Think Indigenous: Native American Spirituality for a Modern World

by Doug Good Feather

All that’s required of this practice is to put our body in direct contact with nature, with no agenda and nothing to accomplish except to be fully present and intentionally connect with the vitality of the experience of the natural environment around us. Although this practice may seem obvious and something many people are already doing, there are adults from every generation and corner of society who haven’t walked with their bare feet on Mother Earth or dug through soil with their bare hands with spiritual intention in decades, if ever. And there are kids of all ages that have never had the experience of directly connecting with nature beyond the playground at the neighborhood park or a few school field trips. This is serious, for there are serious physical, psychological, and spiritual issues, as well as significant societal repercussions, when people have little to no relationship with Mother Earth. A Medicine Walk is one of the highest forms of spiritual self-care that a human being can practice.