My Studies on the American Indian

What an unforgettable study.

One autumn day my mom said, "Ronnie did you see there is an Indian powwow at the fairgrounds?" 

I was turning sixteen next year and we had no money she knew this is what I would want to do any day birthday or not. That visit lasted 8 years. Mom, drove us there on a Saturday. It was cheap but I felt bad mom was spending this on me and not rent or food. We go in and I was in a paradise no one else was in. They had real Eagle feathers ... how can you sell these? I was told "we gather them from the ground and as Indians here in this country we have permission to sell Eagle feathers." I got 5. 

I was loving this, and my mom knew it. Best day ever.  I have been studying the Lakota. The Lakota are a blending of many tribes and were mainly seen as the Teton. Teton Sioux (from Thítȟuŋwaŋ), they are one of the three prominent subcultures of the Sioux people, with the Eastern Dakota (Santee) and Western Dakota (Wičhíyena). Their current lands are in North and South Dakota.  I had tons of books and had at this time maybe a year or so of dedicated study. I was hoping to meet anyone Sioux. I had some amazing conversations, and I see my mom although interested and was having fun being with me and watching my mind work, she was getting tired.

I suggested we go, and mom said we haven't seen anything down there. Several booths we haven't seen. I said, "mom it's okay I got some Eagle feathers and got to talk to real Sioux Indians, and they said my research was great and to keep studying. Told me that what I am doing will move me past darkness and into the light.

Mom insisted we check out everything because we probably cannot afford to come back. So, we traveled forth. His name was Red Deer, and his American was John Scott (I believe). So, John Red Deer is the name he went by. Please excuse me as I may have his first name wrong. It has been a million years. I am old and even relatives now I haven't seen escape me. It is because we get old. His first name may have been Jim and not John, but my mind is not connecting it. His name Red Deer I will forever remember. He introduced himself not like anyone would. He was as strange as me if not more. "Hi, you have Eagle feathers with you ... humm ... yes." "Your journey, you are a traveler." "HI" he said again. I am looking at him as normally as I could, but I knew he knew I am thinking how? The feathers were in a brown paper bag. Couldn't see them. As a matter of fact, I think I asked my mom to put the small bag in her purse. It was strange.

"Hi, I am Ron are you a Sioux?" He smiled, "If I am not a Sioux will you stay and talk to me anyway?" My mind is thinking who is this guy. He thinks all I want to do is talk to Sioux Indians ... then I thought he is right. That was on my mind coming here.

He said, “Hi, I’m John Red Deer, a medicine man in my tribe. I’m a Hopi Indian. Do you know about us?” I replied, “No, I don’t… Hopi? What a strange-sounding name.” John explained that Hopi means peace, and I was amazed the whole time I spent with Red Deer.

So many of you have criticized me for saying things without evidence or a book to point you to, showing how I discovered this. It’s hard to talk to those who are ignorant or unwilling to understand, especially when they don’t grasp that learning is an inward process. What more can I give you than my own experience? I witnessed it, I lived it, and I speak from what I’ve learned. Yet you call me a liar for not believing as you do. 

I think it’s up to you to prove whether you were happy or unhappy on your 10th birthday. I need solid evidence—like a book, a research paper, and eyewitnesses to the event—before I’ll listen. Do you realize how ridiculous that sounds? You’re acting like a three-year-old, demanding facts about someone’s personal feelings and life experiences. If you don’t want to understand, then leave, especially if you think this is all nonsense. Just don’t stay here.

Red Deer and I kept in touch for eight years, but the letters have now stopped. He traveled all over the country with his powwow, sending me notes from every place he visited. He was a wonderful friend and mentor.

Which brings me to the topic of indigenous peoples. Technically, there aren’t any here—no one is truly indigenous. And no, Red Deer didn’t tell me this; it’s something I discovered on my own journey. I won’t go into detail about that now, but I do want to share what I was told that isn’t included in the documentary on the Hopi you’ll watch below.

I’m paraphrasing, and this happened a long time ago. The story went something like this: how the Hopi came to be here.

One day, the Lakota had scouts stationed in the hills surrounding a valley. One morning, a scout spotted a lot of smoke on the horizon, signaling many fires. He wondered how such a large group could have passed him during the night. Mounting his horse, he informed the other scouts he would investigate and return. He rode for hours across the open land until he reached the area. From a ridge, he saw thousands of Indians—an entire village of men, women, and children.

The scout was in shock and quickly rode his horse back to the other scout, telling them to ride to the nearest villages and warn everyone. The chiefs and warriors gathered their weapons and set out to confront the enemy. When they arrived, the chief, along with men and women, came out to greet the war party and invited them to eat and smoke, which the Lakota accepted. Curious, the Lakota wanted to know who these people were and how they had arrived. At the time, they could only communicate through signs. Whenever the Hopi were asked where they came from, they would always point upward, leaving the others puzzled. Over time, the communication barrier was resolved, revealing that the Hopi believed they were not from this world. They said they came from another planet, brought here in ships, to witness what humanity is doing to the Earth. According to them, the Spirit would judge the Hopi as a people, and centuries of knowledge foretold that humanity had doomed itself. The Hopi were merely conduits—or so it was told to me.