Who Pays for the Sacred?

©2008, Turtle Heart

Money in American Indian Ceremony

My old American Indian teacher told me that a person must try in this life to be honest and respect time, sex and money. Behaving responsibly, she said, in these areas is important in leading a balanced life.

The Four Directions Unity Bundle and the World Journey is an official enterprise or project created by well qualified and realistic people. To make this project work it has been necessary to secure housing, materials, transportation, communication and a sustaining force so we can continue to work now and well into the future.

Most of the funding to date has been from my own sales of sculpture and paintings. This has been true for many years. During my long studies and relationships with my tribal teachers I continously gave them gifts, paid their bills, brought food to their homes and gave them gifts of cash when I could. I never stayed with any of the old Indians without doing what I could to take care of them and ensure that I was giving back and showing support and respect for their time and friendship. They never had to ever ask for my help, or ask for money or food. I always came with these things. No one had to ask me. I wish more people followed my example.

Many modern people hound and pester and get up in tribal lives and leave nothing except the occasional empty mcdonalds hamburger bag or an empty pack of cigarettes. Yes, it is worse than that. I am trying to be nice. Every good tribal American Indian knows that if you visit the house of the sacred you have to give back, help out. Good tribal relations do not have to be told this fact.

This sacred silence about what is really obvious has been translated into a belief that tribal people, if they are real, must work for free, without any kind of payment or assistance. I really wonder what kind of person would visit the home of sacred American Indian teachings and not leave something behind, not try to help in some way.

In my travels I often am put in the position to rely upon the people who are hosting and who have invited the Great Bundle into their community. When we are invited in the proper way to bring the Great Bundle to a community of people we must rely upon their resources and thier fairness to travel there and come home, as well as to do good and productive work for them.

In a perfect world, perhaps, the tribal casinos or the treaty arm of the BIA might help provide funds for such work. They do not. One can hope that sponsors or humanitarian people might help with the real world costs of moving the tribal teachings around in the world. Sometimes they do.

Good work needs what it needs. Sometimes it needs money. Sometimes it needs an airplane or a long automobile drive. Good tribal relations really struggle with this issue and try to find a point of balance. To get something real done in the world tribal people, like all people, need financial resources. These come so slowly to tribal sacred teachings. Most of the tribal members who do this work do it on their own, because it needs to be done...money or no money. I have never known a single American Indian who grew rich from doing ceremonial work. Some American Indians have grown rich by exploiting this system and by telling lies to everybody. These people are rarely in possession of Sacred Bundles, though they may talk about them. If there is money available, there are always people who will lie and cheat to get it, even if it is only one dollar. This is a big struggle for those brave and beautiful tribal people who really hear the waiting world, the need modern people have to hear from the sacred of the American Indian. It is yet another in a long history of bad information which is so damaging to tribal culture and tribal people of North America.

In Buddhist society, the monks are there for the people and there is usually little talk about money or what things cost. The monks are taken care of by the monastery. The monastery is built by the faith and donations of the people whom it serves.In many cases, in tribal society, this system of balance has failed. There is a lot of cynical and unreal talk about how ceremonies are free and no money should be involved.

Historically, tribal communities were so immersed in the normal and ceremonial lives day to day that it is hard to point to a direct system of payments. However, there has been and never will be a free ceremony. Somebody pays, even if no one asks you or your friends for money. In every society on this earth the work of specialized ceremonial, religious and cultural work must be paid. They must be fed, housed. Supplies wear out and have to be replaced. This is true in tribal culture as well.

The persons who receive the work of the sacred are responsible for its survival and its good health. A good ceremonial leader needs clean clothes and new shoes for example. On the other hand tribal people do not like to see spiritual and ceremonial leaders behaving in an indulgent way.

Modern society for some reason feels the normal attitude in these matters is to press Native Americans to do strong ceremonial work for free. Not only is this an insult to common sense, it has disoriented tribal society so they feel guilty and outraged over the issue of money completely. The damage has been severe.

The services of ceremonial rituals and their people have never been free in any society at any time anywhere. The method of payment and maintaining form may be subtle and hard to detect but it exists in every case.

The thinking that would allow people to believe an American Indian can travel to their homes and make long ceremonial teachings for free is an insult to the very idea of what is honest. It is an idea that has come from the shadows and lives like a bee, stinging the spirits of every poor tribal person. It has created a bony and ugly pointing finger of accusation to those American Indians who have tried to get out in the world and get some work done.

The Catholic Church is most likely the largest single private land and property owner in the world, in the history of the world. This great wealth was given to the church by the people of Catholic society. Because of this system you can go and talk to a local parish priest for “free”.The priest receives a healthy salary, a home and most of their expenses, including health care.

The Sacred School |

Traditionally and historically serious payments were made by the families and other relations who sought out special ceremonies. The same was true for those who wished to advance their knowledge by studying to achieve higher ranks in the sacred societies.

In Ahnishinabe Society, many favors, payments, gifts and services to the community were required in order to advance in the great Mide Wian Society.

Sacred Pipe prays with and for all people. There is no way to put a price on such things. There is no payment for prayers because only you can pray, only you can reach and understand this place in your own soul.

An education can help you.In our work we do not charge people money to pray. We do need to pay for the fireood, the food, very often the transportation and other expenses of life in this modern world. It is in balance that the students help pay these expenses. That is all we have ever approached as far as fees go. We do require that people help with the real costs of making a ceremonial teaching and learning experience possible. Anyone who needs this experience can come without payment, but they must work or make some other trade. This is what is in balance. Everyone works together to make these moments possible.

Here in Italy you cannot go out and cut firewood. You have to buy it. The people in the cities have no food growing in their small yards. We have to buy the food and prepare it. I cannot ride my horse to a city across the sea. I must buy an airline or a boat or a train ticket.

The sacred objects live in one house on Pantelleria. This house costs us $9,000.00 dollars a year. Electricty, telephone, gasoline, and all the other expenses must be paid in cash. These same facts are true on tribal reservations as well. The same expenses must be paid by someone, every time.

This house where the Sacred Pipe lives is safe and protected and strong. It is a good place for several people to come together and study the sacred ways of the mystery life. Sacred Pipe is happy to have this house, needs this house. We are happy to pay.

If we travel a long distance to one ceremony it usually costs about $1,500 to go and come back for three or four days.

How many billions of dollars do you think the Catholic Church spent to bring their religion around the world? How much should American Indians be willing to spend or pay to bring ceremonies to modern people? If modern people think American Indian ceremonies are free, does that mean they expect the American Indians to pay these expenses? Does the modern world expect tribal people to work with them for free? Apparently there is a vocal minority that does think this.

There is a lot of phony talk from self-appointed new age people about how all the American Indian ceremonies are free. Every tribal person has heard this talk for years.This kind of talk is nonsense. It implies something that is nonsense. It is manufactured hysteria masking the troubled spirit of angry people who are not very well informed about the real world. Perhaps these people were disappointed in their lives and believe pointing a finger at other people is a good way to get attention and love from American Indians who otherwise would ignore them?

American Indians need to be more responsible about these money issues. They need to take more control, build more infrastructure for the sacred and otherwise learn how money can be used in a sacred way to preserve, protect and share the sacred in a responsible way. This is what is real.

Here at the home of the Sacred Morning Fire we have a sacred fire which any person on this earth can visit and use for prayers and sacred silence without any cost. We also conduct many ceremonies for people here for which there is no payment asked. In other situations, we offer special programs which involve travel and real world expeses, so we charge a modest fee for these moments. Where ever we travel, we are available to talk and work with people and no money is involved in this work. It is also my policy to make no charge of any kind for any tribal people, anywhere. I am quite satisfied to absorb all the costs myself for work with tribal people, and have done so for more than 30 years.

Talk by new age barking dogs about the "shame" of tribal people trying to manage the practical money and other issues required to do actual work out in the real world is one of the strange new problems which pound on the hearts of any tribal person who dares to think such work is important.

It seems like any tribal person who tries to get out into the world has to run through a long line of snakes and barking dogs. It can be intimidating. Well informed people understand the value in supporting the expenses of worthwhile work in this world. The old Ahnishinabe Elders know all about this kind of problem. These snakes and barking dogs are prominent realities around any sacred place, around any sacred work in this troubled world. Every person knows that it is dangerous to try new things, try to change old bad things. That is why many people don't even try. This work we are doing is clear in our minds, clear in the continuing consultations we have with tribal elders and clear that money is not the point or purpose of our work.

In this work we try to help people in the best way we can. There are many people who visit and share ceremonies who never offer a penny and are never asked for one. We believe the World Journey of the Four Directions Unity Bundle is a group of teachings, a school in the movement of the Sacred. Nothing we have done or will ever do involved charging people money to pray, like the Christian Churches do every Sunday. In the Christian King James Holy Bible there are numerous references to "tithing", which is giving ten per cent of your income to the Church. This is one way the churches build their great power and influence in society. Who says American Indians must stand at the door in rags, homeless and begging people to let them pray with humanity for free?

For many decades tribal people were forbidden to even practice their spiritual and sacred ceremonies. They were forbidden to pray in their language or even speak their languages in many places. Today those repressive practices are no longer "legal". American Indian people have the right and privilege to create their own sacred schools and make their own plans for how these works are to be managed. There is a difference in being in a situation to "pray" with someone, and offering some days of teachings and formal experience in understand tribal ceremonial life. Schools and sacred teaching are specialized services, learning opportunities and an effort to build something lasting, organized and regular. The world may seem like a complicated place....but it IS possible to build something and get other people to help you build something. I pray every day that more American Indian people and communities will take responsibility for understanding what is real about these serious issues....and have others back off on the phony "the sacred is free" codewords about something they fail completely to understand.

It may be true that there are people who think the sacred is free..... People who really think it is ok that you have to give nothing, give up nothing, contribute nothing in order to stand with the sacred. I don’t want to know such people.