Few people have been as instrumental in opening the mysteries of the Native American spiritual path to seekers of all races and cultures as has Grandfather Hyemeyohsts Storm. His book, Seven Arrows, introduced the power and beauty of the Medicine Wheels and provided a glimpse into the history and heartache of the Indian Wars of the late 1800s from a Native author’s perspective. He is one of the acknowledged pioneers of Native American literature, publishing the 1972 work by which he is best known, the seminal Seven Arrows.

FLYING RED HORSE- Tell me a little about your history – your roots.

HS- I was born Arthur Storm Jr. in 1933 on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation in Montana. I am an enrolled Indian on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation and, as Arthur Storm Jr., I can be found on the rolls at the area B.I.A. office in Billings, Montana. Hyemeyohsts is my given, Spiritual, Cheyenne name.

Beginning in my youth, I had the greatest fortune to become the apprentice of the brilliant and powerful Zero Chief, and Holy Woman, Estcheemah. She was a Mayan Breed Indian who was born during the bloody and sorrowful Indian Wars of the late 1800’s. She was one of the wisest and most powerful Medicine Chiefs of her time, and a Carrier and teacher of the Medicine Wheels. She taught of the histories and sophisticated knowledge of the Zero Chiefs.

FRH- What inspired you to bring your understanding of the wisdom of Native America to the world at large?

HS- The Wisdom and Beauty of the Medicine Wheels inspired me to write about them. My elders and I knew that such profound information belonged to all the people of the world.

FRH- Do you feel the messages contained in Seven Arrows and your two other books, Song Of Heyoehkah and Lightningbolt, are still valid in this day and age of personal computers and global positioning technology?

HS- The Spirit of Life and the Philosophy of Life are more precious now than ever. The Medicine Wheels are an irreplaceable source of Wisdom that guides people in how to bring balance and healing to the Self - and renew the Balance between ourselves and our precious Living Earth. This is one of the most essential challenges that we all face in this time. What we have always taught as Zero Chiefs is a very simple thing: We teach people to appreciate themselves and celebrate their lives, and that way they can understand that they are a self, a being, and that they have choice . . . that means that they have a mind. And that we as human beings can make a choice to destroy or to build or to love or to ignore. We have all these things to teach us as a spirit.

FRH- What is your answer to the vocal minority of people that refute your efforts and even challenge your status as a legitimate Native American?

HS- I never publicized my Indian enrollment because, from the very beginning, I did not want people to believe that a person had to be an enrolled Indian to learn of the sophisticated Earth science and spiritual philosophy of the Medicine Wheels. Of course there are nay-sayers and detractors; for anyone who becomes well known, this is a fact of life. However, these things mean little in the face of the fact of the Beauty and Wisdom that I have had the opportunity to share with humanity.

In Seven Arrows I share these words from my teachers: “The Universe is a Mirror of the people, and each person is a mirror of every other person.” I invite you to look into the ancient Mirror of our Medicine Wheels, revealed in my books, and discover the timeless reflection of your own Self and Life. This is what each person must do.

FRH- Do you have any new literary projects in the works?

HS- I have written over three hundred essays and two other books that will soon be published. I have been busy teaching and sharing the spiritual wisdom of the Medicine Wheels on many reservations and to other peoples over half of our Earth for over forty years.

FRH- I understand that you are making your first ever visit to Georgia to teach. What took you so long? [grin]

HS- I am now in my seventies. After an extraordinary decade long teaching tour, that encompassed twenty-four states in the U.S., Mexico, Costa Rica, ten countries in Europe, Israel, and Egypt, my wife and I needed to refocus ourselves in new ways. For the last five years we have been involved in exciting new research and writing projects. However, this is the first year that we have accepted invitations to teach, and we are happy to be bringing our ancient lineage of Teachings of the Medicine Wheels to the beautiful state of Georgia- to lead a week-long Ceremonial Teaching this coming October.

Flying Red Horse is an Earth Teacher. He can be contacted at circlesofwisdom@live.come More information about the autumn Ceremonial Teaching with Grandfather Storm can be found at http://circlesofwisdom.wordpress.com