Our Founding Story
Our founder, Eliot Cowan, dedicated his life to bringing spiritual medicine to people. He was the author and teacher of Plant Spirit Medicine. After twelve years of apprenticeship and pilgrimages he was initiated as a Tsaurirrikame, Elder Medicine man in the tradition of the (Wixárika people). Tatewari, “Grandfather Fire,” became his main deity and teacher. Guidance was received in 1999 to find a place for healing.
Many students, clients and friends, began to show enthusiasm to help. Groups of people from Maine to Georgia were looking for the right place. The Northerners wanted it to be in the North, the Southerners wanted it to be in the South. There were those who favored undeveloped land, and those who favored land with infrastructure in place. From time to time Grandfather Fire would set out a breadcrumb trail. The place was not to be built, it was to be found. It had infrastructure. It already existed. The job was to find it.
When a community member came across a place for sale in Margaretville, New York, it was immediately recognized as home by some. But others disagreed because it had high tension wires and an electrical substation in one corner of the property.
Grandfather Fire suggested that we look for clues in the history of how that land had been used in the past. Some fascinating information was found about the indigenous peoples of the area, but nothing that resolved the disagreement about the electrical substation, which contained transformers and capacitors. The clue, Grandfather said, was that the property was meant to be a place of transformation where people could develop new capacities. The riddle had been solved. We had found the right place for Blue Deer Center. “Always look for the jokes and puns in these things,” He said.
A not-for-profit corporation was set up. Funding and volunteers arrived miraculously, work was done to bring the buildings up to code, and Blue Deer opened for programs in 2005. Gradually, the mission of Blue Deer became clear.
We learned that our land was recognized by the indigenous peoples long ago as a sacred place of healing and resolution of conflict. We learned that our mission was bigger. We learned that our name Blue Deer was known to the Huichol people as the supreme guide to humans, showing us how to live purposeful, heart-centered lives. Blue Deer Center is a sacred place for transformation and healing for people of different backgrounds and a place where we host many indigenous traditions by embracing the knowledge of the natural world.
Guided at each step
Our Founding Story
Our founder, Eliot Cowan, dedicated his life to bringing spiritual medicine to people. He was the author and teacher of Plant Spirit Medicine. After twelve years of apprenticeship and pilgrimages he was initiated as a Tsaurirrikame, Elder Medicine man in the tradition of the (Wixárika people). Tatewari, “Grandfather Fire,” became his main deity and teacher. Guidance was received in 1999 to find a place for healing.
Many students, clients and friends, began to show enthusiasm to help. Groups of people from Maine to Georgia were looking for the right place. The Northerners wanted it to be in the North, the Southerners wanted it to be in the South. There were those who favored undeveloped land, and those who favored land with infrastructure in place. From time to time Grandfather Fire would set out a breadcrumb trail. The place was not to be built, it was to be found. It had infrastructure. It already existed. The job was to find it.
When a community member came across a place for sale in Margaretville, New York, it was immediately recognized as home by some. But others disagreed because it had high tension wires and an electrical substation in one corner of the property.
Grandfather Fire suggested that we look for clues in the history of how that land had been used in the past. Some fascinating information was found about the indigenous peoples of the area, but nothing that resolved the disagreement about the electrical substation, which contained transformers and capacitors. The clue, Grandfather said, was that the property was meant to be a place of transformation where people could develop new capacities. The riddle had been solved. We had found the right place for Blue Deer Center. “Always look for the jokes and puns in these things,” He said.
A not-for-profit corporation was set up. Funding and volunteers arrived miraculously, work was done to bring the buildings up to code, and Blue Deer opened for programs in 2005. Gradually, the mission of Blue Deer became clear.
We learned that our land was recognized by the indigenous peoples long ago as a sacred place of healing and resolution of conflict. We learned that our mission was bigger. We learned that our name Blue Deer was known to the Huichol people as the supreme guide to humans, showing us how to live purposeful, heart-centered lives. Blue Deer Center is a sacred place for transformation and healing for people of different backgrounds and a place where we host many indigenous traditions by embracing the knowledge of the natural world.
You Can Support the Artists
Alas, she would not be playing the most daring, out-there characters. And let’s face it: the great parts were always headed to someone whiter anyway. The more audacious move was to declare herself a moral progenitor, to walk with her head high so that Denzel Washington might become a man on fire and Viola Davis could learn how to get away with murder.