The Red Road
The Red Road or “Chanku Luta,” as it is known by the Lakota, has been traveled by our ancestors long before us. Today, some may call it the road less traveled. According to Lakota belief, the Red Road begins even prior to conception and is a path which is available to those who are spiritually inclined. The Red Road which runs north and south, is a unique spiritual path, a way of life and enlightenment which has no end. During times of difficulty, the Lakota people could always rely upon the Red Road for strength and renewal, just as they could rely upon the Inipi, also known as the sweat lodge ceremony.
In the sweat lodge, the foremost of the seven sacred ceremonies of the Lakota, one may pray, seek healing, forgiveness, renewal, strength and help with life’s problems. Elders often remind the youth that materialism along with the negativity that it brings, have no place in a sacred sweat lodge ceremony. Just as there is a Red Road, a place where miracles begin, there is a negative counterpart, the Black Road- “Chanku Sapa,” which runs east and west. This is a path of non-spirituality and greed. A person is never satisfied for desires are insatiable and this road ultimately leads to an early death. On the Black Road, the load of misery accumulated in a lifetime, is carried on when one passes. Unfortunately, many of our youth walk the Black Road and are lost from us through misfortune. When I travel home to South Dakota, I am saddened by the many crosses lined up on the Reservation highways. The Red Road would have been a much kinder and more fulfilling life than the painful loss memorialized upon the Black Road.
In spite of the prosperity which gaming has brought to a small handful of tribes, the majority of tribes and Native Americans in Indian country still suffer greatly from poverty and other hardships. At times, it seems that all we Native Americans have is our culture, language and our relationship with Wakan Tanka, the Great Mystery. Our way of life, the Red Road is becoming extinct, just as our language, culture and sacred ceremonies are being lost, stolen, exploited or perverted.
The sweat lodge ceremony is the “Grandfather” of the Lakota ceremonies for the rest of our major sacred ceremonies start out with a sweat lodge ceremony for purification/renewal/rebirth. We Lakota were given these sacred ceremonies by Wakan Tanka and the Tunkasilas (Grandfather spirits) so that our people could live (hecel Oyate kin nipi kte). When a sweat lodge ceremony is conducted and people participate for the right reasons, there is great power and healing as well as other “miracles” which may occur. The Vision Quest, the Sundance as well as our Yuwipi or Lowampi ceremonies require that we purify ourselves first in a sweat lodge ceremony. I have learned that just being Indian does not reflect that a person is spiritual or that he or she walks the Red Road or is knowledgeable about the Red Road. Traditional Lakota elders teach that the sweat lodge is place for humility, not arrogance, or showing off to impress others.
In spite of the pressures of this material world, there remain many Native Americans who faithfully and stubbornly cling to their culture, speak their native tongue and practice their spirituality, following in the footsteps of their ancestors. It is thought that our leaders in days past such as Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull, Dragging Canoe, Tecumseh, Osceola and other Native American ancestors died defending our lands but this is not entirely true. These tribal leaders defended much more than land. They sacrificed their lives to protect a way of life which includes the Red Road and our connection to Wakan Tanka through our sacred ceremonies. I am one of the beneficiaries of their sacrifices. I am an enrolled member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe with blood ties to the Sichangu and Standing Rock Sioux Tribes. I grew up in the small village of Wanblee, South Dakota, also known as the band of Pute Tiyospaye, Lip’s Camp band of the Oglala Lakota on the Pine Ridge, Indian Reservation in South Dakota. My maternal great grandmother was Nettie Horn Chips, a close relative of old man Chips, a powerful Lakota medicine man who was close to Chief Crazy Horse. Several of my other ancestors were also spiritual men including my grandfather, Chief Lame Deer, Tahca Uste, a Sichangu holy man. I feel fortunate that I have a son, Wiconi Was`te, who is also a spiritual man. Every summer, I make my way back to South Dakota to join in the celebration of the renewal of life for the people through our Sundance. I know on a very personal level that the Red Road has many challenges but many of us choose this way of life and we cherish our sacred ceremonies.
Therefore, it should come as no surprise that we Lakota are outraged by the recent scandal and events in Arizona regarding the theft/misuse/abuse of our sacred sweat lodge ceremony by James Arthur Ray, a non-Indian whose actions caused the deaths of several non-Indians. This man was not authorized by the Lakota to conduct a sweat lodge ceremony.
The Lakota do not proselytize or pressure anyone to convert or join the Red Road. This has simply been a way of life for the Lakota since time immemorial. It is not a recreational activity and neither does it have any connection to New Age or Wicca ceremonies.
