Navajo Elder, Grandmother Mabel Little Speaks

Grandmother Mabel Little:

She is so adorable, remarkably knowledgeable, and an amazingly articulate story teller! So glad to have been able to sit in a circle and hear her speak to us about Navajo creation stories and their relation to how the "five-fingered ones" learned of plant medicines and the healing path from the "holies." She also told an interesting tale about the 4 witches: hunger, poverty, sickness, and old age. Hopefully I will be able to post a soundclip of some of her presentation in coming days. Mabel gave us her blessings to audio record the event and take photographs to share with others interested in learning the "right way" .....I think that means in the manner of maintaining the intuitive virtue of compassion for our fellow universe; we(humans) belong to it, not the other way around.

Peeping some Pinyon sap after Mabel explained how it can be used topically as an anti-microbial to rid infection, extract puss, and mend the wounded area. Her recommended application involved melting plenty of the sap over a fire until it became warm and runny, then use a thick piece of denim cloth to transfer the sap to the wound; bee stings and yucca impailings were two examples for which this treatment was diagnosed.

The Healing Circle:

Two of my favorite plant teachers that I've been blessed to learn from. I rejoice in life to have met folks like these! It was such a lovely day too...






My friend Jessa pointing out Comfrey to me, a veritable "heal-all" medicinal. It's leaves are huge and have a sort of reptilian texture. The leaves can be wrapped around broken bones and applied topically to affected areas to speed up cell repair due to the prevalence of allantoin, a cell proliferant. Comfrey is not recommended for internal use due to a high presence of alkaloids in its constituents that are toxic to the liver. Used appropriately, comfrey helps bodily systems fulfill their most crucial function and design: heal, replenish, and renew.



This is my good friend and fellow visual artist Sonny Greyeyes Clitso. He took me out to his parents home at Kayenta on the Navajo Rez. I partook in the intense sensory experience of watching some of his cousins corral a herd of wild horses for branding a few weeks ago. It was a bone-riveting adventure, at times painfully hard to watch, but I'm thankful to have been taken along for the bumpy ride. The horses had to be branded for practical reasons, and the whole event was actually conducted with much art and grace despite its inherent turbulence. Thanks Sonny for the wonderful times and help with the photo documentation!


He took these shots: