CJ Doxtater

The Gentle Teacher

This Gentle soul,  CJ Doxtater was the first was the first Elder to cross my path.  How he came to me is a story in itself.  Back when I was in the addictions counseling business (1990's) my friend Tim Haukenness (also a counselor) would speak of his Native American teacher.  Tim was Native American blood (Ojibwe) but not tribal...same as me.  In the strange world of "qualifying" for tribal membership through blood quantum, both Tim and I fell below the line.  According the Bureau of Indian Affairs standards, you must be 1/4 of one tribe in order to qualify.  I don't know Tim's blood quantum, but mine was 1/8 Cherokee and 1/8 Meskwaukee, which would NOT qualify for tribal enrollment.  But for those of us who are Native American by blood but fall below the blood quantum, there remains a longing to be part of the tribal experience and there is something in most of us that longs for Mother Earth Spirituality.

One day Tim was offering tobacco to mother earth and praying.  I asked him where he learned to do that.  He said, "From my Native American Teacher."  I asked, "How did you get one of those?"  His reply?  "I prayed."  He then showed me how to offer tobacco to Mother Earth and pray.  I started to do this daily with no real expectations.

About a month later, I went to a Psycho-therapy conference in our city (Appleton, WI) and there I met CJ and Sandy Doxtater.  We hung out together at lunch time.  During lunch, CJ invited me to come to their home to experience my first sweat lodge.  That was the beginning of the journey that has lasted to this day.  It became my introduction to the Red Road, -- the spiritual path of Native America.
Dedication: CJ Doxtater, Robert Blackwolf Jones, Mildred Tinker Schuman, John Cappert, Nikki Cappert, Vern American Horse, Richie Plass.