SANTA FE, N.M. — The Bear is My Father, a book that celebrates the life, teachings and legacy of Marcellus Bear Heart Williams, a Multi-Tribe Spiritual Leader and author of the critically-acclaimed The Wind is My Mother, will be published by Synergetic Press on January 11, 2022.
Offering a mix of history and spiritual wisdom, The Bear Is My Father: Indigenous Wisdom of a Muscogee Creek Caretaker of Sacred Ways is considered a love story between Bear Heart and a community that stretches across the globe. The late Muscogee Creek Native American Church Road Man had a talent for seeing people as individuals, and for making them feel seen and special in their own ways. The Bear is My Father contains the final words Bear Heart wrote before his “going on” as well as contributions from friends and family whose lives were forever changed by Bear Heart’s presence and work. In this new book, Bear Heart uses stories of his youth and traditional medicine practices to convey lessons and knowledge about living in harmony and with respect for all.
“Living a spiritual life, no matter what the practice or religion, offers freedom, joy, happiness, and confidence that everything is within our freedom to enjoy it,” Bear Heart wrote.
The book is co-authored by Reginah WaterSpirit, Bear Heart’s Medicine Helper and wife of 23 years.
“Even if you never had the privilege of meeting Bear Heart or hearing him speak, you will feel his warm presence when reading these stories and get a feel for the depth of the man,” Doug Alderson, author of Seminole Freedom and The Vision Keepers, Walking For Native Americans and the Earth, wrote of The Bear is My Father. “The pearls of wisdom found in these pages can be spiritual guideposts for a good and fruitful life. I urge you to take a few steps down the path of this book and discover how much we all have in common.”
Globally renowned, Bear Heart was one of the last traditionally trained medicine persons of the Muscogee Creek Nation. Weaving together the knowledge of many traditions, Bear Heart was an ordained American Baptist Minister, Road Chief, and renowned spiritual counselor. Speaking in 13 Native American tribal languages, Bear Heart was considered a Multi-Tribal Spiritual Leader and was called upon internationally for his healing work.
When Reginah would ask Bear Heart exactly how he made his medicine, he always answered, “I don’t make the medicine, it was here before me. I’ve been entrusted to be a caretaker of certain sacred ways.”
