posted October 25, 2003 02:12 PM         

My dream began with me being in a tribe, I am not quite sure what nation, but it was from long ago. I knew I was not from that tribe, but instead had been introduced to the People as a young woman. The tribe had an intricate system of clans, elders and a Chief, so my gut tells me it may have been closly related to the Northern tribes, but nearer the ocean and quite possibly the Iroquois.

I was about the age I am now and I think I looked very much the same as I felt comfortable in my body. My hair was much longer, to the small of my back, but was not black in color, instead it was a rich dark brown. I wore it down and flowing, whereas the othesr wore it bound in braids or in a back roll. My hair was decorated with eagle feathers tied to the locks with richly tanned deer skin ties. My clothes were made of rich deer skin as well, but I had glistening stones and shells that made noise when I walked. When I entered the dwelling people sucked in their breath in awe and bowed their heads, not in fear but in reverence.

I was the healer / dreamer of the People, the Tribe. I was also on my way to visit the Chief who had recently fallen ill. The Chief was also my husband and when I looked at him, lying in the dwelling, he looked familar because we had been partners this way, the leader and the dreamer, for lifetimes.

The dwelling itself was above ground with stong poles, made out of spruce or lodgepole. It was also decorated with shields and warm skins to keep out the elements. It was long with rooms attached. One for the Chief and I, one for the family and there was a room for me with my herbs, potions and implements.

I walked into my room, to gather the herbs and tea that I needed to give to the Chief. I could feel the pain of the People as they were so worried that the Chief would pass on. I am not sure why he was ill, but I knew I had to help him because his work was not yet finished for the Tribe. I bent down over him, and looked into his face. He was so handsome, with a round face, large eyes and full lips. His jaw was strong and hair was dark. I could not see the color of his eyes as they were closed, but he knew I was there and I could feel his love for me. I poured the tea into his mouth and began my series of chants. The sacred tea was in a bottle that was not of our people, but was made of glass with intricate designs. We must have traded for it.

I felt the presence of an intruder - a man not of the People, but with blue eyes. He asked me why I would try to save a man that was not of my native people, but he could not understand that this was how it was meant to be.

My Chief was healed a while later and I fed him a hearty stew of quail meat and egg. I held him close as he became stronger, but I knew he would have to leave as soon as he was full strength. There were other clans that relied on him and needed to see him, for there was some kind of strife in the region.

When it was time for him to part, I watched him gather his things. He was so beautiful, a sight to behold. He was large and strong. He wore the decorations of a Chief, the furs around his shoulders hung over finely tanned white Elk skins. His head was covered with a hood, but the same eagle feathers in my hair hung from his own. He leaned down to kiss me...our last kiss I felt "My beautiful healer, where would I be without you?" he whispered in my ear. A tear came down my face and I whispered back "I love you too my Chief, but the People need you now and they need me. Carry my love with you in your heart. I will always be with you".

When he left, the blue eyed man stayed behind. The season had changed, my love had been gone for quite a while and I was now wearing the clothes of spring. I walked past the blue-eyed man and he took me by my waist. "Why do you wait for him, he is gone, you are to beautiful to waste your time waiting for someone who will never return. I would never leave anyone as enchanting as you". His eyes were evil, the iris would change shape and the blue would change hues. I pulled away and took my basked to gather herbs. I used my mind to talk to his and said "You will never have the heart of a chief, you will never understand the People, nor will you ever know the love of this healer".

With that I left. I then came upon the blackberry bushes that grew along the water. A memory came back to me of when I first introduced the berries to my Chief. I was picking the berries and eating them as well. I heard a strong voice say "Well now, if you eat all the berries, what will the people eat?" a hearty laugh like a melody followed. I turned and saw him. We were much younger then and I was new to the tribe. I laughed and taunted him, but that is how we had always been. It was a battle of wit, wills and eog, but mostly we just loved to challenge each other. We ate the berries and while the dark juice spilled onto my fingers and over my lips he would lick it and we would laugh. I told him stories of growing up near the water with my siblings, swimming in the cool streams and eating the berries until my lips were purple.

Shouting broke my daydream of days of the past. I turned to see people running from the dwelling where we kept our history, our artifacts. "Come quickly healer, they are burning it down". I dropped my basket and ran to the dwelling to talk to the elders. "All is lost, you cannot save it" one yelled to me. I saw new people, dark and small, they were speaking a different language that I quickly began to understand. It was Spanish. I ran to the walls to pull off all of the shields, drawings and out pouches. I needed to save what I could, but the smoke was dark.

I kept thinking, who will tell our stories, how will they know of the great warriors? An intruder called me Daughter in Spanish. I turned to look, but a loud shot rang out. I felt a stinging in my back as I dropped to my knees. 'She called me Daughter'....smoke filled the room but I couldn't move. I was on my face, there was shouting and mourning...all I could think was "who will tell the story"... I was dying.

Then my phone rang early this morning and woke me up. No one was on the other end, but the sound brought me back.

So that was my dream. Any thoughts? I have many, but I want to digest this and meditate on it for a while.

posted October 26, 2003 02:57 PM         

That was a very ... vivid story. Fantastic!

Thank you very much for sharing it. I do not feel that this "dream" has much symbolism to interpret, it seems more of a past-life memory, but I will certainly give it some thought. Perhaps there is some sort of message pertaining to some current situation ... what do you think?

posted October 28, 2003 03:52 AM         

Do you think that perhaps you were Spanish, or partly so, in that incarnation? Is that why you recognized the language, and your hair was a bit differently coloured?

And you said "She called me Daughter". A Spanish woman said it? I find that rather curious. I rather doubt there were many women in the Spanish ranks at that time, not that I think it could not have been, I just find that to be a curious twist. Were the Spaniards military or colonists?

posted October 28, 2003 10:27 AM         

How are things going? I have been thinking so much of that dream.

The lady that called me daughter resembled my grandmother (my apache grandmother that was raised in a Spanish family). It was common practice, where my grandmother and her relations were raised, to marry off the women young to older men. My grandfather's mother was full-blood Apache married off to a Spanish man.

For some reason, it almost felt like I was either seeing a glimpse into my future as I was dying or seeing a glimpse of the past from anothers perspective. My grandmother is 90 years old (an Aries - and I have an Aries moon)and she is starting to show signs of senile dementia. She is sweet, but losing it. The last time I saw her was last March when she hurt her leg and was in the hospital. Her eyes went huge when she saw me because she was not expecting I would be in town (I was on business which just happened to coincide with her hospital stay). In Spanish she asked me "How did you find me, Mi Hija...which sounds more like mija". I laughed and said I saw the smoke signals and she totally cracked up.

I don't know alot about her life as a young person. I do know that she did not want to marry my grandfather and that she used to be into practicing the old ways.

I also wonder if somewhere my mind is thinking about old warriors, Lozen was Victorios sister and the only women allowed in the tribal counsel and allowed to participate in warfare / horse stealing. She could "feel" when the enemy approached. They called her "daughter" until she took the name Lozen which means spirited.

The landscape in my dream seemed more indicative of the Northwest or Northeast, but not the Southwest. So that made me wonder if I had been married to the chief of another clan out of duty or for tribal relations. My family is from the Southwest, Texas to be exact - which is where the Apache frequently spent winters as they were totally nomadic.

So, yes, I am Spanish and American Indian. My mothers side is Cherokee (her grandmother was a full blood that read cards and auras). and total German on her mothers side.

I also hope that what I was experiencing isn't really tied to what is happening in California. I was born and raised out there and the wildfires are close to where my father lives now in Corona. I am also worried about Arrowhead, where I used to work as a camp counselor, since the fires are being to approach that area.

posted October 28, 2003 01:26 PM         

Thank you so much for sharing that incredible dream. If you have any more insight on this dream in the future, please tell us!