Wise Medicine Woman

There is a medicine woman , a Dine' (Navajo), who has been written about several times. She is a powerful medicine woman, but her words about what a medicine person is and isn't is most interesting and very traditional. First she calls herself a "medicine" woman, which all Natives here in the lower 48 states do. There are no shaman here. If you want a Shaman you need to do a lot of traveling, start in South America.

She says some very powerful things , and learned by making mistakes and being corrected by the medicine men. She even tested things on herself to see if they worked well. She is a brave and resolute woman. Her name is Walking Thunder.

She was taught, " ...there are good medicine people, as well as bad medicine people." Her teacher then went on to say that "Because of this you should never trust anybody. Trust only yourself. You have no friends and you have no one you can truly rely on. You are your own friend. And your mind and breath are yours." This may sound a little "depressing", but what her teacher was telling her was to not get sucked into someone's teachings or healings just becasue she likes them. She was being instructed to find out the answers for herself, and to realize that everything she did , she would be responsible for.

The Navajo are very suspicious and careful people, but at the same time they are very loving and helpful people.

She brings up another very important point, one that shows the true Native humility. "All you can do is pray for a person who is very sick. Sometimes they get well, but sometimes you can't get them well.You always have to leave things to the Creator." Many times healers think that they failed if a person doesn't get better. It is not a failure, but Creator's will. We all have a time we are going to go, and that is solely up to Creator.

She goes on to tell that she will not ask a person why they are doing a ritual wrong. The Dine' believe that those who are not following ritual , but changing it, are practicing "witchery", they are changing the ritual to do bad things. When you see a witch, you walk away (or run), and never communicate with them again. It is very important to not make mistakes when doing a ceremony , or ritual. Elders will question those who are learning and tell them that something is wrong when it is not to see if they have true knowledge, and true strength to tell the elder they are correct. They need to have that knowledge and faith that they know what they are doing in order to be powerful healers.

She sums up her life in a small paragraph, words that were passed on from her teacher, He Who Walks Away, " You can't choose to be a medicine person. You must be chosen.If you are chosen, the Medicine People should bless you.In my prayers the only thing I ask for is healing.I never ask for money....Doing things right is the only way."

There is much more to her story, and the ways of the Dine', a wonderful people who believe that when we walk in health and respect of ourselves and others, we walk in beauty.

Walking Thunder says many things which I have passed on to my readers, even before I became familiar with her. Her words tell us first and foremost that we need to do the right things, for the right reasons; we need to realize that Creator is above us, and we do not run the show. We need to realize we do not choose to become a healer (or as people in the US mistakenly call them, Shaman), we are chosen. Money is not what is important in life, abundance is something else totally. Do the ritual the right way, when you do not, you are doing evil, and you may not even know what you are doing by changing small things.being ignorant of the right way can cause you to do harm. Make sure that you do things the right way.

Walking Thunder is a very powerful and respected Medicine Woman.

Someone recently asked me if woman were ever allowed to be medicine people or on tribal counsels. They always were. An example is Weetamoo who was a Wampanoag chief in the 1600's. Women in power is nothing new to the NA community. One Who Walks With Stars was a Lakota warrior. Women fought, led, healed, and kept the camp running. More recently, the now deceased Wilma Mankiller who was principle chief of the Cherokee Nation. Being qualified to do what needs to be done is what is important, not the person's gender.

It may not be important to you to follow the NA traditions, but it is important to them. Very important. Read about powerful Native women, and learn and grow.

Do the right things for the right reasons!



Peshaui Wequashimese


(C)2011 Triple Moon Goddess Gina, May not be used, copied or reproduced without prior written permission.