My name is Darlene Jackson I was born on the
Leech Lake Reservation at Cass Lake Minnesota on (3-30- 41). The band I
belong to is "Mississippi" and my clan is the Marten, which is a relative
of the Mink. The Lakota way came into my life in 1975. This is the path
I have chosen to walk. I do not have anything but this way. Until we have
completed our journey on Mother Earth the Pipe is what keeps us
going. Always remember
"Pila-Megwetch! Your sister
in spirit. With much love and respect, Darlene Jackson."
I would like to share my death experience of Sept.
25, 2000. I saw my mother she passed when she was 23 years
old. My Father passed in the middle 80's. What I saw was
my parents and three Elders and one young boy who
introduced himself by saying he was my brother. They all spoke in Ojbwe
and were dressed in traditional Native
American clothes. So time passed and
I was brought back because I was not yet ready to make that journey to
my Ancestors. I slowly came back but it was a difficult process for
me. My friend found me unconscious in my
apartment. Much later while I was still in the hospital, I mentioned
to my sister about seeing our Parents and the
three Elders. Then I mentioned the young
boy who said he was my brother. A few months ago, my Brother George
came down to the city. He went to my Sister
Barbara's home. She mentioned to him about my experience. He then
phoned me and told me he had forgotten that he was told
at a very young age that he was a twin. When he looked
at his birth certificate it showed two lines and one line was blank.
We now feel this puzzle has been solved and it
has been revealed to us that my brother's twin is with our parents.
I am alive today because the Spirits told Elmer
that I would be all right. Miracles we don't expect come to us in many
different ways. I thank our "CREATOR"
for all the help I have been given. We must not forget to PRAY
for our ANCESTORS who have gone on before
us. Thank you for reading my experience. With Much Love
and Respect!
Darlene Jackson,
Ojibwe Elder.
James Daniels and I were invited guests (to an Indian reservation in Nebraska) by Darlene Jackson an Indian elder. The interpreter man (medicine man), Elmer Running (81 years old), is the last traditional interpreter man (medicine man) for the Sioux nation. This dance was open to the public, the dancers, invited guests and others. There were two invited guests, James and I. When we arrived, it had been raining for several days and the road back to the dancing area was a muddy mess. We did not believe we would be able to get our small motor home back to the dancing grounds. We decided to camp outside the reservation that evening and returned the next day. It did not rain that night and the sun came out bright and warm in the morning and it was surprising how quickly the mud dried. We parked our motor home near the dancing grounds and anxiously waited to meet our friend "Darlene Jackson". Darlene is an Ojibway elder (small frame and small of stature) and she has more love to give then ten people like me.
The tree ceremony was to start at approximately 4:30 PM. Due to some problems and other complications, the tree ceremony did not get started until about 6 p.m. When Elmer found what the time it was, he said, "That's close enough, we are running on Indian time". A cotton wood tree had been pre selected by Elmer. It had to be a certain size and have two main forks at a certain distance above the ground. This was not a small tree; it looked to me to be about 40 to 50 feet tall. There were three main ropes attached to the tree (near the fork) and a group of men were placed at the end of these ropes to stabilize the tree as it was being cut. The tree had to be cut with an ax and many of the Native Americans took turns cutting. There was another group of men that held long poles right at the base of the tree; two men were placed at the end of each pole. The men holding the poles were lined up so that they could catch the tree as it fell. The reason for all this preparation is that the tree must not touch the ground as it falls. As the tree began to fall the men holding the ropes slowly lowered it on to the catch poles and the ceremony was ready to start.
A bundle of small cherry limbs (with the leaves still attached) were tied to the tree near the fork. Elmer Running was in total charge as the tree was carried to the arena. The tree carrying procedure was stopped four times and Elmer would perform a ceremony at each time. Special songs were sung as the tree was carried to the center of the sun dance ring. At this time I heard coyotes barking and I mistakenly thought the participants were making these sounds (I will explain this later). The tree was laid in the center of the arena; many small ropes were attached to the tree and these would be used to aid in getting the tree upright and into the pre dug hole in the center of the arena. Before the tree was raised, the dancers and supporters had an opportunity to tie their prayer flags (which were specially prepared before the start of the ceremony) on the limbs of the tree. After much difficulty, the tree eventually was upright in the center of the arena. It was tamped into place so that it was sturdy and could not be easily moved.
The next day at sunrise the sun dance ceremony started; the dancers (men and women) filed into the circular arena (carrying their beloved pipes in their arms) then walked around the ring. There where from 80 to 100 participants. On one side of the arena the drummers and singers were positioned near one of the four openings. The singers were singing as the drummers set up a drum beat and the dancers danced in the Sun Dance. There were many that had whistles in their mouths. The dancers had two types of whistles, one with a higher pitch and one with a lower pitch. As they danced (the singers singing and the drummers drumming) the dancers would whistle alternately high and low tones. It struck me as a very emotional, spiritual exercise and tears came to my eyes. As they danced they would periodically stop, turn toward the tree (where the prayer flags were tied to the two top forks) and stare at the top of the tree. They had in one hand what looked like an eagle feather fan and they would wave it toward the tree, still cradling their beloved pipes in their other arm. They continued to do this throughout the day with short rest periods in between the dances. Many of the dancers would have visions as they stared into the top of the tree. I believe this is the main goal of the dance. Elmer Running would interpret those visions for them. I believe the visions were of a personal type and would answer the question or the prayers that they had asked before the dance.
For me, this was a beautiful dance and a very emotional experience. While I was watching the dance (as a supporter), I would close my eyes and visions would come flooding in. I saw thousands of spiritual Indian dancers performing essentially the same dance as the participants were doing. One particular vision that I remember quite clearly was; as the spiritual dancers were dancing, one towered above the others. It seemed as if he were ten feet tall. I am sure that was just to impress upon me that there was a particular tall dancer in this group. I asked Darlene Jackson (the Indian elder) what this meant. She told me that the spiritual dancers are always present and the tall dancer that I saw (in my vision) was a famous Indian Spirit. I am sorry I do not remember his name. At this time I also heard another animal sound. I immediately asked my son-in-law, standing right next to me, if he heard the owl. James told me he did not hear anything. There was an Indian friend to the left of me' whose name was "Victor" and I ask him later if he heard the animal sound and he had not. When I asked Darlene about this, she told me that the dancers do not make the sounds; so I must conclude that the sounds were of a spiritual nature. I read the book "Fools Crow", a very famous Sioux medicine man, and he said that some supporters do hear animal sounds and they think the singers and dancers make these sounds but they do not. I inquired again about these sounds and was told, "The animals are the power in the dance".
A very important part of the sun dance (for some of the dancers) is the piercing ceremony. There are some of the dancers ( who make a special commitment) to be pierced and stay within the arena day and night essentially tethered to the tree. Many of the Native Americans make a four day and night commitment. They will stay in the arena day and night for that length of time without food or water. When they have completed their commitment, they will dance quickly away from the tree breaking loose from the tree. I am sure those that participate in piercing have clear visions throughout their experience.
I understand that all spiritual helpers (medicine men) have their own way to pierce. What follows is an account of the way Elmer Running did the piercing. Elmer spread on the chest of the men participants some type of medication. This could alleviate pain and probably halt any infection that could occur. Just above the men's left and right nipples Elmer would insert a thin pointed stick. This was inserted only in the outer layer of skin, not into the muscle. There would be leather straps tied to the sticks and they in turn were tied to a thin rope attached to the tree. The women would be pierced in the upper left and right arm and attached to the tree in the same way as the men. This process did not seem to cause any pain for the participants and as I watched I could tell that they were very involved in the dance and their vision quest. At this time I closed my eyes expecting to see the spiritual dancers but I did not see any. I asked Darlene about this and she told me that I was shown only what I was ready to see at this time. I guess this was a door (or portal) that I was not yet permitted to pass through.
Darlene Jackson has asked me to make a change in the way I described Elmer Running's piercing process. A note from Bob Cooper to Darlene Jackson explains his process in detail. I will leave my explanation of the piercing only to show where I have erred. I truly apologizes to all for this mistake. The following paragraph is Bob Coopers explanation of Elmer Running's piercing process. Please contact Bob or Darlene if you have any other suggestions .
Hau, kola! My name is Bob Cooper, and I have been Sundancing with Elmer since 1990. When I read George Shaffer's beautiful and moving account of his experience at the Oyate Owanjila Wiwang Wacipi, I felt obligated to clear up a slight misconception. When Elmer pierces us, he does not rub our chests with any kind of pain-killing medication. To do so would be against the rules of tradition, and would diminish the power of the piercing, which is supposed to be painful. All Elmer does is rub us with sage. He then pierces us with a scalpel, and his helper then inserts the peg, which has been lubricated with vaseline. After we break from the tree, the flaps of skin left hanging on our chests are trimmed off (after the round is over), tied into a piece of cloth (usually red), then tied to the tree. This is our flesh offering, and is the main point of the piercing. While I am quite sure that you, Darlene, are aware of all this and do not need me to inform you, I still felt the need to clear this up. If the wrong people read the mistaken information that Elmer is using painkillers on us, Elmer could be unjustly criticized for breaking tradition and being too soft on his dancers. None of us want that!
In closing, I just want to say how excited I am about Elmer's new Morningstar Sundance! It will be wonderful to be dancing with Elmer back on Rosebud again, where it all began for him, and where he belongs! I will be looking forward to seeing you there, along with all my other Sundance brothers and sisters. I think this may be the most excited I have been about Sundancing since my first year at Ironwood Hilltop. Let's try to make this the most unified Sundance ever!
Mitakuye oyasin, Bob Cooper
This is just a quick overview of the sun dance I viewed. Before the sun dance started I was introduced to Elmer but we had time to speak just a few words to each other. Elmer had much on his mind and was preparing to start his spiritual ceremony, maybe we will meet again and I will have a chance for a much longer conversation with Elmer Running. I thank Darlene Jackson, and Elmer for the invitation to view their sun dance. This was an experience which I will never forget. If anyone reading this ever gets an opportunity to visit a dance, as a supporter, they certainly should take advantage of that opportunity.
If you have comments or suggestions, write me using the address below.
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