The Last Sunflower

I can still feel the energy surging through my veins in a fireball explosion as a sheet of blue electricity struck down from the heavens immobilizing me. I will never forget the smell of my long black hair singeing at the tips or the sight of a smoke bomb escaping every threaded inch of my clothing. An eternity of torture amassed in moments yet I survived. Physically, I escaped with burns only to my palms. Mentally, my brains were fried and scrambled like freshly cut potatoes sizzling in oil and my morning eggs prepared just the way I like them. A decade ago, this was my ascending orchestrated by The Creator calling me to rise for the sake of humanity.

Upstate New York is my home. My name is Chitto of the Onondaga Nation.

Sitting in the tall grass, I watch the sun make her morning ascent. Her ray’s project over the mountain top capturing my image. Like a camera catching sweet memories, I drift farther back in time to a picture of me as a young boy grasping firmly onto Grandmother’s hand. Grandmother was a gifted orator who kept our tribe’s morale alive retelling the tales of our ancestors. Her silver wisps were woven with such intricacy as were her stories transcending across time and space. Uniting past, present and future as an esteemed Shaman, she reminded us to always pay respect to nature’s children; every plant, animal, person, creature & thing. She also taught us to never forget the 7 Sacred Grandfather Teachings of the first elders: Wisdom, Love, Respect, Bravery, Honesty, Humility, & Truth.

I spent my upbringing under the watchful eye of grandmother. The morning of my birth was marked by a sighting of a giant eagle bringing with him an important message: my arrival was much more than a joyous family occasion. It was a sign of hope for our people. I was chosen by The Creator to pay homage to the legendary Hiawatha as the second incarnation of human development and civilization. Grandmother, along with a few of the other elders, spent my childhood teaching me not only traditional native culture, but the history of Mankind. Combining education in both natural law and laws governed by Man were necessary to cultivate me as a future leader who walks not only with superior knowledge, but also compassion in his heart. Grandmother had a favorite mantra that she repeated daily: “To hold compassion in your core is like clutching a heart shaped locket close to your breast. When you open it a greater gift is found within; peace.”

Grandmother was the happiest person I ever met. Tall and bright just like a sunflower; she was the epitome of longevity at the age of 100. She inspired everyone she met to be the best version of themselves they could possibly be and no matter how difficult times got, she never frowned. On occasion when asked why she was so happy, she would simply reply “Happiness is a choice depending on nothing other than flexing your cheeks.”

Much like the sunflower, Grandmother was our people’s symbol of hope. The wildflower once flourished on earth with over 60 species but despite its domestication she was slowly vanishing from the planet. Ecological shifts of completely unnatural origin were destroying our flower of promise. At the age of 6, I started calling Grandmother “sunflower” for she represented this treasure best with purity in her heart. Grandmother’s journey began during the pandemic in 2021. She was 10 years old when she became ill with the Corona Virus shortly before the vaccine was publicly released. She contracted a fever of 104 degrees lasting for seven days. Due to her body’s dangerously elevated temperature, she also became afflicted with hallucinations. A repetitive vision of the earth engulfed in flames incinerating everything in its path played over and over in slow motion... It was like surveillance tapes taken from a crime scene were being frozen frame by frame by an analyst reviewing them for possible suspects. She spent seven days in this horrific nightmare hoping it would end when her fever broke but when it finally did, she has forever transformed; a shamanic vessel and prophetic counselor.

Over the years, Grandmother’s visions were recorded in a diary which by her mid-twenties inspired her book “Obeying Mother Earth.” A beautiful compilation of her dreams and messages from the spirit world also included several chapters dedicated to traditional native medicine with an emphasis on preserving plant life. Her goal was to broaden awareness on planetary preservation while reminding people of the often forgotten fact that modern medicine is rooted in many Native American traditional remedies. Her goal was to spread the message: more ecology, less technology.

In 2022, humanity tried to compensate for the suffering the economy endured by the pandemic rebuilding businesses and creating larger ones. The problem is that little consideration was given to the environment as bulldozers tore through forests. Already failing fauna and flora statistics once on the radar for protection were now sacrifices in the name of financial advancement. Clearing and building; factories and machines; smog, pollution & toxic waste dumping; the nightmare everyone once worried would destroy our environment, took a backseat in a quest for financial recovery.

Grandmother spent her life honoring the planet through educating people. She taught elementary school for 40 years instilling solid values in children with the hope of promoting a more earth conscientious generation. Her doctoral in Botany gave her an upper hand reaching people beyond the reservation with her free lectures throughout Syracuse and Oneida County. She addressed the fact that out of the thousands of different species of plant life once home to earth, only 5% have ever been utilized for food and therapeutic resources. Over time, ignoring nature’s untapped potential has placed popular selection at risk with imminent extinction, and continued environmental destruction has wiped out the benefits of the unexplored options.

In 2111, at the age of 100, Grandmother’s journey came to an end passing peacefully in her sleep. My sunflower was gone forever. Ironically, the wildflower bearing the same name was never sighted again.

The tall grass brushes against my forearms tickling the back of my neck. I feel a familiar presence standing behind me. It is Grandmother. My shoulders unstiffen and drop from the pressure of her strong calloused hands. She is with me now but in reality, she has been by my side this entire time. Life has had its lonely and confusing days without her but somehow I must press onward. A slight ringing in my ears releases her words “Chitto, be careful where your mind wanders to when you find yourself weary”.

Beside me, a patch of Deadly Nightshade also known as the Belladonna sounds my attention with her purple bells. A sweet enticement of blackberries; deadly consumed in mistaken proportions but therapeutic in accurate calculations, is just another sad reminder of environmental unrest.

I do not understand why The Creator chose me to walk in Hiawatha’s spirit. Surely, Grandmother’s contributions to Mankind surpass my short 28 years. Still, I follow her example teaching and studying for my Masters' in Botany so I can continue her mission. I do wonder though how I, one man, can make a substantial impact when the planets’ declining condition began long before my birth. Our forests are a magical fountain being drained slowly by the hands of the uninformed and obstinate. Native ritual burnings of the past were only cautionary measures preventing one natural habitat from overrunning the stability of another. Now the pendulum has over swung in the opposite direction. Man plows over anything in his path in the name of technological advances, bigger businesses, more power, more money; greed. I wonder if humanity is prepared to feed its children currency when all our natural resources are nothing but memories lingering in barren fields.

How can Man’s technological expectations trample on the obvious essential buildings blocks of our plants?

I am terrified and angry. Hiawatha was courageous in uniting our nations generations ago. My task is impossible. How can I possibly unify Man who is fighting a precarious war against Mother Earth? In the beginning, The Creator provided us with everything we needed to survive. In spite of that, humans have always tested boundaries. Since less equals more, man will challenge that notion saying that more must be better. The 7 Sacred Grandfather’s Teachings, I fear, will soon be lost forever. Basic principles are missing in action like soldiers taken by ambush and imprisoned. The truth is that the odds are stacked against the few of us warriors diligent in the fight for earth’s salvation. The majority is stuck in their arrogant and ignorant beliefs yet narcissism will cost the oblivious a price far greater than any amount of cash flowing in bank accounts. Perhaps the greater war is Man against himself and his reluctance to change.

For a moment, I reflect on Hiawatha’s legend and the devastation he faced when his daughters were murdered, one by one refusing the advances of his enemies. I have no children of my own but Mother Earth’s environment is dying due to man’s technological advances which are blinding him to the vitality of natural law maintaining balance. Is it possible that humanity is hopeless?

In a moment of weakness, I shove a handful of the Belladonna’s berries into my mouth.

A gust of wind blows from the west and a single cloud directly overhead pops like an overinflated balloon. Squalls strike against my cheeks forcing me to spit half- melted berries out of my overstuffed mouth. As quickly as the downpour accumulates is as quickly as it dwindles away. The air current wanes dropping one golden petal at my feet. I rub my eyes in disbelief as surely the Belladonna has already taken effect making me delirious. Glancing to the left, about 3 feet away, is a sunflower standing about 12 inches high. This is not possible. Sunflowers are nonexistent yet, there she is golden and beautiful matching the sun reemerging from the clouds.

Belly crawling like an injured boxer seeking ringside first aid, I wriggle my way to the blossom. I cradle the infant in my arms hearing her cries for support. Mother Earth has presented me with an opportunity to not only replenish the sunflower but to restore hope to my people. Perhaps my presence is more significant than I could ever have imagined.

I gather the sunflower seeds scattered upon the soil and Grandmother’s mantra about compassion and a locket come rushing in like high tide splattering shore banks. She said holding compassion in our core is like opening a heart- shaped locket releasing the greater gift of peace inside. Faith, however, is the hidden key that Mankind has forgotten. Much like happiness, faith is a choice that does not hold one hostage to circumstances. Sometimes when things seem impossible one must remember that by refusing to trust, nothing will be. Choosing to believe, however, breeds endless possibilities.

Along with trust, I plant these sunflower seeds. I will nourish them waiting for roots to sprout. I will share the fire blooms with my people as a torch to light a different path. Although mankind’s future is uncertain, I will put one foot in front of the other leading my people on a fresh journey. Perhaps this is a peace offering gifted by The Creator. Maybe I am the voice of reason to inspire better choices. No matter what lies ahead, I can say that for the first time in my life I finally walk holding peace within my heart.

Thanks for stopping by. I am a British born woman who celebrates her one sixteenth Mohican heritage on my father's side. I believe that with greater ecological studies and improvements that our planet can thrive for many generations to come. Please Do your part today and support plant life in their natural habitats.