Chumash Healer to Speak at Redbird Powwow

Cecilia Garcia has devoted her life to teaching the traditional healing and spiritual ways of the Chumash people, and she will be sharing that knowledge at the Children of Many Colors Native American Powwow in Moorpark on July 18 and 19.

Garcia has given presentations at the Southwest Museum, UCLA, USC, Cal State Long Beach, the Missions San Gabriel, San Juan Capistrano and Santa Barbara, as well as numerous other locations. When she presents in Moorpark, she will be doing so on her ancestral land; the first people of Moorpark were Chumash.

Cecilia currently resides in Ensenada, Mexico. She will be making the journey to the Children of Many Colors Powwow for one reason; to share her understanding of natural healing with those who want to learn.

When Cecilia asked if she could have a place at Redbird’s annual gathering, she didn’t want a standard vendor space. She asked if she could be under a tree…but not just for its shade. Chumash healing is more than the use of plants; it is a spiritual connection and way of being as much as it is a medicinal way.

Think of a tree. Its roots go beneath the soil, into the underworld. From this place it gains nourishment and moisture. Its trunk appears above the ground, in the space we humans inhabit. Firmly standing in its place, the trunk of a tree lives in this space which it shares with all other worldly beings. Its branches reach into the sky, gathering sunlight, touching the world above our own, transcending its earthly birth while still connected to it. A tree lives in three realms; below, center and above. It also stretches out in all directions.

Trees are life givers; they produce oxygen, and by radiating moisture outward from their leaves they cool the air. A mature oak tree may release one hundred fifty gallons of water into the air daily through this evaporation, naturally cooling the atmosphere around it. When you stand beneath a tree, it is cooler, not just because of the shade it provides, but also because of this evaporative cooling.

Garcia requested a place beneath a tree so she could work with this life-giving, all-encompassing energy.

Garcia began her apprenticeship in the ways of the Chumash culture at the age of five. Her grandparents began to educate her in the ways of her people at an early age because in the Chumash way, there is more to medicine than prescribing a remedy.

Tools essential for healing include love, values, manners and common sense. It includes knowledge about a myriad of plant species, when to harvest them and how to prepare them. Her grandparents taught her where to lay her hands ion a person in a respectful way to work with them in their healing. They taught her songs, stories, and other healing methods as well.

Every environment contains plants with medicinal properties. Southern California is no exception. Anywhere that a relatively undisturbed natural environment can be found, there will be beneficial medicinal and edible plants within it.

In 2005, Cecilia collaborated on the creation of a book with James D. Adams Jr. PhD, Healing With Medicinal Plants of the West – cultural and scientific basis for their use, which is an illustrated and practical guide including 115 plants local to the Southern California region. Each plant is described with a color photograph, its scientific, common and Chumash name, and its uses, both in traditional and pharmacological terms. This work is unique, as it presents the spirituality of healing as a necessary part of the whole process.

Healing With Medicinal Plants of the West is available on Amazon.com, Abedus Press (http://www.abeduspress.com) and Cecilia will have copies available at the Children of Many Colors Powwow.

Garcia is also available for hands-on workshops, lectures and private consultations. She may be reached by phone at 011-52-646-178-5436, or by email at firepithome [at] juno.com

Cecilia will give talks at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, July 18 and 19, adjacent to the powwow. Look for the trees.

Where:
Children of Many Colors Native American Powwow
Moorpark College Athletic Field, 7075 Campus Road,
Moorpark, CA 93021



When:
Powwow Activities:
Friday July 17, 6 p.m. Open Flute Circle and Potluck
Saturday July 18, 11 a.m. – 10 p.m. Gourd Dancing and
Intertribal Powwow
Sunday, July 19, 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. Gourd Dancing and
Intertribal Powwow
Cecilia Garcia Presentations:
Saturday July 18, 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. to the east of the powwow arena
Sunday July 19, 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. to the east of the powwow arena

Cost:
Powwow: $2.00 suggested donation per vehicle to assist Redbird, a 501(c)(3) non profit association, in hosting the powwow
Cecilia’s Presentations: Free (if you feel moved to offer Cecilia a monetary honoring, please do so. She is coming from Mexico without compensation to share her knowledge)

For More Information:

Website: http://www.RedbirdsVision.org
Email: redbirds_vision [at] hotmail.com
Phone: (805) 217-0364
Mail:
Redbird
P.O. Box 702
Simi Valley, CA 93062