Brooke Medicine Eagle

Brooke "Medicine Eagle" Edwards (born 1943)[1] is an American author, singer/songwriter and teacher, specializing in her interpretations of Native American religions. She frequently teaches workshops at New Age and other events.

Edwards was born and raised near a Crow reservation in Montana.[2] She studied at the University of Denver[2] obtaining a BA degree in psychology and mathematics.[1] She earned an MA in counseling psychology from the University of Denver.[1] She describes herself as "of Sioux and Nez Perce ancestry"[1] and says she has ancestors in six Native American tribes.[3]

Edwards' life and spiritual experiences were documented in a 1982 study of American Indian women. Marie Annette Jaimes described Edwards as "a charismatic medicine woman".[4] Jaimes has taught Native American Studies at San Francisco State University,[2] and discussed a vision of Edwards' that represented a "significant contribution"[4] to understanding the place of women within modern Native American culture. According to Jaimes, Edwards is the "great, great grand-niece of Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce"[4] and studied with Stands Near The Fire, a Northern Cheyenne elder.[4]

Edwards has been criticized by some Native American groups. In 1984, the American Indian Movement included Edwards among those it said were responsible for "a great attack or theft" of Native American ceremonies,[5] and in a 2001 article in the Journal of Religious & Theological Information, Cynthia Snavely connected Edwards to the "misappropriation of Native American spirituality [that] takes place within the New Age spirituality movement".[6] The Center for the SPIRIT (Support and Protection of Indian Religions and Indigenous Traditions) accused her of misrepresenting her heritage and falsely claiming to be a medicine woman.[7]

Works

Audio

  • A Gift of Song (CD). 1995.
  • Visions Speaking (CD). 1996.
  • Gathering the Sacred Breath (CD). 2003.
  • Live from the Shaman's Cave (CD). 2005.
  • For my People (CD). 2005.

Books

  • Buffalo Woman Comes Singing: The Spirit Song of a Rainbow Medicine Woman. 1991. ISBN 978-0-345-36143-1.
  • The Last Ghost Dance: A Guide for Earth Mages. 2000. ISBN 978-0-345-40031-4.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Anderson, Lorraine, ed. (2003). Sisters of the Earth: Women's Prose and Poetry About Nature. Vintage Books. ISBN 9781400033218.
  2. 1 2 3 Sallquist, Bill (October 29, 1981). "Medicine Woman Blends Treatments". Spokane Daily Chronicle.
  3. ↑ "About Brooke Medicine Eagle". MedicineEagle.com. Archived from the original on October 25, 2014. Retrieved March 20, 2013. She has ancestors in six native tribes (Crow, Nez Perce, Lakota, Cree, Peigan and Cherokee) as well as European blood from Scotland, Ireland, and Denmark.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Jaimes, Marie Annette (1982). "Towards a New Image of American Indian Women". Journal of American Indian Education. 22 (1). Arizona State University. Archived from the original on 2013-05-23.
  5. ↑ Grimes, Ronald L. (2002). Deeply Into the Bone: Re-Inventing Rites of Passage. University of California Press. p. 143. ISBN 9780520236752.
  6. ↑ Snavely, Cynthia A. (2001). "Native American Spirituality: Its Use and Abuse by Anglo-Americans". Journal of Religious & Theological Information. 4 (1). pp. 91–103. doi:10.1300/J112v04n01_08.
  7. ↑ Alert – Re: Brooke ‘Medicine Eagle’ Edwards
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