Verlinda Montoya’s Ceremonies

Native American Ceremonies

Verlinda Montoya regularly conducts several Native American Ceremonies throughout the year that are open to the general public. The most common ceremonies she offers are described below.

Vision Quest
The vision quest is a time of self-reflection and fasting in a traditional way. This ceremony begins with an offering to a native leader or medicine person and is conducted in the mountains. A sacred altar is created for the person where they sit for 3-4 days in prayer, fasting and staying secluded in a sacred site. A sweat lodge is conducted before and after the quest to help prepare for the journey. It is a time to receive understanding about the vision for life, restoration of one’s self and trying to understand or clarify one’s life. A traditional giveaway completes the ceremony. It is the responsibility of the person requesting the ceremony to provide the wood, food and necessary items needed for the period.

Doctoring/Healing
This ceremony is conducted in several formats, but in this case it is done in the sweat lodge for 2-4 nights consecutively. It is an intense ceremony requiring fasting, prayer ties, and a deep intention to heal. The individual often spends the days in seclusion to maintain the spiritual space. Any person wishing to deal with emotional trauma, abuse, childhood issues, physical challenges or spiritual concerns in a sacred setting with support from a community and healer would benefit from this ceremony. The deep intention to heal and seek clarity or understanding is often the reason an individual seeks this ceremony. It can be physically and mentally challenging requiring a commitment to the process of getting well. The individual will often be given tasks or herbs to utilize to complete the healing whenthey go home. After one year a traditional thank you ceremony is done.

Medicine Wheel
The medicine wheel has the power during ceremony to connect us to powerful spirits, prayer and lead us to our own healing. The native culture believes that every inch of mother earth holds an energized connection to life and therefore should be honored. The medicine wheel is the physical manifestation of this energy and is used as a sacred ceremonial space. The circle has no beginning or end it is a way of respecting all life through prayer, song, dance and ritual. The construction of a wheel is done at sunrise. Our traditional use of the wheel is to walk each spoke of the wheel and learn how to honor the direction, and animals that hold the power and learn how we can use it to help our everyday life.

To attend any of these Native American ceremonies, please contact Verlinda to learn about appropriate preparation and protocols.

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