“What are you doing here -- You’re not even native!”  Said the man standing before me.  Long black braids framed his face which reflected an angry scowl.

            I had set up my table and was busy stacking books and laying out my business cards on top of it.  “Well…”  I stumbled, “I wrote a book…”

            “You don’t belong here,” he insisted.   He was truly trying to run me off, and as I backed away from his anger, another man appeared at my elbow defending my right to remain at the Pow-Wow. I already had permission from the organizer to join the other vendors in the space beyond the dancers’ ring.

            A Pow-Wow is a gathering of native peoples.  It is an almost ancient rite, a ceremonial coming together in celebration.  It is a way to honor Spirit through dance and performance of ritual.  It is a way to connect with kindred souls.  Some say it is a place for learning and sharing beliefs and traditions.  I was also there to share an experience.

            It was an experience so profound it changed my way of life.  My way of thinking.  What I believed in.  It took me off course; but put me on a path.  It shook me awake and turned me inside out.  It happened on a farm where a White Buffalo lived.  Many considered Her to be a sacred being.  But the first time I saw Her, She was a curiosity to me.  The white man who owned Her had no idea why thousands of people were showing up at his farm to pay homage to Her.  Nearly 15 years from the time I first saw Her, I am still growing in understanding of who She was and what She represents.

            Her story is described in the Legend of the White Buffalo Calf Woman.  It is an ancient tale; yet, it has captivated me in these modern times.  The magic of mythology is that it directs us to those images primal symbols within that cause us to feel connected to something much bigger than ourselves.  Once the connection is made, the reunion that coming home to the true place of spirit can begin.

            Part of Her legend includes a prophesy about an era when the races of humanity will unite.  It will be a time of great peace on the planet.  Of forgiveness and understanding, harmony, unity and above all a respect for the traditional ways of the American Indian.  These ways honor our mother earth and revere her as the source and provider of all our earthly needs.  These days, it appears more obvious than ever that it is time to renew a commitment to honor Mother Earth.  Her goodness has been so taken advantage of.  If she is to heal, it will certainly require a commitment from all of her children to do what’s right for her.

            So then, how can any of her children spend any more time squabbling among themselves?  Who’s right, who is to blame, who is more native, who is the better child and who is more entitled?  These are questions that must be set aside when it comes to answering the most important question:  What needs to be done for her?

            Later, at the Pow Wow, the head man came by my table.  He stood in front of me and explained that every religion has its zealots.  In a compassionate voice he reassured me that Spirit knows intent.  Spirit guides intent.  And later I realized Spirit just may have directed that angry man to lash out at me in order for me to defend my own right to stand my own ground and tell my own story.