Carrying with Us Some of the Spirit of Native America

"Upon suffering beyond suffering, the Red Nation shall rise again and it shall be a blessing for a sick world. A world filled with broken promises, selfishness and separations. A world longing for light again. I see a time of Seven Generations when all the colors of mankind will gather under the Sacred Tree of Life and the whole Earth will become one circle again. In that day, there will be those among the Lakota who will carry knowledge and understanding of unity among all living things, and the young white ones will come to those of my people and ask for this wisdom. I salute the light within your eyes where the whole Universe dwells. For when you are at the center within you and I am at that place within me, we shall be one."

Chief Crazy Horse
Tasunke Witko
Oglala Lakota
c. 1840-1877
Several weeks ago, a client sent me a beaded Lakota belt bag as a gift! I brought it on my backpacking trip last weekend, and found it both inspiring and useful. A loop on the back of the bag attaches to my belt. Then I fill it with things to which I need ready access. Here, I have a topographic map (which gets folded once more before being placed in the bag), a packet of mosquito repellant wipes, my Swiss army knife (which has many functions, but which I use especially for snipping extraneous greenery in closeup plant photography), and a tube of sunscreen.
To me, the design brings a centered feel, and the intense blue of the background reminds me to maintain a spacious, meditative mindset. There appear to be four lightning streaks beaded into the bag as well, which call me to stay with the energizing force of my soul-passion. The fringe, on the other hand, reminds me of the vivaceous energy of the sacred feminine and calls me to embody feminine flow in my own life.
What a gift this bag is!
Photo: Lakota belt bag and Trapper's Peak at Trapper's Lake, Flattops Wilderness, CO, June 19, 2016
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