I lift up my eyes to the hills—
from where will my help come?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
Psalm 121
The words from this Psalm wove their way around my heart and prayers this past week as we camped and hiked in the Black Hills and Badlands of South Dakota. The views from the hills truly took your breath away, in part from the altitude as you climbed the trails, but mostly from their stark beauty.
This land is considered sacred by many native peoples. To the Lakota, they are Paha Sapa, “the heart of everything that is.” Rick Two-Dogs, an Oglala Lakota medicine man, explains: “All of our origin stories go back to this place. We have a spiritual connection to the Black Hills that can’t be sold. I don’t think I could face the Creator with an open heart if I ever took money for it.”
Being on this land brought back memories of time I spent on the Cheyenne River Reservation, which is north of the Black Hills, but still in South Dakota. Twice, I brought groups of youth and adults to work there for a week with Habitat for Humanity repairing homes. We helped some but we all learned so much more.
One of our teachers was Larry Fiddler, the executive director of the Cheyenne River Reservation Habitat Chapter and a spiritual leader of his community. Larry would capture you in his storytelling. We often sat around at night after supper just listening to him talk about his Lakota Spirituality, about life on the Reservation and wonderful stories about his family
One night he invited us out to his home about 40 miles from Eagle Butte where we were staying. Out on this beautiful piece of prairie Larry had built a sweat lodge. He took the time to teach us and then invited us into that mystery of worship with its sacred stones, stories, songs, prayers, and heat.
Probably the most important thing Larry taught us that night and all week long was the Lakota phrase Mitakuye Oyasin, which means all are related. Mitakuye Oyasin is a prayer of oneness with all forms of life: other people, animals, birds, insects, trees and plants, rivers, mountains and even rocks.
Yes, we lift our eyes to the hills. May our help come from the creator and connector of us all.
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