{"id":127,"date":"2015-09-07T01:59:46","date_gmt":"2015-09-07T01:59:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/societyforritualarts.com\/coreopsis\/fall-2015-issue\/?p=127"},"modified":"2015-09-11T15:15:07","modified_gmt":"2015-09-11T19:15:07","slug":"interview-fawn-journeyhawk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/societyforritualarts.com\/coreopsis\/fall-2015-issue\/interview-fawn-journeyhawk\/","title":{"rendered":"An Interview with Fawn Journeyhawk:  Native Elder, Healer, Visionary, Storyteller, Craftsperson, &#038; Wisdom-Keeper"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">She won&#8217;t let you snap a photo of her. She doesn&#8217;t like talking about herself. But this Native American wisdom-keeper has a lot to say.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p>By\u00a0Ronald L. Boyer<!--more--><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_131\" style=\"width: 477px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/societyforritualarts.com\/coreopsis\/fall-2015-issuewp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Fawn_Journeyhawks_Buffalo_Jaw_Bone_War_Club_by_Carly_Turner.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-131\" class=\"wp-image-131 \" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/societyforritualarts.com\/coreopsis\/fall-2015-issuewp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Fawn_Journeyhawks_Buffalo_Jaw_Bone_War_Club_by_Carly_Turner-300x238.jpg?resize=467%2C371&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"467\" height=\"371\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/societyforritualarts.com\/coreopsis\/fall-2015-issue\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Fawn_Journeyhawks_Buffalo_Jaw_Bone_War_Club_by_Carly_Turner.jpg?resize=300%2C238&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/societyforritualarts.com\/coreopsis\/fall-2015-issue\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Fawn_Journeyhawks_Buffalo_Jaw_Bone_War_Club_by_Carly_Turner.jpg?resize=1024%2C811&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/societyforritualarts.com\/coreopsis\/fall-2015-issue\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Fawn_Journeyhawks_Buffalo_Jaw_Bone_War_Club_by_Carly_Turner.jpg?w=1204&amp;ssl=1 1204w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 467px) 100vw, 467px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-131\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo courtesy of Carly Turner<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the winter of 2009, I moved from Hollywood to Ashland, Oregon, at the request of a friend, a Mayan shaman and \u201cTata.\u201d During my residence there, I had the rare fortune of participating in ritual ceremonies with shamans and Indian Doctors representing many indigenous tribes, including the Maya, Aztec-Toltecs, Blackfeet, and Mohawks, as well as Debassah Guyot, spiritual leader of the 26-million member Oromo tribal nation of northeast Africa. One day during the harvest season of 2010, my old friend and colleague, Dr. Stanley Krippner, a renowned international authority on shamanism and spiritual healers,<sup>1<\/sup><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> suggested that I introduce myself to Fawn Journeyhawk, reputedly one of the most gifted natural healers he had ever encountered in more than five decades as a researcher. Fawn had also recently moved to Ashland, and Stan had a hidden agenda: He had been sending researchers to study Fawn for decades, but for some reason\u2014she would say her energy field\u2014all attempts at video or audio recordings failed when the often very expensive recording equipment spontaneously malfunctioned or self-destructed, the rare ethnographic interviews lost forever.<sup>2<\/sup><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My first meeting with Fawn in Ashland was unforgettable for several reasons.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I drove to a quiet neighborhood and parked outside the humble older ranch-style home where Fawn was staying. I entered bearing traditional gifts of tobacco plus newly picked Indian corn and squash grown by the Red Earth Descendants on the old farm at the edge of town where I was living. As I entered, Fawn invited me to sit with her in the shade of the open patio overlooking her backyard. Once seated, I looked up and immediately noticed, lying down a few yards away, a buck mule deer with a large rack, munching flowers and calmly observing us across the lawn. \u201cHe jumped the fence with a broken leg, probably hit by a car,\u201d Fawn told me matter-of-factly, \u201cso I guess he needs to stay here for some healing.\u201d Quite a first impression, I must admit.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_128\" style=\"width: 470px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/societyforritualarts.com\/coreopsis\/fall-2015-issuewp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Plains_Warhorse_Dance_Sticks_Made_by_Fawn_Journeyhawk_by_Carly_Turner.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-128\" class=\" wp-image-128\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/societyforritualarts.com\/coreopsis\/fall-2015-issuewp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Plains_Warhorse_Dance_Sticks_Made_by_Fawn_Journeyhawk_by_Carly_Turner-300x152.jpg?resize=460%2C233&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Photo courtesy Carly Turner\" width=\"460\" height=\"233\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/societyforritualarts.com\/coreopsis\/fall-2015-issue\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Plains_Warhorse_Dance_Sticks_Made_by_Fawn_Journeyhawk_by_Carly_Turner.jpg?resize=300%2C152&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/societyforritualarts.com\/coreopsis\/fall-2015-issue\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Plains_Warhorse_Dance_Sticks_Made_by_Fawn_Journeyhawk_by_Carly_Turner.jpg?resize=1024%2C520&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/societyforritualarts.com\/coreopsis\/fall-2015-issue\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Plains_Warhorse_Dance_Sticks_Made_by_Fawn_Journeyhawk_by_Carly_Turner.jpg?w=1198&amp;ssl=1 1198w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 460px) 100vw, 460px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-128\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo courtesy Carly Turner<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Then there was the presence, inside the adjoining rooms, of Fawn\u2019s friends and Medicine Helpers, a pair of female shaman elders, one from a North American tribe, the other a Hawaiian Kahuna. Fawn fondly refers to them as members of her \u201cAlpha pack.\u201d Later, I spoke at length with them about the initiatory rituals and ceremonies I had been attending that summer, and shared some of my experiences while passing around some talismans and Medicine objects for examination. These wise elders nodded warmly, asked pertinent questions, blessed the objects, and offered knowing comments and encouragement. In short, they fully understood, from inside out, the other world I had been participating in that summer. As we spoke, I thought of Agnes Whistling Elk, the Cree \u201cMedicine Woman\u201d in Lynn Andrews\u2019 80s bestseller of the same name.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Finally, there is Fawn herself, a diminutive \u201cbreed\u201d of mixed European and native Mandan (Crow) and Shawnee ancestry with long black, slightly graying hair and an easy-going yet darkly humorous personality that lets you know she\u2019s been around the block a time or two. Fawn is not only wise, but street-wise. An elder in her 70\u2019s, Fawn is still slim and attractive and struck me at the time as an aging spitfire, full of spunk and absolutely fearless. Her quiet intensity and warm, welcoming energy\u2014which at once set me at ease\u2014is coupled with a tough demeanor, seasoned by years growing up on reservations and countless adventures in the wilderness and on the road, that says at once, \u201cI can see right through you so don\u2019t try any bullshit.\u201d But Fawn\u2019s toughness is only a thin shell veiling her warm and deeply caring heart, the compassionate heart of a healer. A high-level shaman of the Mandan and Shawnee tribes, Fawn is profoundly humble about her gifts. She does not consider herself a healer, but rather an instrument, someone with the ability to connect others to what she calls the \u201cHigher Powers of Healing.\u201d She estimates a 90% success rate curing chronic and terminal disorders, including some of the least treatable conditions.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> She refers with a shrug to the 10% she cannot help, \u201cThe spirits need their share.\u201d \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Growing up on various reservations, Fawn studied traditional medicine with her mentor, the tribal Indian Doctor, Frank Chilcote. As a young female Indian Doctor coming of age in the Viet Nam Era, Fawn became a celebrated healer among Hippies and other New Age celebrants, and throngs of both native and non-native patients from all over the Americas sought her out for healings, often as the healer of last resort. Eventually, she traded the life of a celebrity native \u201crock star\u201d healer for a simple and austere life of reflection and solitude, sometimes living long periods alone in broken down trailers in the wilderness, where her only companions\u2014except her pet cats and dogs\u2014were coyotes, bears, cougars, snakes, deer and wolves. In the wilderness, Fawn claims she was summoned by her ancestral spirits for four consecutive years, on a nightly basis, to study under their tutelage. According to Fawn, these spirits helped her better understand her innate powers, including abilities as a seer, and prepared her to meet with future threats to humanity, like radioactive wastes emitted from the nuclear accident at Fukushima. \u201cThe spirits knew,\u201d she says, \u201cthat new disorders would require a deeper understanding than traditional ceremonies offered.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_134\" style=\"width: 518px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/societyforritualarts.com\/coreopsis\/fall-2015-issuewp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Bottle_Fawn_Journeyhawk_Beaded_by_Carly_Turner.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-134\" class=\"wp-image-134 \" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/societyforritualarts.com\/coreopsis\/fall-2015-issuewp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Bottle_Fawn_Journeyhawk_Beaded_by_Carly_Turner-300x244.jpg?resize=508%2C413&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"508\" height=\"413\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/societyforritualarts.com\/coreopsis\/fall-2015-issue\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Bottle_Fawn_Journeyhawk_Beaded_by_Carly_Turner.jpg?resize=300%2C244&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/societyforritualarts.com\/coreopsis\/fall-2015-issue\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Bottle_Fawn_Journeyhawk_Beaded_by_Carly_Turner.jpg?resize=1024%2C833&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/societyforritualarts.com\/coreopsis\/fall-2015-issue\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Bottle_Fawn_Journeyhawk_Beaded_by_Carly_Turner.jpg?w=1158&amp;ssl=1 1158w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 508px) 100vw, 508px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-134\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo courtesy of Carly Turner<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Another of Fawn\u2019s abilities is apparently a unique gift for healing PTSD and various physical ailments suffered by war veterans. Fawn sits in her \u201cbrother\u2019s shadow in both the Hunter\u2019s and Warrior\u2019s lodge, not as a member, but as an Indian Doctor of mental and physical war wounds and trauma.\u201d In addition to gifts as a healer and seer, Fawn is widely known as a skilled native artist and craftsperson, teaching women\u2019s skills (basket making, beading, leather crafts) and native crafts (drum making, regalia crafting). Yet another of her traditional arts is storytelling in the oral tradition of indigenous wisdom-keepers around the world, only recently (and somewhat reluctantly) recorded in textual narratives thanks to her Medicine Helpers, with whom she has practiced her healing arts across the United States, as well as in Canada, Denmark, Germany, and Iceland.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fawn currently resides in Arizona with her niece Carly, a Medicine Helper to whom I am deeply indebted for her assistance in preparing this piece for<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Coreopsis.<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Fawn plans to relocate next spring to some land where she can raise a tipi and begin holding Teaching Way Circles for healers desiring to raise their power-level to meet the demands of our post-modern world\u2019s increasingly complex and species-threatening challenges.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While this article featuring Fawn as a \u201cProfiled Artist\u201d emphasizes her gifts as a healer, seer, and wisdom-keeper-artist, she offers this cautionary note: \u201cEveryone should focus on my work, not on me as a person.\u201d She remains available to all who seek her help, yet (as a humble instrument of the spiritual ancestors) Fawn\u2014as an individual\u2014prefers to remain in the background. It is my pleasure, on this rare occasion, to present my dear friend, Fawn Journeyhawk, in her own images\u00a0<sup>4<\/sup><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and words\u2014both in her first published interview in a peer-reviewed journal and in her first published memoir for a non-native audience, selected from recently recorded texts I\u2019ve enjoyed the privilege of being among the first to read. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2013 Ronald L. Boyer<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b><i>Ron Boyer<\/i><\/b><b>:\u00a0 Fawn, thank you for agreeing to be profiled in<\/b><b><i> Coreopsis<\/i><\/b><b>. I realize you prefer to be off the public radar for the most part. Can you tell us why you have decided at this particular time to share your work with a broader public?<\/b><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fawn Journeyhawk<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: There are a number of reasons, the main one being Fukushima. The media lost interest, but the damaged plant continues to spew poisons into the jet stream and the ocean, which are slowly accumulating on our continent. The poison just arrives in such small amounts it\u2019s easy to ignore, but, in time, enough will accumulate in our bodies. And, very soon, we can expect still-births, cancer, and a host of related ailments. You know, when the body\u2019s saturated with radioactive poisons, like cesium, there isn\u2019t much that modern medicine can do.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_130\" style=\"width: 621px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/societyforritualarts.com\/coreopsis\/fall-2015-issuewp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Fawn_Journeyhawks_Drum_and_Drum_Beater_by_Carly_Turner.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-130\" class=\" wp-image-130\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/societyforritualarts.com\/coreopsis\/fall-2015-issuewp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Fawn_Journeyhawks_Drum_and_Drum_Beater_by_Carly_Turner-300x199.jpg?resize=611%2C405&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Photo courtesy Carly Turner\" width=\"611\" height=\"405\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/societyforritualarts.com\/coreopsis\/fall-2015-issue\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Fawn_Journeyhawks_Drum_and_Drum_Beater_by_Carly_Turner.jpg?resize=300%2C199&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/societyforritualarts.com\/coreopsis\/fall-2015-issue\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Fawn_Journeyhawks_Drum_and_Drum_Beater_by_Carly_Turner.jpg?resize=1024%2C681&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/societyforritualarts.com\/coreopsis\/fall-2015-issue\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Fawn_Journeyhawks_Drum_and_Drum_Beater_by_Carly_Turner.jpg?w=1504&amp;ssl=1 1504w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 611px) 100vw, 611px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-130\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo courtesy Carly Turner<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When Fukushima blew, I was in hospice care, yet a steady stream of people came in fear seeking reassurance. At that time, I had no ceremony to remove heavy metals or radiation from the body. The only reassurance I could give was that I would quest for the answers to their questions. Boy, that was a rough lesson!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My spirit teachers came once again in my dreamtime. I asked the Ancestors for advice on working with the effects of the disaster. They introduced me to the spirits of the elements that will threaten our well-being in the future. First off, they were mutant spirits programmed just for destruction. The energy surrounding them was angry. You can\u2019t reason with a mutant spirit because they lack emotions that would allow them to understand. I became violently ill in their presence.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once I was introduced to what I would be dealing with, I was shown how to remove it from the cells of the body. My curiosity and bleeding-heart nature set me up! You see, once you know what to do, well, you\u2019re expected to do it! That, my friend, is why I\u2019m presenting my work to the public. I even purchased a device that is sensitive enough to register the radioactive poisons in the joints and muscles. I can take a reading before and after the removal ceremony to be sure it\u2019s really been done correctly.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Our veterans are another reason. I perfected my work with our Viet Nam War vets. Alternative medicine techniques were \u201cin\u201d during that era, and working in a crisis intervention clinic gave me access to a great many vets. Hopefully I can also help the vets of today.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><i>RB:<\/i><\/b><b> You prefer that readers focus on your work rather than your personality. Why is that important? And what do you want the world to know about your work?<\/b><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">FJ:<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> My work is impeccable; my person, not so much. I\u2019m not my work. When patients get too close, they can witness the negative aspects of a healer. I\u2019m scatter-brained at times and make mistakes like everyone else. When someone sees that part of me, they can lose faith in my Medicine abilities. Those who know me well are able to separate the person from the work, but outsiders tend to judge me as a person.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What do I want the world to know about my work? I don\u2019t know. Maybe, that I have a higher success rate with mental and physical war wounds than the V.A. does. There are thousands of men and women who suffer greatly from war experiences that I could help if they came to me.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I also specialize in back pain and autism, which seems to be on the rise.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><i>RB:<\/i><\/b><b> Who \u2013 or, what &#8211; do you see as your main influences in developing the various aspects of your work as a healer? Who inspired you most and who are your important teachers?<\/b><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">FJ:<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> I guess my curious nature and thirst for knowledge determined the direction of my earth-walk. It was compassion and that awful, helpless feeling I experienced when an animal or person was sick or hurt and I didn\u2019t know what to do to help them that pulled me into the Medicine Path. Emotional decisions can be pretty darn powerful!<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_129\" style=\"width: 547px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/societyforritualarts.com\/coreopsis\/fall-2015-issuewp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Fawn_Journeyhawks_Obsidian_Traditional_Womans_Knife_by_Carly_Turner.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-129\" class=\"wp-image-129 \" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/societyforritualarts.com\/coreopsis\/fall-2015-issuewp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Fawn_Journeyhawks_Obsidian_Traditional_Womans_Knife_by_Carly_Turner-300x204.jpg?resize=537%2C365&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"537\" height=\"365\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/societyforritualarts.com\/coreopsis\/fall-2015-issue\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Fawn_Journeyhawks_Obsidian_Traditional_Womans_Knife_by_Carly_Turner.jpg?resize=300%2C204&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/societyforritualarts.com\/coreopsis\/fall-2015-issue\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Fawn_Journeyhawks_Obsidian_Traditional_Womans_Knife_by_Carly_Turner.jpg?resize=1024%2C698&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/societyforritualarts.com\/coreopsis\/fall-2015-issue\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Fawn_Journeyhawks_Obsidian_Traditional_Womans_Knife_by_Carly_Turner.jpg?w=1330&amp;ssl=1 1330w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 537px) 100vw, 537px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-129\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo courtesy of Carly Turner<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And, hindsight was my most influential teacher. I\u2019ve sat before many Masters and practitioners in both the spirit world and this physical dimension throughout the years. I was addicted to the gathering of knowledge. Each bit of information was like one more piece of the puzzle. And, I was certain I\u2019d have the entire picture one day. All I needed was a few more pieces. It was an obsession that took me on one adventure after another.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But when I was 40-years-old my dearest friend developed breast cancer. I was beside myself, and, after years of gathering knowledge, I was still forced to stand by and watch her suffer.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I called my Brother, Dennis Brings Strong Winds (aka Dead Grass), a Pipe Carrier who knows the traditional ways. That was the last call I\u2019d ever make in a state of helplessness. I felt so relieved when he arrived at my door four hours later, with drum and pipe in hand. I had no idea he was sent by the Ancestors to place me on the Medicine Path.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It was a whirlwind of Medicine activity to prepare for the sister\u2019s healing, and all the while I\u2019m thinking we\u2019re doing this for Dead Grass! Native men don\u2019t talk much at times like that, so I walked beside him and just followed his instruction.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The ceremony was a success, and the woman was cancer-free in two hours. When Dead Grass drove away, I was left standing in unfamiliar territory. I was now a Lodge Keeper of two Medicine Lodges with a whole basket full of knowledge I had no idea where or how to apply. Just useless information. Forty years of gathering knowledge, yet I still didn\u2019t get it. I dragged that big old basket of puzzle pieces along with me on the new journey.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That night the Ancestors came in dreamtime, and my spiritual walk began. Then, Frank Chilcote, a traditional Medicine Man of the Crow Nation (of which Mandan is a band), placed me in the XAT Medicine Lodge and began my physical training.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><i>RB:<\/i><\/b><b> How about your influences as a seer and storyteller?<\/b><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">FJ:<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Seer and storyteller\u2026hmm. I share my experiences, but I don\u2019t want to wear a title for it. No one taught me to see; that\u2019s innate. By now you\u2019ve figured out that I dislike titles and spotlights. With my abilities, my ego has a tendency to get too big for my own good if I\u2019m not careful. Titles and spotlights tend to feed it. It\u2019s a funny thing: the larger my ego grows, the less effective my abilities become.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><i>RB:<\/i><\/b><b> Stanley Krippner writes that shamans were both the first doctors and first storytellers.<sup>5<\/sup><\/b><b> As a master of both ancient arts, what can you say about the relationship between storytelling and healing in your indigenous context?<\/b><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">FJ:<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> There were no books or blackboards in the sacred lodges. Information was passed on in the form of entertaining stories. To retain their power, matters of a spiritual nature should not be written down. The right hemisphere of the brain receives and processes verbal input. That hemisphere connects us to the spiritual realm and the collective unconscious. The left hemisphere is ruled by logic, so written information is received and processed as if it were<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> only<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> a<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">story and is censored before it\u2019s shared with the spiritual hemisphere. Medicine Stories carry the healing power through the generations.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Storytelling carries the power from one generation to the next; verbal input and visualization are processed by our spiritual brain. When you read something, it\u2019s processed by the logical brain that filters out the magic. When you want to cut the body open and remove the disease, a book will show you how to do that. But if you want to remove the disease the natural way, you must listen to the story.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My memoirs are life stories, not Medicine Stories. They\u2019re campfire tales that develop their own powers as you read them. When someone reads one of my stories, they seem to consciously appreciate the lesson in the story; when I tell the same story verbally, they appreciate the story itself. As I relive the experience verbally, the body language and facial expressions, along with my laughter, seems to bring the humor to life. There\u2019s an old saying: \u201cIt loses something in the translation.\u201d You\u2019ll experience your verbal interviews on a much different level than the people who read them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><i>RB:<\/i><\/b><b> Perhaps you can share your early memories of native storytellers who inspired you. Were they female or male elders?<\/b><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">FJ:<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> There was a mixture of nationalities that influenced me, not only Native Americans. In my youth, Indians were experiencing various states of depression brought on by the mistreatment and forced transition into a new culture. Teaching was at a bare minimum, and the native storytellers were mostly silent.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_132\" style=\"width: 636px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/societyforritualarts.com\/coreopsis\/fall-2015-issuewp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Dolls_Made_by_Fawn_Journeyhawk_by_Carly_Turner.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-132\" class=\"wp-image-132 \" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/societyforritualarts.com\/coreopsis\/fall-2015-issuewp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Dolls_Made_by_Fawn_Journeyhawk_by_Carly_Turner-300x159.jpg?resize=626%2C332&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"626\" height=\"332\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/societyforritualarts.com\/coreopsis\/fall-2015-issue\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Dolls_Made_by_Fawn_Journeyhawk_by_Carly_Turner.jpg?resize=300%2C159&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/societyforritualarts.com\/coreopsis\/fall-2015-issue\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Dolls_Made_by_Fawn_Journeyhawk_by_Carly_Turner.jpg?resize=1024%2C544&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/societyforritualarts.com\/coreopsis\/fall-2015-issue\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Dolls_Made_by_Fawn_Journeyhawk_by_Carly_Turner.jpg?w=1430&amp;ssl=1 1430w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 626px) 100vw, 626px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-132\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo courtesy of Carly Turner<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For me, the black elders were a strong influence, because their stories came from deep within them and always contained humor. Black elders were amused and flattered when you asked them to tell you about something. Native elders went through very different emotions and very often refused to speak of the traditional ways. Most were trying to conform to the Christian laws and forget the \u201cheathen ways.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And a woman from Latvia showed me how to make cabbage rolls, and then told me about the Medicine Women in her country when I was in grade school.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Even the spirit teachers told me stories during dreamtime, but those were connected to Medicine.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So, you might say it was a never-ending procession of first-hand accounts of many races, both males and females, rather than stories taken from myths and legends. It was my love of life that brought about the stories, not really a love of stories.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><i>RB:<\/i><\/b><b> Please say more about what happens in the sacred lodges.<\/b><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">FJ:<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The lodges are a place to gather that separates us from the energy fields of the world and allows us to alter the frequency. When the vibration is high, the negative energy is repelled. This insures that whatever takes place in that lodge won\u2019t be influenced by anything negative.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the lodges, the teachers and elders share their understanding of spiritual matters and explain why we shouldn\u2019t do certain things. Often, if the frequency is right, the women\u2019s councils are joined by earth spirits who impart knowledge. Don\u2019t confuse these spirits with ghosts. Ghosts are extremely low frequency, 18.98 hertz to be exact. In contrast, the frequency of a clear third eye is 221.23 hertz. I have to double check this, because numbers have a tendency to escape me.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Spirits who interact in the sacred lodge are able to match that frequency when they want to be seen. If our vibration is as it should be, we can see them as if they were a physical being. If the third eye isn\u2019t fully open, you may be able to see an energy field instead of the physical manifestation. It looks sort of like a heat wave.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><i>RB:<\/i><\/b><b> You are also a master of native arts and crafts, especially women\u2019s traditional crafts. How did this interest develop? Were there specific craftspeople in your circle of elders or family who inspired or taught you these arts?<\/b><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">FJ:<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> I\u2019m pretty much self-taught. When you\u2019re around cradle boards, you can easily figure out how to make one. It\u2019s that way with most crafts for me.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One of my fondest memories is my grandmother creating an Easter basket out of cardboard and crepe paper, all the while muttering, in a voice just above a whisper, about the Christian Easter Bunny. She took paper and made something so beautiful right before my eyes. It was the transformation of that paper that inspired me. Hearing the adults discuss the old ways being lost also inspired me. I wasn\u2019t about to let that happen.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My mother was creative and taught me the skills of her White culture, while my grandmother taught natural skills. My father, on the other hand, taught me to be a man. And I must say, I\u2019m damn good at it! It\u2019s funny how the survival skills I learned as a child and young adult became \u201carts and crafts\u201d!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><i>RB:<\/i><\/b><b> What are the sacred functions or importance of such artistic expressions to your work and to the world?<\/b><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">FJ:<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Sacred functions? You take such common, everyday things that I take for granted and describe them in such colorful words. Sometimes it takes me a moment to figure out what you mean.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_133\" style=\"width: 572px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/societyforritualarts.com\/coreopsis\/fall-2015-issuewp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Cedar_Flute_Made_by_Fawn_Journeyhawk_by_Carly_Turner.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-133\" class=\"wp-image-133 \" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/societyforritualarts.com\/coreopsis\/fall-2015-issuewp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Cedar_Flute_Made_by_Fawn_Journeyhawk_by_Carly_Turner-300x224.jpg?resize=562%2C419&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Original art copyright Fawn Journeyhawk. All rights reserved.\" width=\"562\" height=\"419\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/societyforritualarts.com\/coreopsis\/fall-2015-issue\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Cedar_Flute_Made_by_Fawn_Journeyhawk_by_Carly_Turner.jpg?resize=300%2C224&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/societyforritualarts.com\/coreopsis\/fall-2015-issue\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Cedar_Flute_Made_by_Fawn_Journeyhawk_by_Carly_Turner.jpg?resize=1024%2C766&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/societyforritualarts.com\/coreopsis\/fall-2015-issue\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Cedar_Flute_Made_by_Fawn_Journeyhawk_by_Carly_Turner.jpg?zoom=2&amp;resize=562%2C419&amp;ssl=1 1124w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 562px) 100vw, 562px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-133\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo courtesy of Carly Turner<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Well, construction of Medicine objects or a young person\u2019s ceremonial regalia so they can dance might fall under that category. Medicine objects are of major importance. They represent the power. It\u2019s physical proof of the un-seeable powers. It\u2019s not much different than an idol, because it becomes a focus point.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whatever a believer concentrates and directs energy at, like a Medicine bag, can become more powerful. The emotions that hang around with belief are also directed to that bag and intensify the power of belief. A major part of the healing is due to directing the patient\u2019s energy toward themselves through the Medicine bag. Of course, the bag is also connected to the Higher Powers of Healing.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Other objects like this are tools to assist a student in directing their powers. They make good props for the Medicine show. But at my level, their only function is for something to do with my hands.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><i>RB:<\/i><\/b><b> What do you think of the state of world today?\u00a0And do you think traditional indigenous ideas and practices can make a difference?<\/b><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">FJ:<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> I was born into a world of simplicity and honor. A man\u2019s handshake was a contract. They said a man was only as good as his word. Children didn\u2019t have to fear strangers and walked for a mile or more to school every day. People feared federal agents, and kidnapping was a federal offense, so only rich kids were kidnapped. That world would have responded to traditional indigenous ideas and practices, and actually did adopt laws from the traditions of the east coast natives.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But this is a different world, with only remnants of the old world left. Traditional understanding could definitely make a difference if the world was ready to listen. But logic, fairness and reason no longer rule this dimension.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><i>RB:<\/i><\/b><b> Do you have a website where interested readers can learn more about your work? For example, how can prospective students, sponsors, and patients contact you or use your services?<\/b><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">FJ:<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> We are working on putting what I guess you call a \u201cblog\u201d together. It is not currently up. If people want to find me, they should contact my niece Carly at<\/span><b> journeyhawk@inbox.com<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> until the website is up. The website will be<\/span><b> Journeyhawk.com<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> or<\/span><b> Journeyhawk.net<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><i>RB:<\/i><\/b><b> If readers can only take away one thing from this interview, what would that be? Any final words?<\/b><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">FJ<\/span><\/i><b>:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Keep in mind this interview was with Fawn as a person, not Fawn as a shaman. I am no different than anyone else. I make mistakes, I bleed when I\u2019m cut, and sometimes I even cry. My main request is that you not judge my work by my person. Evaluate my words, but hold off on your judgement until seeking further explanation. You\u2019re welcome to challenge what I say, but please try not to do so in the form of a verbal attack, which has become far too common these days.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/societyforritualarts.com\/coreopsis\/fall-2015-issuegrandmother-moon\/\">Read an example of Fawn Journey&#8217;s narrative art,\u00a0<em>Grandmother Moon\u00a0<\/em>&gt;&gt;<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_425\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/societyforritualarts.com\/coreopsis\/fall-2015-issuewp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/RLB_biopic_-DSCN7060-2.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-425\" class=\"wp-image-425 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/societyforritualarts.com\/coreopsis\/fall-2015-issuewp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/RLB_biopic_-DSCN7060-2-300x225.jpg?resize=300%2C225&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/societyforritualarts.com\/coreopsis\/fall-2015-issue\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/RLB_biopic_-DSCN7060-2.jpg?resize=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/societyforritualarts.com\/coreopsis\/fall-2015-issue\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/RLB_biopic_-DSCN7060-2.jpg?resize=1024%2C768&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/societyforritualarts.com\/coreopsis\/fall-2015-issue\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/RLB_biopic_-DSCN7060-2.jpg?w=2000&amp;ssl=1 2000w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/societyforritualarts.com\/coreopsis\/fall-2015-issue\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/RLB_biopic_-DSCN7060-2.jpg?w=3000&amp;ssl=1 3000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-425\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo courtesy Ron Boyer<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Ronald L. Boyer<\/strong> is a scholar, teacher, and award-winning poet, fiction author, and screenwriter. He completed his MA in Depth Psychology at Sonoma State University and is also a graduate of the Professional Program in Screenwriting at UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television. Ron taught his first university course, \u201cMythic Structure in Storytelling,\u201d for his graduate Internship as a volunteer member of the SSU Psychology Department Faculty. He is a two-time Jefferson Scholar to the Santa Barbara Writers Conference, and two-time award-winner for fiction from the John E. Profant Foundation for the Arts, including the McGwire Family Award for Literature. \u00a0Ron\u2019s first short story was published in the horror anthology,<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> America the Horrific<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. His poetry has been featured in the scholarly e-zine of the Jungian and depth psychology community,<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Depth Insights: Seeing the World with Soul<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (Issues 3, 5, &amp; 7);<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Mythic Passages: A Magazine of the Imagination<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">;<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Mythic Circle<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the literary magazine of the Mythopoeic Society; and many other publications. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ron recently completed his first year of doctoral studies in the PhD in Art and Religion program at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, CA, where he also attends classes at UC Berkeley. His scholarly research emphasizes archetypal theory applied to mythology, literature, and film, with a concentration on mythopoeic imagery in the art of Dante Aligheiri, William Blake, and J. R. R. Tolkien. He is an associate editor\/reviewer for the new peer-reviewed journal, the<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Berkeley Journal of Religion and Theology<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and a referee and regular contributor to the peer-reviewed journal,<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Coreopsis: Journal of Myth and Theater.<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Ron has presented academic papers at the first<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Symposium for the Study of Myth<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> at Pacifica Graduate Institution and the<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> International Conference for the International Association for Jungian Studies<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> at Arizona State University.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> A practitioner of shamanism, Ron has participated in numerous indigenous ceremonies and received initiations from shamans of many tribes, including the Maya, Shuar (Ecuador) and Siberians of the Altai Mountains.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>References<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For a recent example of Krippner\u2019s publications on shamanism, see Jones, S. M. S. &amp; Krippner, S. (2012).<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The voice of Rolling Thunder: A medicine man\u2019s wisdom for walking the red road.<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Rochester, VT: Bear &amp; Co. A sequel is currently in press.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Apart from an interview with Fawn published in<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Shaman\u2019s Drum<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> by Marilyn Terhune-Young, PhD, one of Krippner\u2019s students, attempts to record Fawn had repeatedly failed. See Terhune-Young, M. The personal mythology of a shamanic healer. \u00a0<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Shaman\u2019s Drum<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, Summer 2003. Fortunately, in 2012, I was able to successfully create the first audio-visual recording of Fawn Journeyhawk (assisted by the videographer, Marc Strauch) as an unpublished ethnographic research study conducted while I was a graduate student at Sonoma State University. American ethnomusicologist Dale E. Olsen offers a similar account of the mysterious destructive effects of Warao Indian shamans of the Venezuelan Orinoco Delta on modern recording technologies. See Narby, J. and Huxley, F. (Eds.) (2001<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">). Shamans through time: 500 years on the path to knowledge<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> New York, NY: Thames and Hudson, pp. 212-215.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While preparing this article for publication, one of my sons was unexpectedly stricken by sudden onset of Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia (APL), the most aggressive and damaging of blood cancers. Literally at death\u2019s door, according to his doctors, I notified my friends, including shamans and healers of many traditions, asking their immediate intervention and prayer support. My first request went to Fawn, who replied that she\u2019d do what she could. While many gifted healers joined our expanding international prayer circle, and no individual healer or factor can be defined and credited with the results, it can be stated with certainty that my son has survived and made steady progress since the request went out on July 7. As of today, the date of submission of the final manuscript to<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Coreopsis<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (July 19, 2015), my son has been relocated from ICU and may, in fact, be going home in a few days. According to my son, in our lengthy phone conversation last night, he has been labeled by the doctors and nurses who treated him, the \u201cMiracle Man of Traverse City\u201d, Michigan.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fawn, like many traditional shamans, avoids having photos taken or sharing her occasional photos with the general public.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">See Rock, A. J. &amp; Krippner, S. (2011).<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Demystifying shamans and their world: An interdisciplinary study.<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Charlottesville, VA: Imprint Academic, p. 31.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>She won&#8217;t let you snap a photo of her. She doesn&#8217;t like talking about herself. But this Native American wisdom-keeper has a lot to say. By\u00a0Ronald L. Boyer<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":128,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[7],"tags":[30,29],"class_list":["post-127","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-artist-profiles","tag-native-american","tag-native-art"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>An Interview with Fawn Journeyhawk: Native Elder, Healer, Visionary, Storyteller, Craftsperson, &amp; Wisdom-Keeper &#187; Coreopsis Journal Fall 2015<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/societyforritualarts.com\/coreopsis\/fall-2015-issue\/interview-fawn-journeyhawk\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"An Interview with Fawn Journeyhawk: Native Elder, Healer, Visionary, Storyteller, Craftsperson, &amp; Wisdom-Keeper &#187; Coreopsis Journal Fall 2015\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"She won&#8217;t let you snap a photo of her. 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