Certified Instructor

Janelle Lakman

Red Tail Ranch, Deer Park, Washington  USA.

It seems like stones have been around me forever. 

I always had a “box of rocks” when I was a kid!!

Greetings and welcome to Inyan Pejuta

When I experienced the healing energies of stones while receiving a massage, I wanted to learn more.  I felt at home.  This type of work has deep roots in the indigenous culture.  We Native Americans here on “Turtle Island” consider the stones, the water, and the fire (knowledge, power, wisdom) necessary for existence.  It was very enlightening for me to find that Lomi-Lomi ceremonies from Hawaii use stones in massage, also.  So Creator shared with us “two-leggeds” the same “Pejuta” (medicine) all over the earth. 

With the European explorers  “conquering” the world over the last 500 years, the people who walked the lands and worshipped Creator in their own way, were considered lesser than human and should be done away with—and especially do away with all those heathen ceremonies.

 It was very dangerous to continue their way of life as they'd always known it.  Many cultures were completely wiped out.  Ceremonies were done in hiding—in secret. In 1838, my great-great grandmother was 18 years old.  She lived with her clan in eastern Tennessee.  That winter, the U.S. military began rounding up all the natives and forced them to walk to Oklahoma.  Many did not make it there alive.  Zany, my ancient grandmother, hid out in the hills with many others and did not leave her homeland.  Now, even life itself was “under the blanket”, a term used to say it was hidden for safe keeping. 

 It has only been since 1977 that, in the U.S., it is no longer considered “illegal” to practice your religion.  That included all the Ceremonies—Sacred Ways—that the tribes have used forever. The Freedom of Religion Act  now allows us to offer our traditions and ceremonies with out fear of prison. 

Many people are still leery of sharing their “medicine” with the outside world.  They have scars on their bodies as well as their hearts to justify this fear.  But there’s a calling for healing of all the earth and all the people.  It’s necessary for survival to come again to the idea that all Creation is connected and we are all related—Mytakwe Oyasin—meaning that the Winged Ones are just as important as the Two-Leggeds.   Same with the Four-Legged creatures and the little Creepy Crawlies.  That is also why the colors on the Medicine Wheel are black, red, white, and yellow—for all nations are represented in the Hoop of Life.

So the stones have come to share their wisdom with many people.  The healing that you experience as a “Hollow Bone” will humble you.  I am honored to be on this path and share with you Inyan Pejuta. Ah ho

More Thoughts on Paper with Janelle

 Stone Medicine / Inyan Pejuta.

To me, being in Ceremony means being in direct communication/communion with Creator and setting aside time to cleanse/purify/pray.  It’s not the ritual that is 'The All Important', it’s the person.  Creator looks at us, not our “works”—not our preparation.  There are tools that we use to gain this freedom to commune with the Spirit World.  White Buffalo Calf Woman brought the Sacred Pipe—Chanupa—and its Ceremonies to the Sioux People.  These have been shared with me and make sense in my life.  The Path that I walk—The Red Road—is one that I strive to live in Ceremony.  I also know that I’m human with the various “challenges” that we all face. Knowing I’m not perfect and tomorrow is a new day for learning, keeps me going forward. Buffalo has taught me not to try to out-run the storm, but go forward head-on, into the wind, and keep going—finding the easiest path. 

As a child, it was very hard for me to accept the Organized Religions’ ideals of being “fearful of God”.  When some of my best friends are animals, the wind and sun, the only kind of Great Spirit I understand is Love.

I grew up on the back of a horse out on the prairie of eastern Montana.  In my dream-time, I would soar like an eagle all over the area surrounding my home. During the day, if I urged my horse into a flat-out run, it felt like we were flying, also!  My parents divorced before I was a year old and my brother was barely four.  Mom got re-married not too long after.  Two little brothers showed up on the scene within four years. 

Nobody told me about my biological fathers’ side of the family until I was twelve. My brother was old enough to get a job, but needed a social security card.  They finally had to tell us because we weren’t going by our legal name.  So, we were adopted. It created major confusion in my mind and heart, to say the least.  I found out that I was Indian and Irish on my dad’s side. With my way of looking at life, it made sense to me—maybe someone’s DNA flowing through me looked at life the same way.  It also explained why I had little brothers who were blond and blue-eyed, and couldn’t keep up with me in the forest!  I always prayed for a teacher to share with me the old ways.  There never seemed to be any old Medicine Woman who wanted to take on some half-breed white kid, though.  So, I grew up in a very white world and, despite myself, I turned out to be a fairly normal, well-adjusted person!  I devoured books on the subject of any Native American accounts of history and day-to-day life.  As I look back, I had many teachers.  A mom who is compassionate, loving, caring.  An adopted grandma who taught me to honor and respect the Earth.  She also shared with me her love of the horse. (Can’t get any better than a member of the Montana Cowgirl Association!!) We traveled all over the northwest in a station wagon and camper trailer.  Places like Glacier Park, Cottonwood Creek, and Bob Marshall Wilderness were my playgrounds.  I remember my step-dad teaching me about the constellations.

About six years ago, I hunted down my biological fathers’ family.  He died before I could meet him but I met an uncle, an auntie, and a bunch of cousins. I went down to the original family homestead where my great-great grandparents ended up farming. It’s down in the middle of the Ozarks in Missouri.  From the spot of their house, you can look out over acres of rolling hills.  There’s a creek that runs through the area where the family cemetery has been established.  My grandmother made a quilt with all her grandchildren’s’ names and birthdates on it.  Although I never met her, she had my brothers’ name and mine included.  The family gave me many pictures and family stories over the next few years. They even had my parents’ wedding pictures. So, my family grew from no aunties, uncles, and cousins to many.

Years went by and I found myself a single mom of two girls.  They have since blessed me with a bunch of grandchildren who like the stories and Native Traditions I share with them.  I bought a piece of land that Creator has let me take care of.  A few years ago, I met Jenny Ray and other people who were committed to walking the path that I was striving to find.  I just lacked a lot of direction and guidance.  She must have seen something in me that was worthwhile to share her heritage with me.  Stories trickled out of Jenny like a slow, spring-melting creek.  I felt at home. And very blessed.  I learned how the Stone Tribe can be used in healing. Wow! That was quite an eye-opener!  I learned about Inipi Ceremony, Chanupa and many others. 

I approached her a few years ago, asking for assistance to go on a Vision Quest—Henblanche.  My life changed in those four days on the mountain.  It seems like I can hear Creators’ voice as well as I did as a kid. The Cherokee consider you an adult when you finally reach 51 years of life, so maybe it’s time I share with you what I know in my heart.

I have been studying in earnest what it is to walk the Medicine Wheel for three years. It’s not a complicated thing, but complex, multilayered. Watching my life unfold around me has been exciting—sometimes heartbreaking.  The Medicine Wheel holds the key to sovereignty—to a still point.  For many years, I have walked the edges with no real full-intent.  When you step into that inner circle and look towards each direction, open to its’ gifts and wisdom, magic happens. 

The Cherokee, Tsalagi, believe that there’s four cords holding up the earth, Elohino, by the corners of the Cardinal Directions.  When one side is out of balance, there is disharmony.  This can be correlated with an individuals’ life. Or even a Nation. 

The East, where your life holds much illumination, beginnings, enlightenment, changes. 

The South, where many lessons are learned. Growth occurs. Abundance of Life, of music and playfulness.  Hearing and celebrating the harmonics of all Creation—The rhythm of Life. 

The West where visions manifest and introspection of self occurs in earnest.

The North where healing and preparation of Oneness with Creator occurs.  I have seen the Warrior of the North.  The Great Protector.  I have felt his breath upon my face/through my physical and spiritual body.  He calls us to be the powerful Warriors of our potential.  To walk in balance with all Creation. 

In the Center, there is Life, breath, stillness.  Like the eye of the storm that is all around us.

The Path is never ending.  You continue to spiral round and round.  Each layer opens possibilities of seeing with your inner eye and not only having a head knowledge but a heart knowledge that we do not walk alone.  Many Ancients walk behind, in front, and beside us, supporting us. 

One moment, one spoken phrase, can affect the next generation.  And the next one after that.  For seven generations, my Walk will affect not only people, but the plant kingdom, animal kingdom, the Universe.  To watch my grandchildren make a choice to Walk the Medicine Wheel is a delight.  It is also a responsibility.  That is the Way of the Eagle. 

Stone Medicine, Inyan Pejuta, has been shared with me by Jenny Ray. I’ve been a massage therapist since 1997 in a little town of 3000 people.  A few years ago, Jenny said to me, “Hey! You need to take my class!”  Ok, sure, where at and I’ll be there.  So started my journey with the stones.  Since I had always hauled boxes of rocks around my whole life it didn’t seem so strange that you could use them in a healing manner.  After a couple “formal” classes and many trades with Jenny and another friend, I find that the stones have been teaching me all along the way—listening to them, quieting my inner being. More and more of my clients are asking “Hey, what are all these stones under the table about, anyway?” 

People prefer them being used instead of just my hands.  One time, I thought I was going to help this man with a particular Ceremony, but the stones had a different idea.  My hands were led to do something else. All I could do was hang on and go for the ride—they were that powerful!  I find myself showing people how to put some stones in their freezer and use them on themselves for inflammation.  They like that much better than ice.  Ice pushes the cold in—stones draw the heat out.  So much nicer!  I show them how to make a bed of warm stones to lay on. Or surround their arthritic hands with them.  With all the strife, tension, hatred, and confusion in the world, the stones have given people a good way of dealing with what life throws at us. 

Janelle teaching students the Gathering Ceremony on Big Creek in Idaho

Hey! And there’s no nasty adverse side-effects like you get with western medicine drugs!  Ten years ago, I wrote my business plan to include teaching in ten years.  I had no idea what I would teach, but I figured I should know a thing or two by then.  I have been entrusted with some powerful Medicine that I have much respect for.  I wish to share what I am learning with those who want to experience healing methods that have been around for years and years. I have told my students that we all are learning and I thank them for the opportunity. 

 I wish to keep Inyan Pejuta in its purest form.  That is a very important part of sharing this Medicine.  Many things can get watered down and changed to the point that it is no longer the original.  So, there is much prayer and Ceremony when I am approached to teach someone.  Sometime, I would like to see a retreat center on my land so people can stay there and receive much more than what they can in some big hotel conference room.  So, we’ll see!  I’ve just begun my second half of the century of my life and have many places to go and share Inyan Pejuta.      

 Mytakwe Oyasin

The Medicine Wheel 

It’s the spaces in-between that’s important.

The quietness

The stillness

Where healing occurs

Where listening occurs

You can hear Creators’ Whisper

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