Tribal Waters

It was a regular day when I received a gift from a stranger. A stranger who happened to be part Cherokee. I was at the store, or rather leaving the store and in my car when a man knocked on my car window. He said he needed to give me something. At first I thought he wanted money, but I could see that wasn't the case. He went into his truck and brought over a CD which he gave me and said "I just need to give this to you... no strings attached... I can't explain..."

I was very perplexed at this and said thankyou. It was a solemn moment, rather spiritual. I never saw him again, never got his name. I drove away and put the CD in my player. It was called "Tribal Waters". As soon as I heard the chanting I began to cry. I cried hard. Something just came over me. I felt a calling to the water. So I went home & grabbed my camera and went out to Lake Erie State Park in Brocton, NY, all the while listening to this haunting music. It was a 45 minute drive so I listened to this hauntingly beautiful music the whole way. I felt like I was in a trance. It was a cold and cloudy day, too windy to photograph anything with my 4x5, but it was a perfect day anyway.

Working in a call center, I take a lot of calls from people all over the country ordering things over the phone. For the next two days most of the people who called in either lived on a street named after a Native American tribe or had some other such connection. There were people from Mojave Florida, Blackfoot ID, and one from Rattlesnake NY and more. This was the strangest thing that ever happened to me. Either their street name or their city had a Native American name and many of the people were Native American and alot from Minnesota. Then a woman who called in who also happened to be Native American, asked if I had anyone from my past that was Native American. I didn't think so, but I didn't really know because my mother was adopted. I felt like some spirit or someone was trying to contact me.

A few days before this happened, I'd been contacted by someone who, as it turns out, is the great grandaughter of my grandfather, from a previous marriage. My mother was adopted, so I never knew my real grandfather. This person also told me that the group my grandmother sang with in college, back in the 20's or 30's was named Redpath Chautauqua, another link perhaps. I don't know if there's a connection, but it certainly was a very powerful three days.

It's over now, and I still don't know why I was contacted or why this stranger gave me the CD or why all the people who called in to the call center had some connection with the Native American names. I do know that it's all good. I have an incredibly strong calling to the sea, or as it were, the lake and have always been interested in Native American music and culture. I wish I could thank the person who gave me the CD. I wish I knew why this all happened. I guess I'll never know.