What Is The Soul

The creator gathered together all of creation and said,"
I want to hide something from the humans until they are ready for it.
It is the realization that... they create their own reality.


The eagle said "Give it to me I will take it to the moon"
"The Creator said,
"No. One day they will go there and find it".


The salmon said, "I will take it to the bottom of the ocean."
"No they will go there too."


The buffalo said, "I will bury it on the great plains. "The Creator said,
"They will cut into the skin of the earth and find it even there."


Then the Grandmother mole, who lives in the breast of Mother Earth,
and who has no physical eyes but sees with spiritual eyes, said:
"Put it inside them."

And the Creator said, "It is done

Cherokee Prophecies
Excerpts from a talk at the 1986 Continental Indigenous Council,
Fairbanks, Alaska
By Lee Brown, Cherokee

There was the cycle of the mineral, the rock. There was the cycle of the plant. And now we are in the cycle of the animal coming to the end of that and beginning the cycle of the human being.
When we get into the cycle of the human being, the highest and greatest powers that we have will be released to us.

At the beginning of this cycle of time, long ago, the Great Spirit made an appearance and gathered the peoples of this earth together, and said to the human beings, "I'm going to send you to four directions, and over time I'm going to change you to four colors, but I'm going to give you some teachings, and you will call these the Original Teachings; when you come back together with each other, you will share these so that you can live and have peace on earth, and a great civilization will come about. During the cycle of time, I'm going to give each of you two stone tablets. When I give you those stone tablets, don't cast them upon the ground. If any of the sisters and brothers cast their tablets on the ground, not only will human beings have a hard time, but almost the earth itself will die."

And so He gave each of us a responsibility, and we call that the Guardianship. To the Indian people, the red people, He gave the Guardianship of the Earth. We were to learn during this cycle of time the teachings of the earth, the plants that grow from the earth, the foods that you can eat, and the herbs that heal so that, when we came back together with the other sisters and brothers, we could share this knowledge with them. Something good was to happen on the earth.

To the South He gave the yellow race of people the Guardianship of the Wind. They were to learn about the sky and breathing and how to take that within ourselves for spiritual advancement.
They were to share that with us at this time.

To the West He gave the black race of people the Guardianship of the Water. They were to learn the teachings of the water, which is the chief of the elements, being the most humble and the most powerful. The elders have told me that the black people would bring the teachings of the water.

To the North He gave the white race of people the Guardianship of the Fire. If you look at the center of many of the things they do, you will find the fire. They say a light bulb is the white man's fire. If you look at the center of a car you will find a spark. If you look at the center of the airplane and the train you will find the fire. The fire consumes, and also moves. This is why it was the white sisters and brothers who began to move upon the face of the earth and reunite us as a human family.

And so a long time passed, and the Great Spirit gave each of the four races two stone tablets. Ours are kept at the Hopi Reservation in Arizona at Four Corners Area on Third Mesa. I talked to people from the black race, and their stone tablets are at the foot of Mount Kenya. They are kept by the Kukuyu Tribe. I was at an Indian spiritual gathering about 15 years ago. A medicine man from South Dakota put a beaded medicine wheel in the middle of the gathering. It had the four colors from the four directions; he asked the people, "Where is this from?" They said, "Probably Montana, or South Dakota, maybe Saskatchewan." He said, "This is from Kenya." It was beaded just like ours, with the same colors.

The stone tablets of the yellow race of people are kept by the Tibetans. If you went straight through the Hopi Reservation to the other side of the world, you would come out in Tibet. The Tibetan word for sun is the Hopi word for moon, and the Hopi word for sun is the Tibetan word for moon.

The guardians of the traditions of the people of Europe are the Swiss. In Switzerland, they still have a day when each family brings out its mask. They still know the colors of the families, and they still know the symbols, some of them. Each of these four peoples happen to live in the mountains.

Each of the four races went to their directions and learned their teachings. It was in Newsweek not long ago that eight out of ten foods that people eat on the earth are developed here in the western hemisphere because that was our Guardianship -- to learn the teachings of the earth and the things that grow from the earth. We were given a sacred handshake to show, when we came back together as sisters and brothers,
that we still remembered the teachings.

It was indicated on the stone tablets that the Hopis had that the first sisters and brothers who would come back to them would come as turtles across the land. They would be human beings, but they would come as turtles. So when the time came close, the Hopis were at a special village to welcome the turtles that would come across the land. They got up in the morning and looked out at the sunrise. They looked out across the desert, and they saw the Spanish conquistadores coming, covered in armor, like turtles across the land. So this was them. So they went out to the Spanish man, and they extended their hand, hoping for the handshake. But into the hand the Spanish man dropped a trinket. And so word spread throughout North America that there was going to be a hard time, that maybe some of the brothers and sisters had forgotten the sacredness of all things and all the human beings were going to suffer for this on the earth.

So tribes began to send people to the mountains to have visions to try to figure out how they could survive. At that time there were 100,000 cities in the Mississippi Valley alone, called the mound civilization: cities built on great mounds. Those mounds are still there. They began to try to learn to live off the land because they knew a hard time was going to come. They began to send people to have visions to see how we could survive this time. They were told in the prophecies that we should try to remind all the people that would come here of the sacredness of all things. If we could do that, then there would be peace on earth. But if we did not do that, if we had not come together as a human family, the Great Spirit would grab the earth with His hand and shake it.

The elders on the west coast prophesied that they would then begin to build a black ribbon. And on this black ribbon there would move a bug. And when you begin to see this bug moving on the land, that was the sign for the First Shaking of the Earth. The First Shaking of the Earth would be so violent that this bug would be shaken off the earth into the air and it would begin to move and fly in the air. And by the end of this shaking this bug will be in the air around the world. Behind it would be a trail of dirt and eventually the whole sky of the entire earth would become dirty from these trails of dirt, and this would cause many diseases that would get more and more complicated. So the bug moving on the land, of course it's easy to see now. In 1908 the Model-T Ford was mass produced for the first time. So the elders knew the First Shaking of the Earth was about to come about -- that was the First World War.

In the First World War the airplane came into wide usage for the first time. That was that bug moving into the sky. And so they knew something very important would happen. There would be an attempt to make peace on earth on the west coast of this land, and so the elders began to watch for this. They began to hear that there was going to be a League of Nations in San Francisco, so the elders gathered in Arizona around 1920 or so, and they wrote a letter to Woodrow Wilson. They asked if the Indian people could be included in the League of Nations.

The United States Supreme Court had held that a reservation is a separate and semi-sovereign nation, not a part of the United States but protected by it. This became a concern because people didn't want the reservations to become more and more separate. They didn't want them to be considered nations. So they did not write back, and the Native people were left out of the League of Nations so that circle was incomplete. In the League of Nations circle there was a southern door, the yellow people; there was a western door, the black people; there was a northern door, the white people; but the eastern door was not attended. The elders knew that peace would not come on the earth until the circle of humanity is complete, until all the four colors sat in the circle and shared their teachings, then peace would come on earth.

So they knew things would happen. Things would speed up a little it. There would be a cobweb built around the earth, and people would talk across this cobweb. When this talking cobweb, the telephone, was built around the earth, a sign of life would appear in the east, but it would tilt and bring death (the swastika of the Nazis). It would come with the sun. But the sun itself would rise one day, not in the east but in the west (the rising sun of the Japanese Empire). So the elders said when you see the sun rising in the east, and you see the sign of life reversed and tilted in the east, you know that the Great Death is to come upon the earth, and now the Great Spirit will grab the earth again in His hand and shake it, and this shaking will be worse than the first. So the sign of life reversed and tilted, we call that the Swastika, and the rising sun in the east was the Rising Sun of Japan. These two symbols are carved in stone in Arizona. When the elders saw these two flags, they knew that these were the signs that the earth was to be shaken again.

The worse misuse of the Guardianship of the fire is called the gourd of ashes. They said the gourd of ashes will fall from the air. It will make the people like blades of grass in the prairie fire, and things will not grow for many seasons. The atomic bomb, the gourd of ashes, it was the best-kept secret in the history of the US. The elders wanted to speak about it in 1920.

They would have spoken of it and foretold its coming if they could have entered into the League of Nations. The elders tried to contact President Roosevelt to ask him not to use the gourd of ashes because it would have a great effect on the earth and eventually cause even greater destruction and a the Third Shaking of the Earth, the Third World War.

So they knew after the Second Shaking of the Earth when they saw the gourd of ashes fall from the sky, there would be an attempt to make peace on the other side of this land. And because the peace attempt on the west coast had failed, they would build a special house on the east coast of this Turtle Island, and all the nations and peoples of the earth would come to this house, and it would be called the House of Mica, and it would shine like the mica on the desert shines. So the elders began to see they were building the United Nations made out of glass that reflects like the mica on the desert so they knew this was the House of Mica, and all the peoples of the earth should go to it. So they met and talked about this. They said that in the 1920's they had written and they had not been responded to, so they said this time we'd better go to the front door of the House of Mica because things might get a lot worse.

So elders representing a number of tribes drove to New York City. When the United Nations opened, they went to the front door of the house of Mica and they said these words, 'We represent the indigenous people of North America, and we wish to address the nations of the Earth. We're going to give you four days to consider whether or not we will be allowed to speak.'

They retreated to one of the Six Nations Reserves in New York State. Four days later they came back, and I believe the nations of the earth heard that the Indians had come to the door. And they voted to let the Indians in. They wanted to hear what they had to say. But the United States is one of five nations of the United Nations with a veto power, and still they were concerned because this time the Native sovereignty was even stronger. And I believe they vetoed the entrance of the Native people.

So then they knew other things would happen on the Earth. So they retreated to the Six Nations Reserve, and they talked about this, and they said the time is really getting close now -- 1949. They said, "We're going to divide the United States into four sections, and each year we're going to have a gathering. We're going to call these the White Roots of Peace Gatherings." They began to have these around 1950. And they authorized certain people to speak in English for the first time about these prophecies.

One that I used to listen to many times, over and over, was Thomas Banyaca. He was authorized to speak in English about what was on the stone tablets, and he has dedicated his life to doing this. And they began to tell us at these gatherings, "You're going to see a time in your lifetime when the human beings are going to find the blueprint that makes us." They call that now DNA, deoxyribonucleic acid. They said, "They're going to cut this blueprint." They call that now genetic splicing. And they said, "They're going to make new animals upon the earth, and they're going to think these are going to help us. And it's going to seem like they do help us. But maybe the grandchildren and great-grandchildren are going to suffer." The elders said long ago, "They will release these things, and they will use them." This is going to be released not too long from now. They are making new animals. The elders talked about this. They said, "You will see new animals, and even the old animals will come back, animals that people thought had disappeared. They will find them here and there. They'll begin to reappear."

They said, "You're going to see a time when the eagle will fly its highest in the night, and it will land upon the moon. And at that time, many of the Native people will be sleeping," which symbolically means they have lost their teachings. We're at that time now. The Eagle has landed on the moon, 1969. When that spaceship landed, they sent back the message, "The Eagle has landed." Traditionally, Native people from clear up in the Inuit region have shared with us this prophecy, clear down to the Quechuas in South America.

At this time you're going to see that things will speed up, that people on the earth will move faster and faster. Grandchildren will not have time for grandparents. Parents will not have time for children. It will seem like time is going faster and faster. The elders advised us that, as things speed up, you yourself should slow down. The faster things go, the slower you go. Because there's going to come a time when the earth is going to be shaken a third time. The Great Spirit has shaken the earth two times: the First and Second World Wars to remind us that we are a human family, to remind us that we should have greeted each other as brothers and sisters. We had a chance after each shaking to come together in a circle that would have brought peace on earth, but we missed that.

Tonight they were talking on the news about the sign for the Third Shaking of the Earth. They said they're going to build what the elders called the house in the sky. In the 1950's they talked about this: they will build a house and throw it in the sky. When you see people living in the sky on a permanent basis, you will know the Great Spirit is about to grab the earth, this time not with one hand, but with both hands. When this house is in the sky, the Great Spirit is going to shake the Earth a third time, and whoever dropped that gourd of ashes, upon them it is going to drop. They say at that time there will be villages in this land so great that when you stand in the villages you will not be able to see out, and in the prophecies these are called villages of stone, or prairies of stone. And they said the stone will grow up from the ground, and you will not be able to see beyond the village.

At the center of each and every one of these villages will be Native people, and they will walk as hollow shells upon a prairie of stone. They said hollow shells, which means they will have lost any of their traditional understandings; they will be empty within. They said that, after the Eagle lands on the moon, some of these people will begin to leave these prairies of stone and come home and take up some of the old ways and begin to make themselves reborn, because it's a new day. But many will not. And they said there's going to come a time when in the morning the sun is going to rise, and this village of stone will be there, and in the evening there would just be steam coming from the ground. They will be as steam. And in the center of many of those villages of stone, when they turn to steam, the Native people will turn to steam also because they never woke up and left the village.

They say there's going to be the Third Shaking of the Earth. It's not going to be a good thing to see, but we will survive it. We will survive it. And when we survive it, there's going to be another attempt to make a circle of the human beings on the earth. And this time the Native people will not have to petition to join but will be invited to enter the circle because they say the attitude toward us will have changed by then, and people will let us into the circle, and all the four colors of the four directions will share their wisdom, and there will be a peace on earth. This is coming close.

The prophecies are always either/or. We could have come together way back there in 1565, and we could have had a great civilization, but we didn't. Always along the path of these prophecies, we could have come together. We still could.

If we could stop the racial and religious disharmony, we would not have to go through this third shaking. The elders say the chance of that is pretty slim. It seems to me like it's pretty slim, too. But they say what we can do is we can cushion it so it won't be quite as bad. How do we do this? We do this by sharing the teaching that will reunite us.



Creation Story
Cherokee
Long, long ago, a great island floated in a giant ocean. This island hung from four thick ropes from the sky, which was solid rock. There were no peoples and it was always dark. The animals could not see so they got the sun and put it in a path that took it across the island from east to west each day. The animals and plants were told by the Great Spirit to stay awake for seven days and seven nights but most could not and slept. Those plants that did stay awake, such as the pine and cedar and those few others were rewarded by being allowed to remain green all year. All the others were made to lose their leaves each winter. Those animals that did stay awake, such as the owl and the mountain lion and those few others were rewarded with the ability to go about in the dark. Then the people appeared.

Myth 2

Long ago, before there were any people, the world was young and water covered everything. The earth was a great island floating above the seas, suspended by four rawhide ropes representing the four sacred directions. It hung down from the crystal sky. There were no people, but the animals lived in a home above the rainbow. Needing space, they sent Water Beetle to search for room under the seas. Water Beetle dove deep and brought up mud that spread quickly, turning into land that was flat and too soft and wet for the animals to live on.

Grandfather Buzzard was sent to see if the land had hardened. When he flew over the earth, he found the mud had become solid; he flapped in for a closer look. The wind from his wings created valleys and mountains, and that is why the Cherokee territory has so many mountains today.

As the earth stiffened, the animals came down from the rainbow. It was still dark. They needed light, so they pulled the sun out from behind the rainbow, but it was too bright and hot. A solution was urgently needed. The shamans were told to place the sun higher in the sky. A path was made for it to travel--from east to west--so that all inhabitants could share in the light.

The plants were placed upon the earth. The Creator told the plants and animals to stay awake for seven days and seven nights. Only a few animals managed to do so, including the owls and mountain lions, and they were rewarded with the power to see in the dark. Among the plants, only the cedars, spruces, and pines remained awake. The Creator told these plants that they would keep their hair during the winter, while the other plants would lose theirs.

People were created last. The women were able to have babies every seven days. They reproduced so quickly that the Creator feared the world would soon become too crowded. So after that the women could have only one child per year, and it has been that way ever since.

The Daughter of the Sun
Cherokee -Creation Woman Story

The Uktena is the great serpent of Cherokee tales who lives in the mountains. It has rings or spots of color along its body, is horned, is as large around as a tree trunk, and had once a bright, blazing jewel embedded in its forehead called the Ulunsuti. The Ulunsuti is a rutile quartz which, down one side, has a bright streak of red, making it a very rare specimen of quartz besides being sacred in connection to the Uktena. The Great Serpent lost the jewel at one point and the Cherokee people kept it in their possession.

The Uktena had the power to destroy all that Man held most dear and was so venomous that if he ever looked at someone, that person's whole family would perish. Even to look at it while it was sleeping. He isn't a patron of the Cherokee, but rather, is an enemy to be overcome. The Uktena could only be wounded in the seventh spot from his head because that is where the Uktena's heart was. He is normally slain by a hero in tales.

The reason that the Uktena is a creature of such threat is because he was very jealous and bitter towards Snake. Snake was honored and prayed to, (while the Uktena was not), because Snake had struck the Sun's daughter one day while she was opening the doors to the house for the Sun to come in. The Sun was angry and pained that the people liked Moon more. The people could gaze at Moon easily and did so often, complimenting him on his greatness, but when they looked up at Sun they would squint, make faces, and complain. Sun would have continued to burn the people to death as she had already done to hundreds for punishment. Without Her daughter to let Her come in, however, the people were saved.


The Sun lived on the other side of the sky vault, but her daughter lived in the middle of the sky, directly above the Earth. Every day as the sun was climbing along the sky arch to the west, she used to stop at her daughters house for dinner. Now, the Sun hated the people of this Earth, because they never looked straight at her without squinting. She said to her brother, the Moon, "My grandchildren are ugly, they screw up their faces whenever they see me.

But the Moon said, "I like my younger brothers, I think they are handsome."

This was because they always smiled pleasantly at his mild glow in the night sky.

The Sun was jealous of the Moon's popularity and decided to kill the people. Every day when she got near her daughter's house, she sent down such sultry heat that fever broke out and people died by the hundreds. When everyone had lost some friend ands it seemed as if no one would be spared, the humans went for help to the little men. These men, who were friendly spirits, said that the only way the people could save themselves was to kill Sun. The Little Men Made medicine to change two of the humans into snakes, the spreading adder and copperhead, who could hide near the daughter's door and bite the old Sun. The Snakes went up to the sky and lay in wait until the sun arrived for dinner. But when the spreading adder was about to spring, her bright light blinded him and he could only spit out yellow slime, as he does to this day when he tries to bite. The Sun called him a nasty thing and went into the house, and the copperhead was so discouraged that he crawled off without trying to do anything.

The people still dying from the terrible heat, went a second time to the Little Men for help. Again the Little Men made medicine and changed one man into the great Uktena, the water monster, and another into a rattlesnake. As before, the serpents had instructions to kill the old Sun when she stopped at her daughter's house. Uktena was large and fierce, with horns on his head, and everyone thought he would be sure to succeed. But the rattlesnake was so eager that he raced ahead and coiled up just outside the house. When the Sun's daughter opened the door to look for her mother, he struck and she fell dead in the doorway.

Forgetting to wait for the old Sun, he went back to the people, and Uktena was so angry at the rattlesnake's stupidity that he went back too. Since then we pray to the rattlesnake and don't kill him, because he wishes people well and never tries to bite if we don't disturb him. But Uktena grew angrier and more dangerous all the time. He became so venomous that if he even looked at a man, the man's whole family would e. Eventually the people held a council and decided that he was just too dangerous, so they sent him to Galun'lati, the world, where he still is.

When the Sun found her daughter dead, she shut herself up in the house and grieved. Now the people were no longer dying from the heat, but they lived in darkness. Once more they sought help from the Little Men, who said that in order to coax the Sun out, they must bring her daughter back from Tsusgina'i. This is the ghost country, which lies in Usunhi'yi, the Darkening Land in the west. The people chose seven men to make the journey. The Little Men told the seven to take a box, and told each man to carry sourwood rod a handbreadth long. when they got to Tsugina'i, the Little Men explained, they would find all the ghost at a dance. They should stand outside the circle, and when the Sun's daughter danced past them, they must strike her with the rods and she would fall to the ground. Then they could put her in the box and bring her back to her mother. But they must not open the box, not even a crack, until they arrived home.

The seven men took the rods and the box and traveled west for seven days until they came to the Darkening Land. There they found a great crowd of ghost having a dance, just as if they were alive. The Sun's daughter was in the outside circle. As she danced past them, one of the seven men struck her with his rod, and then another and another, until at the seventh round she fell out of the ring. The men put her into the box and closed the lid, and the other ghost never seem to notice what had happened.

The seven took up the box and started home toward the east. In a while the girl came to life again and begged to be let out, but the party went on without answering. Soon she called again and said she was hungry, but they did not reply. When at last the group was very near home, the daughter of the sun cried that she was smothering and begged them to raise the lid just a little. Now they were afraid that she was really dying, so they barely cracked the lid to give her air. There was a fluttering sound, and something flew past them into the bushes. Then they heard a redbird cry, "Kwish!Kwish!Kwish!" Shutting the lid, they went on again. But when they arrived at the settlements and opened the box, it was empty.

So we know that the redbird is the daughter of the Sun. And if the party had kept the box closed, as the Little Men told them to, they could have brought her home safely, and today we would be able to recover our friends from the Ghost Country. Because the seven opened the box, however, we can never bring back people who die.

The Sun had been hopeful when the party had started off for the Darkening Land, but when they came back without her daughter, she wept until her tears caused a great flood. Fearing that the world would be drowned, the people held another council and decided to send their handsomest young men and women to amuse the Sun and stop her crying. This group danced before her and sang their best songs, but for a long time she kept her face bowed and paid no attention. At last when the drummer suddenly changed the song, she looked up and was so pleased at the sight of the beautiful young people that she forgot her grief and smiled.

INTRODUCTION
The Cherokee used to greet the morning sun in prayer each day. They had
gathering places near their villages along the winding courses of the
rivers and streams or by the waterfalls. They would go into the water,
immersing themselves to cleanse their bodies, minds, and spirit. This
ritual was done daily, in all seasons to keep them in touch with truth
and purpose.

One of their gathering places was the area now covered by the water of
Fontana Lake in North Carolina, not far from Cherokee Qualla Boundaries.
It was then known as Judson. From this area comes the Oldest Story Ever
Told.

It is reported that the native people of Turtle Island (North America)
knew what was happening all over the world. They talked about small
people-like creatures covered with hair who traveled through the trees
(monkeys), horses with necks longer than their bodies (giraffe), or the
ones that were striped black and white (zebras) and many more animals
that did not inhabit the land of Turtle Island.

They knew about other lands and other peoples. Some even sent friendly
messages back and forth. They shared ideas with these people from the
other side of the ocean.

There seems to be evidence that many people all over the planet knew that
the earth was round before science and adventurers proved it. Some Native
Americans were skilled as astronomers, medalists, chemists, architects
and other trades. They knew of other mountain ranges, of the pyramids, of
markings on giant cliffs, of other seas, places of power, and many
wonders of the world. For the Native Americans, this knowledge was
because of the Little-People-Who-Wore-White.

According to Cherokee tradition these special Little People traveled all
over the world and brought back news to Turtle Island.

THE OLDEST STORY EVER TOLD

The eastern sky brightened, turning pink with morning. The prayers were
completed and everyone was in greetings. Someone called attention to
beautiful lights coming toward them in a distance. A gust of wind swept
through the forest preceding the hoot of an owl over the river. They
stood awe-struck as the Little-People-Who-Wore-White took form from the
lights.

When the Little-People-Who-Wore-White arrived, sadness surrounded them in
such a way that they did not talk. They kept their heads down in sorrow
and stayed to themselves. Soon the gathering could feel all of nature
being affected by this sadness. The Cherokees did not have much to say to
one another.

There was an old Cherokee man who had been meeting the
Little-People-Who-Wore-White longer than anyone else present. He made his
way where they were and waited to be noticed. One of the
Little-People-Who-Wore-White left the others and took the old man into
the woods. They were gone for some time.

When they returned, the old man began speaking to the crowd. He reminded
them of a time about 33 years before. It was the same time the new star
came in the east, and a special child was born across the ocean. He
reviewed all the news they had heard of him, from time to time, while he
was growing up. How this special boy had become a man and had taught a
better way to live. He reminded the gathering of this man's visits,
through spirit, to tribes of this land.

The old man had returned the smiles to the Cherokees by talking about
this man they had grown to love but had not seen.

The Little-People-Who-Wore-White joined the old man and spoke, "This man
who brought you the knowledge of the way of peace and harmony among
yourselves and all things, this man whom everyone loves if they are
willing to hear him, has enemies. The enemies refuse to hear his message.
They refuse to see when he works the miracles before their own eyes.
These enemies who love only their positions and pursuit of material
wealth have conspired against him. Today, when the sky darkens they will
have killed him in a strange and most horrible way."

The Cherokees began to sing to this special man of peace as they watched
the skies. They sang until the day became as dark as night. The nearby
creatures of the woods came among them and shared the sorrow. All of
nature grieved.

The next day the Little-People-Who-Wore-White were still among those
gathered. When the Cherokees were leaving to go back to their own villages
they were told, "No one, if not the Great Spirit, could stop this tragic
thing that has happened. Take what new teachings you have learned from
Him and live them in His honor."

The Cherokees managed to make their way home but could not manage their
tears. Through the blur a woman saw tiny crystal-like sparkles on the
trail. She reached down and picked on up. She showed it to her friend.
Soon everyone had picked one up.

The people observed that wherever a tear fell on these little stones it
formed a tiny cross. It was a gift and a sign from the Great Spirit who
heard their compassion and showed his love for them. These crosses of
stone were kept and cherished by the Cherokees, and until this day are
found and treasured by many.

About 2000 years have passed since then, but that day is still remembered
among the Cherokees through these tiny crosses of stone.

However, for the last two centuries destruction of beautiful land areas
has been rampant. What was sacred to the Cherokee has now been
desecrated. The tiny stone crosses have been covered with dammed up
water, plowed over, bulldozed and covered with concrete. Many of the
Cherokees still know the power of these stones, but they are harder to
find now. Others do not understand, and apparently, the stones are only a
novelty to them.

Anyone finding one of thee stone crosses should cherish it . . . and
remember Him.

Today these stones are sparsely found in other Cherokee meeting places,
what are now commonly called Fairyland Park in Virginia and Tallulah
Falls in Georgia.

When the sacred significance of the tiny stone crosses was diminished,
the Little-People-Who-Wore-White no longer came and the Cherokee no
longer gathered.

From the Secrets and Mysteries of the Cherokee Little People, Yunwi
Tsunsdi'
Written and Illustrated by Lynn King Lossiah
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"The Way....."

the scent of sage and cedar lingers
tribal drumming, Indian songs
the intense heat that surrounds us
holy water splashing on spirit filled stones
red hot from the center of the fire
brought in by the antlers of elk
the sweat leaders places the cedar
on their glowing backs
in the dark of the lodge
the sage and copal bursts into flames
tiny worlds erupt like supernovas
against the backs of our eyes
genesis in a shaman's outstretched hand..


we are one people
sometimes we think too much
sometimes we talk too much
sometimes we ask too many questions
then doubt or argue
with the answers that are given..
we chant together, human and limited
yet fused by spirit we are ever strong
there is no end to the flowing water
when all drops merge into one ocean..
the door to the lodge
is raised by the Fireman
we emerge as one into the waiting night..


the light of the stars we see ...
in the velvet canvas of the sky...
may be reaching us this moment..
as if they were all born yesterday.
although in another place...
the place of their birth.
their light has long since gone
yet the light still journeys...
through the all embracing womb of night.


is your heart full
of love and light?...
does the warmth and succor
of the fire of love..
burn in your center as eternal flame?...
are there spirits or angels that gather there.
so often that you know their name?..
do you feel a kinship with those that circle...
the ring of fire that burns within..
tended by the Fire Soul..
making certain the flames are flickering.
contained in a central place..
to use in sacred ceremony..
of prayer, of song and giveaway?


you have spent a thousand nights here..
coming to a steady peace..
joining the matter of Gaia born.
with the spirit forms which God released...
now that you are full of love and light..
come to fruition under harvest moon
you sense a stirring you cannot deny
that all of nature knows..
the longing to birth your childlike soul..
brought to life by Spirit's fertile seed..
the time has come to leave the womb..
and see where your feet, your wings, might lead


fear not, for you can oft return..
to the ring of Fire which ever burns..
invite someone back to sing with you.
to drum and dance into the night..
now that you have received the kiss of spirit...
now that you are love and light...
turn around in warm compassion
and spill yourself over everything in sight...
give your gifts unto the night people..
offer yourself unto the day...
search within your overflowing.
what do you have you can give away?..

and so, too, like the light of stars.
yours will shine eternal, in this,
the Way..


mitakuye o'yasin.....

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