Wigwam B
Totem
Teachings
True stories of native Indian history,
folklore, heroes and heroines.
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SPARROW’S
STAUROLITE -
(KATERI’S
TEARDROP)
Before
sharing my take on a very interesting mineral named
Staurolite, I first need to explain how I became
introduced to it.
Through
‘Blessed Kateri’ I indirectly learned of the mineral
staurolite. Although,
I am not Catholic, I seemed to have developed a special
connection to ‘Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha.’
(Click on Blessings on my home page for more
information.)
Kateri
first appeared to me before marrying my husband Tom
‘Goldenbear’ Smith.
Knowing my interest in Kateri my husband gifted
me with three of her rosaries.
The first was a beautiful full length amethyst
rosary. After
careful consideration, I later passed this one onto
another family member.
The remaining two, I cannot see myself parting
with.
The
second, is the Kateri Relic Rosary.
It is made up of six different coloured crystal
beads. Brown
- for Mother Earth; Yellow - for light and sunshine;
Green - for plant life; Blue for Father Sky; Clear to
represent clear waters; Red - for Native American/First
Nations People.
Attached
to the bottom of this rosary is a crucifix.
Near the crucifix is a Kateri Relic medal.
Encased on the medal back is a piece of cloth
that has been touched to a bone relic of Kateri.
People are known to touch the relic to a part of
their body they wish to have healed.
Printed
on a small typed sheet of paper which accompanies this
second rosary is some wonderful knowledge.
“This special rosary has been blessed by Fr. Jacques
Brewer, S.J. and Vice Postulation for the Cause of
Captors Canonization in
Canada
.
He blessed the rosary at the St. Francis Xavier
Church at the Kahnawake Mohawk Reserve while it was
placed on her tomb.”
“The
Kateri Relic Rosary has also been blessed by the Blessed
Mother through the request of a holy woman, who sees
Our Lady in visions.
We know how devoted Kateri was to Our
Lady.”
“When
Kateri Tekakwitha was baptized in 1676, she suffered
persecution for her faith.
One of these persecutions was to try to make her
give up the rosary.
She exclaimed, she “would rather die than give
up our Lady’s Rosary!”
She was never without it and said it daily
throughout her life.
The
third rosary is my personal favourite.
The Kateri Indian Rosary.
It is a Chaplet of Prayers dedicated in
honour of Blessed Kateri, the Lily of the Mohawks. The
small Cross on the bottom of it is a staurolite. (my
first introduction to this wonderful mineral stone.)
There
is an Indian
legend that on the
day that Christ died on the Cross, the
woodland animals wept, their
tiny tears falling upon the earth crystalized into these
tiny stone crosses of staurolite.
There
are twenty-four (24) beads on this third rosary.
Each bead is representative of Kateri’s short
twenty-four years on earth.
Eight (8) brown beads are for Mother Earth; Eight
(8) red beads are for love, and for Native Americans and
all mankind with red blood.
Eight (8) crystal beads are for the clear lakes
and streams. These
waters are believed by Indians to be a collective place
of the tears of the Great Spirit.
The
mineral staurolite comes with many tales, myths, beliefs
and bundles of experiences.
One
story claims that Pocahontas gave John Smith a
good luck charm on a necklace.
The charm is believed to be staurolite.
Another
story explains that President Teddy Roosevelt had
staurolite (for luck) on his watch chain.
Staurolite
is known yet again to others as Baseler Taufstein -
(Balse baptismal stone.)
Some
folks refer to it as the Fairy Stone or Fairy
Cross. History
has it that Italians named it fairy cross and refer to
it as lapis crucifer.
The
myth in these names stems from a similar story as the
Indian legend. Only
instead of the tears of small animals it was said they
were formed from the tears of elves or fairies.
Staurolite
comes from the Greek word ‘Stauros’ meaning
Cross and lithos meaning stone.
Time
shows us another version of the Indian legend.
The tears were from people, as
Christianity signaled the downfall of their shrines.
Today,
staurolite is speaking to many people and is
becoming more and more popular.
It has the shape of a cross imprinted in the
stone.
Native
Americans/First Nations People like to carry it in their
medicine bag or pouch.
It is believed to have a vast number of qualities
attributed to it.
Here
is a list of the attributes that I have found.
I would not be surprised to learn of others.
1.
Protection against negativity, disease and
accidents.
2.
Protection against depression, stress, obsessive
traits and addictions.
3.
Detoxifies and stimulates the immune system.
4.
Provides clarity.
5.
It is said to be a protective charm especially
for children against bad spirits.
6.
A good luck charm for people in general.
7.
Brings money, wealth and prosperity.
8.
Manifestation.
9.
It is said to be a magic medicine.
10.
Used for camaying
- (blowing Spirit
into).
The
hardness of staurolite is a 7 - 7.5.
It’s colour can be seen as a light tan,
reddish-brown, brownish-black with white to grayish
streaks marbling through it.
In
1976 the State of Georgia, U.S.A. names staurolite as
their official state mineral.
Apparently, it is particularly prominent in
northern Georgia.
Florida’s
sand deposits are heavy filled with this mineral.
A mineral, which is greatly used as a sand
blasting material.
The
cross shaped twinning pattern is very common.
Rarer specimens can display a double or twin
cross or it can resemble a six rayed star.
I
have learned a genuine cross is quite rare and expensive
to purchase. Staurolites
are oftened faked. A
good test is to have it scratch glass and also not be
scratched by a knife.
A strong indication that you are looking at a
true staurolite!
Some
areas that staurolite might be discovered in are as the
following list.
-
Canada
- Switzerland
- Russia
- Scotland
- France
- Italy
- Brazil
- Australia
- Africa
- Asia
- Cayman Islands (and others)
- U.S.A. (Georgia/Tennessee/Virginia/Montana/Taos, New
Mexico and North Carolina.
(I
am certain there are other locations, but they are not
known to me at this time.)
Regarding
the authenticity of staurolite this is what I can
tell you . . .Rare is a real
staurolite cross. Test
it for a fake. Can
it scratch glass?
There
are several sites on the web that explain in greater
detail what to watch for.
Forewarned is forearmed, right?
My
learning of staurolite indirectly through ‘Blessed
Kateri’ is in my books no coincidence.
Therefore, I personally conclude that both
‘Blessed Kateri’ and the staurolite stone on her
rosary (gifted to me by my husband) are all -
most precious and priceless in my book.
Perhaps
I should rename this unique mineral stone -
“Kateri’s
Teardrop.”
To
those of you who give of your time to visit here with me,
I sincerely thank you for reading all the way to the
bottom of this article to get to the top of the staurolite
mystery.
Blessings
and Gratitude, White Sparrow
The Resuscitation
of the Only Daughter
(Sioux Legend)
There
once lived an old couple who had an only daughter.
She was a beautiful
girl and was very much courted by the young men of the
tribe, but she said that she preferred single life, and to
all their heart touching tales of deep affection for her
she always had one answer: “No”.
One
day this maiden fell ill and day after day grew worse.
All the best medicine men were called in, but their
medicines were of no avail, and in two week from the day
that she had taken ill she lay a corpse.
Of course there was deep and great mourning in the
camp.
They took her body
several miles from camp and rolled it in fine robes and
blankets, then they lay her on a scaffold which they had
erected.
(This was the custom
of burial among the Indians).
They placed four forked posts in
the ground and then lashed strong poles lengthwise and
across the ends and made a bed of willows and stout ash
brush.
This scaffold was five to seven feet from the
ground.
After the funeral, the parents gave
away all of their horses, fine robes and blankets and all
of the belongings of the dead girl.
Then they cut their hair off, close to there heads
and attired themselves in the poorest apparel they could
secure.
When
a year had passed, the friends and relatives of the old
couple tried in vain to have them set aside their
mourning.
“You have mourned long
enough,” they would say.
“Put aside your mourning and try and enjoy
a few more pleasures of this life while you live.
You are both growing
older and can’t live very many more years, so make the
best of your time.”
The old couple would listen to their advice and
then shake
their heads and answer:
“We have nothing to live for.
Nothing we
could join in would be any amusement to us, since we have
lost the light of our lives”.
So
the old couple continued their mourning for their lost
idol.
Two years had
passed since the death of the beautiful girl, when one
evening a hunter and his wife passed by the scaffold which
held her.
They
were on their return trip and were heavily loaded down
with game, and
therefore could not travel very fast.
About a half a mile from the scaffold
a clear spring burst forth from the side of the bank, and
from there trickled a small stream of water, moistening
the roots of vegetation bordering its banks, and causing a
growth of sweet green grass. At this spring the hunter
camped and tethering his horses. At once he set
about helping his wife to erect the small teepee, which
they carried for convenience in traveling.
When
it became quite dark, the hunter’s dogs set up a great
barking and growling.
“Look out and see what the dogs are barking
at,” said the hunter
to his wife!
She looked through the door and then drew back saying:
“There is the figure of a woman advancing from
the direction of
the girl’s scaffold.”
“I expect it is the dead girl. Let her
come, and don’t
act as if you are afraid,” said the hunter.
Soon they heard footsteps advancing and the steps
ceased at the door.
Looking down at the lower part of the door the
hunter noticed a pair of small moccasins, and
knowing that it was the visitor said: “Whoever you are,
come in and have something to eat.”
At
this invitation the figure came slowly in and sat down by
the door, head covered, and with a fine robe drawn tightly
over the face.
The woman
dished up a fine supper and placing it before the visitor,
she said: “Eat, my friend, you must be hungry.”
The figure never moved.
Nor did the figure uncover to eat.
“Let us turn towards the door so our visitor may
eat the food,” said the hunter.
So his wife turned her
back to the visitor and made herself very busy cleaning
the small pieces of the meat that were hanging to the back
sinews of the deer which had been killed.
(The Indians use this as thread).
The hunter, filling his pipe, turned away and
smoked in silence.
Finally, the dish was pushed back to the woman, who
took it and after washing it, put it away. The
figure still sat near the door, not a sound coming from
her.
Neither was she breathing!
The hunter at last said, “Are you the girl that
was placed upon the scaffold two years ago?” It bowed
its head two of three times in assent.
“Are you going to sleep here tonight? If you are,
my wife will put down a bed for you.”
The figure shook its head.” Are you, going to
come again tomorrow night to us?”
It nodded assent.
For
three nights is succession the figure visited the
hunter’s camp.
The third
night, the hunter noticed that the figure was breathing.
He saw one of
the hands protruding from the robe.
The skin was black and was
stuck fast to the bones of the hand.
On seeing this, the hunter arose and
going over to his medicine sack, which hung on a pole,
took down the sack and opening it, he took out some roots,
mixing them with skunk oil and vermilion, and said to the
figure:
“If you will let us rub your face and
hands with this medicine it will put new life into the
skin and you will assume your complexion again and it will
put flesh on you.”
The figure
assented and the hunter rubbed the medicine on her hands
and face.
The she arose and walked back to the scaffold.
The next day the hunter
moved camp towards the home village.
That night he camped within
a few miles of the village!
When night came, the dogs, as usual, set
up a great barking and looking out, the wife saw the girl
approaching. When the girl had entered and sat down,
the hunter noticed that the girl did not bring her robe so
closely together over her face.
When the wife gave
her something to eat, the girl reach out and took the
dish, thus exposing her hands, which they at once noticed
looked natural again.
After
she finished her meal, the hunter said:
“Do you want my medicine rubbed
all over your body?”
Again she nodded.
“I will mix enough to rub
your entire body, and I will go outside and let my wife
rub it on you”.
He mixed a good supply, and going out, let his wife
rub the girl. When
his wife had completed the task, she called to her husband
to come in. When he came in, he sat down and said to the
girl: “Tomorrow we will reach the village.
“Do you want to go with us?”
She shook her head.
“Will you come to our camp tomorrow night after
we have camped
in the village?”
She nodded her head in assent.
“Then do you want
to see your parents?”
She nodded again and arose and disappeared into
the darkness!
Early
next morning, the hunter broke camp and traveled far into
the afternoon when he arrived at the village!
He instructed his wife to go at
once and inform the old couple of what had happened.
The wife did so
and at sunset the old couple came to the hunter’s
teepee.
They were invited
to enter and a fine supper was served them.
Soon after they had finished their supper the dogs
of the camp set up a great barking.
“Now she
is coming, so be brave and you will soon see your lost
daughter,” said the hunter.
Hardly
had he finished speaking, when she entered the teepee as
natural as
ever she was in life.
Her parents clung to her and smothered her with kisses.
They wanted her to return home with them. But
she would stay with
the hunter who had brought her back to life, and she
married him, becoming his second wife.
A short time after taking the girl for his wife,
the hunter joined a war party and never returned, as he
was killed on the battlefield.
A
year after her husband’s death, she married again.
This husband was also
killed by a band of enemies who the warriors were pursuing
for stealing some of their horses. The
third husband also met a similar fate to
the first.
He was killed on the field of battle.
She
was still a handsome woman at the time of her third
husband’s death, but never
again married, as the men feared her, saying she was holy,
and that anyone who married her would be sure to be killed
by the enemy.
So
she took to doctoring the sick and gained the reputation
of being the most
skilled doctor in the nation!
She lived to be a ripe old age. When she
felt death approaching her, she had them take her to where
she had rested once before, and crawling to the top of the
newly built scaffold, wrapped her blankets and robes about
her, covered her face carefully, and fell into that sleep
from which there is no more awakening!
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Porcupines,
Art and Rock and Roll
One
type of Native American art form is porcupine quill
embroidery.
One rare quill-work technique is quill-wrapped
horsehair.
Quills wrapped around parallel bundles of horsehair
about one-eighth of an inch in diameter, and sewn side by
side to form decorative strips.
Simple designs produced by altering the colours of
the quills, or by wrapping with them with coloured yarn
instead.
These strips, mostly edged with a single lane of
beadwork, and typically used for the decorative strips on
men’s shirts and leggings, for blanket or robe strips
and occasionally for moccasins.
One
other technique is multiple-quill plaiting.
This technique involves weaving multiple flattened
quills together to form decorative bands an inch or more
wide. Some examples consist of quill-wrapped horsehair
rosettes separated by rectangles of multiple quill-
plaiting a technique used by Plateau women.
Blankets
are used to carefully toss over a porcupine to collect the
quills.
(White Sparrow strongly advises not to try this
trick at home)!
Now,
about the porcupine itself!
Our porcupine friend is a misunderstood creature!
Yes, it likes to stroll or amble, but make no
mistake, they can climb 50-60 feet up a tree!
They like to live in pine forests.
They eat the barks of trees, leaves and water
lilies.
They absolutely love the taste of salt!
Therefore, if you have porcupine in your personal
totem, monitor your salt intake.
Porcupines have poor eyesight, and have an easy
going but curious nature.
During winter months, they will be found up a tree
as opposed to shuffling across the snow.
Their homes are often discovered in hollow logs.
It’s
a fascinating fact to me that each porcupine is well
blessed with approximately 30,000 quills!
I wish to emphasize that a porcupine does not shoot
its quills!
When threatened, the quills stand up.
To protect its face, the porcupine will lower its
head between its front legs, so that the quills guard it.
The quills are loosely attached and easily
discarded.
The porcupine will then lash with its tail, usually
aiming at the enemy’s head.
If it hits, the quills are left behind!
These
quills aren’t poisonous but dangerously sharp barbs are
on the end.
Once the quills make their target, the barb
expands!
Meaning, that every movement of its enemy will
cause each quill to sink in deeper and deeper.
(I can vividly remember once watching my father
remove porcupine quills from our family dog’s nose with
a pair of pliers)!
It was a painful experience for everyone.
A
porcupine is buoyant in water because their quills are
filled with air! It is a layer of muscle that controls the
quills, which causes them to be made to lie flat or stand
straight up to danger!
Did
you know, porcupines often stand on their hind legs
rocking back and forth, while simultaneously waving their
paws?
It looks much like dancing!
So, those of you with porcupine medicine will also
have a great love for dancing as well.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
THE
POWWOW TRAIL
Each
year the number of people who attend a powwow (pau wau) is
growing!
They welcome both native and non-native people to
come together as one.
I once read that 90 percent of Native Americans
attend powwows.
This to me is an astounding number!
I believe powwows help to mark the trail of native
transitions and tribulations.
The powwow trail can lure the seriously devoted for
approximately two months of the year and for up to 26,000
miles of travel.
Why
are powwows becoming more and more popular?
I don’t have a scientific answer for that.
What I do have is my own opinion on this subject.
I believe the “Me Generation”, is finally
looking around and wanting to find more.
That we are actively and openly hunting for a
deeper connection to our own spirit!
Aren’t we all hungry to reawaken and re-stoke the
spiritual fire, resting deep within us?
Let’s face it, how many of us haven’t asked the
question, “What is my purpose here on earth”?
I mean this with no disrespect, but we may not all
burn braids of sweet grass and wash it over ourselves, but
I do believe we are searching for our individual purpose
and rituals.
I
believe a great many of us are drawn to the quiet
teachings passed down by the Elders!
That we are inspired by their confident voices of
wisdom and passion! That the native Indian culture holds a
simplistic way of unraveling the sometimes complicated and
confusing lessons in life!
What
an honour it must be to be true Indian and to participate
among their people in ceremony.
To sit in a circle and hear your elders speak.
To have them sit reverently with you, but not above
you, rather at ground level with you.
To hear from their own mouths their experiences and
their history, folklore, and great wisdom of the Great
Spirit. To hold onto each word as if it were your last
breath!
I
do not believe that the native Elders force or try to pour
this wisdom down your throat.
It seems to be more of a listening in your own
silence process.
You know, ‘when the student is ready the teacher
will appear’, kind of approach.
Perhaps, it’s only me, but doesn’t this sound
like a much gentler means to the tough and tender lessons
of life?
From
generation to generation, the powwows continue.
I have learned that they are changing, yes, but
they are still carrying on and maintaining their earthly
magic. A powwow is a multi-mix of fringes, moccasins,
suede, tepees, porcupine quills, dancing, music, laughter,
and still sacred rituals for only true native Indians to
participate in.
A powwow is a celebration in its truest form!
This celebration is to honour everything from their
athletes to their dead.
Cameras
are welcome at a powwow, just not during ceremonies!
Native ceremonies are sacred and treated with the
respect they deserve.
Perhaps, your film will embrace the solemn faces
and those of laughter from all ages that attend,
or the
beauty of their hand made crafts and artwork.
This year, you never know!
Perhaps, White Sparrow herself will be sitting or
standing right next to you somewhere along the powwow
trail!
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