The PlowBoy Interview Rolling Thunder

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Those were mighty rough times, but they taught me a lot about nature and about ways of living in harmony with Mother Earth. I learned how to forage for nuts, berries, and roots in the forest and how to catch fish by setting traps in the water. I also taught myself to recognize all the local woodland plants, although I never got to know many by their English or Latin names. Instead, I made up my own labels for each one, and I learned how to use them for food and medicine. So you see, a lot of my early training took place during that period . . . and that education helped me once I learned that I was meant to become a medicine man.

PLOWBOY: When did you first become aware of—or "feel"your ability to heal . . . and where do you believe the power comes from?

ROLLING THUNDER: All I can say is that I woke up one morning, and this force was with me for the first time. I'd been doctored—in my sleep—the night before by a sun god and his helpers, and when I awoke I knew something was different . . . I felt this great power within me! But I had to learn to live with the tremendous force . . . to watch every thought or emotion I had, 24 hours a day. Since the force is so strong, you see, it has a great potential for misuse, and it could really hurt someone if it were employed in a negative or destructive way. It's difficult for a healer to adjust to that new-found power . . . we all have to learn to guard every thought, every word, and every feeling, since the power could use any such "channel" to affect someone in one way or another.

I believe the healing force contains the strength of the Creator—or Great Spirit—as well as the energy of the thunder and the lightning and that of all living beings. I sometimes also ask the stars or the sun to help me, or I may call on the great medicine men and tribal chiefs of the past. As a medicine man, I attempt to bring such forces together so they'll convey their healing power to the sick person.

PLOWBOY: How would you compare the spiritual approach of a medicine man to the medications and equipment used by a "modern" physician?

ROLLING THUNDER: I think most native healers look much further than does the average M.D., back to the original cause of a particular illness. In our Indian healing ritual, we take into account not only the patient's symptoms, but—more important—this or her whole lifestyle. The medicine man has a way of understanding what is meant to be, according to an individual's progress and development. You could almost say that Indian healers carry portable "X-rays", since they have to be able to see into the person, to analyze his or her sickness, and to discover what originally caused it. It's very important to look deep into the patient . . . deeper than the skin.

PLOWBOY: What are some of those "deeper than the skin" factors that can cause illness?

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