Native American Beliefs | Edmore Green

My name is Ed Green. I'm a member of the Kultusak and Fox Nation of Missouri here in Kansas. That's where my father's people came from. I've been here in Kansas for 15, 16 years, but prior to that I had a wonderful opportunity to work with some traditional healers out of South Dakota. And I still go back there and work with them on occasion. So that's kind of where my knowledge is coming from and where I'm going to be speaking and sharing from. So, I mean, I guess what I want to say at this point in time, it's important to realize that despite the devastation that happened to my people here in our homeland, you know, I mean, the culture that took us, I mean, and all the other things, language and identity and all these other kinds of things, I mean, our traditional healers are still open. They still accept people from all walks of life, from all races of life, you know. And I've seen so many what people deem miracles happen with them, you know. And it's not a belief system. We never have to believe that it's going to work because it absolutely works. And that's why people come. Usually they come because they're on their last leg. I mean, because everyone else has given up on them. The medical doctors said, well, there's nothing more that we can do. And then they show up at our door. And sometimes we're very fortunate that we can cure them and heal them. And other times they have been so devastated that we can only heal them and prepare them for the other side. And that's one of the things that's wonderful about this, you know. There are so many techniques, practices, and there isn't one. I can tell you that there isn't one. I mean, they're all similar, but they're not all the same. So to try to really explain them, it's impossible, you know. I think probably the biggest thing that we try to help people to do is to be, to open up, really to open up and be accepting to there is something else. There is another reality. There is something that's, people, it's the spirit world, you know. I mean, people make prayers all the time. I mean, what are they making prayer to, you know, if they aren't going to be accepting of it? It's just opening them up. All we can do is try. It's up to them whether or not they're willing to do that, you know. So one of the things that I'm, that I really try to emphasize with people in any walk of life, whatever it is that they do, is that, you know, when you make a prayer, you know, you make a prayer, you're making a plea, you're asking something else to, for help, you know. And unless they're really willing to understand that when they do that, that they're giving that away, they're giving away that capability of answering themselves, you know. Until they do that, you know, the higher power doesn't have that, or usually doesn't act on it, you know. That's one of the things that I've come to understand, and one of the things that I really stress with human beings, anybody who comes and asks for help, you know. I mean, I always ask people to make their own prayer. They know how they feel. They know what needs to be done, you know. And so many people, when they come, they're caught up in scripture. And I sometimes wonder whether or not they force that to fit their need, versus simply opening themselves up and making that simple request. Sometimes people are afraid to step out of the box, but the Great Spirit doesn't have a box. It's waiting for you, always waiting for you, you know. But that's one of the things that I always encourage with people is, when you ask for help, when you make the prayer, understand that you're giving something away, because you understand that you can't do it alone. So you turn and you make a prayer. You're putting your thoughts, your feelings, your empathy, your compassion, your love, you're bundling it all up, and you made this prayer, this wish, this desire, and you've sent it out into the universe. And a lot of times, you know, it takes time to answer, because sometimes a person wants to answer it themselves, the way that they think it needs to be answered. And, you know, the higher powers, they wait. They wait until you're willing to let them do it. And the quicker you can understand that, the quicker you learn that, the quicker those things will start to happen for anybody. One of the things that I've learned, and one of the things that I encourage anybody to do for themselves, you know, it's so simple. It is such a simple thing, but to unlearn a process that you've been drilled with, you've been frightened into. And there's no reason that anybody should fear, fear God, or fear the Great Spirit, or fear these kind of things, you know. There shouldn't be a fear-based system. One of the wonderful things about what we do, it's not fear-based, you know. To me, that's an abusive relationship. If it's fear-based, it's an abusive relationship. Who wants to live that way? Shouldn't have to ever fear these kind of things. So those are the things that I really work with with people. And when they can get to that point, they're open and accepting and understanding those kind of things, you know. And for some, they've lived such a long time in that context that they're afraid to step out of the box. Some will even go back that way, you know. That's okay. Maybe next time, you know. But those who are willing to step out of that, I mean, when they come out of it, they say, oh my God, that's wonderful things start to happen in their lives, you know. And that's what I enjoy about my native way of life, you know. It isn't religion. It has many acts of spirituality that you can witness yourself. You don't have to rely on someone else's experiences and base their life upon their experiences of 2,000 years ago. You could have them today, time and time again. You make your own connection. That's what's wonderful. It's alive. It's totally alive, you know. And that's what really makes it work, you know. That's what I envy about some of the so-called untouched cultures. In my way of thinking, they have such empathy and compassion. That's why there's such intactness. I mean, we say they live in poverty. I say they live in total happiness. They don't need the things that we need. They don't need the technology. They don't need the medicine. They don't need so many things that we require today. We say we require. They have something that we're all seeking, and that's happiness. It's so simple. I envy those untouched peoples, the way that my people used to be. Bring them back to that. Reintroduce them to some of that aspect, you know. Yeah, the Native American people, they, in today's world, they have gone out in every trail that's available. They've gone around the world, and they're looking at other cultures. And a lot of our Native people, they're slowly, the younger ones are slowly trickling back. We're very fortunate right now that there are enough older ones who have a good wealth of knowledge, and use of the language. Very important. I mean, I still am lacking in an area of use of the language, and when I find somebody who has that command and use, I'm always inquisitive. What about this? And what about this? Because there's a different metaphorical understanding of our world that I don't find anywhere else. It's a much deeper connection that I don't find in the English language, in the traditional language that I go back to my elders about. It goes much deeper. And that's what our people are coming back to. As we help them, some of the people that we've helped throughout the years, they've come back because no one else could help them. I think I've said that a little while ago, and once they find that, and then they have such enthusiasm, and they pick it up and want to give it to the next person, to the next person, to the next person. And that's how it gets perpetuated. That's one of the good things. One of the things that I really am happy about is that we have an ability to go back to the source. And one of our ceremonies allows us to quite basically go back to the source and ask again. We don't have to rely on information that somebody else may have. If we need additional information, we have a ceremony that helps us to go back and to ask at the source. But even when a person does that, when they get the answer, there's always that issue of openness and acceptance when they get an answer to go into deep prayer, they go back into fasting, they'll come back with an answer. There's always that issue of openness and acceptance. Are they willing to accept what was given to them as an answer? I've never seen it in a negative way. It's just what a person decides to do with it.