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Canku Ota
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(Many Paths)
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An Online Newsletter
Celebrating Native America
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June 2017 - Volume 15
Number 6
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The Native American's
Legend of Crystals
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In ancient times, people lived
in harmony with Nature.
They spoke the same language as the animals and plants.
They hunted for food only to satisfy their hunger and needs,
always offering prayer of thanks for what
they had taken from Nature.
As time went on, humans lost
this innocence and harmony.
They took more then they needed.
They forgot their prayers of gratitude.
They killed animals, and each other, for sport and pleasure.
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The Bear Tribe, Chief among
the animals, called a meeting
of all the animals. They decided that something had to be
done.
The bears suggested that they shoot back when humans shot
at them,
but the bow and arrow required too great a sacrifice,
for one bear would have to give up his life so that his
sinew could be used for the bowstring.
The bear’s claws were too long for shooting a bow anyway,
and would become entangled on the string.
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The deer tribe offered another
method of dealing with the problem.
one of their members said,” “We will bring disease
into the world.
each of us will be responsible for a different illness.
When humans live out of balance with nature, when they forget
to give thanks for their food, they will get sick.”
and in fact the deer did involve rheumatism and arthritis;
each animal then decided to invoke a different disease.
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The Plant Tribe was more
sympathetic and felt that this was
too harsh a punishment, so they volunteered their help.
They said that for every disease a human gets, one of them
would be present to cure it. That way, if people used their
intelligence
they would be able to cure their ailments and regain their
balance.
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All of nature agreed to this
strategy, One plant in particular spoke out.
This was Tobacco, the chief of the plants. He said,
“I will be the sacred herb. I will not cure any specific
disease,
but I will help people return to the scared way of life,
provided I am smoked or offered with prayers and ceremony.
But if I am misused, if I am merely smoked for pleasure,
I will cause cancer, the worst disease of all.”
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The close friends of the
Plant Tribe, the Rock Tribe
and the Mineral Tribe, agreed to help.
Each mineral would have a spiritual power,
a subtle vibration that could be used to regain perfect health.
The Ruby, worn as an amulet, would heal the heart;
the emerald would heal the liver and eyes, and so on.
The chief of the mineral tribe, Quartz Crystal, was clear,
like the light of creation itself. Quartz put his arms around
his
brother Tobacco and said, “I will be the scared mineral.
I will heal the mind. I will help human beings see the origin
of disease.
I will help to bring wisdom and clarity in dreams.
And I will record their spiritual history, including our meeting
today,
so that in the future, if humans gaze into me, they may see
their
origin and the way of harmony.” And so it is today.
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This is a Cherokee legend,
but it has been told in almost every tribe
in the Americas. It tells of an ancient time of peace,
a mythical homeland known to every culture on Earth.
The Native Americans call it the “Old Way”
Or the Original Way.”
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