Dream and Sparky
Story by Danny Beaton (Turtle Clan Mohawk)
In Memory of Alicja Rozanska.
One of my best friends from Trent University said: “Danny, I woke up crying. I dreamed the world is in terror and grief. The trouble and problems increase daily.” My friend had just lost two horses, Dream and Sparky. This loss of her animals was like losing a part of her family and I said: “Nothing is harder in life than losing a loved one.” What I thought immediately is everything I understand in life now is we are all here on a learning journey, a learning experience with our own life. This is something an elder told me many years ago from the Great Haida Nation. Our old elders always said grieving is the hardest thing we ever do when we lose a loved one. Even our animals are family if we become one with their mind, body and spirits.
Not long ago I had the great luck of finding a film called Horse Boy, about how the boy’s parents brought him to Mongolia to the Reindeer Shamans, because they were known as healers and this boy, an autistic person, was having trouble finding peace. The boy spent time with Mongolian Shamans, horses and reindeer herd. Shamans used their traditional medicine and sacred ceremonies on the boy, who went back to the USA very much in better health. So now I need to say how sacred the healing power of the horse is to human beings. In the Lakota culture and tradition the horse came from the Thunder Beings and was a sacred gift. The Lakota people look at the horse as a Relative, even family. In their tradition the Horse is most sacred and represents the strong connection between them and their culture to the Spirit World. The Lakota believe the Horse is a family member throughout their journey through life. Native American People and Culture of all Nations and Tribes believe the Horse is a Leader and Spiritual connection to The Spirit World.
My friend opened her heart to me and shared her spirit and spirit dream with me, so I want to honor her and Dream and Sparky and Indigenous People everywhere. Tom Porter says we all are indigenous people on this Sacred Mother Earth because we all have ancient roots and homeland.
Photo of Danny
The next day I traveled up north to our camp and started thinking how we can stop all the terror and grief and trouble the world gets deeper in. After all these years of telling our stories and bringing the message of our old elders, the changes needed to protect and heal Mother Earth are not taken seriously. Our governments are allowing mining and logging to continue at a destructive pace, our climate is now being called turbulent weather and the world’s scientists are calling it far worse than they ever expected. In 1972 the United Nations Environment Program was created to counter the triple crisis that was killing life species and diversity on Mother Earth. In 1988 the United Nations created The Intergovernmental Panel On Climate Change with a large group of world scientists and specialists to counter the problems causing people to become environmental refugees, disasters, wild fires, droughts, sickness and extreme heat caused by Climate Change. 1993 became known as The International Year Of The World’s Indigenous People to counter and create awareness of the treatment and violations of the rights of Indigenous Peoples. Yet, over thirty years have gone by since the voices of Indigenous Peoples were documented and heard, as you can read in Voice of Indigenous Peoples by Clear Light Publishers, Santa Fe, New Mexico.
The old ones, or better, the old elders, our spiritual leaders, always said: “Never show the people that there is no hope. Never show the people negativity that is too overwhelming, or too hard to bear.” Today our elders are saying it has gotten very negative out there, not only in the big cities, but on our reservations, too. The elders say there is no real respect, it’s gone. There is no more respect and this world is very lost. But then again, I just spoke to a Mohawk elder and he says there are beautiful people out there. If we are patient, they show up in time and time is so sacred. All time shows us all what we are meant to know. The spirits of our ancestors work with time and numbers. This is a universal truth: time, numbers, colors and sound. Everything is moving in the universe. Tom Porter says the universe is our Great Creator; that’s the same as your God. This world or society has lost touch with time, numbers, colors and sound. This society has lost touch with Creation, plant life, the waters, the air, the fire, but most of all Mother Earth, the female life-giver, Our Mother Earth. We are her sacred children, wandering lost without respect or time for each other, and most of all not believing in each other anymore, simply because humans are not focused on healing and having time to help one another on the street, or on positive thinking with the Good Mind. The Good Mind is now by the wayside.
In the film Horse Boy the 4-year-old boy is filmed at his family’s farm in Texas, where his parents learn their son finds peace with their horses. The boy’s parents learn of the Shamans of Mongolia where indigenous people still practice sacred ceremonies for all healing sickness. The young boy is extremely suffering. His parents decide to contact the Shamans and through interpreters they arrange to bring their son to Asia to be helped by Mongolian Shamans. The film is a magnificent journey through ancient Mongolian Culture and Spiritual Way of Life: living in tents and having horses and reindeer. Once the Reindeer Shaman leader starts to doctor and work on young Horse Boy, there is a beginning of real healing and calmness taking place within Horse Boy. The film features Sacred Mongolian Ceremonies and it includes their Sacred Healing Songs. This is by far one of the greatest films I have ever watched, witnessing the beauty of Traditional Indigenous Culture helping a non-indigenous child. So I urge and encourage anyone interested in healing to see Horse Boy.
Since my friend Chris lost her sacred horses in the last year, I can feel the loss and trauma she is feeling so strongly, especially since the world seems to be falling apart socially in so many ways. In the last 30 years we the people have witnessed so much negativity that healing seems impossible, but if we look at natural life, natural world, natural law we can see time can turn life around in a positive way. The Indigenous Peoples have a great connection to healing powers and forces as do the Lakota Nation in North and South Dakota, but we need to listen to their leaders and healers. The Indigenous Nations across North and South America are still connected to their healing ways. All Indigenous Peoples of the world have a connection to the forces that give us life: Earth, Air, Fire and Mother Earth’s Blood, the Water. Having felt so much hopelessness lately, it is time we the people make time to open our minds, our hearts, our spirits to all positive energy out there. All Human Beings now are experiencing a Collective Trauma from all the past and present negativity Mother Earth and the people have fallen into or been subjected to. The Indigenous People of the world see and understand pain and suffering but have Sacred Ceremonies for Healing and Curing. The spirit of our ancestors passed these Sacred Teachings on to us if we search and look for that natural way of life with all the universal truths and thinking.
In The Spirit of My Mohawk Ancestors Forgive me if I forgot to say something else of great importance.