"The Bear is My Father" with Reginah Waterspirit and Tim Amsden

Circle For Original Thinking

Marcellus Bear Heart Williams is what I call a living ancestor. A living ancestor is a person whose wisdom has not departed, but instead taken up residence in the hearts of those who loved him, and even perhaps in those that never met him – someone like myself. Living ancestors are not deceased, as in inert or forgotten. Their energy has not been destroyed; their spirit and work in the world is ongoing. Join us as we invite into the conversation the spirit of Bear Heart, his wife, Reginah Waterspirit, and Tim Amsden, the editor of the newly released book on Synergetic Press, The Bear is My Father: The Wisdom of a Muscogee Creek Elder Marcellus Bear Heart Williams, the brilliant companion piece to The Wind is My Mother, that came out in 1996.

Reginah Waterspirit, co-author of The Bear is My Father, and the wife and medicine helper of Bear Heart, is originally from the Bronx, NY. An artist from birth, she sees all of life as art and has owned and operated numerous businesses, all centered around some form of art. In 1979 she boarded the Queen Elizabeth the 2nd ship in New York harbor and crossed the Atlantic Ocean bound for Europe. After traveling from the Netherlands to the Greek Islands, she ended up in Italy painting in a 14th Century structure inhabited by Machiavelli when he wrote The Prince.

In the early 1980s she studied Voice Dialogue, helpful in exploring our own personal and transpersonal energies, from the originators of the method: Hal and Sidra Stone. That was the beginning of a life change that led to her meeting Marcellus Bear Heart, of the Muskogee Nation-Creek Tribe, a caretaker of sacred ways. She was 42 years old when she embarked on a brand new, life adventure with Bear Heart,. They worked and travelled together in the United States, Europe, Mexico and Canada for the next 23 years. She went on to become an independent teacher of Voice Dialogue, other psycho-spiritual disciplines, and Art In The Park, a realistic type drawing class for the very young and elderly, that honors our connection with all living things.

Regina is a member of an earth based community called The Earth Tribe and committed to the transformational process of humans who experience themselves as one of many species, not higher or lower in stature. A dog and animal lover, she lives in Albuquerque with [dog name Rocky?], who reinforces her connection to the land.

Tim Amsden was born in Wichita, Kansas, earned a J.D. from the University of Iowa, and worked for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Kansas City for 25 years, primarily on water quality protection issues. He and now lives with his wife, Lucia, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. His writings have appeared in journals and anthologies throughout the US, as well as in Canada, Algeria, Ireland, and Turkey, and his full-length book of poetry, Vanishing Point, was published in 2015. He was editor of and contributor to a book titled The Bear is My Father: Indigenous Wisdom of a Muskogee Creek Medicine Man. that was published in 2021 by Synergetic Press. He is currently finalizing Love Letter to Ghost Land: Living Along an Ancient New Mexico Trail, a portrait of his life with Lucia in Ramah, New Mexico, and the history and deep spirit that permeates that sacred place.

Marcellus Bear Heart Williams was born a full-blooded member of the Muskogee Creek Nation in Okemah, Oklahoma, on April 13th, 1918. One of the last traditionally trained medicine persons of his Tribe, he studied for 14 years under two medicine men, then went on to obtain an undergraduate degree, a divinity degree majoring in Biblical Greek, and an honorary Ph.D. in Humanities. He was a roadman in the Native American Church, an ordained American Baptist Minister, and spoke 14 languages, 13 of them native. He prayed with President Truman, put down prayers with police and firemen at Ground Zero, New York City. served on a variety of national and international panels and boards, and authored two books. His first book, The Wind Is My Mother, was published by Random House in 1996 and has been translated into 14 languages. His second book, co-authored by his medicine helper, Reginah WaterSpirit, was just published by Synergetic Press under the title The Bear is My Father. Although he passed on August 4, 2008, Bear Heart’s energy and open-hearted unconditional love continues to enrich lives around the globe. With his medicine helper Reginah WaterSpirit, his simple message to the world lives on: Everyone is worthy, we are all one Tribe, and it is our responsibility to honor and support the living earth.