Archie Fire Lame Deer

Archie Fire Lame Deer (* 1935 in South Dakota, USA; † 16 January 2001) was a medicine man of the Lakota Indians and activist for the American Indian culture in the United States.

Life

He was raised by his grandfather Quick Bear, a traditional healer; In 1947 he attended a mission school. This was followed by years of travel, during which he worked as a farm laborer, bartender and rattlesnakes catcher. He was for a time also paratroopers of the U.S. Army in the Korean War and stuntman in Hollywood.

His father's death marked the turning point in his life: in the late 1960s Lame Deer decided to devote his life more of Indian culture. He started a family, increasingly turned to the Indian tradition and way of life and eventually became Wicasa wakan the " holy man " of his people, appointed. He traveled around the world to teach religion and culture of his people. He stepped to the spiritual successor of his father John Fire Lame Deer ( Tahca Ushte ), who passed his knowledge of medicine to his son before his death.

His father said to him:

"If you have not come to know the human side of it all on his own body, how can you teach or help heal? In order to be a good medicine man, you have to be humble. You have to be lower than a worm and higher than an eagle. "

Archie Fire Lame Deer is one of the most important mediators between " red " and " white " world. Lame Deere participated in rehabilitation programs for Native American alcoholics and fought for the freedom of religion. At the annual Sun Dance in Crow Dogs Paradise he was, as his father before him, kuwa kijapi ( spiritual facilitator of the ceremony ). Lame Deers work seems to have exerted influence on Europe; He even miraculous cures attributed.