We have spent the larger part of the last few days on Leech Lake Reservation, partaking in a spiritual tradition—the sweat lodge—and a modern social event—the powwow.
On Friday, we sat down with Richard and Dennis Morrison, medicine men, who shared the seven teachings of the Mede society—truth, courage, kindness, wisdom, love, respect, and humility. We prepared ourselves physically (with a fast) and mentally for the sweat lodge—a purifying and healing ceremony conducted in a small dome heated by hot stones.
We then drove to the home of “Wild Bill,” who lent us his lodge. Several students selected stones to be used in the lodge, arranged them over kindling, and surrounded them in logs in a fire pit opposite the lodge.
After the fire was lit and the stones were heating, Richard took the women to the forest to gather cedar boughs. The women then lined the floor of the lodge with the cedar and strung it from the lodge to the fire—a path for the spirits to travel during the ceremony.
When the stones were ready, we climbed into the lodge—first the women, then the men. Smoldering rocks were placed in the center of the lodge, and we greeted them as grandmothers and grandfathers. Then the door was closed, and we were in complete darkness.
What followed was a deeply spiritual and intensely hot couple of hours. It does not suffice to say that sweet grass and bearroot were thrown upon the rocks, filling the lodge with fragrance, or that the water poured upon the stones turned to steam that condensed on our skin and eyelashes. There was much more to the lodge than listening to and singing along with the ancient songs and praying for the sick and suffering. Some things, words cannot describe.
After the lodge, Dennis, Richard, and their intern Bruce gave Ojibwe spirit names to all of us, and then we all enjoyed a feast of wild rice, walleye, fry bread, and cake prepared by Nancy Kingbird.
On Saturday, our group split. Some joined Richard and built a new sweat lodge on Nancy Kingbird’s property. Others joined a powwow attended by thousands. We watched as women in jingle dresses and men in exquisitely beaded and feathered regalia danced around drum circles. Children in elaborate dress competed for the title of “princess” and “brave.” We enjoyed Indian tacos and fry bread hamburgers and bought souvenirs from the vendors that surrounding the grounds. We even participated in a few intertribal dances.
Sunday brought us the opportunity to both revisit the powwow and attend another sweat, led by Dennis, in the lodge students had built on Saturday.
Our first week in Minnesota left us all amazed by the generosity of the Ojibwe people, by their dedication to their community, by their sense of humor, and by the vibrancy of their culture. We look forward to meeting and learning from many more people over the coming week.
On Friday, we sat down with Richard and Dennis Morrison, medicine men, who shared the seven teachings of the Mede society—truth, courage, kindness, wisdom, love, respect, and humility. We prepared ourselves physically (with a fast) and mentally for the sweat lodge—a purifying and healing ceremony conducted in a small dome heated by hot stones.
We then drove to the home of “Wild Bill,” who lent us his lodge. Several students selected stones to be used in the lodge, arranged them over kindling, and surrounded them in logs in a fire pit opposite the lodge.
After the fire was lit and the stones were heating, Richard took the women to the forest to gather cedar boughs. The women then lined the floor of the lodge with the cedar and strung it from the lodge to the fire—a path for the spirits to travel during the ceremony.
When the stones were ready, we climbed into the lodge—first the women, then the men. Smoldering rocks were placed in the center of the lodge, and we greeted them as grandmothers and grandfathers. Then the door was closed, and we were in complete darkness.
What followed was a deeply spiritual and intensely hot couple of hours. It does not suffice to say that sweet grass and bearroot were thrown upon the rocks, filling the lodge with fragrance, or that the water poured upon the stones turned to steam that condensed on our skin and eyelashes. There was much more to the lodge than listening to and singing along with the ancient songs and praying for the sick and suffering. Some things, words cannot describe.
After the lodge, Dennis, Richard, and their intern Bruce gave Ojibwe spirit names to all of us, and then we all enjoyed a feast of wild rice, walleye, fry bread, and cake prepared by Nancy Kingbird.
On Saturday, our group split. Some joined Richard and built a new sweat lodge on Nancy Kingbird’s property. Others joined a powwow attended by thousands. We watched as women in jingle dresses and men in exquisitely beaded and feathered regalia danced around drum circles. Children in elaborate dress competed for the title of “princess” and “brave.” We enjoyed Indian tacos and fry bread hamburgers and bought souvenirs from the vendors that surrounding the grounds. We even participated in a few intertribal dances.
Sunday brought us the opportunity to both revisit the powwow and attend another sweat, led by Dennis, in the lodge students had built on Saturday.
Our first week in Minnesota left us all amazed by the generosity of the Ojibwe people, by their dedication to their community, by their sense of humor, and by the vibrancy of their culture. We look forward to meeting and learning from many more people over the coming week.
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