We all arrive at the same time and the first priority is to set up camp. Then we get the fires going for the Sweat that will precede the visioners before they go 'up on the hill'. Beforehand, the visioners have gone up into the woods or meadows and marked their spot. After the Sweat, wherein they take a vow of silence, they are assisted up to those spots. And then the runners come back to camp, leaving the visioners with just the Creator.

Their sacred space is marked off first by an offering of tobacco (or cornmeal) placed on the ground in a clockwise fashion. Then they place peeled willow branches in each of the 4 directions with 2 in the East to form a gateway. There are three other peeled branches to honor the Mother Earth, the Sky Nations and then the Creator. And then the prayer ties are use to connect the willow branches.

My prayer ties are usually cut into two inch squares. I put a pinch of tobacco which represents my prayer, into the center of it, fold it up and then tie them in a continuous fashion on a cotton string. Once this space is established, it becomes incredibly sacred to the vision.

The support back in basecamp are hard workers. They keep the fire going in a pit full of rocks for 24 hours straight, every day until the visioners come down off of the hill. We also eat and drink for those up on the hill. This is actually VERY important. When you are up on the hill and you are fasting, you must get through the struggles of thirst and hunger. One of the ways that the visioner is able to do that is by envisioning someone in camp eating and drinking for them. They could 'see' us and it helped them lot. We down in basecamp have a continuos sweat lodge open. If you felt the need to go into lodge to pray for one of the visioners, you could do so on a moment's notice.

I was in charge a lot because of Tu Bear's physical condition (very high blood pressure). That's alright. I felt okay about my stepping up for her. If you haven't already guessed, I think she's pretty wonderful. She's just the finest human being. We are the same age, with her being 2 weeks OLDER than me. Giggle. She's fun too! Anyway, I found myself leading a lot of sweats in her stead.

Before the visioners come down off of the hill, we clean up basecamp and decorate the surrounding area with waluta bundles and prayer ties. The color of the material is dependant upon what it stands for. (The color scheme changes a bit from nation to nation but this is the Chahta version.)

• Yellow - East - new beginnings
• Red - South - childlike wonder and joy
• Black - West - visions and bear energy
• White - North - the grandmother's position.... one of great wisdom
• Green - Mother Earth - the greatest of healers and transformer of sickness
and gloom into joy
• Blue - Sky Nations - Sacred because it carries our prayers up to the
• Creator. It also is home to the winged ones, the greatest of which is the Golden Eagle.
• Purple - Creator and co-creator with us of our realities

And then it's 3 AM that last morning and I was called upon to lead the Morningstar sweat. In this sweat, we give thanks to the morning star which precedes the sun which brings the visioners down off of the hill. It was my first time to lead this ceremony.... It was magical for me.

More to come....