Lophophora Information

My Belief: A personal account by Raven Walks a Beach

My Family and Background

My father is Tlingit from Wrangell Alaska and my mother Tiwa from Taos Pueblo, New Mexico.The tradition of the Native American Church was brought to us five generations ago from a Roadman from a Great Plains tribe known as the Kiowa. Though her name is now lost to us, the original member of our famiy who learned these ways was a woman who passed on these learnings to successive generations of our family. My great grandfather Tellus, along with other Roadmen, formed the New Mexican Chapter of the Native American Church which involved a legal battle that was eventually won in the State of New Mexico in the early 1900's. Though providing protection from the State members of the NAC were still persecuted by Federal law enforcement agencies until the passing of the 1990 legislation. My grandfather Richard Deertrack in turn continued teaching this knowledge to my mother who instilled in my brother and I the core beliefs of Charity, Compassion,Love and Respect which are the central tenants of most NAC* chapters. Though perhaps many of the details of our religion are not at this point known in great length by myself I still carry with me the fundamental understanding of the values of our church. 

Natural Law

The blue deer is part of our connection to our mammalian. Also the deer eating peyote is a lesson in observing the world as it grows before us. To learn to gaze upon it.Timing, condition and cycles becoming second nature to our existence off the mountain, land and rain.

History

Tradition as a form of repeatable prayer to those who prayed as you have before. To take what our elders give us and add our own cultural influence. Peyote medicine is living legend to remember our place within family and the longevity of love. For in our garden are ganoderma A. shelf mushrooms that we drink as to tea for anti ageing and energy. These poly-pores are the oldest known medicines on earth. Ganoderma last for many thousands of years dried and have been found on ancient ice men which they used for medicine.

Transition

Burning white and red sage is part of everyday and our peyotes carbon enhancement. Smoke travels to our ancestors as the carbon is incorporated into other living plants. Just as when we eat enough wild food in Alaska we become made of the land. We believe we dissolve back into this place. A lot of the wild fungi we eat have never been cultivated by man and are a mystery of the nature of the forest. Wild food bring Native Americans in touch with
there ancestors and way of living which is so ancient.

Future

Passing on the faith in the meaning of native existence.Think of how many people who commit socially destructive acts are very transient. Being native is about becoming localized and knowing your local regionalism. Peyote's age reminds us of the roots we must set to be native to a land. Through peyote we have lasting thread through reality that joins family and inspires future experience. In our version of faith we believe in the part of genesis, in the bible's garden. When Adam and Eve are tempted by the snake of knowledge. In our minds' that that is a metaphor of man's separation; using knowledge from his mammalian. This is used as a form of religious propaganda to raise always himself above all God's creatures. In this sense we were exiled from our own garden by vainly trying to control that which is self serving and knowledge based. Knowledge has now shown us the complexity of the natural order. But still we dominate that which we needed to learn from. For us NAC creates the garden once more inside our soul and singing to it. Realizing the troubles and harshness along with the beauty that makes one cry in humbleness. So in essence all perversion in the world is a twisting animal instinct rather then the fault of the animal. In Catholicism; hate the sin not the sinner. The irony is therefore it takes take one to know one. Beware of secrets for we know not the extent of truth. So religions became the first international corporations and exploitation- for exploiting of a greedy empire. Religion shouldn't be sold it is sacred and personal. Commercialized religion doesn't want you to grow your own spiritual medicine. The use of Peyote as a sacrament was a form of religious liberation from the oppressive conquest of U.S invaders into the traditional homelands of Native American people. Rather than violent resistance the Native American Church and it's beliefs became a form of cultural, spiritual and mental resistance to the suppression of traditional customs and cultures.

By Laine Rinehart (Raven Walks a beach)

 *NAC= Native American Church 

Kind thanks to Raven Walks a Beach for this interesting insight into his belief system and that of the NAC. The Tiwa people today number only approx. 2600 people although their culture is said to span back many thousands of years. We welcome other submissions that provide teaching, shared experience and cultural insights. Please email me: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it if you would like to contribute. All rights reserved.