Interview With Brooke Medicine Eagle
by Lee Warren
This October (14-16), the Southeast Women’s Herbal Conference will be hosting Special Guest, Brooke Medicine Eagle, a legendary Earth wisdom teacher, singer, visionary, catalyst for wholeness, and ceremonial leader of Sioux, Nez Perce, and European descent. She is the best selling author of the Native American literary classic, Buffalo Woman Comes Singing, and The Last Ghost Dance.
At the time your book, Buffalo Woman Comes Singing, came out in 1991 it was one of the very few resources for an earth-based way of being. Can you speak to that?
It was a watershed book at the time. Now there’s so many cross cultural sharings available. It seems that for women it was really a special offering – because I wrote from my own experiences and challenges. It also contained exercises at the end that helped people take advantage of what they had read. Again and again I hear from women that the book profoundly influenced the unfolding of their life. I’m thrilled that something touched them and they were moved to maybe do something different in their lives, with this sweet earth, and with all our relations.
You wrote about personal ceremony, healing, and spirituality in a real and grounded way. How do you see people's longing for this kind of thing?
People are so desperately hungry for earth-based ceremony, wisdom, understanding, and grounding. Our bodies are intelligent enough to understand that really we’re in trouble. They know how vulnerable we are if we don’t have simple and profound connection with the earth.
How would you offer guidance to women who are longing for these things?
The ancestors, the moon, and nature.
- Ancestors: What’s true is that love is what is eternal. Even if it wasn’t a conscious and happy experience, our parents and our grandparents love us. The ancestors understand that most human beings don’t use themselves well. Their job is to help us be more and more and more of who we are. They’re there, they love us, and they are willing to help us bring forward our best.
- The Moon: There’s much to discover about the magic, mystery, usefulness and power of the moon. It is a very important key to our feminine nature and to the simple ceremony we can do. From here women can go further and connect to the seasonal rhythms (Circle Round by Starhawk is a great resource) to honor cycles and meanings.
- Nature: Anyone who’s willing to get out and spend quiet time in nature can begin to deepen their relationship with spirit. It’s a powerful and profound way to connect and awaken some things in yourself.
And finally, I tell women to be in love with this world. Let your heart love this earth and open you to what you need to find.
At the conference, Brooke will be offering the following classes:
Prophecy & Promise Ancient Understandings of a Radiant Future
Creating Ceremony
For the Love of Lady Gaia: A Ceremony
