Lakota Elder Speaks on Sedona Deaths
Monday October 19, 2009
Chief Arvol Looking Horse is the 19th Generation Keeper of the Sacred White Buffalo Calf Pipe Bundle, and a well-known elder of the Lakota people. He recently made a statement to the Rapid City Journal about the deaths of three people in a sweatlodge ceremony in Sedona, Arizona. Chief Arvol Looking Horse goes into great depth describing the history of the ceremony -- which is intended as a purification ritual -- and describes the process by which one must be qualified to lead such an event.
He also says, "When you do ceremony - you can not have money on your mind... The heart and mind must be connected. When you involve money, it changes the energy of healing. The person wants to get what they paid for; the Spirit Grandfathers will not be there, our way of life is now being exploited! You do more damage then good."
It's a shame that self-help guru James Arthur Ray didn't keep this in mind when he crammed 64 people into a shabbily constructed plastic sweatlodge last weekend. In addition to the three deaths, another twenty people were hospitalized after being taken ill. Officials are investigating the incident as homicides, but at this time no charges have been filed.
Chief Arvol Looking Horse is the 19th Generation Keeper of the Sacred White Buffalo Calf Pipe Bundle, and a well-known elder of the Lakota people. He recently made a statement to the Rapid City Journal about the deaths of three people in a sweatlodge ceremony in Sedona, Arizona. Chief Arvol Looking Horse goes into great depth describing the history of the ceremony -- which is intended as a purification ritual -- and describes the process by which one must be qualified to lead such an event.
He also says, "When you do ceremony - you can not have money on your mind... The heart and mind must be connected. When you involve money, it changes the energy of healing. The person wants to get what they paid for; the Spirit Grandfathers will not be there, our way of life is now being exploited! You do more damage then good."
It's a shame that self-help guru James Arthur Ray didn't keep this in mind when he crammed 64 people into a shabbily constructed plastic sweatlodge last weekend. In addition to the three deaths, another twenty people were hospitalized after being taken ill. Officials are investigating the incident as homicides, but at this time no charges have been filed.
posted by Lorilei at 10:34 AM
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