Young Teachers, Old Spirits

During the winter of 2010, two very special teachers were asked by Sweet Medicine to lead classes in Central Oregon during her stay in Chile. Rainbow Eagle Dreamer, formerly Tyler Markland, and Katherine Amara Stanton invited the group into their home and shared their multitude of experiences from South America.

Eagle Dreamer, having known from an early period in his life that schooling and the “normal” American life of a teenager was not his path to walk, received a message of guidance during his first Reiki experience. After spending a short time in Hawaii and visiting sacred island sites, Eagle Dreamer was drawn back to Central Oregon where he was introduced to Sweet Medicine. He immediately began taking classes with her and attended his first vision quest. His path next took him to Prescott College in Arizona, where he pursued an independent study in shamanism. There he met Amara and together they began a journey pursuing indigenous South American ways.

Amara’s interest in ancient cultures started with a fascination for Ancient Egypt when she was a child. Amara spent many of her formative years in an ashram and during high-school developed an interest in permaculture, organics, and the alternative lifestyle that such values bring to an open mind. Amara also studied with an Essene Christian group that, as a part of their worship, honored both the masculine and feminine aspects of divinity. Continuing with her Eastern spiritual influences, she attended a ceremony with the Hindu Guru Amma, known as The Hugging Saint. Deeply moved by that experience and already attending Prescott College, Amara committed to a daily spiritual practice that would lead her to meet Eagle Dreamer.

Together, Amara and Eagle Dreamer traveled to Peru and Chile, visiting sacred sites, attending ceremonies, and gleaning the teachings of influential leaders. They have studied with Drunvalo Melchizedek, Alberto Villoldo’s student Corey Cooperman, Amma Chi, Don Howard “Otorongo Blanco,” Don Rober, Martin Prechtel, and Sweet Medicine Horse Nation. Their teachings have also been influenced by the Quero and the Chavin. Eagle Dreamer and Amara attended a gathering called Return of the Ancestors, and had the opportunity to experience ceremony with indigenous people from all over the world, including the Kogi, Mara, and the Aimara. 

Both Eagle Dreamer and Amara are currently working towards degrees in Anthropology. Amara will focus on cultural Anthropology, while Eagle Dreamer will focus on medical Anthropology. Through this young pair, our group has been able to open our hearts to the traditions and ceremonies of the South. Eagle Dreamer and Amara may be young teachers, but they are old spirits.