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Please smudge yourself down with sage or cedar and ask for a safe journey and permission of your spirit guides and ancestors to leave your home with protection. If you bring medicine with you (such as drums, feathers or pipes) ask permission to take these items from their sacred places on the journey.
MEDICINE
It is sometimes not known that these items are powerful! If you approach someone who is wearing items that are obviously not for the purpose of adornment, do not touch these items without permission! This includes items made from Mother Earth, such as shells, beads or plants materials. Drums, feathers......hold an energy that can absorb your spirit. When not handled appropriately, they can cause harm to the person who carries them, or the person that touches them.
OFFERINGS
When you come to ceremony there will be Elders and Medicine people. It is respectful that you offer tobacco when you ask sacredly trained people questions of teachings, or for songs, for prayers or for hhealing These medicine people have devoted their lives to learn to do these ceremonies, blessings and hhealing They do not hold conventional jobs. In the past, the tribes supported them with gifts of food and horses. Now, it is accepted to give cash. If you can not afford much, nobody will ever be turned away, but an offering is needed to activate the healing and show gratitude. Blankets are the most sacred gift you can present to an Elder or Medicine man. Medicine people will never ask for compensation.
SKIRTS
It is seen that a sign of respect to the Elders and to the Spirits for woman to wear long skirts. It can save public embarrassment, distraction and ridicule if this tradition is honored. The skirt also represents the Sacred Hoop and it connects women closely to the Mother Earth.
HELPING OTHERS
Your help is highly valued. Ceremonies require a lot of work. Your assistance will be greatly appreciated however it can cause a conflict of good energy for both the recipient and the giver if help is given without permission.
CEREMONIES
Generally, the family or host of the ceremony covers food and other necessities. This can be very expensive. Donations are desperately needed to cover these costs. Be as generous as you can to help defray these costs. True Medicine people will never ask for money for services of healing or ceremony.
These are just some of the things I have learned over the years. I hope to present this subject in more depth as time goes on.
Paiute Elder Golden Eagle, Marshall Jack
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