Traditionalists must be very careful

Eastern Woodland Tobacco is still Herbs (Kinnick-Kinnick)!

While trying to get information across country making ready for another sacred ceremony it became clear just how hard this is getting to be.

The traditionalists must be very careful about what they say, do and write because there are copycat phonies everywhere they go just waiting to pounce on anything that they believe can make a buck off the unknowing public.

For instance, in the early 1980's when someone said " O.K. so you cannot take money, what can you take to thank you for your work in my ceremony"?

The answer was, " A Spiritual Teacher (Leader) can always use Tobacco because a good teacher is always busy and at each meeting, gathering or ceremony they use a lot of tobacco".

So, throughout the 80's and 90's phony native teachers would hand out and except a pack of cigarettes as payment for services.

If you wish to give a cigarette or two to a known smoker, this is between you and that smoker.

If you wish to gift a Spiritual Teacher for any reason, please do not hand over a cancer stick.

Traditionalist do teach many ceremonies like naming, weddings, funerals and adoptions however, as with the cigarettes, copycat phonies jumped on this also.

Now at many gatherings and/or powwows you might hear, " I just got my Indian name" or "I was just adopted by so and so"!

NOT SO!

It takes weeks, months and sometimes years for most of these ceremonies when done correctly!

If money or goods of any kind other then herb changed hands, you have been duped by one of these phonies!