Cleveland Mountain, Florence

I headed to Cour de lene, the city. My intention was to sell some art however once arriving, I lost the enthusiasm for it and headed to Missoula.

Going from Coure de lene to Missoula was trippy… beautiful country beautiful… I stopped at Cataldo Mission where a Rendezvous was going on. The mission shone white against the magnificent mountains, but the feeling of the land was one of having been forgotten… strange… forgotten while the people got tunnel vision with Christianity…. and forgot respect and honor for the living world around them.… .the area is one long valley until it spills out on the plains of Montana.

As I passed through Kellogg and Wallace, I knew about the mining but it was at Missoula it was put in perspective. Mines 100 years old abandoned and never properly closed or cleaned up are leaking slowly the arsenic and mercury and toxins into the aquifer, poisoning slowly the drinking water in the ground… imagine when all the underground water is poisoned what will people do then. They are wanting the government to clean it up….

Having been associated with superfund sites at Quapaw, Oklahoma as well as Onondaga Lake in NY, I can say that the gov spends billions to just move the poison around. Science does not have the tech to change the poisons to something useable… So again the ceremonies are the only possible “savior” of the dilemma faced by people throughout the area… This area is outside my circle but there is a Culture Center there and the people there might help with the ceremony on the NE mountain which I have yet to find. I had just missed a gathering, and on the weekend, nothing much was available to get done.

Monday morning, I went to visit the Flathead. I headed through Arlee, and on HW93 North to St. Ignacious. As I drove, I noticed how the trees had lost their vibrancy. the rich blue green of the north was yellowed with many browned dead trees among them..


View of the valley as I head into Confederated Tribes land toward the east.		Tribal Buffalo (little spots on the hill) to the west.

I found the Longhouse and went in to speak to Tony Incosholla. He is an Indian man with white hair and a wonderful energy about him I told him what I wanted, that I was looking for someone who hears the mountains and the Earth Spirits as they are asking for healing. He thought a bit and sent me to the language instructor. Then he gave me a very warm hug and I headed south back to Arlee. .

The Elder I was sent to was tall and 80 years old. He had sat quietly while I said what I had to say,,,,, I handed him the tobacco and sage and said the spirits of the land are asking for healing and I was here to ask for help from the People in whose traditional land this mountain was in. AND then he started talking, and for talking to an Indian with brown skin and black eyes,,, wearing an Indian vest, I could tell that it had not gone well.

The old Salish chief I was sent to was 80 and had established 3 Pentecostal churches in the area.. He informed me that the Salish had taken back their lands and were taking care of the forests- water-land themselves… Every time I mentioned Mother Earth, he would wince and cut me off. He took my tobacco and sage as he is required by custom but he refused the other protocols which come from the Earth Mother. Finally, he said I had four minutes left of his time, use it well if there was anything else I wanted to say, as he had a class he had to be too. Finally, he said he would pray aobut it and take it to sweat, and at the last moment he agreed to take the earth bag containing the crystals from Onaughtsegowa. I thanked him for his time, and hoped that he would get the answer.

Some how, I was undaunted. There was no retribution at myself of having “messed” this up. It seemed matter of fact. I “asked “ if I should go looking for someone else and the feeling was “no” so I didn’t. I did have other names and other towns and other tribes like the Kootenai, or Flathead, I could go to as the Salish are just one member of a confederation. But I felt I had done what I had come to do so I continued. I had a mountain to find.

Then I went to Lolo, south of Missoula. Here I stopped at a convenience store to get something to drink and when I got back to the car, Dag had moved from the front seat to the back and where he had been sitting was an owl feather. I did not bring or collect any owl feathers… there was no place for it to come from. Aha, a "gift" from the Salish Elder. So I called Blue Thunder and we took care of the owl feather, giving the owl thanks for coming to me as a friend to make me aware of friend and foe, to be a guardian and a guide and added it to MY medicine. Owl is woman medicine so this could be a good thing that had happened. Then I proceeded to find my last mountain.

I “asked” where should I go? I “heard” go about 15 minutes south, so I did. A small gentle mountain was at mile marker 79 while on the other side of the road is a ski hill, and the entire range of grandfather mountains of the great divide. So I thought here she is…. But I need a sign… so as I drove a little farther, I came across Looking Glass camp grounds which lay at the foot of this mountain… and that was my sign… a couple of years ago, an Indian on a brown and white painted pony started showing up at places where healing was needed, sometimes with two other riders.… Once he appeared with 12 riders and shook his coup stick at me and was yelling but I could not understand him. I “knew” him to be Looking Glass… one of the chiefs with Chief Joseph… Looking Glass had great significance to me so I pulled into the camp grounds and found a Fish and Game agent that I spoke to. I learned that the mountain was called Cleveland. The front part was bought up by private developers and the back part was state land. And I learned that Looking Glass was a Salish Chief… So that means that the Salish Adventure is not yet over. I have some serious business yet to do with that Salish Elder. Oh what fun…..

Then I headed back to Lewiston through Lolo Pass. Construction there added 2 hours to the travel time so that I did not get to stop at Kamiah to visit with my other Nez Perce person…