The Wind Is My Mother

With eloquent simplicity, Bear Heart, a full-blooded and traditionally trained healer of the Muskogee Creek tribe, shares a lifetime of training. In sections titled "The Cure Lies Within You" and "Learning How To Live," Bear Heart weaves together anecdotes and philosophy to show how traditional tribal wisdom can help us maintain mental, spiritual and physical health in today's world. We journey with him from his initiation into the Muskogee Creek's "medicine ways" in 1938 (when he walked unharmed through a den of rattlesnakes) to his role as a respected elder and counselor whose gentle words spring from a lifetime of service. He describes the lessons learned in ceremonies conducted in the sweat lodge and the Native American Church; he explains why Native people pray with peyote and smoke the Sacred Pipe and how vision quests can bring clarity and personal revelation. Throughout, Bear Heart's teachings stress the importance of self-knowledge, integrity, and being open to the guidance of the Great Spirit. Through inspiring stories and examples, he teaches us how to live.