The stack of wood covered with the tarp is my supply of firewood for the tipi ceremonies. In August of last year I decided to build this retreat and tipi grounds. I had been sick for quite some time but kept battling and seeking alternative treatments after the neurologists said my case was too complicated and there was nothing they could do.
I hadn’t picked up an axe or chainsaw in 5-6 years. I began working up my endurance and my ability to tolerate working in the Texas heat be splitting firewood for my first tipi ceremony. The tradition I have been taught is to use firewood that is 4-5’ long and split into manageable pieces, maybe 3-4†max thickness. The tipi fireman needs to be able to handle them all night long as they are fed into the fire. Only one end is actually burning where several tips are crossed for the ceremonial fire. There is no easy way to split 5’ long oak logs. My friends in California use cottonwood. It seems much easier to split but I only have oak, cedar, hickory, elm and black gum.
By December I was cutting down and cutting up trees to make the clearing for my tipi grounds. It’s been a long and arduous 15 months but physically I am in better shape than I ever thought I would be. I’m 65 and I dare say there aren’t many that could hang with me for a full day once I start working.
My first ceremony was supposed to be 10/23 but I had to cancel it for now. A close friend lost a daughter and then a granddaughter and he and his family are in mourning. I didn’t feel right holding a gratitude ceremony without this friend or while he and his family are hurting. I’m still going to put up my tipi next weekend just to check a box for myself. Proving to myself that I would have been ready.
