A new poem from Lois Red Elk about how Lakota/Dakota dream culture and channeling the spirit of nature allows us to connect with the ones we love, even when far away
Sketch of running white-tailed deer by Bob Kuhn (1920-2007). You can also see more of Kuhn's finished easel paintings at the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson Hole, Wyoming
EDITOR'S NOTE: When we keep loved ones in our thoughts, we give them a closer presence in our lives. So too can we connect with the spirit of others through our dreams, Lois Red Elk says. This is merely one aspect of Lakota/Dakota dream culture, a culture that is more than inextricably tethered to the nature world, but co-atomized, like breathing and air. In the brand new poem below, that will be included in a new volume of work coming soon, Lois writes about connecting to her granddaughter and channeling deer spirit. —Mountain Journal Eds.
Hello Friends at MoJo,
Now that the pandemic is under some control,
I am wanting to travel and visit children and grandchildren,
missing them so much. They send pics and we talk via
all the different media options.
Was thinking about my dream culture and how i can communicate
through dreams and prayers.
What is important is that we maintain a reaching through spirit as
that is the best communicator.
My oldest grranddaughter sent a pic of herself cutting up a deer at her table.
I was able to dream about the entire event and now share.
POSTNOTE: We are pleased that Lois is working away on a new collection of poems and will let you know when it is published. In the meantime, ask for her other volumes at your favorite local bookseller: Our Blood Remembers, winner of the best non-fiction award from Woodcraft Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers; Dragonfly Weather; and Why I Return to Makoce with a foreword from Montana's recent state poet laureate Lowell Jaeger and nominated for a High Plains Book Award in poetry. Given headlines that continue to appear about the discoveries of new atrocities committed at boarding schools for indigenous children, we encourage you to read Lois' last contribution to MoJo that appeared in June, The Unspeakable Past Of Indian Boarding Schools
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About Lois Red Elk-Reed
Lois Red Elk-Reed is a poet who calls the high plains home. She is Mountain Journal's poet in residence.
