MY MENTOR AND SPIRITUAL FATHER—SUN BEAR

Introduction from Wind Daughter.

Sun Bear, Gheezis Mokwa, who was born Vincent LaDuke, was a sacred teacher of Ojibwaa/Metis descent and the Founder and Medicine Chief of the Bear Tribe, a multi-racial, educational society. He was a world-renowned lecturer and teacher and the author or coauthor of eight books. He was publisher of the magazine Wildfire and founder of the World Earth Fund. Sun Bear was the founder and Medicine Chief of the Bear Tribe Medicine Society. He was born in 1929 on the White Earth Reservation in Minnesota.

As a young boy he began having visions which led to his development as a Shaman, Medicine Man and teacher. He studied with his uncles who were medicine men. He continued throughout his life to learn from his dreams and visions, as well as from other Native Teachers.

He believed that indigenous people the world over had much to offer to each other and to all peoples who came with a good heart.

Up until 1970, he worked only with native people—as a medicine man and helping them in different ways. The only time he went out to talk to non-natives was to raise money. Then in 1971, the Spirit told him that it was time to start working with non-native people. So he formed the Bear Tribe Medicine Society. He brought his medicine teachings to people of all race, color, sexuality and creed for the love of humanity and respect for Mother Earth; so that people could come together as one Earth Family.

Sun Bear led the Bear Tribe Medicine Society from 1971 until his death in 1992.  Wabun Wind worked as Medicine Chief until 1996, when other responsibilities called her away.  The chieftainship was then passed to Wind Daughter in 1996 who still leads the Bear Tribe today as Medicine Chief.

MY MEETING WITH SUN BEAR

I was training with Cherokee elders in Vermont USA in the mid 1980s when I saw a copy of the Many Smokes magazine produced by Sun Bear and friends. His face and the nature of the articles really resonated with me. Having very few means for travelling yet wanting to learn from this medicine man, in a half-hopeful attempt, like a fish line thrown into the sea, I sent him a letter inviting him to come teach in Quebec City. He responded and came.

I was very young then, still had short hair and didn’t really know how to organize for such a prestigious teacher. Yet, not once did he complain. He offered his teachings to the small groups I organized and did not ask for any money, seemingly happy with what the hat passed around gave us. At the very end, he took me apart and gave me a few pointers on how to organize. I didn’t feel ashamed or taken aback; the way he said this was very gentle. I was really impressed with the powerful teachings and his support and understanding. A few weeks later, I was gifted through his generosity and his understanding of my path on the red road with my first sacred pipe.

Later, I managed to go study with him in the States and did a vision quest under his guidance. And then invited him a second time to the Quebec Province. In our time together, we went to the north to spend time, offering teachings and ceremony to the Innu and Naskapi First Nations in Schefferville in the high north. I then organized grand events in Montreal and Quebec city to really honour him: large groups, hosting him in beautiful hotels. He was happy and I was too. It was a very special time, as it was during the Indian Summer, an armed confrontation between the Mohawk Nation in Kahnawake and Kanesatake against the Canadian Armed Forces and the Quebec Provincial Police. The Oka Crisis was a 78-day land dispute at the Mohawk community of Kanesatake (near the town of Oka) over plans to expand a golf course onto a sacred burial ground. This did impact us, as we had lower-than-expected attendance at our events. The Canadian media did portray the Mohawk Injuns as the bad guys and the majority white population did react in a negative manner. Sun Bear was a man of peace. He did not involve himself in any way in these issues. But we did pray together for the people of these communities. We well understood what they were fighting for. Once again, I was impressed with his stature, his wisdom and his teachings. On the last days I was honoured when he asked me to his room and gave me the initiation to be able to activate the sacred pipes and share this teaching with others. I was also gifted with a working pipe that could serve larger prayer circles.

The stories he told to illustrate the personal power a person can achieve were at the heart of his teachings. In an age where personal liberties are being increasingly limited and circumvented and where the truth is taboo and the agenda of great companies in collusion with the administrations of state the fabricated and accepted narrative, his example of walking his talk was inspiring and refreshing. He vibrated his medicine through the medicine wheels gatherings and his experiences with the thunder birds. Although he was a big man and a real bear, he was one of the gentlest and kindest men I’ve ever met. He was always ready to share his wisdom and knowledge. To me he was the most perfect mentor. Whenever I needed support or information, I would call the Bear Tribe and leave a message. Within a few days, I would get his call from wherever he was in the world. He travelled extensively to many parts of the world to carry his message of peace and unity with the earth-mother to many countries. Yet, he always had time for me. There was a prophecy in his nation that one day a bear would pierce the veil of the new world with its tongue. This is what he did. He opened the minds of the people to a world where we could live in the beauty of nature, in harmony with all beings, in community, living in fraternity and love. He shows us that this could once more be the real world.

One of the most perfect moments I experienced with him was in one of his sweat lodges. I was sitting beside him in the dark, amid stifling hot water vapour, experiencing deep healing. And then he would put his hand on my back. It would feel more like a huge bear paw, covering almost the whole of my upper back with an intense vibration of home, acceptance, healing, friendship and family. I cherish those moments as rare moments that transcend time, where we are all one, all together in a better world. By being in the teachings, on the sacred red road, in complete silence and stillness, and in ceremony, we could be the peace of the world. Words are too small to capture these moments beyond time, yet I’m guessing the reader can get the gist of it. In this we recognize a true teacher, one that walks his talk, is always there when you need him, and can translate and help you experience the real world, beyond the artificial, synthetic, fabricated civilized society. In his words this artificial destructive world is a modern dinosaur, slowly sinking into extinction. He would add: it’s OK to partake of its flesh while it’s still there. Yet one day the earth purification will come. Be ready for it. Expounding this aspect of the prophecies was also an integral part of his teachings.

Joy, peace, friendship, wisdom, knowledge, and power. When Sun Bear was there, these energies were there with us. He would recount when he had directed the lightning down with his eyes to specific places on the landscape as the thunder storm travelled over the mountains. He called the thunder down upon a great metal bear a student had gifted him to see what that would do. The thunderbirds were his brothers. He also carried the energy of the rattlesnake. After doing a small sprint in jail for refusing to fight in the Vietnam War, he went running in joy through the desert to feel again the glee of liberty. He surprised a large rattler snake that immediately bit him. He sat down with it to present his apologies for disturbing the rattler in its home. He then went to his home, locked the door and slept for 3 days. When he came out, he was well and was carrying rattlesnake medicine. He would use that energy for healing. He always had 3 silver rattlesnake pendants around his neck to honour this medicine he had received from grandfather rattlesnake. There were many stories like this to illustrate his personal power. He firmly believed that we all hold the potential to manifest our own personal power and that it is important for every being to incarnate and manifest their potential in the world.

His main medicine was the sacred pipe. I was with him for different ceremonies in different circumstances and could appreciate how he would honour in many ways this most sacred medicine. His teachings were those of the land and the earth. This is why he wrote The Medicine Wheel—Earth Astrology. Rather than look to the stars, he looked at the plants, the stones and the totem animals. The seasons and the elements were indicators of a person’s medicine as they travelled around the medicine wheel. He exemplified the sacred responsibility of the red race: being caretakers of the earth. Sun Bear encouraged and created land-based communities. He spoke of the prophecies and how to prepare for the great purification.

He wrote several books that I have listed below. His biography Sun Bear—The Path of Power can be of interest for all those who would like to explore more in depth who this man was.

Thus, this is a brief description of my most perfect teacher and mentor in the red road. We come to the end of a year of honouring his teachings on the Medicine Wheel on Invocation.ca’s social media posts. Here is some additional information for those who would look further.

Books by Sun Bear

• At Home in the Wilderness (1968)
  • Publisher: Naturegraph Publishers
• Buffalo Hearts: A Native American’s View of His Culture, Religion, and History (1986)
  • Publisher: Bear Tribe Publishing Co.

Books by Sun Bear and Wabun

• The Bear Tribe’s Self-Reliance Book (1977)
  • Publisher: Bear Tribe Publishing Co.
  • Co-authors: Sun Bear, Wabun, Nimimosha, and the Tribe
• The Medicine Wheel: Earth Astrology (1980)
  • Publisher: Prentice-Hall Press
  • Authors: Sun Bear and Wabun
• Sun Bear: The Path of Power (1983)
  • Publisher: Prentice Hall Press
  • Authors: Sun Bear (as told to Wabun and Barry Weinstock)
• Dancing with the Wheel: The Medicine Wheel Workbook (1991)
  • Publisher: Prentice Hall Press
  • Co-authors: Sun Bear, Wabun Wind, and Crysalis Mulligan
• Dreaming with the Wheel: How to Interpret Your Dreams Using the Medicine Wheel (1994)
  • Publisher: Prentice Hall Press
  • Co-authors: Sun Bear, Wabun Wind, and Shawnodese

Communities Carrying Sun Bear’s Teachings

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1058611337544677/

Wabun Wind’s Website

Marlise Wabun Wind’s Official Website: www.marlisewabunwind.com

This is her official website where she continues to share teachings about the Medicine Wheel and her experiences with Sun Bear

Website Features:

• Information about her books including The Medicine Wheel, Dreaming with the Wheel, and Woman of the Dawn
• Shop section offering books and Medicine Wheel cards
• Events page with information about her travelling teaching schedule and medicine wheel ceremonies
• Blog with teachings and insights from her seventy-plus years of experience

Marlise Wabun Wind spent sixteen years working with Sun Bear as his medicine helper, co-author, and co-founder of the Bear Tribe Community on Vision Mountain in Washington, and she continues to teach and travel, sharing the knowledge she gained from indigenous teachers and elders.

Panther Lodge Bear Tribe Medicine Society

• Led by Wind Daughter (Grandmother Wind Daughter), who became Medicine Chief in 1996 after Wabun Wind passed the leadership to her
• Website: www.winddaughter.com
• Located in Mobile, Alabama (moved there in 2019 from Arkansas)
• Offers membership benefits including exclusive access to teachings, ceremonies, medicine wheel instruction, medicine songs, and monthly newsletters
• Continues Sun Bear’s Medicine Wheel Gatherings tradition, with over 60,000 people having attended more than 72 gatherings in the US, Canada, and Europe since 1981

Community Features at Wind Daughter’s Site

• Teachings through Sacred Pipe, Medicine Wheel, Sweat Lodge, Earth Dance, drumming, singing, and ceremonies
• Regional circles in Michigan, Ontario, and other locations
• Regular online gatherings and in-person events
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