I am a pahana. I am a wasichu. But I am not a “fat taker,” the literal meaning for “white person” in Lakota (Sioux). Despite the nearly fourteen years I have lived with my family in rural Arizona, I have learned to cherish this place as if coming home. In one sense, non-Indians can never truly be home on the North American continent. On the other hand, I believe that, with a lot of discipline and a little luck, some are able to touch upon the unique spirit of this land.

Before moving to the Four Corners region, I resided for nearly fifteen years in South Dakota, where I was an instructor of English composition at Oglala Lakota College on Pine Ridge Reservation. I also taught creative writing for the State arts council on the Rosebud Reservation. In addition, I served as a proud member of the CIA (Cowboy and Indian Alliance), which I helped to found in 1987. This ad hoc organization was instrumental in halting the Honeywell Corporation’s plans to build a testing site for radioactive munitions in the sacred He Sapa (Black Hills). It also garnered the support of notable Lakotas such as Charlotte Black Elk (great granddaughter of the Black Elk Speaks narrator) and AIM member Dennis Banks, as well as many on the tribal council. I have participated in genuine Lakota inipis (not New Age sweat lodges) led by elders such as Reginald Bird Horse of the Standing Rock Reservation, and I prayerfully supported the dancers at a wiwanyag wacipi (sun dance) on the Rosebud.

Born and raised near Cleveland, Ohio (where the only Indians I really knew were the baseball team), I earned a bachelor's degree in English from Kent State University (1974) and a master's degree in the literature of the American West from the University of Colorado, Boulder (1992).

In my book titled The Orion Zone: Ancient Star Cities of the American Southwest, I reveal no sacred lore or secrets of Hopi spirituality. The occasional ceremonial details described are already part of common knowledge, most of which is available in any substantial college library (in my case, primarily Northern Arizona University). For better or worse, early ethnography has already let the genie out of the bottle. This is simply a case of freedom of religion (to remain concealed) clashing with freedom of speech (to be revealed). In my writing process, however, no Hopi elders, medicine people, or spiritual leaders were ever consulted. Instead I relied on my own idiosyncratic perceptions, fleeting intuitions, and assiduous research to describe the star pattern of the constellation Orion projected upon the high desert of the Colorado Plateau. During frequent trips to the Hopi Mesas at my own expense, I witnessed numerous katsina dances and encountered certain elements about which I chose not to write. I have tried to respect the wishes of the Hopi for their utmost privacy in spiritual matters. If I have inadvertently discussed something that otherwise should have remained hidden, I am deeply sorry.

My goal in doing this research is not financial gain. Although a few of my articles have appeared in national publication and my two books on the subject are generally available, I can honestly say that the remuneration has been minimal--certainly not enough to survive on. To date, I have given a few radio interviews, for which I was paid nothing. Although I was formerly a college instructor, I am not currently employed by or associated with any institution, school, foundation, corporation, or agency. The fabrication of Hopi rituals or the facile mimicry of the Hopi way of life by non-Hopis is utterly distasteful to me, especially if a profit motive is involved. Sooner or later, the charlatans and exploiters will be recognized and discredited.

I do not wish to speak for the Hopi--only for myself. I do, however, wish to speak to the Hopi, establishing a dialogue as a bridge between cultures. My goal is not to obtain any restricted religious or ceremonial information, but instead to see if my findings are verified in Hopi cosmology. Perhaps the Orion correlation in Arizona is just one gigantic coincidence, or, more precisely, one small coincidence piled upon another upon another upon another, etc. Personally I do not think so, or I would not have worked almost full time for more than ten years years to elucidate this mystery. The elegant complexity of this celestial template both intrigues and bewilders me. If nothing else, one must admire the vision and tenacity of the Hisatsinom (Ancient Ones) who conceived and implemented it over the course of three centuries. Time will tell whether this mirroring of sky and earth is merely the fanciful yearnings of a misguided pahana or the true cultural heritage of the Hopi.