American Indian prayer leader Delvin Rogers reverently packed the tobacco into his sacred peace pipe, then methodically set about offering prayers to each of the four directions, as well as above and below himself.
The small but intensely focused crowd watched in silence as Delvin explained each of his actions and the deeply sacred symbolism in all the elements of the ceremony: the pipe, the tobacco, the directions, the sun, the earth and the Native prayers to the Spirit.
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Rogers has become a good friend over the past year and a half as we’ve explored faith practices together. We also discovered how much we have in common as middle-aged fathers of young adult children finding their own ways in the world.
He invited me to attend his presentation which served as the kickoff to Native American Heritage Month at our local state university.
To be fair, Delvin invites me to a lot of his ceremonies, sweat lodges and others alike, because he’s gracious and knows that I have a great interest in his Indigenous faith practices. It just happened to be that I was able to attend this one, and I am so grateful for our ongoing exchanges about faith.
Delvin is an enrolled member of the Three Affiliated Tribes — Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, which calls central North Dakota home. And his journey to becoming an Indigenous spiritual helper is as fascinating as he is. In his early 20s, Delvin — whose spiritual name is RedHawk — recognized his chaotic life was taking him down a bad path in a quick hurry, and in October 1996, he chose a life of sobriety.
Since then, the great Spirit has been beckoning him to answer his call as a spiritual man, and hence, he’s earned the rites to operate a sweat lodge and fasting camp, as well as being a pipe carrier and Sun Dancer with chest, back and arm piercings.
If you’re not familiar with what all of that means, that’s OK! I wasn’t at first either. But Delvin has patiently been teaching me for the past 18 months.
On this occasion in early November, when I was privileged to witness Delvin’s pipe ceremony, I was struck by how the ritual elements were so familiar to me. You see, in our Lutheran tradition, we have two sacraments: communion and baptism. And Delvin’s beautiful Indigenous pipe ritual and accompanying prayer seemed as sacramental as anything I’ve ever performed as an ordained pastor.
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I am so grateful for Delvin’s continued welcoming spirit as I learn more about his spiritual ways. And I pray that you, too, find yourself filled with the curiosity of learning more about others’ faith practices. I am confident it makes us more faithful people ourselves. Amen.
The Trust Project
