BellaOnline Forums Travel and Culture Native American Fires are close to Tribal Grounds

My husband came home with some dire news this afternoon. One of his co-workers lives just a few miles north of the Cherokee of Georgia Tribal Grounds. She can see the glow of the Swamp fires from her home as the sun sets. The fires are getting closer, and her family is already prepared to evacuate.

We're heading to the Tribal Grounds tomorrow. Not sure if they'll be having the monthly meeting, or if we'll be building fire breaks. I'm taking my work clothes, face mask, and potato salad, just in case. At any Tribal gathering, there is always plenty of food!

A common phrase among American Indians is "I'm sending smoke and prayers." This refers to the smoke from sage, cedar, sweetgrass and/or tobacco, the sacred herbs. Their smoke carries our prayers up to the Creator.

The wind shifted this afternoon and we have plenty of smoke. We could certainly use some prayers to be carried up with it. Please keep the Cherokee of Georgia in your thoughts and prayers.

I was taught that things generally come in threes, both bad and good. Within one month here in the Southeast, we've had devastating tornados, expanding fires, and now floods along the Mississippi. Once we get through these, I'm hopefull we'll be done with disasters for a while.

I have sage, cedar, and tobacco. I am sending smoke and prayers.

As long as you keep the smoke rising up from there, I'm eternally grateful for the prayers!

We use fans before turning on the air conditioners in June. They've pulled the smoke into our house. It smells like I'm typing from the midst of a burning pile of leaves! The fires have never come this close before. I'll admit to being very worried.

It's such an irony. 300 miles or so west of us, it's WAY TOO MUCH water. Here, as in Texas, we could use every drop.

The smoke from the sacred herbs rose up high, circled and rose higher to the East.

You and your people are in my prayers.

Sia Rain Song

Let the white floating clouds - the clouds like the plains - the lightning, thunder, rainbow, and cloud peoples, water the Earth. Let the people of the white floating clouds,- the people of the clouds like the plains - the lightning, thunder, rain bow, and cloud peoples -come and work for us, and water the Earth.

Thank you Phyllis. I'll be taking that with me tomorrow.

I'm sending prayers and an offering of directive light energy for elemental intervention, is what I call it.

It's impressive you have the face mask. Not everyone would be that prepared. You are deffinately one of those people who make an impact. What a blessing you're close enough to practice everything you've been offering our readers in what to do in case of an emergency.

Thank you for keeping us updated!

Thank you Elleise! We're about to head out and I'll keep everyone posted on the fire's containment.

Hang in there! Hope you get some dousing rains, soon!

Thank you EVERYONE for your prayers, they were answered TODAY!
We left for the Tribal Grounds at noon. There was a thin strip of rain on the radar and we were thinking any little bit would help. The chance of rain was only 40% today.

We didn't get 12 miles down the road before the temperature dropped at least 10 degrees. It started raining and didn't stop until around 5pm. We drove through gale force winds, hail, and blinding rain and were so thankful.

We went prepared for cutting fire breaks, but needed umbrellas and rain gear. A Tribal member told us it rained on the northern edge of the swamp for several hours this morning.

That thin strip of severe weather was followed by several hours of gentle rain with good cloud cover for it to soak in. It must have been pretty windy at our house too. The daycare down the street lost a tree. We didn't have any damage in our yard, and most importantly, the hawk nest doesn't appear to be damaged either.

It's so good the Thunderbeings don't watch the weather forecast. They got together this afternoon and worked for us, just as asked for in the prayer Phyllis shared with us.