“Everything the power of the world does is done in a circle. The sky is round and I have heard that the earth is round like a ball and so are all the stars. The wind, in its greatest power, whirls. Birds make their nests in circles, for theirs is the same religion as ours. The sun comes forth and goes down again in a circle. The moon does the same and both are round. Even the seasons form a great circle in their changing and always come back again to where they were.”-Black Elk, Oglala Lakota holy man.
If you asked me in summer 2021 where I would be in 2025, I wouldn’t have answered that I would be working for Ancestral Knowledge and living in a log cabin inside the Beltway. I was studying French and starting a Master’s degree in International Development and Public Administration, I would have thought I’d be managing a development program somewhere in francophone Africa. Part of my desire to work in that field was formed by my experiences traveling in Latin America and serving the Peace Corps and realizing that lack of development pushed people to destroy the natural environments in their communities. But the world moves in circles, and it has brought me to where I should be.
When I first recall meeting Bill I was about 18 years old. He had been teaching at Tom Brown Jr.’s Tracker School, and had worked some at the Coyote Tracks program, which at the time was the branch of the Tracker school working with youth. I had been a student at Coyote Tracks and Bill had been one of the teacher’s at my Standard class at the Tracker School the following year. Since then we had stayed in loose contact; if I was in the area working on earth skills I might reach out to him, he might like and comment on a facebook post. Two years ago when I was wrapping up my graduate school program I had to move back to DC for work. I reached out to Bill saying if he ever needed help or volunteers for anything to let me know, I would be happy to help out and give back.
This winter, I had looked at the state of the world and I had given up on finding a position working in international development and was really wondering what was going to be my next step. That is when Bill reached out to me asking if I would possibly be interested in coming and helping out by being an instructor and managing some of the summer camp programs as well as helping out with programs through the rest of the year.
I will admit some of my skills are rusty, bow drill has been kicking my butt, but other skills I didn’t realize how much sharper they have become over the years. I am finding by letting myself complete the circle, and be in the position to help mentor kids in connecting to the natural world that is in their backyard, I am realizing how much the earth has given to me. I am realizing the lessons from our ancestors have been passed to me and I am now in the position to pass them onto the next generation. Some of these skills may translate to our modern work world, learning to deal with the discomfort of being in the woods on cold wet mornings while maintaining awareness while in a sit spot have made being able to pay attention during meetings or classes easier. Fostering curiosity by solving the riddles nature left all around me fostered my intellectual curiosity for school, languages and other cultures. Learning perseverance and determination of getting fire by friction in the rain carried through to completing work and handling tight deadlines at school and in jobs. Gaining confidence by mastering skills carries over to other aspects of life.
But not everything I have learned from these ancient skills needs to apply to work or school, some of it helps enrich and color in everyday life while deepening my relationship with the natural world. I recall one day on the shore in Cannon Beach Oregon, my awareness of bird calls caused me to look up just in time to watch an eagle swoop into a seabird rookery, no one else on the beach even noticed. During a college course field trip to Belize, I woke up one morning and saw the tracks of a young female jaguar who had walked by in the dead of night just yards from my door, it made the jungle intimate and even more alive.
If your kids are attending programs this summer, I look forward to passing along things I have learned and helping open their eyes to the world outside their doors. I hope in some ways it helps them appreciate and want to help protect our natural world from the constant onslaught of civilization, but also allows the natural world to become a wellspring of life lessons and a source of vibrant color in their lives. If you are attending a class with us sometime this year, I look forward to possibly meeting you and helping you on your journey. If you have skills to share I encourage you to get involved and help pass along the knowledge and wisdom you have. By completing the circle from student to teacher, you will find even more in the lessons you have learned and in your experiences than you realized were there.
Post Submitted by Kyle Dexheimer