traced it. He even went on that blacktop.  There are thousands of those tires, the same kind of tire, going over and over on that blacktop.  But he traced that track.  During the last song he came back in.  He said, "Yeah I found it.  And I brought those things that you wanted to keep from your grandfather.  I brought them here and laid them on the top of this roof.  If you want, I could bring them in."

  So that white boy said, "'Yes, Tunkashila. I want them in here.  Please bring them in." So we sang a song.  Then you could hear this rolling sound.  It sounded like gravel sliding down a chute.  It was that sound.  You could hear the straps slapping and those spurs jingling.  Then we heard this flop.  Then the spirit said, "After we leave here, when they finish this and turn the fights on, you go north by northeast.  When you come to a blacktop, then you go straight north.  Then you will come to a big junction.  There you turn to the west and go to the fourth big town.  When you go there, there will be a stockyard there.  You go there.  When you go there, you will see your horses there.  So from there you know what to do."

  Then that boy he said, "Oh, thank you.  Thank you." Then we finished the ceremony.  When we turned on the lights, that saddle, spurs, and bridle were sitting by the altar.  So how did the spirits bring them in?  That's a mystery.  But that made him really happy.  After the ceremony, he got into his pickup.  He went right away.  Just around sunrise he got to Rapid City, South Dakota.

  So he went into the stockyard.  He walked on the catwalks over the pens, and there he saw his horses.  But it was too early, and no one was in the stockyard.  So he walked across the street to an open cafe and got a cup of coffee.  When the time came, somebody opened the doors to the stockyard.  So he went there and told them that those horses in there were his horses.  Then he called the sheriff, from there the investigation was easy.  So after an hour, or an hour and a half, they tracked down that man that stole those horses.  So they caught him.  So he loaded his horses and started racing back.

  He came back to our place around noon.  He said, "I want to put up a thank-you ceremony." So we said that would be good. So he started the fire-put the rocks on, stacked the wood around, prayed, and lit it. My mom and my sisters started making the robes and prayer ties. They started cooking the food. Then we performed that ceremony.After that thank-you ceremony he said, "Now don't ever hesitate. Whenever you guys need help, just call me.  I'd like to be a part of it."

  So when we have those desperate times, we call him.  He says, "Don't worry.  I'll be there you wait for me." Then he brings food.  He brings chickens, frozen meat, or a whole cow in a pickup.  So my grandpa, grandma, dad, and mom they all prayed for him.  The spirit always returns those prayers. So his cattle raising increased. All the other ranchers kept losing cattle, but his were strong and in good health. The spirit helped him. He, his wife, and children, they are in good health.  So things happen that way. So when we send a voice to Tunkashila, that prayer is not just temporary for a month. It's not that way. It goes from generation to generation. So my grandfathers, they were really smart people.  Those old people were really different.

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