Being reminded of the sacredness of everything

Peace and Dignity Prayer Run

This week I had the honor of participating in an indigenous prayer run … not as a runner, but as a photographer and maker of flipbooks. Event photography is always a challenge to capture the essence of a moving process; when it’s a sacred event, it is even more challenging. So, it wasn’t until after the event when I had time to reflect and process what I had just been part of that I began to truly appreciate the experience.

Peace and Dignity is an indigenous prayer run that happens every four years, covering six thousand miles in seven months. The flipbook below offers more of the details, however, as a non-native person, what touched me was the sacredness of everything … every person, every movement, every moment.

Rather than try to interpret what I saw, here are some glimpses:

• Ceremonies began with laying out rugs according to the four directions, earth and sky. Prayer staffs are carefully unpacked onto these rugs and carried during the ceremonies and then just as carefully repacked when the ceremony ends. The two people packing the staffs on each rug shake hands at the end of the process.

• Hand shakes are more of an embrace than a polite hand-shake, including both hands and a meeting of the eyes.

• When I arrived at my first circle, I was invited to be a part of it, as was everyone else who arrived. At the end of the ceremony, everyone circled clasping hands one by one. It didn’t seem to matter how much time it took; it was part of the connection.

• People routinely cleaned and picked up even tiny pieces of paper or trash from the ceremonial circle.

• As the runners travel from one community to the next, they receive prayers, small gifts, feathers and prayer staffs from the hosting community. Those staffs, and the feathers which are attached to the main staff (Eagle staff), become part of the sacred journey.

• At each circle, there is an open invitation to share prayers and songs. They take as much time as it takes for anyone to be heard and honored.

• When runners come into the circle, they come from the east and proceed clockwise. Each movement has a ceremonial meaning.

If you would like to see the flipbook which tells more of the story of this prayer run, it is available here. Here’s a sample page: