I grew up in a Hungarian German family where my grandparents on both sides spoke the language and still maintained many of the traditional values and culture…and if food is part of culture then my Hungarian side won the battle hands down. I crave good pastry here in Montana! I also had my first beer at Thanksgiving when I was four years old while my German Grandfather laughed and my mother yelled at him. I love good beer and moonshine I guess it is just being raised in the country as a redneck. I live among Indians and yet I am not – I know who I am and have respect.

I look around today and I have lived in three countries and two “sub-countries”. Guatemala had amazing culture – from the twenty year old breast feeding on the street while a “missionary” chastised her for being “exposed” and I looked on thinking “and churches give this guy money”. South Korea was three years of total cultural, food, language, immersion that expanded my world view.

The two “sub-countries” I have had the privilege living in are the Navajo and Crow Reservation. These two Native American tribes while rich in heritage seem at times to be struggling to maintain their culture. I remember Tullie Yazzie speaking in Pinon, Arizona 1998 Navajo Reservation – “we began to rapidly lose our youth and our culture when satellite dishes popped up around the reservation”.

Now to the core thought – what is American Culture? Materialism, Credit Cards, Red States and Blue States? Red Pill – Blue Pill?

Sometimes, I believe that religion has been substituted for a lack of culture in America to the denigration or misunderstanding of real culture in Native America. Native people have culture that oft times is mistaken for religion and like the twenty year old breast feeding on the street – it is denigrated, chastised and misunderstood. I have been to so many beautiful ceremonies celebrating puberty, cleansing, celebrating birth and laughter, Sweat Lodge – but these are not religion they are culture.

Medicine Men, I have been to real and fake…like an old medicine man in Pinon said “if they give you a price list pretty good indication they are fake…”. I also have been healed by a great medicine man that has my thanks, my love, and admiration – so do not confuse a medicine man with a minister! I look forward to cleansing at Sundance this summer here in the Wolf Mountains, Lodge Grass, Montana.

My faith has preserved me and my understanding of religion has grown to be a much more tolerant soul.

Peace –

Posted on my Facebook this morning is a beautiful Navajo Rug. My buddy is looking for an appraisal. I start the task of checking around and wishing I could just call Bruce Burnham at his Trading Post. I just hate to bother him…

I call a couple people that know rugs and try to get prices together and yet…

Bruce Burnham is a living legend that knows rugs, history, and never ceases to amaze me! I have seen him look at a rug and name the weaver and when she wove the rug – today was no different. 

I call down to Bruce Burnham’s Trading Post in Sanders, Arizona and told the lady about the rug – she said “ya gotta call Bruce and ask him – he is not in and I have no idea when he will be” here is his cell…

I hate calling people and bothering friends –

I call him and explain who I am – he knows me – but it has been about four years – anyway…

I describe the rug and I can see him smiling through the phone – I explain that it is an odd cross between a Two Grey Hills and a ? Crystal…he explaines that JB Moore developed the Crystal Weaving patterns and that after his “Rug Empire”collapsed his designs filtered across to Two Grey Hills weavers – that incorporated both patterns into some truly unique rugs. This rug is unique because it is an example of a Two Grey Hills that retained the “love of red” which was ever-present in JB Moore’s designs – red was later filtered out by the Two Grey Hills weavers –

We went on to talk about family and Navajo words “Yabonee” which roughly translates driftwood that stuck on a sandbar and did not move. He tells me how he tracked two different rugs and found the lineage of a young Navajo lady that was so far removed from her tribe through adoption but re-united through rugs!

This diatribe really has no more point than my love for stories, our elders, and Navajo rugs…