SACRED FIREPLACE, LIFE AND TEACHINGS OF A MEDICINE MAN

THIS IS A BRAND NEW BOOK

SACRED FIREPLACE

(Oceti Wakan)

Life and Teachings of a Lakota Medicine Man

226 pages

by Pete S Catches, sr

edited by Peter V Catches

the blurb on the back states...Oceti Wakan (Sacred Fireplace) is a vision share by Pete Catches Sr (Petaga yuha Mani) and his son Peter V Catches (Zintkala Oyate), both Spotted Eagle medicine men of the Oglala Lakota. In Pete's words, Oceti Wakan is a response to events that have devastated the Dakota people over the past six generations, and is focused on creating a place 'for the healing of the family as a whole by rekindling Lakota spiritual values and culture'. Sacred Fireplace is part of Pete Catches' contribution to making his vision a concrete reality. A healer and teacher, Petaga Yuha Mani (He Walks With Hot Coals) was credited with reviving the traditional Sundance among the Lakota. In 1964 he was named Sundance chieg by the Oglala Sioux tribal council, the only such distinction in tribal history.

Pete Catches lived on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota throughout his life, and for decades healed and instructed both Natives and non-Natives near his home and off the reservation. this book describes his struggles to embrace the Spotted Eagle medicine way, Lakota legends and ceremonies, and reflections on the history and culture of his people and on his own life. Long awaited by those who knew Pete Catches and his work, Sacred Fireplace is a major legacy of his exemplary life and the essence of his teachings in his own words.

Pete V Catches, the descendant of 37 generations of medicine men, is recognised as the Keeper of the Spotted Eagle Way medicine, oral history, sacred rites and experiential teachings. for the past 23 years he has conducted the Spotted Eagle Sundance near his home on Pine Ridge