On Monday, June 26, Darryl Slim will lead a group of participants to explore the Eagle River Reserve in Edwards, with the aim of educating the group on Indigenous practices of self-understanding and healing through interaction with the natural world. Did a guided walk. A tribal member of the Dineh (formerly known as the Navajo) and spiritual and cultural advisor to Tipi Razors, Slim practices the methods of traditional Dineh medicine and applies that knowledge to walking. I have shared it with the people who participate.

“Today is about knowing what your body sounds like,” Slim said at the beginning of his talk. “Once you recognize the sounds in your body, discover it. We are the environment.”

The walk was the final event in the four-day marathon of the Tipi Razors Indigenous Wisdom Gathering, which began on Friday as part of Eagle Flight Day. Friday and Saturday events included ceremonial tipi raising, four-way horseback riding, and performances by Aboriginal dancers, while Sunday included talks on Aboriginal spirituality and youth gatherings.

A nonprofit organization registered in Colorado and South Dakota, Tipi Raisers works to unite Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples around four main pillars: poverty alleviation, seventh generation youth, indigenous wisdom and reconciliation. I am active in Although the organization currently works primarily with three tribes: the Lakota of the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, the Dine (Navajo) of Arizona, and the Hopi, their mission to connect non-Indigenous and Indigenous peoples includes all tribes and features the following events: citizens of many tribes.

“One of the things Tipi Razors are trying to do is give non-Indigenous peoples an Indigenous perspective on history, and an Indigenous perspective on how they walk the world and see trees and grass. to let people know,” said Dave Ventimiglia. , executive director of the Tipi Razors.

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The event is part of the Eagle Valley Land Trust’s Community Land Connection series, a series of free events aimed at connecting Eagle Valley Land Trust communities with protected areas and with each other. is a public event of In a meeting with Lori and Dave Ventimiglia, Jessica Furis, executive director of the Eagle Valley Land Trust, said, “We discussed the relationship between land conservation and the conversations and ways of life of Indigenous peoples.” said.

Eagle Resident Joette Gilbert coordinated the Tipi Razors’ trip to Eagle and worked with the Tipi Razors to organize a four-day Aboriginal wisdom gathering event. She also hosted her 25 tipi travelers on her property. “You are just one person, and you never know what you can do with that one person,” said Gilbert.

Gilbert spoke of the power of love and the ongoing efforts of Native Americans to combat centuries of colonization and conquest history.

“Did you know that the word Navajo means thief? It was given to them by the Spaniards. I am working hard to regain my identity,” she said.

Mr. Slim’s talk was rooted in the knowledge of tribal elders and focused on finding and healing your true self through experience. According to Slim, every part of the natural world is built into each human being.

“No one can experience anything outside himself. Everything is experienced within,” he said. He explained that the chirping of nearby birds or even one’s own voice is not heard from the outside, but experienced inside by the listener.

“It’s my job to listen deeply,” said Slim, who lives in Mesa, Arizona. He was raised in Dineh (Navajo) country. Slim’s knowledge, he said, comes from his grandfather’s medicines and Dineh traditions.

“Our traditional ritual is to be happy to sit and listen and let the healing heal itself, because we can only heal ourselves,” he said. .

The type of healing that Slim practices involves an individualistic focus, which Slim deliberately promotes.

“Some people say I am selfish, thinking only of myself, but it really isn’t. You know how to help, you know how to help someone in need,” Slim said.

For Slim, healing begins with being fully engaged with the world around you. “Many nature walkers walk so fast they can’t even hear themselves,” he says. He refocused the participants on a walk to recognize the interaction between them and the earth around them, such as how their feet massaged the ground. “When we walk on this earth, when we use our senses, your body starts healing,” said Slim.

“When we walk, we want to walk here, not the destination,” Slim said. Part of “walking here” involves simply noticing and embracing power without naming or judging it. “When something appears to us and we don’t understand it, it’s because we’re not here. No,” said Slim.

Habits like taking off your shoes three times a day and taking three seconds to recognize the elements of the Earth are part of Slim’s medicine cabinet.

“Stop, for this moment you can take it all back,” he said.

Slim wanted walkers to bring back their own experiences, not his words, to find their own path to healing.

“The more I listen to myself, the more I realize that if you are on earth, take off your shoes and swim in natural spring water, there are many medicines out there,” he said. .