I met Beverly at a women’s music festival, we met and when we parted she invited me to a Sundance? I didn’t know what it was, and I didn’t intend to go, but I was polite, then I made every excuse in the world – even finance - but the Universe had other ideas; my trip was paid for and every excuse was smashed to smithereens. I knew the experience would change my life, but I didn’t know I was ready for the change. After a number of challenges getting off the ground and away from my home in Maryland, I finally hit the air and my life hasn't been the same since.

I married Beverly and my life is still interesting! I wouldn’t change a thing.

Pam Alexander, her partner at the time, and I had attended a Haudenosaunee Native American teaching circle to explore the culture and spiritual practices. Through the years we shared a great deal and had a close bond. Pam moved to Minnesota with Beverly and told me about Beverly’s vision of a women’s Sundance Ceremony; I was interested, but never had the cash or fortune of being able to take off from work. Well, one day, Pam’s ex called me and asked if I’d go with her to Vermont to celebrate Pam’s 60th birthday. Yes. The land and the care it required for us to have the birthday party made me want to come back for the ceremony in the summer. However life was throwing me curve balls and I was uncertain if I could go until one day the phone rang with a request from Pam to bring 2 participants to Sundance; she knew how to snag me despite my objections and excuses, I honored her request. I had one of the most beautiful experiences of my life!

From my first experience at Sundance, I felt the transformative power of the ceremony, the energy of the land, the strength of the women and a community. I found a Home which nurtured my strengths and allowed my eccentricities; I have been able to take what I learned at Sundance, apply it to my life and be an agent of healing in my local community.

I had attended another womyns spiritual gathering for many years where I obtained a brochure about Kunsi Keya. For many years I wanted to attend Sundance, but the timing was off. In January of 2017, Spirit called me to pursue becoming a firekeeper for the Inipi ceremony. I learned how to firekeep at this spiritual gathering, and that same year I attended Sundance for the first time, where I continued to firekeep.

The valuable teachings I’ve received from Unci and Lushanya have provided a spiritual foundation for me and allowed me to do service in a safe and healing place for women.

Sundance has undoubtedly been a life-changing experience for me. Some of the most beautiful (and the toughest) experiences of my life have happened here and it continues to be one of the greatest teachers for my spiritual life and well being. To be able to support my community and pass on the knowledge gained from attending Sundance, is a gift I cherish.

A dear friend Ayanna, who attended Sundance included me on a message thread about Ceremony and just knew that I had been there. She later gifted me a prayer stick and began to share more about ceremony. Our relationship has consistentlybeen one of us sharing medicine along the journey and this is no different. At that time I was facing a a lot of challenges, the resilience within moved me forward on a journey; trusting spirit and the voice within I packed the kids and my Baltimore life up and was off to Sundance. It had been years since I was in community this way and the opportunity to share this experience with my children.

I received the gift of connection to the mountain & living tree and was immersed in a community that inspired me to nurture my personal journey. Much has changed since then as I traveled home and back to Baltimore and Sundance has stayed a part of my life. Serving allows me to learn from medicine and support it being here for the future. The guidance from the Elders to learn, serve, grow and be a power of example honors the vision of Unci, Lushanya, and the ancestra indigineous connections that come together at Kunsi Keya Tamakoce.

My wife, Tracy, brought me to Womongathering- A wimmin’s spiritual gathering. I was not at my best physically. Our cabin was close to the kitchen and I saw smoke. As a firefighter, of course it caught my attention, but something besides firefighter instinct was pulling me to go to the smoke. I walked to a clearing and found the gathering’s inipi. An inipi is a traditional Plains Nations spiritually cleansing steambath/sauna. I wanted to attend the inipi but hadn’t signed up. I saw one of the firekeepers, Marya, and barraged her with typical non-spiritual fire tips. Even after a less than stellar introduction, I was invited by Robin, drummer and community pipe carrier, to meet Unci to learn how to be a firekeeper, the Lakota way, because she and others saw how I was drawn to the fire. I apprenticed at the New Jersey lodge and now I am one of the firekeepers for Sundance.

I believe that there is a place for everyone to be part of a community and this was the first community that I felt drawn to. I am drawn to nature and Sundance gave me the opportunity to make a decision to rescue myself instead of always being the rescuer, inclusivity hit my heart.

I was trained as a firekeeper by Robin Burdulis for a women's sweat lodge in Brooklyn. During the week of preparing and gathering for the Inipi ceremony, I would hear some of the women talk about their experiences at Sundance. It all sounded so mysterious to me. And sometime we would welcome a Sundancer to our lodge with such reverence and respect.

After serving at the Brooklyn Lodge for a few years, Robin invited me to serve as a firekeeper for Unci Beverly Littlethunder and Lushanya Echeverria at Where Womyn Gather. I was excited about the opportunity to meet and learn from Unci. I have such a clear memory of seeing Unci's hands through the door of the Inipi beautifully illuminated by the light of a match as she lit her pipe. And I knew it was a tremendously magical experience to be able to serve as a firekeeper for Unci and Lushanya. That summer I attended my first Sundance ceremony at Kunsi Keya.

It is such an incredibly powerful experience to participate in a Sundance ceremony led by Two Spirit Lakota women in community with other women of color. It was on the land at Kunsi Keya that I really learned what it means to be in community and collectively work for something so much greater than any one of us individually. I am deeply grateful and profoundly transformed by the teachings and healing I receive from Unci, Lushanya, and the Sundancers as well as the Inipi, sacred fire, Arbor, and land of Kunsi Keya Tamakoce.