“We have the opportunity to build a Rainbow bridge into the Golden Age. But to do this, we must do it together with all the colors of the Rainbow, with all the peoples, all the beings of the world. We who are alive on Earth today are the Rainbow Warriors who face the challenge of building this bridge,"
~Brooke Medicine Eagle, Daughter of the Rainbow, Crow and Lakota ~
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in the old stories from Mexico it is originally a women’s medicine and is called the Grandmother. In North America it is called the Grandfather. The story goes as follows. A woman was walking through the desert and was out of water and getting very thirsty. She suddenly heard singing, she looked around and saw no one but the singing continued. She looked on the ground and saw nothing but then the voice said, ‘I am here. I am on the ground.’ She moved the brush a little and saw a Peyote button. The Peyote said to the woman ‘eat me I am full of water.’ The woman ate the Peyote and that is how Peyote entered into ceremony. In fact, this place is not new to the Peyote ceremony the petroglyphs show that this same ceremony was happening in this same valley over 2000 years ago.”
You should always pray with the Peyote before you drink it.
Banned by the United States government in the 1940s and 1950s, the use of the peyote "medicine" became illegal because of its mescaline content. However, in 1976, the government changed its mind and declared that Native Americans could practice their religion by using the sacred medicine.
"Native Americans just use it to pray," said Richard Speer, also known as Hunting Crow. "It has been used by Native Americans for thousands of years and is thought to have been introduced by the Southern Plains tribes. It was introduced to the Navajos in the 1930s." The ceremony is held in a tepee and conducted by a roadman, or medicine man.
"No negativity is brought in. Everything is positive. We do the best we can for everyone there," Speer said.
"The people form a circle, with everyone part of the circle, whether you sing or not. Once inside you are there all night, saying prayers and using tobacco, cedar and sage."
Speer said that the prayer ceremony lasts from dusk to dawn. Songs and chants are sung during the service. Different songs have different meanings. Some pertain to Jesus Christ, some ask God to bless the people.
The people pray for practical things. One person may want to pray for a loved one to get better, another may pray for her son to do well in college, others may pray for help in getting their finances in order. They pray for each other's needs.
While the Native American church serves the Native American community, it is always open to the public, Speer said. Non-native people who befriend Native Americans can be invited to join in the ceremonies.
In the center of the tepee, opposite the door entrance, is a half moon-shaped mound where they place the chief or medicine man. Objects used in the ceremony include a staff, a gourd with rocks in it, a cup of sage and feathers. Participants drink tea made from peyote in a fresh or powder form.
"It's nasty and has a bitter, foul taste," Speer said.
It induces vomiting, which means you are getting well. However, the peyote, or medicine, is a psychedelic that produces incredible, brilliantly colored visions.
The use of peyote by the Native American Church is protected by the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution as well as sections of the Arizona Constitution. Some of the other states that permit the use of peyote include Texas, Colorado, Utah, Minnesota, Nevada, Kansas, Oklahoma and New Mexico. Roadmen get the peyote from Texas or the Chihuahuan Desert in Mexico and bring it to the prayer ceremonies.
They travel across the United States and Europe, holding prayer ceremonies in various communities when they are asked.
The ceremony helps achieve balance in life and realize spirituality, Speer said.
"By helping other people, you are helping yourself," he said. "It's a selfish reason to do things for others. It helps you embrace humanity rather than focus on you. We believe that whatever we pray for is going to happen. It's been helping Native people for thousands of years."
There are usually 15 to 30 people in a prayer meeting. Participants in the ceremony spend most of the night sitting on their knees.
"It takes an honest person to sit all night and pray that way," Speer said. "You're there to pray for people and suffer for a good cause."
“In this first round everyone must take some Medicine even if it’s a small amount and take four portions of any size of the mush. Also don’t just swallow the Medicine, pray with it, offer it to the fire, and offer it to your head and heart. This is a sacred teacher and it can reveal things to you that you may not have known before. With this ceremony there is no need for a mediator you can talk to the Divine yourself and get your own answers for your own path.”