Cynthia Ann Barrett AKA Barrett Eagle Bear

[Barnaby_McEwan]

I do still have some questions about Barrett Eagle Bear though. Does anyone know anything about her (see my questions in my previous post)?

Based on a quick search, it's not looking good, but I guess you've seen this already.

Barrett Eagle Bear, born of the Cherokee and Comanche, then adopted into the Lakota tribe, was raised in the Traditional Way.

Which one?

...she was able to create a community here in Northern California of Pipe and Sweat Lodge ceremonies that lasted for seven years. During that time, she did thousands of sweat lodge ceremonies...in spite of intense opposition from factions of the Native American community...

She's still at it (Note: photos of mixed sweat. No nudity but perhaps offensive for other reasons).

Is this Barrett Eagle Bear?

[Cante]

Yes, it is. That photo is from the group of pics I found online from a sweat lodge that happened on June 10th 2006. It seems that you have found the same photos.

So my questions are: What tribe is she from, or what tribe adopted her? Who was her teacher? Not to sound sexist, but when did women start running Wiwanyag Wachipi (she claims to be Intercessor for Ina Maka Wiwanyag Wachipi)? Why does she accept money for ceremony? Why does she allow photos to be taken of her ceremonies? Why does she allow her ceremonies to be mixed with San Pedro cactus? Who gave her this authority to do all these things?

[ironbuffalo]

Damn, those pics are scary. What is even scarier is I know some of the people in those pictures. Now I know where the local wannabes go to sundance.

[Epiphany]

While at Princeton, I heard that a Comanche medicine woman named Barrett Eagle Bear was coming to New Jersey from Texas to run sweat lodge ceremonies. Hungry for a taste of home, I drove out to a wooded area where she would conduct her ceremony and found, to my great surprise, over fifty naked white people, standing in the woods, waiting. One man was holding a staff adorned with a pair of deer antlers and chicken feathers. With great trepidation, I opened the car door. I was immediately approached by a naked white woman, roughly sixty years of age and around 190 pounds. She folded me into a tight embrace, saying, "I am so sorry for what my people have done to your people.".

As the old woman looked up at me, I knew I was probably the first Indian she had ever met

He asked her to put some clothes on and then told her how ceremonies are done where he comes from.

From Everything You Wanted to Know about Indians But Were Afraid to Ask, Anton Treuer, Borealis Books, 2012

http://books.google.com/books?id=pnBmgUq9dVcC&pg=PT13&dq=Barrett+Eagle+Bear,&hl=en&sa=X&ei=IYWfUYrgGuqbiAKpp4DwDA&ved=0CDcQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=barrett&f=false

Several people say they are now part of her lineage, including:

Ernesto has spent many years studying and facilitating Indigenous Shamanic practices, and has studied with Michael Harner, Frank Natale, Robert Ghost Wolf, Starr Fuentes, Barrett Eagle Bear, Mary Parker, Helen Bony, Jackie Small and more. He is an honorary Ceremonial Pipe carrier from the Lakota Nation, his spiritual Grandmother/Sister Barrett Eagle Bear blessed him with this honor in 1996.

http://www.byregion.net/cgibin/users/profiles.pl?username=journey2theheart

Attachment here is a newspaper clipping from 1991 about her selling ceremony.

http://libserv23.princeton.edu/princetonperiodicals/cgi-bin/princetonperiodicals?a=d&d=TownTopics19910508-01.2.150&e=-------en-20--1--txt-IN-----#

[Epiphany]

Excerpts from Miami Herald article, paid access so don't have direct link:

The Miami Herald
February 23, 2002
REBIRTH IN MOTHER EARTH
PATTY SHILLINGTON

...a 38-year-old therapist living in Plantation, has come to a shady yard on a canal in northwest Broward County to explore the ways of her Native American ancestors for the first time. A Lakota holy woman will be her guide.
One weekend a month, Barrett Eagle Bear travels from North Carolina to lead the rite of Inipi, or sweat lodge ceremony, at this grassy spot not far from Sawgrass Mills. After hours of prayerful preparation and socializing, more than a dozen South Floridians gather in a steamy hut to seek renewal in a sacred ceremony that American Indians have practiced for thousands of years.

For more than 15 years, Barrett has quietly lead sweats in South Florida (as well as other parts of the country) for a group now known as Two Feathers. Some are Native Americans or descendants, including Cricket the fire-keeper and Gina Torres, on whose land the sweat lodge was built. Many are not, reflecting a controversial participation in Indian spirituality by non-Natives.

``It's a very, very powerful way to pray,'' Barrett said of the ceremony, one of seven Lakota rites. ``You get healed emotionally, spiritually and physically. I've seen people change and I've seen people grow.''

Barrett, 52, was raised in Texas by her grandparents, Cherokee descendants who taught her the traditions. ``It was pretty hard,'' Barrett said. ``You didn't make claims to your Native American heritage back then.''

She got into drugs as a teenager. Sobering up involved seeking her spiritual roots. Eventually, she was adopted into the Lakota family on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota. Her adopted father is a medicine man and the elders taught her the rituals she would come to lead, realizing a vision that came to her as an adolescent. She has been ``pouring water'' - the phrase for leading a sweat, because it's the ceremonial pouring of water over the hot rocks that creates the steam - since 1983 and has been sun dancing, another Lakota rite, for 16 years.

``At 12 or 13 years old, I had a calling to be teaching these ceremonial ways,'' Barrett said, ``and for people to be able to see the spirits in a Native way.''

Barrett is happy sharing the ritual with non-Natives, with the blessing of her elders, though she knows some Indian groups do not concur.

``Where I come from we have always invited non-Indian people to come to the sweat lodge ceremonies,'' Barrett said. ``We have people from all walks of life, people who want to connect to Mother Earth.''

Raoul Amquy, aka Cricket, a Native American from Brazil who lives in Miami and is a sun dancer as well as the sweat lodge fire-keeper, has a generous outlook: ``If I open my heart for the white people, the people will know my Creator and know about my beliefs. The only thing I ask is please respect Mother Earth. Respect the animals. Respect all my traditions.''

[Epiphany]

Barrett is still active, for instance in April this year on her Facebook page:

I will be having a Inipi Ceremony on Sun.4-21 at noon. Lets try to attend. It's at Millie's land in Sebastopol. Donations are appreciated. See you on the 21st.

She is currently based in Petaluma, Sonoma, California. Birthdate 7 July 1949. She has said that she was raised in Texas. Some folks online say she is "Barrett Quinley" but I don't see any other info on that yet.

>  Actually we in FL have seen "it" happen far too often we have over 360 plastic
> medicine people in this state alone documented from folks  who have "sweats"
> and charge nominal amounts to the "guru's" who sell books, tapes and
> sweats-such as Barrett Quinley aka "Eagle Bear" who sold sweats in Miami for
> $500 for a 45 minute ":session".

http://www.arcane-archive.org/religion/american/non-native-paticipation-in-native-religions-cultures-1.php

Some name variations in public records:

Barrett Eagle Bear
Bear Barrett Eagle
Barrett Eagle-Bear
Barrett A Eagle-Bear
-------

Several of her FB friends have the surname Barrett, wonder if that is her own surname, possibly through marriage.

[milehighsalute]

do like they did to white ego and little grandmother.......send info of her upcoming events to local indians in that area....especially AIM since they helped organize in past....then send emails with detailed concerns to venues....let them know you already contacted dept of interior and that what they are doing is illegal........i had luck doing this here in town

[onceuponatime]

I met Barrett several years ago at Norman Running's Sundance (Ina Maka Sundance) She was selling T shirts with that year's logo on them to pay for her travel expenses to the ceremony.

[Ironshield34]

I am Oglala Lakota from cankpe opi and have no idea what Ina maka is earth mother we say unci maka!!! Also my relatives are eagle bears and also bear eagles and don't know any who adopted this person!!! Why would someone say donations appreciated a real medicine person accepts the ipogi and helps and doesn't need anything else!! Sure some people are kind and make monetary donations but they are not asked for that is done out of the kindness of the persons heart!!!

[Epiphany]

A snippet view of an article gives the tip off as to who she might be:

Eagle Bear, Cindy Barrett, is the only one in here who has any Native American blood. The others are native Californians. Some call this New Age, not Native American. That annoys Barrett, who follows the strict ritual of the Lakota Nation

Her name is Cynthia Ann Barrett, same exact birthdate as she uses now in public records as Barrett Eagle Bear. Born in Texas.

Father and mother's memorial http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Barrett&GSiman=1&GScnty=2551&GRid=44916785& Mother's maiden name is Morgan.

Paternal grandparents:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Barrett&GSiman=1&GScid=372671&GRid=45425424&
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Barrett&GSiman=1&GScid=372671&GRid=45425400&

Some paternal genealogy documented here: http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=balbar&id=I43

Maternal grandparents:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Morgan&GSiman=1&GScid=372671&GRid=45479451&
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Morgan&GSiman=1&GScid=372671&GRid=45479435&

Her great grandparents all white (as are all descendents) in census. 4 born in Alabama, 2 Texas, 1 Arkansas, 1 Louisiana.