Vision Keepers: Walking for Native Americans and the Earth

The sun dancers practiced long into the night. I slept on a small rise overlooking the encampment, the rhythm and music of the drums and singing reverberating in my head. It seemed to rekindle something deep inside. Somehow, I knew the Cheyenne and the sun dance. It is the kind of knowing that is difficult to wrap words around, like a vague memory or smell from early childhood. At the same time, I felt like a white duckling in a flock of brown geese. I looked different, acted different, and perhaps thought and dreamed differently. Why had I come?" We are all seekers. Some find their path on pilgrimage to the Mahabodhi Temple in India or the Haji Ali mausoleum as they embark on a journey to Mecca; others find God at the burial site of St. James in the Cathedral de Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain. Author and environmentalist Doug Alderson meets the Great Spirit through the ancient spiritual practice of walking. The Vision Keepers is the compelling true story of a seeker who, under the guidance of Bear Heart, a Muskogee Creek Indian and Medicine Man, finds unity with our nation’s native people and reconnects with the earth through profound and mysterious means. At a time when our global community is in great conflict, we can learn much from Native Americans. The Vision Keepers not only recounts the story of one man’s experience with native people and their spirituality, but it offers unique insight into the struggles of an entire culture, personal reconciliation, world peace, and preservation of the Earth and its ancient wisdom. Follow Doug’s journey from coast to coast across the United States as he leads a group walk to support Native American rights and environmental protection, and then across the American Southeast to follow the Trail of Tears in reverse. Meet the legendary "little people"of Muskogee. Attend a Lakota ceremony that had not been observed for decades. Feel the magic of the Cheyenne Sun Dance. Finally, heed the warnings of wise elders—from the Cheyenne, Navajo, and Hopi, to the Cherokee, Sioux and Creek tribes—as they tell of the "earth changes" we now know to be of man’s own design. Throughout his adventure, Doug relays a message of compassion and hope and builds a bridge of friendship and understanding between native and non-native people.

290 pages

About the author: Doug Alderson published his first magazine article at age 18 and he has been writing and taking professional photographs ever since. His articles and photographs have been featured in Wildlife Conservation, American Forests, Sierra, Mother Earth News, Campus Life, America, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Florida Naturalist, Florida Sportsman, Tallahassee Magazine, Florida Wildlife, and several others. In 1978, he won first place in a national travel-writing contest for college students. In 2003, Doug received a first-place national writing award from the Association of Conservation Information for a three-part article on the Everglades system. He is the former associate editor of Florida Wildlife magazine and editor of A Florida Wildlife Anthology: 1947-2003. His chapter on the St. Marks River is part of the Between Two Rivers anthology, published by the Red Hills Writers Project in 2004. Doug has also worked as a lobbyist for several environmental groups and as a naturalist for the Tallahassee Museum of History and Natural Science. In between jobs, he has hiked the entire Appalachian Trail, coordinated a walk across the United States from coast to coast, and backpacked across Europe. Doug is currently the field director for the Florida Circum navigation Saltwater Paddling Trail, a planned sea-kayaking trail around the entire state being coordinated by Florida's Office of Greenways and Trails. He is a member of the Heart of the Earth environmental council and he serves as a ceremonial leader at the White Earth Muskogee Creek Tribal Town. In April 2007 Quest Books released Doug’s latest work, The Vision Keepers: Walking for Native Americans and the Earth, which covers Doug's walks and experiences with Native American people. The University Press of Florida published Doug’s first book, Waters Less Traveled: Exploring Florida’s Big Bend Coast, in 2005. He lives south of Tallahassee with his wife, Cyndi, and daughter, Cheyenne. For more information on Doug and his work, visit him online at www.dougalderson.net.