Several months ago my teacher and friend, Clyde Hall, asked me to write an essay regarding Sweat Lodge. I thought this request unusual as the Ladle for Pouring Lodge has recently come to me through my teacher Carolyn Sanders. As I write this essay, I do so in humility and with the hope to convey the message of one who is continuing to learn to work with lodge in a sacred and honored way.
Carolyn Sanders, of the Utah Community, has held a Lodge in her yard for over twenty-years. Bear Boy, who passed away in August of 2004, taught Carolyn how to pour and work with medicine. Not only has Bear Boy taught Carolyn how to Pour Lodge and to work with medicine in a Sacred Way, but we have had the privilege of having many Elders come to our Lodge and encourage, teach and mentor us on these things, teachers such as Clyde Hall, Lanie Thom and those who have never been introduced to the Naraya community.

Approximately nine years ago I made an offering to Carolyn Sanders and presented her with tobacco, a blanket and other gifts and asked her to consider teaching me to pour lodge. When she accepted this offering her initial requirement was for me to attend every lodge for one year.
After that year, if I still felt called to pour Lodge I was to approach her and reconfirm my commitment. For one year I participated in every Lodge that Carolyn poured.
For the next eight years, Carolyn had me chop wood, carry water, care for the land and build fire. She taught me how to build a lodge, honor the willows, the earth, the water and each person who entered the lodge. Throughout the years, I often wondered when I was going to learn to “pour” To sit in the “place” of Lodge Pourer and perform the Sacred Rite. Little did I realize at the time that I was learning how to serve the people and that often serving the people, in an honored way, does not always require you to be seen or observed, but that you learn to carry sacred things in a good way and do as you’re taught and told by your Elders.

Personal perspective
What I will offer is my perspective about Sweat Lodge. I offer this with the awareness that each and every Lodge is different and unique in accordance to those who are attending and in accordance to those who are pouring and taking care of the Sacred Things. In my instance, I learned to pour Lodge through Carolyn Sanders, who learned from Bear Boy. The foundation of what we do in the Lodge comes from a Ute tradition, history and background. What Bear Boy taught us is a reflection of how he was taught by his Elders, family and teachers. The way I move around the Lodge, the way I honor the Lodge is reflective of that tradition. What I have learned is that every Lodge Pourer approaches lodge from their own tradition, history and background. You
may find someone pouring from the East or someone pouring from the West. They may move around the Medicine Wheel in a way that is unique to their teachings.
Whenever I am in a Lodge that is unfamiliar to me, I am quick to be observant and to be as teachable as possible in order to learn and understand the honored things and the way of the person who is carrying those things at that time. I never enter someone else’s Lodge and presume that because I have Sweat for so many years, that I know what I am doing in that particular lodge.

When one comes to Sweat Lodge, they should come prayerfully and in consideration of their own needs and the needs of others. This requires the assistance of a Fire Keeper who comes several hours before Lodge to prepare the fire, set the fire, supervise the Fire, and to make sure
that things are initiated in a good way with the Lodge. The Lodge Pourer spends time, before the Lodge, in meditation, preparing Prayer Ties and generally preparing to do the work for the people. Because of the effort and time that these individuals put into a Lodge, it is a good thing to remember them in your prayers. It is also good to come with Sacred Offerings. Offerings can be anything from the Heart. Traditional offerings of Tobacco and Red Cloth are a standard, but
offerings can exceed these things. In this day and age it takes considerable resources and offerings can be of a nature to support these resources and honor those who have worked in behalf of those who are participating in the lodge.
If you are requesting a lodge it is important to honor that request with an offering that is reflective of the request. They are presented to the Lodge Pourer and to the Fire Keeper so the work and effort they have put towards the Lodge is honored. I also consider it an aspect of the intentions of the person making the request; the offering reflects the prayers of the person requesting and participating in the lodge and often sits on the altar during the lodge.

Sweat Lodge is an act of Purification. It is a place of worship, healing, prayers, songs and it is a place where we are real with ourselves and with others. We seek a level of honesty that will encourage us to a higher sense of self. Within Lodge, I have seen people healed of disease; Drug Addicts put down addictions; Alcoholics put down the bottle. I have seen Agnostics have faith and I have seen strong men humbled to tears. Lodge is a very hot place and I often think that our struggles are not about where we sit in Lodge, but where we stand in our life.

I think about Lodge as a place of purification, worship, and of honoring the Spirits and Ancestors. Lodge helps me understand the Sacred Wheel and the importance of balance in my life.

End part I