Interview with Grandfather Big Tree🌲🌳Medicine Man

Elders Legacy Project with Medicine Man and Shaman on his journey of Life's lessons and Blessings.

Photo 2006- Me in B.C. with Big Grandpi tree

I want to welcome New friends and introduce you to this magical community of Brother’s and Sister’s.

Before I get on with the magical sacred connections of gathering Big Tree’s story and how he has lived his multidimensional selves, in this lifetime. I wish to give you a past, present, and future view of who we are, and where we are going on this storytelling journey.

You see, many of us have been circling since 2016 in a private platform as I shared my path of keeping magic alive, as best as I can in this dense Realm. The good, the bad, the ugly ….the beautiful…and with deep gratitude the miraculous.

Sections of my life’s path have been a voice/ recordkeeper for a very special man. In Whom I had the privilege, Honour, and soul contract to work with since 1995, my Beloved Elder David Courchene Jr from Manitoba and the visionary and creator of The Turtle Lodge. I began a blog dedicated to his teachings in 2008 Sacred Connections Connecting back to Mother Earth and All our Relations

You see the reason I tell you this is because Dave is now in the spirit world and I began 2023 writing monthly about the Wisdom and the Prophecies he shared with me particularly the Warriors of the Rainbow, in my memoir. Because of a volunteer project this spring called “Elders Legacy Project,” I realize I boxed myself in to just share about Grandfather Dave. Today I am even more grateful that our paths crisscrossed many times and I didn’t lose one Elder, I gained two more Grandfathers, Big Tree and Gary Black Bear, along with Reverend Paul who started weekly community drumming circles.

Today I’m offering the first of three interviews I had this Spring and will tell them over the next two Sundays. After that, Storytelling will continue with sharing the memoir of my path with David Courchene and sections from the forthcoming book “Magical Sacred Swan and Soul Story.”

**Please note I’ve enabled the Paid button for friends and supporters to get Chapters of forthcoming book, memoirs, and ebooks.**

Without further ado, I move us on to meeting Big Tree and his Elder’s message that I’ve rewritten from the original submission to : https://www.belongingbrant.com/elders-legacy-project

Photo Big Tree sent me so I could recognize him in the restaurant.

I had the honour to sit down with Rodger Hill, to whom I was first introduced to as “Yogi Raja” and also “Big Tree” from his son. He told me his favorite name is Big Tree, so that is how I wish to introduce you to him. Big Tree is an Elder with Relations in Six Nations. He was born in New York and is Onondaga (of the Six Nations Confederacy). He is a shaman and a unique medicine man.

He moved to be with family in Ontario when he got out of the Marines in 1975. When he arrived one of his uncles told him, “There are two paths you can walk: the spiritual or the material. Choose wisely.”

At the same time in 1975, he began a journey of doing Hatha yoga from a TV show with Richard Hittleman then bought a book, and followed along.

Big Tree’s yoga journey continued to evolve, and he became a certified teacher in Kundalini Yoga. In the more recent years, he leans more towards Bhakti Yoga which is a devotional path. Elder Big Tree shared with me that one of his life lessons is seeing and experiencing humans can get anything they want with meditation. From getting to know his story he has chosen wisely and is a knowledge keeper in several different interests and healing modalities he has learned over the years.

It was the year 1994 when he went to hear a medicine man from Nova Scotia who came to Ontario. This medicine man was a blind man named David Cheeo. He gave such a powerful talk that Big Tree knew he had to work with him. Not only was he learning to be a traditional medicine man from this Elder, but Big Tree also became his escort on his trips to Ontario.

Big Tree’s life path has taken him down the road to become a pipe carrier, and able to lead sweat lodges and other Ceremonies. He is a Sundancer and committed to dancing in South Dakota for many years, where he had the honour to be in a pipe ceremony with the main pipe carrier in the USA, Chief Orville Looking Horse. Chief Looking Horse was also his teacher, who guided him as a Sundancer, Pipe carrier and to run sweat lodges.

You can really get the sense that Big Tree has followed his heart and explored different ways of healing the body, mind, spirit and soul for himself and for the benefit of others. His first Elder used Hypnosis to help people heal and he encouraged Big Tree to be certified in it too. Big Tree also taught Tai Chi for 20 years. He is a Reiki Master who took his first level one in the 1990s in Niagara and became able to teach others in 2002.

He still offers Reiki Certifications today. His own sessions are now a combination of energy healing of Reiki, breath work, and being able to suggest herbs for weak areas as he can scan in the body of a client. He’s his own brand of Reiki Medicine Man.

He did have a close brush with death a few years ago and he told me,

I am even more grounded in feeling blessed to enjoy creation as the Creator intended.

He knows everything is here for a reason and he looks upon the plants as his friends. He blesses and honours the herbs, plants, and medicines with respect, love, and appreciation for being in his life. The medicine he shares with the community now has the beautiful intentions and prayers he has added.

Photo 2006- me tree hugging in B. C.

Big Tree can also be found helping at his son’s amazing crystal store at Six Nations called “Central Fire Crystals. His son Jordan, the owner, has the most knowledge about crystals that I have ever come across, and believe me, I’ve been collecting crystals off and on for over 30 years. This young man is impressive! I didn’t ask if Big Tree was just as knowledgeable, but I’m pretty sure he knows his crystals too. He is a father not just to Jordan, and he is a grandfather as well.

I asked him if he could share some of his wisdom for the youth.

He said, “Many are lost and there is no spiritual connection to something greater.”

He told me, “A simple practice of gratitude, can open the doors to Miracles in your life. It can be as simple as one thing to be thankful for in the morning and when you first go to bed. He asks,

“What can you be thankful for?”

He went on to say, “And I know for a fact too, it makes life a lot better to live with a grateful heart.”

His daily prayer is, “Peace of Mind from the Creator, and to help me have a pure heart a good mind and a loving soul.”

By Margarit Brigham aka Magical aka Margarita

I gleamed more wisdom from Big Tree, such as, being Adopted into a First Nations family. With the recent controversy about Buffy Saint Marie's heritage, I will share my perspective and about my own adoption into a Nation. This is only for the paid supporters eyes, minds, and hearts.

I am grateful, I as an Elder along with the Elders I interviewed, are still alive for our lives to collide. It’s so precious for me to collect Elders’ stories in this current age we are living in and to pass on mine.

Don’t by shy my friends and engage with community in this new space where we can support each other in this time line split, and the light-hearted magic that waits us :)

• My turn to ask you, my magical friends.. “What are you grateful for at this now moment?”

• Are there any takeaways from Big Tree’s story meaningful to you? Leave a comment below and/or share with a friend who could benefit.

• Is your path similar to Big Tree’s (and mine too) exploring and offering many different modalities?

Stay magical xo