Some deaths are harder to take than others.

The deaths of those who, for whatever reasons, seem a little larger than life itself. Charismatics. Those who are the stuff of legends. In the week before the winter solstice, Western North Carolina lost one of its native sons and one of the shining stars in the fermament of this region, Hawk Littlejohn (1941-2000).

A native of these mountains and a member of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee, Hawk Littlejohn, from the beginning, was an original, unique in his sensitivity and his concern for his fellow man. Early on he was identified by elders of the Cherokee tribe as a potential medicine person and spiritual leader. Trained in the Cherokee medicine tradition chiefly by his grandfather, Hawk became skilled in the traditional methods of natural and psychological healing.

As a young adult, Hawk experienced, first hand, the malnutrition and starvation of his own people -- an experience that made an indelible impression on him and that would change his life forever. From that moment, he dedicated his life to the uplifting and betterment of his people. As a young adult, his activism on behalf of Native American peoples was legendary, as is the life of peace, nonviolence and environmental concernt that followed as he became a spokesman for not only his people, but for all searching and caring peoples worldwide.

In his trips abroad, as well as those made traveling across this country, he made hundreds, if not thousands of friends. As a traditional healer, Hawk was a member of the faculty at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. In recent years he was given more than one honorary Doctor of Medicine degree. Stories of his expertise as a traditional healer abound -- ranging from the commonplace to stories bordering on the miraculous.

Outside the Cherokee and Native American communities in this country, Hawk Littejohn was a link to the dominant European culture, working with individuals and groups of all ethnic persuasions. His lifelong message of personal and spiritual integration amongst peoples and races was a strong and everpresent aspect of his healing work. As someone who knew Hawk Littlejohn as a doctor, who was married by him, and who worked with him in the 1980s on a project to identify and protect Native American sacred religious sites in the Southern Appalachians, I can attest to the accolades and the high regard in which he was held by the general public as well as his peers (of which there were very few).

During the 1980s, Hawk served as cultural and spiritual advisor to those of us working on Katuah Journal -- a bioregional journal for the mountain South that sought to document and preserve the traditions and values of both the Indian and European cultures indigenous to this area. Hawk was our spiritual anchor as well as a constant contributor to the magazine. He wrote articles anonymously in a column called “Good Medicine” -- which consisted of recorded conversations and talks given by Hawk on a wide range of subjects dealing with traditional history, spirituality and medicine. A collection of those Katuah Journal talks is being assembled for publication as a tribute to Hawk and his legacy by Whittier writer David Wheeler.

During the last 15 years, Hawk has become known to the public primarily as a maker of traditional Native American flutes. Wood Song Flutes is based in Old Fort and has worldwide distribution. His flutes are used by award-winning and recording artists such as R. Carlos Nikai and Mary Youngblood. Hawk’s Wood Song flutes are considered to be among the best musical instruments being made by traditional Native American craftsmen anywhere in the U.S. With his death a few weeks ago, the Wood Song business will be carried on by Geri Littlejohn, Hawk’s wife and partner in the business.

The best way I can think of to honor Hawk Littlejohn is to let him speak for himself -- to share with you, first hand, his own ideas as a testament to his unswerving dedication to only the highest spiritual and human ideals. Hawk Littlejohn was a friend to many who will read this public tribute, and I’m sure I can speak for all of us who knew and loved him in saying that he will be profoundly missed. Here, then, are some of Hawk’s ideas, beliefs and Cherokee traditions as they were given to me -- in his own words.

° “Start by saying to them that to the Cherokee all things, all places, are sacred. The rivers, streams, and springs, are all sacred. The bottom-lands, hills, and the mountains, are all sacred. All the creatures that live in these places, are all sacred. This is the basis of all our beliefs and how we live our lives. To the Cherokee way of thinking, there is no separation, no segregation, between things in this world. Everything is connected. Everything is sacred! Tell them this, first, and they will understand what it is you want to say.

° “We humans are tribal. The strength in the many is greater, better, than in one, alone.
“We have been told that our ceremonies should be done with dance and song, with flute and drum, and that all dance and song should be but a continuation of non-indulgent prayer. Prayer that connects us to the Great Life and the energies that are around us all the time.

“We have also been told that there is a purpose for every individual being. And that we are all caretakers. Just by the fact of our being conscious, that responsibility is placed upon us. Individually, and in groups, we must take a stand against the injustices of the world. At times like the solstice, when we are empowered by the forces of the earth and the heavens, we can stand together, collectively, and powerfully make a difference.”

° “We have been told that the most balanced way to be is found by following the examples of the natural forces within and around us. The way of water, for example. We have been told that the river is ‘yunwi gunahita’: the Long Human Being. We have been told that the function of water is: flowing. And that the flowing brings cleansing, purification, healing and change. If we are in need of healing, we go to water -- to that sacred place where the shallow water touches the bank, and offer gratitude and thanks to the water in the form of prayer. We were told to then plunge underwater seven times, giving thanks to the water with each plunge. In this way healing will come.”

° “We are told these are the oldest mountains upon the earth. That life has been here longer than any place else on the great Mother. We are told that this is one of the few places upon the earth where spirit still dwells -- in the deep rich coves where the ginseng grows and the voices of water still talk. We are told it is the Giver-of-Breath’s plan that we may have differences. All of the Giver-of-Breath’s creation lives in harmony and peace with one another with the exception of man. Now, during the ‘time of great rest’ -- when trees lose their leaves and evergreens get greener -- let’s listen to the message that the mountains and the streams give to us. During these days we should strive to pull our communities together, to work together, even with our differences, to preserve this beautiful place in which we live.”

° “Turning and change are the ways of the world. War is also a part of he world’s turning. But we are told that war was not a campaign of conquest. Wars were fought for individual honor and the honor of the tribe, not for control over another people or control over their land. What good are a people who are controlled by others? Who can own the land? The land lives its own life and provides for us all. It cannot be bought or sold or won in war like trade beads or moccasins.”

° “It seems to me that the dominant culture in our society is afraid of the spiritual revolution that is taking place in the hearts of many of the people. Yet, we know that this fear is not real. If martians invaded this planet, the governments of all the countries would forget their differences and would unite against the threat from outside. We need to find the common cause within ourselves that can unite us in the same way. It is useless, for example, to merely pray for corn to grow. We need, first, to plant the seeds in the ground, THEN we can pray for the corn to grow!

“We are more powerful than our past. We must learn to forgive the wrongdoings of others as well as our own. Our power is in the present. This is where life’s magic lies. Magic that is available to us all. We need to discover ways to unify the people. We need to work together. And we need to work fast.”

° “My grandfather told me that the English translation of the Cherokee words for “medicine people” is “the sacred fire burns inside of them.” He also told me that at the Katuah village there was a sacred fire that was the central fire for the whole Cherokee nation. It was kept alive with the sacred wood of sourwood, hickory, cedar, locust, yellow pine, white oak and sweet birch. Once a year, at the time of the Green Corn Ceremony, all the fires in the whole Cherokee territory were all put out. The sacred fire at the mother village was then re-lit by a specially-designated “firekeeper,” and runners would take the fire from the central fire to all the villages in the Cherokee Nation.

“The old people used to say that the fire was the bond that kept the tribe together. It did not matter that the people were members of different clans and spoke different dialects; it did not matter that we might have different enemies and different friends; the fire was the same. Wherever our village was, we all cooked over the same fire and heated our lodges with the same fire. It was the central fire that held us together, and was a constant reminder that we are all One.”

° “We have been placed in this world to strengthen our spirit. All of life is an education. We are here to learn, to overcome, and to take responsibility for being here.

“There is an old saying, ‘Magic comes when all doubt has been removed from the mind.’ The old Chinese idea of the Tao is much like what I call ‘medicine.’ This is not the idea of medicine as it is understood in the West. There’s yin and yang -- what is often misunderstood as meaning ‘good’ and ‘bad,’ but actually refers to the pairing of any and all opposing forces, whatever they are. The two forces often come together. They come close to each other, but they never touch. One may move toward the center and in doing so becomes dominant. It stays there until it is fulfilled, and then it pulls back, away from the center. As it pulls back, the other one is pulled in. This, is the dance. Everything is moving... What moves that process is called the Tao. And the center, or the space between the two opposing forces, is medicine.”

° “The way to communicate nonviolence is to live a nonviolent life. We all learn by example. In raising kids, it isn’t what one says that is important, it’s what one does. But in this western culture kids are expected to respond to what is said, while the adults think that they can do whatever the hell they want to. They don’t realize that the children are learning from watching what they DO, not from what they say.

“I can remember as a small kid: falling and crying, and somebody picking me up, hugging me, and taking care of me. I can remember that clearly. It made a big impression on me. But I can also remember that as I got older the grown-ups just stopped reacting like that. They gradually forced me to become more responsible for myself. That learning process went on up through my experience of the puberty and moon lodge ceremonies.

“The older I get, the more I find myself acting like my grandfather. Every once in a while I look in the mirror, and I think he’s standing there. And when I hear myself talking to my own children, I sometimes hear HIS voice.”

° “We have been told that that which you fear is the greatest reality that surrounds you. All imbalance, all disharmony, we are told, is caused by and in fact, is, Fear.

“We are told that we are born into the world with only two inherent fears: the fear of falling and the fear of sudden loud noises. And that all other fears are man-made, created in the mind. And that fear of the unknown is the greatest of these mind-made fears.

“I was told that you should always give your fear a name. To identify it and look it square in the eyes and stand your ground. To face your seen or unseen enemy with strength. I was taught to say powerful words, sing protective songs, and hang on to magic charms. To stand my ground.

“For I was told that we all come to Earth from the spirit world for only two reasons: to provide service for all else that lives here and to grow and develop -- to know that change is growth. To recognize and accept the part of our destiny that loves the darkness, and to find peace within our pain.”

 

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