Ancient Native American Church Meeting- Special Edition!!

While this weeks blog is not about preserving a building or other historic structure, it is about preserving and respecting dieing American traditions. Being in the preservation field, I strongly believe that preservation goes way beyond restoring wood and brick. We want to preserve the story, the history, the culture, the traditions. So when I was asked to attend an Ancient Native American Church Meeting (ANAC), I was incredibly honored.

My brother Phil is a Jesuit Priest on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in Pine Ridge, South Dakota. He dedicates his life to living in solidarity with those around him. He aims to see life conditions improve, and tries to bring Jesus' message of peace and love to all those he meets. It's a tough job, but he was clearly born to do this. You can see more of where he lives and what he does here: http://www.redcloudschool.org/

Personally, I have always had great affinity for America's Native Peoples. So I am especially interested in Phil's life and life 'on the rez'. When he called me and told me he was holding an Ancient Native American Church Meeting and he wanted me to come, I can't even begin to tell you how honored and excited I was. Being your typical white person, I couldn't just stop by a church meeting. This is a very sacred event that you must be welcomed into, and there was no way I was going to miss this opportunity. This is something I have wanted to experience since I was in high school, and here it was!

Let me first explain a little about ANAC. For thousands of years many different Native tribes have been using peyote as medicine in spiritual ceremonies. The peyote enhances their communion and communication with the spirit world. Different tribes have varying practices, but there are a few main similarities. The meeting usually begins at night, and it lasts until sunrise the next morning, ending with a communal breakfast. There's lots of singing, drumming, praying, and rituals. It is always a very sacred event.

I rolled onto the rez about 5pm. Because my brother was the one holding the meeting, I was fortunate to see some of the preparation that evening. He had apparently been working on this for some time- holding a meeting takes a lot of work. There are so many rituals and proper things you need, way beyond what I could describe to you here. That day, Phil had been up since sunrise so that he could set up the tipi in the correct spot for the morning sun. He had been preparing food, gifts, and other tools the entire day. I got there in time to help set up the alter inside the tipi. I also helped pick some sage- an important element during the meeting.

Around 9pm or so Phil got most everything together and prepared for the evening ahead.


Around 10pm we entered the tipi. There were about 16 or so participants. We walked in single file from left to right, circling the inside until we found our seat on the ground. From this point on I will do my best to explain what happened, but really, I'm not totally sure myself. There were so many rituals involving tobacco, water, sage, drumming, prayers, fire, etc., I missed a lot simply because I'm not privy to the meaning.

There were some initial prayers and singing. I settled down into a deep calm. I was grateful for a very clear and peaceful mind that night. I was completely ready to absorb and participate in the healing and powerful energy ahead. With some rolled tobacco I set my intentions for the night. After some more praying and singing, the first round of the peyote was passed around. The number four has significant meaning for the Lakota people, and most things are done in fours. So when you receive the medicine, you are supposed to take four spoonfuls. Here's my brother eating his medicine on the first round:

Peyote is known to be a not so tasty plant. It was bitter, but I didn't think it was that bad. I took four small spoonfuls because I feared over ingesting could lead to a very paranoid mind. Everyone ate out of the same bowl, and washed it down with the same cup of water. I enjoyed this communion. There was a great connection between all of us inside the tipi, singing with each other, and praying with each other.

More singing, drumming and praying occurred, along with more rituals of which I didn't understand. This was kind of cool though, the mystery of what was being done was ok, it allowed me to make my own interpretations. From the energy in the room though, it was clearly all good, all positive, and all healing.

Another round of the peyote came fairly quick. By this time I was getting a bit sleepy, so I wasn't sure how much more I should take. I again took four small spoonfuls. This time it tasted a little bit worse, but still not that bad. A little while later, with more singing and drumming, I was getting VERY sleepy. It became more and more difficult just to stay seated. This was a disappointment. I didn't want to be sleepy, I wanted to be fully alert and participate in the meeting. I held on as best as I could for a few more hours. The singing was really incredible, and the drumming was mesmerizing. I was impressed by the native tunes my white brother could belt out:

By this time I resigned to keeping my head down and simply trying to absorb all that was going on around me. I was way to tired to actively participate, but I allowed the pure energy in the room just to cover me. Usually peyote has a stimulating effect, like that of epinephrine. Apparently not for me. I was told to eat more, maybe I just hadn't eaten enough. So on round three, I took some heaping spoonfuls! I was going all in this time. And let me tell you, this time it tasted awful! They aren't kidding when they say it tastes bad. Peyote is also infamous for making you nauseated, or even make you vomit. So by round three, the sight of the medicine is fairly nauseating in itself.

Around this time my brother was called to the alter. I'm not sure what he was doing, but I imagine he was getting some kind of blessing by the leader of the meeting.


This was pretty cool. As if it wasn't enough of an honor just to be there, but to see my very own brother that close and connected with the people, it was really awesome to see. I felt like an overly proud sister at that point.

On the other hand, those big spoonfuls on the last round really knocked me out. I'm not sure if I blacked out, or dozed, or what. I basically sat there, head on knees, for a few hours, doing everything in my power to maintain consciousness. Obviously I took too much, and this peyote for some reason had an opposite effect on me. Still, I sat there and absorbed as much as I could, and it was still so incredible.

I held on all night, making it to dawn. When the sun was up, the light shown brilliantly on the meeting leader when the tipi door was opened. This was an incredible moment- praying all night in the dark and being blessed by the rising sun. In the morning, a lot of rituals were carried out- I wish I knew enough to explain them. What I did understand however, was the blessing of the food and water. It's traditional for beef, corn, and cherries to be brought into the tipi in the morning. A lot of prayers were shared, and blessing of the food and water was completed. Bowls of the food were passed around, customary to eat straight out of the bowl before taking a plateful for yourself. Again I relished with this communion. I didn't think I could eat a thing, but once I started in on those cherries and buttery corn, wow that was some good food!

After nourishing our bodies and giving thanks for all these gifts, my brother passed around gifts of his own. There was so much work that went into this night, from the fire-man keeping the flames burning all night, to the door man making sure the door was in proper placement, to the water women who brought in the nourishing water in the morning, to the drummer who drummed for each and every song, to the leader who facilitated the entire meeting. They all deserved special thanks, the meeting would not have been possible without any of them.

After this we exited the tipi and began to take it down. To have final completion of the night, we needed to disassemble the tipi and take down the alter.


Now it was complete. In the early morning we all sat around and chatted for a while. The mood was light and fun. It was great to chat with these people that I hardly knew, yet just spent a very intense and special night with. Even though I didn't know them, I was very connected to them. We sat a while longer and had second breakfast. Then my brother did some final blessings.

The night was over. I'm not going to lie, it was difficult. Difficult to stay awake mainly. But it was so worth it. To see an ancient tradition played out before your very eyes, and to participate in it, was so incredible. It was almost surreal. I am very grateful for such an amazing experience. I have so much respect for all the people that participated. The incredible energy and prayers that were sent to the universe this night, has no doubt made this a more peaceful and happy world.

A special thanks goes to my brother Phil, all those that helped him prepare for this meeting and all those present this night. Thank you for sharing your time and prayers with me, I am honored!

The Switzerland of America

Oh Beautiful Ouray Colorado! You can see from the picture above why they call it the Switzerland of America. It's such a quaint little town with an unbelievable backdrop of the towering Rocky Mountains.

I went to Ouray on a day off while working in Lake City. Actually I was just passing through on my way back from Durango, I had no plans to stop here but I am so glad that I did. Ouray is quite possibly one of the cutest little towns I've ever been too. Last summer I traveled all the way to Europe to see towns just like this one...I never even needed to leave the States!

Once again, this small Colorado town was founded in the late 1800's due to.....you guessed it, Mining! The town was incorporated on October 2, 1876, and was named after Chief Ouray of the Native American Ute tribe. The entire Main Street of the town is a National Historic District. I absolutely loved these 19th century buildings.

Better yet were the incredibly cool houses, many of which serve as Bed and Breakfasts' today as tourism is likely the largest industry for the town.


Wow these homes are fantastic! I could just look at them forever. That bottom house is for sale by the way. If anyone out there has a passionate desire to move to Ouray and start a B&B you've got a partner right here! Oh, did I happen to mention the hot springs!? That's right, as if this town weren't cool enough, just go down main street a bit and you'll see a huge pool, several pools actually, complete with water slides and hot tubs fed directly by the hot springs. Oh how glorious can you get? I haven't even mentioned the endless recreational hiking, biking and climbing opportunities either. What a town. It's certainly off the beaten path, a bit of a challenge to get here, but if you ever have a chance, I would absolutely recommend and nice long weekend get away here at Ouray. You can check out more by visiting their website here: http://www.ouraycolorado.com/Summer+Activities

Almost done!

Well, that might not be entirely accurate. For me however, the summer is officially over, and my work at the Alpine Guard Station is indeed, done. School starts this week so I had to come down off the mountain early.

It's hard to believe that I have been up on the top of a mountain for 3 solid months with no internet or cell service (minus our one day off a week), no showers, no pressurized water, etc. I have to admit that I feel glutinous right now- sleeping in a big, soft, warm bed, turning on the faucet and getting hot water, showering everyday, not dealing with rat poop constantly! It's so GLORIOUS!

Don't get me wrong, I loved my three months of camping, and the work was fantastic. It's just quite the treat to have those lovely conveniences we all take for granted.

I really wish I could now show you some amazing before and after photos. Sadly though, the work is not done, and likely will not get done by the target date which is the end of this week. I can at least show you a few photos of my last day and the progress we've made so far:



Personally I'm super excited about the amazing new deck on the main cabin, I think it looks fantastic. You can also see that cabinets have started to go in the Kitchen, all ready for a sink! AND, you can also see the water tank next to that. Now that is exciting!

This was a really huge task to take on in such a short time, but we did give it our all, and I mean, completely. We usually worked very long days, but I loved it. The physical work was great. I was sore in the beginning, but quickly got used to that and the physical activity felt fantastic. It was also exhilarating being outdoors in such an incredible location all the time. I already miss the constant fresh air and amazing scenery, not to mention the lack of stress from constant technological stimuli. I also became pretty attached to my co-workers and all the amazing volunteers we had. I'm not going to deny that tears were shed as I drove down the mountain for the last time.

All in all it was a great summer, and I feel so very fortunate to have gotten such great hands-on experience. I just wish we could have seen the project to final completion. I'm not sure of the exact plan HistoriCorps has to complete the buildings, but I will definitely be taking a trip back there next summer to see the final results. Keep in mind, this cabin should be available for rentals next summer, trust me when I say that you should strongly consider a get away here, you won't be disappointed!

Durango!

Since we're coming upon our last week here at the Alpine Guard Station, and we knew we would be working extremely long hours to wrap up as much as we could- we geared up by taking a day off. We were hoping to build up some reserves and relax just a little so that we could start the week running and not stop until we're done.

As usual, when I'm given a day off I hit the road. There is so much to see here in Colorado and so many places I want to go, so off to Durango I went. I really wanted to go to Mesa Verde, but I didn't want to have only one day to take it all in, so I'm saving that trip for later when I can do it right. I figured Durango was a good compromise; and how right I was!

Durango very well could be Cathy heaven. First of all, it's surrounded by the most beautiful landscape. And there is a river than runs right through town- I could hear the constant laughter and "woo-hoo's!" from all the college kids tubing down it. OH I was dying to go jump in that river!
Then there was quaint little Historic District. I decided to go to Durango because I learned about it in one of my Historic Preservation classes. It was supposed to have a pretty good historic area, including the fabulous Strater Hotel. Like most small Colorado towns, Durango was populated largely due to it's mining potential. The town was organized in 1880 by the Railroad of course. And it also had to have a first rate hotel, which is soooo cool!
Durango also had some fabulous houses that I would just love to either live in, or work on. They had quaint neighborhood streets lined with big old trees and large green yards- just my kind of town.

In addition to the lovely neighborhoods and historic feel; this town really took advantage of it's local resources. I found so many locally made items, from arts and crafts to food and herbs. Buying locally and in season is very important to me, so this was a real treat. I was so impressed with the local herb shop, I just wanted to live inside this store! Last week I had the unfortunate experience of a table saw kick-back. If you've never worked with a table saw before, imagine a projectile piece of wood flying back at you at unbelievable speed. Ya, it hurt, and bad. Kick-backs are very serious and can be life threatening. Luckily I had on a good thick pair of Dickies work pants so that softened the blow a bit. I still got a large laceration on my pelvic bone and one extremely big bruise and bump. However, the Durango herb shop definitely saved the day. I bought a locally made, natural, healing salve that worked like magic. Nearly a week later and the laceration is completely healed. Amazing! I have a nasty scar of course, but wow that was effective!
After the herb shop I just happened to drive past the local food co-op. I'm a huge fan of natural food stores, and a community food co-op just can't be beat. So much of the food in the store was locally made by Durango residents, and they had a lot of freshly made raw cuisine which looked so fabulous. What a fantastic place!
I also just happened to be there during a Durango Rail Fest celebration. There were reenactments of Durango life in the 1880's, and a pretty cool shoot out that I got to watch for a while.
I just loved it here, and I haven't even mentioned the impressively sized farmer's market where I bought some local peaches, or the very authentic Mediterranean restaurant where I ate lunch. Durango is just so awesome. My one and only concern, and this is a big one, is that I'm not sure I saw anyone that wasn't white. I mean, nothing against white people of course, but I think cultural diversity is important, and I'm not sure I could live in such a homogeneous environment. Still though, Durango is a very special place and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a nice road trip through the spectacular Colorado mountains!

Coming along

So we're nearing the end of August which means we're the nearing end of our time here at the Alpine Guard Station. The summer has gone incredibly fast- too fast in fact. It's hard to see that we'll accomplish all of our goals on these three buildings by the beginning of September. We're trying as hard as possible though, and it looks promising that we'll at least have the major structural work completed in time. We've also had some fantastic volunteers from the University of Denver that helped out for a couple of weeks. Most of them were very enthusiastic, some were overwhelmed with the shear amount of work to be done ;)


It's good to see the progress coming along. We've been working so hard for so long to get these buildings in good shape. The major hurdle of clearing the houses from all rodent activity has been a challenge, but rewarding. I just love the fact that you don't immediately smell the noxious odor of rat pee as you walk into the bunkhouse anymore. Thanks to the every mighty power washer with bleach!

It's also really exciting too see the changes from the beginning. Looking at the pictures I took 3 months ago, it's so amazing to see the differences. It's hard to even think back about what it all looked like a mere 12 weeks ago. Here's a pretty amazing comparison, check out what the bunkhouse looked like in June:
And look at it now! I especially like to point out the ELECTRICAL PANEL on the wall! That's right folks, very soon you'll be able to walk into this lovely bunkhouse and turn on the lights!


Wow what a transformation. I'm sad I won't be there to watch the installation of the furniture and new stove, but I'm sure it will be fantastic. I'm looking forward to being able to rent this building from the Forest Service next summer. What an amazing base camp to station a lovely vacation of hiking, biking and fishing; all the while you get to come home to warm wood burning stove, electrical lights and pressurized water!

Summer showers!

Oh yes, it's been quite wet, rainy and cold lately up at 10,000 feet. I must admit it's quite beautiful with the low laying clouds and misty mountain valley views.
On the other hand, it's been slightly cold and miserable with all the mud, wet clothes, and camping among them. I'm ok getting cold and wet, as long as I have a nice hot shower and warm bed to go home to. When you're cold and wet and camping however, that makes for a different story. At least my truck is relatively warm, so at the end of the day it isn't THAT bad. My huge down comforter actually does remarkably well keeping me warm. I will however do anything for a hot shower. I just don't like going to bed dirty you know?

So on Wednesday of last week, when we took our group of volunteers down to Lake City for dinner, I was stoked. I brought my toiletries bag with me. I had the ingenious plan to take a sponge bath at the restaurant. This would entail soaping up as much of my body as possible straight from the bathroom sink and using the harsh paper towels to dry. I knew I could be quick and I was excited. So to the restaurant we went. It was a pretty good place and I think the volunteers really enjoyed coming down to civilization. I ordered a quick salad and inhaled it- I wanted everyone else to be eating so I could slip away into the bathroom-come-shower. I made my way to the bathroom, and to my incredible shock- there in all it's beautiful glory was a real life, full, for real, shower. For real, a shower, as in, a shower you would have in your very own home. It was incredible. I was stunned and shocked. Why would a restaurant have a shower? I didn't care- I just locked the door, stripped down and jumped in! It was glorious- soap and all! Ah, what an amazing shower. I made it super quick as to not draw attention and occupy the bathroom for too long. Once I was done however, I realized one little problem- uh, towel? There were about 5 paper towels left in the dispenser, I used them to the best of my ability, soaking up as much water as possible. It wasn't enough but it helped. I pulled back on my dirty wet clothes but didn't care- underneath I was clean! Thank you, thank you Restaurant That Shall Not Be Named in case I get in trouble- you're shower is fantastic!
Of course, we don't always get this lucky. We must resort to other tactics up here in the middle of nowhere. Usually that means keeping a few sets of non-cotton clothes for changing, and wearing a good rain jacket. When we were able to get a fire going, some crafty volunteers took advantage to dry out their socks for example.

Other crafty folks came prepared with leg gaiters. Man what a brilliant idea! Especially when you're donning the super awesomely cool Utilikilt!
Though I was the only one with the guts, or perhaps gall, to shower in a restaurant, I have so much to learn from our fantastic volunteers. These tips are duly noted have no fear. If only I can find some leg gaiters on my next day off- rain is still in the forcast...

Haynie Brother follies...

First of all, I must give our project manager Helaman mad props for tackling the huge endeavor that is the Alpine Guard Station rehab. Restoring three buildings with very limited staff and resources in three months is a huge undertaking- he's done a fabulous job.

Thankfully his brother Bryson was able to help us move forward a little quicker. Sadly, his last day was yesterday, and he's on his way back to Utah. On that note, I'd like to take a moment and share some Haynie brother highlights from the summer.

Though the work is hard, and we're busting our butts to make these cabins look great, there is no lack of laughter and good times. Take for example our decision to burn a large pile of nastiness that came out of the barn. We had to sweep out all of the hay from the loft, and with that came lots of rat nasty as you can imagine. We wanted this stuff gone, and quick. So what better way than to burn it? And what better way is there to start a fire in the middle of a national forest? With gasoline of course...
This frightened me a bit, but it did work. As you can imagine, that pile went up in flames quick! It was pretty cool to watch actually. My only complaint was that the fire was still raging at 10p.m. I wanted to go to bed so badly, but being completely paranoid about burning down the forest, Elizabeth and I shoveled lots and lots of dirt on the fire to contain it somewhat.
Though I thought this practice of pyromany-ism was insane, several forest service employees were helping out the following week and did the same thing, so there you have it. (my deepest apologies if I get anyone in trouble for this).

In addition to fires (there were more), I was also very impressed with Bryson's gymnastic abilities. At 16 I guess you can still perform such feats like jumping off buildings without breaking a hip or something. And what better way to practice your skills than off the new solar panel shed. Just check this out...


Then there was the day of the rain- the heavy downpours that is. There has been lots of rain lately, and I'll get to that in my next post- but this event in particular deserves mention in the Brother's follies for sure. What happened was this; it was a very wet and rainy day, and that made for lots of mud and treachery. After an amazing dinner (cooked by Elizabeth and I), the brothers headed out for home in Lake City. So off with the truck they went across the field...and tires spinning, and spinning, and the truck is sliding, and they're going nowhere. It was a really wet and cold day, they really wanted to go home and I don't blame them. So how oh how where they to get the truck unstuck from this mass of slippery mud. With brute strength of course! Helaman decided that using a ratchet strap was always the best way out of a sticky situation. So there they were, tying one end to the truck, the other to a rock, and then, they'd push the strap out of the mess.
Oh if only I had gotten a picture of those first attempts! Did I mention it was slippery and muddy? Imagine the two of them pushing, pushing, pushing so hard on the strap as I pushed on the gas to move that truck. How many times did each of them nearly face plant straight into the mud right over the strap! Hilarious!

And then there's the moment of getting the strap stuck under the rock. Attempt delayed.

Here's the thing though, it actually worked. I'm not kidding. Once they got good leverage on that strap, the pushed so hard and I gunned it. The tires finally caught on some grass and up out onto the road I went. They were going home for a nice hot shower and warm bed after all, leaving the rest of us behind to sleep in the cold wet rain. It was a pretty hilarious sight to see upon victory. You can't tell so much here, but they were drenched and dir-tay!
Ah good times Haynies', thanks for the memories!