Last month after the passing of Tom Brown Jr. I published a brief piece about the authenticity of his mentor Grandfather a.k.a. Stalking Wolf. Well, it was one of the most popular blogs I've ever written even though it was pretty brief (you can read it HERE if you haven't already). This month I'd like to share a few more thoughts about the mystery and intrigue around Stalking Wolf and the legacy of Tom Brown, Jr.
I want to start by saying that I certainly don't know everything about this topic, and there are people out there that probably know way more. However, I also have had access to certain pieces of information that people might find helpful and relevant. Also, this piece is in particular geared to younger people who either never heard or experienced certain things and who are generally skeptical of Tom's whole story.
And, to be honest I have been skeptical of pieces and parts of the story...and I think this is natural, normal, and good especially when dealing with people who are using a Trickster and Coyote Teaching approach.
I'm pretty sure that not everything that Tom Brown wrote about in his books about Grandfather happened exactly as he portrayed it...and I'm not sure that's the point either. But, I also think that more about Grandfather is probably true than a lot of people realize or would like to admit generally for two reasons: 1) They are hardcore rationalist and skeptics by nature or 2) The whole story feels like its full of cultural appropriation since Grandfather was never around to verify what Tom said. Or, so combo of 1 and 2.
So, here's some food for thought (including some expansion of ideas I presented in part 1)
There are multiple people who have said that they met, knew, or saw Grandfather including Tom's brother, his father, and others. I know one person who said he met Grandfather (though rather obliquely, he didn't know that was who he was at the time), and I have no reason to doubt him. Tom's brother and father have both said publicly that Grandfather was real.
I've known several Native North American teachers who had either met Tom personally or knew of him by reputation, and all of them that I knew personally believed that Tom was trained by a Native person. None of them were outwardly skeptical of Tom's depictions of Grandfather, and some of them had been to the Tracker School a guests or as students.
For years, The Tracker School had a policy of offering free tuition on classes to students of Native descent.
Later in life, Tom reconnected with Apache tribal members including Lipan Apache member Juan Villarreal. Here's something Juan wrote upon Tom's death:
"As a very young child, those who knew and understood, we were taught to hide our true identity. After living with this mindset for more than 50 years, I yearned to share what I had been taught by my father and uncle in our Tamaulipan Thornscrub homelands of South Texas. In my search for how this could be accomplished, I was concerned yet blessed to find myself on a flight from Texas to New Jersey. I had been invited to the Tracker School to meet Tom Brown Jr. Walking into his camp on a two-track trail, senses in full alert, I hear a booming voice filtering through the thousands of pine trees. Someone had the full attention of and was lecturing many, many students. The voice stops as he looks to see who is arriving so early or maybe so late. This giant of a man with white eyes and white hair walks towards me, smiling. After a great bear hug and an arm-crushing hold at his arm’s length, he leans down a bit and stares into my eyes, my soul. With glaring eyes and a hearty laugh, he gently says, 'you look just like Grandfather'. 'What the hell am I doing here' I thought doubting my intentions.’ Later he would share his written down prophecy of Grandfather’s, that one of his own family would walk into his camp to deliver his teachings back to his People. With that, Tom shared that Grandfather's teachings had now come full circle.
This man Tom, my Brother, eventually became a member of our Lipan Apache Tribe. I had never heard of my Brother, Grandfather Stalking Wolf or his teachings. My request after many years of Tom’s teachings was would he be around to teach my grandchildren and he stared at me, smiled and said ‘I’ve already given you Rick’. Rick carries Grandfather's teachings with grace and honor and my hungry grandkids chase him throughout the east and west coast. These teachings now live through them. I honor my family, Tom and Grandfather by helping Rick when I can at one of Tom’s sister camps, 4EEE, in California, New Jersey, and by creating and caretaking our own Lipan Apache camp in South Texas.
Tom has moved on to teach from within each one of us. If we allow ourselves to clear our minds and sit quietly and listen, see and feel, he, along with our Ancestors will share their love and knowledge of our Mother and more. Tom once taught about time. How it doesn't exist as we understand it. If we carry a specific memory and work to clarify its details, it can be considered a form of time travel. If he allows it, I plan to visit him often. Our Condolences to his family and all who loved him. Love Honor and Respect." Juan Villarreal. The Rick referenced here is Rick Berry the head teacher and founder of 4EEE. You can learn more about 4EEE HERE
In the 90s, a book came out called The Apache Diaries. The book very clearly describes the possibilities of Apache tribal members avoiding reservation life and choosing to live wild and free in their traditional ways. It also explicitly describes the Apache practice of teaching children of other cultures (including White Euro-Americans) their traditional ways as a way to keep those practices alive.
I encourage people who are skeptical about Stalking Wolf's story to also research specifically the life and story of Ishi, a Native man in California who lived a traditional life-style just beyond the threshold of modern society for a significant period of time.
My students, friends, mentors, colleagues, and myself have time and time again had experiences that echoed the abilities that Tom described Grandfather possessing. I document quite a bit of this in my book on Scout Skills called Shadow Survival and I plan to write more books about this in the future. A quick story around this is that when I lived in the Sonoran desert around Tucson, AZ, I developed the spontaneous ability to feel and detect water nearby from several hundred yards away. This astonished my friends and colleagues down there, and they wanted to know how I did it. I was at a loss for how to explain it other than to practice sit spot, fox-walking, wide-angle vision, and sense meditation. This was an ability that Tom clearly describes Grandfather having especially in the story the Waterfall.
I was initially very skeptical of the part of Grandfather's story where he simply wandered out of the desert southwest and was able to apply his survival skills pretty much anywhere he went. Years later when I moved from the wet, lush Pacific Northwest forests to the dry, harsh desert Southwest, I was astounded at how quickly I was able to learn and apply my survival skills from a completely different bioregion. Within a year, my survival skills, bird language abilities, awareness, and ethnobotany were the same or better than pretty much everybody I ran into. This was from simply unconsciously practicing the Core Routines I learned from Jon Young passed down from TB Jr.
A point I brought up in my first book that I want to re-emphasize that I think is very important is that there are multiple Native North American people I've met (including some of my first mentors in ancestral skills) who learned from Tom's books. These were people who had some traditional knowledge and skills for sure but who actively supplemented what they had directly with what Tom shared in his books. Again, these folks found the teaching valid, helpful, and complimented what they knew.
Finally, and this may be the most important part of what I have to share about this subject, is that I think many people (especially people under the age of 35) have no idea of how big Tom's impact has been on the world, especially on what we call the survival skills and ancestral skills movements. Tom's books and courses essentially launched the worldwide interest in these skills. Yes, there were other contributors and what they shared and helped start is important, but their influence is pretty small in comparison. I think we can honestly say that the survival skills, ancestral skills, and deep nature connection movements would not exist in the scope, scale, or style they do without Tom's influence. If you're wondering about my qualifications about making such a statement, I've now written three well received books about the topic.
And, to quote a Native man who I highly respect, "I'd like to think that Tom learned it from a Native guy..."
What do you think about Stalking Wolf/Grandfather? Did he exist? What impact did Tom Brown, Jr. have on your life? And, what is Tom's legacy?
Tom and Juan Villarreal
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