Two Feathers Medicine Clan Fire Keeper Mike Milewski leads Native American Prayer Tie Workshops and Ceremonies.  Mike's teachers are from different Native American tribes and traditions and he honors all of them by offering his knowledge of Prayer Ties and helping those who are interested to make Prayer Ties and participate in a Prayer Tie Ceremony.  

 

The current round of Prayer Tie Workshops and Ceremonies Mike is leading makes use of Prayer Tie materials given to him by one of his teachers Star Eagle (Rudy Congers) a White Mountain Apache medicine man  from the Pima tribe who has walked on.  Rudy was taken from his parents as a child and brought to a boarding school to learn how to be an American.  It took Rudy decades to find his parents and sister and reconnect with his family legacy of medicine people.  Not surprisingly, Rudy had become a nurse in the Navy during the Vietnam War and he combined his knowledge of nursing with the knowledge he gained in learning from his family the ways of medicine people. Mike honors the knowledge Rudy shared with him and the prayer tie materials Rudy left in his keeping.  Mike usually asks Pipe Carriers from different tribes and others to be  present  to assist in these ceremonies when it is possible. 

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Prayer ties were made at Galaudet Gallery by Eau Claire community members during three separate Prayer Tie Ceremony events.  This fourth event concludes the prayer tie ceremony by burning the prayer ties in a ceremonial fire with words said, music and more prayer.  Everyone is invited to come and experience this wonderful ceremony.

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Mike Milewski is a member of the Two Feathers Medicine Clan and a distinguished fire keeper for the All My Relations Sundance held each July in Southern Illinois. Fire Keepers work 24 hours during the Sundance Ceremony to keep the ceremonial fire burning, to heat the grandfather stones for each sweat lodge ceremony, to keep the drummers’ drums taunt and to attend to people who need assistance with fire medicine.  Mike has been fortunate to learn from two respected elders, one of them Rudy Conger (Star Eagle) was a White Mountain Apache Medicine Man whose prayer tie materials have been used during these ceremonies after the appropriate amount of time elapsed after Rudy had walked on. These four ceremonies, three to create the prayer ties and the fourth to burn them, have been held to honor Rudy’s medicine and teaching.

 

Prayer ties are colored cotton cloth with tobacco tied inside which are connected by a string and placed on a ceremonial tree or bush for nature to contribute prayers to the ties.  Sometimes prayer ties are left up for years, allowing nature to choose which prayers are heard, by untying the prayer ties, and which prayers need more prayer.   But for the Sundance Ceremony the prayer ties the Sundancers and other participants create are burned when the ceremony ends to send their prayers and sacrifices into the universe.  Mike has been following this ceremony throughout these events and will burn the prayer ties from these ceremonies on November 5, 2016.

 

Simply showing others how to make Prayer Ties is a ceremony in itself but Mike also enters into the ceremonial space to conduct the Prayer Tie Ceremony.  During his workshop and ceremony you will learn: 

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• How to make a Prayer Ties using materials provided by medicine man Star Eagle

• The history and symbolism of Prayer Ties, Ceremonial Smudging, the Native American Sundance and information about the Prayer Tie Ceremony 

• How to make a Spirit Knot

• The Prayer Tie Ceremony:

  •  Gathering your materials

  • Smudging

  • Setting Right Intention

  • Putting your prayers into the tobacco and cloth

  • Tying your Prayer Tie so Spirit can access 

  • Tying your Prayer Tie to a natural power place outside

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