Spirit Eagle has passed

News came yesterday that Spirit Eagle has passed, three years ago.

Τότε ψυχανεμιζόμουν.

Spirit Eagle was a Kiowa -Cherokee tribe, in constant pain for the death of the rivers from the pollution brought by men of power and arrogance. He was an advocate of mother Earth. Well versed and knowledgeable he knew much of my country’s history and he took time to educate me on his. He knew much of the wounded parts of Earth.

I knew him only by this name. He was from Yellowstone. There he died peacefully. Close to the his mountains and the rivers. He was appointed representative to talk on the Indian Rights to the United Nations.

Whenever he was in New York used to wear a Visitor’s Card and inform the authorities he was in town.

It was like coming out of a fairy tale, early nineties, when I first met him. A tall – proud real Indian, into his eighties, in his hand-made skin cloths, a swift-movement elder, usually chewing a stick of licorice, good for his sugar level.

Since then, I would meet him by accident, on the street, each year he was in New York. His movements were revealing the youthful spirit of a young fighter. In his presence someone could feel the power of a whole person, who had not lost his soul into consumption and unconscious living.

A joyful and respectful felling for being alive was surrounding his body in the grace of awareness. He was teaching the people to respect of anything alive.

Once we were walking on 14 street, Union Square. A hilly-billy, salesman poked him to buy one of the fresh-cut trees some people use, for Christmas celebration. He became upset almost pulling his knife from his back- pocket skin pants. He was upset for the vanity of the people to use the trees for fun and few days later to throw them away. ‘Trees are sacred’, he used to say. ‘By touching a tree you feel the connection with mother Earth and the healing power coming through.’

He left me with three magical paper-birds, he made, ‘one for each of your rooms’, he had said, and a beaded, hand-made necklace of a thousand prayers made special for me. He used to call me Daughter Ikamada.

Strange how his news reached to me, at this time of my life.

So long Spirit Eagle!