The Hunter's Prayer

Come, my wild brother, and bring again your gift of food and life. Give to my body your flesh, that I may walk on the earth another day. Give to my heart your wisdom, that I may understand the place between the winds where we all must go.

I learned this prayer in the mountains of New Mexico where I hunted with my family, our friends, and members of the Navajo nation. I wasn't allowed to hunt until I learned the prayer, and I have never hunted without it. To my mentors, Jake and Archie Archuleta, and the Begay brothers...I remember it well.