BIRDS OF A FEATHER
A short man with a dark complexion splits up a crowd of white, collecting tithing and donation envelopes. He is the only Native American in the local LDS Church. He smiles and hugs the people handing him envelopes, being careful that each envelope makes it into the proper spot.
Brandon Heath Mcentire, 30, was born in Lawton Oklahoma. He is a member of the Comanche tribe and a Mormon.
“I know I stand out culturally and physically in church” Mcentire said. “I would say that being native american affects 90 percent of my daily life. That being said, being a mormon affects 90 percent of my daily life too. I struggle to keep true to both sides of myself.”
Mcentire wears an owl necklace with his suit instead of a tie to keep the spirit of the Great Horned Owl close to his heart. The Great Horned Owl became his spirit animal at a young age. He was 7 the first time he saw a Great horned owl.
“I was walking in the snowy woods with my dad, looking for a Christmas tree to take home,” Mcentire said. “He grabbed my shoulders and pointed it out to me. He said that the great horned owl signifies strength in death and that death would enter our lives soon. He told me we needed to be respectful and not disturb it. I will never forget those piercing yellow eyes and the huge dark shadow it made in the snow as it flew over us.”
When the two arrived home they received news that their cousin had died earlier that afternoon. Years later, when Mcentire had to pick a spirit animal, he drew on this experience to make his choice.
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Brandon’s aunt and uncle, Shelly and Perry Heath, adopted him when he was 4. He refers to them as mom and dad. His biological father and mother come from an important Comanche family. Because of this Perry made it a priority to raise Mcentire predominantly in Comanche tradition and spirituality, though he and his wife Shelly were LDS or Mormon.
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Shelly is not Native American, but always supported her husband teaching and passing on the heritage. She comes from a Mormon family, but she didn’t push the religion on Brandon or their other children. She made sure each member of the family was baptized into the church and occasionally attended meetings.
However, she loves Native American culture and made all sorts of regalia for her husband and children. Throughout the years Shelly has adopted many of the teachings.
“I have my own spirit animal too, it’s a dove,” Shelly said. “All the members of our family happen to have birds as spirit animals. It wasn’t planned but it turned out that way and I have always loved it. Having a spirit animal is very important in Comanche spirituality and the animal you choose says a lot about a person.”
In the Comanche tribe, they have spiritual traditions instead of religion. Most of the spirituality centers on becoming one with the spiritual mother of the earth. The many rituals that tribal members participate in focus on becoming closer with nature and learning to read the signs of mother earth for guidance.
Bernard Komanche is a Comanche elder and Brandon’s great uncle. Komanche lived 3 miles from Brandon and his family and was influential in Brandon’s life. He is considered in the tribe to be a leader and expert on tradition.
“The culture of the Comanche ways is being lost over time, even though they have revival programs,” Komanche said. “It is because our way of life focuses on the earth and its ways and society’s children are all looking at the screens and not the world around them.”
Komanche said that despite best efforts, he believes their way of life will die because of modern society removing itself from the earth and killing it.
“We hear of global warming and it makes me sad, we hear of animals going extinct and it makes me sad," Komanche said. “Comanches believe in the spirit of the earth and the mother that protects us. Now, everyone protects themselves from the earth. They will go further and further away until they forget what dirt feels like.”
Brandon said he finds it hard to balance modern culture, Mormon culture and Comanche culture. There are many parts of each that disagree with the others. The biggest struggle, he said, is splitting time and substance use. In Comanche culture, tobacco, alcohol and peyote are all used in celebrations and rituals. These substances are harshly prohibited in Mormon doctrine and can even prevent you from progressing further in the religion.
“One of the hardest choices I had to make was not participating the peyote rituals,” Mcentire said. “My father was very disappointed in me and tried to convince me otherwise, but I wanted to please God and make a good choice. I am grateful to the Mormon church because haven’t dealt with many problems that my friends have like alcoholism or being addicted to drugs or gambling.”
Peyote is a cactus plant that is illegal in the United States unless it is used by Native Americans in rituals. In the Comanche and Navajo tradition, they build a teepee and two fires, one large outside and one smaller fire inside. There is dancing, singing, chanting, and food. Then a select group of people drink the tea that is made from the peyote cactus and sit in the teepee. Often, participants have visions and receive spiritual guidance. After a night spent in the teepee, they leave the following day and clean while they tell others what they saw.
“I was curious for sure, Mcentire said. “It felt like I was giving up one spiritual experience for another, but I don’t regret it.”
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A few years later Brandon turned 19, the age when Mormon young men go on service missions for two years. He hadn’t been active in the Mormon religion consistently and making the choice to go was what he calls the hardest day of his life.
“I cried and talked and yelled at my father for hours,” Mcentire said. “I just felt like going was the right thing to do. I was also enticed by the thought of living alone and traveling for two years. Education is very important to the Comanche people and me taking time off school was seen as disgraceful, especially to my father.”
He and his father did not speak for three weeks after the initial fight. His dad went alone to the wooded area near their house to contemplate what had happened. He returned home and told his wife about his experience.
“He saw his spirit animal, the hawk," Heath said. “When he got home, he said the hawk was flying free and took two large circles above his head meaning the two years Brandon would be gone. He said that Brandon would return home and still have a Comanche heart, that is exactly what happened. I believed in spirit animals after that.”
During the two years he was gone, Mcentire was not able to attend any Native American ceremonies or events. He integrated parts of nature into his everyday life. He walked barefoot for an hour each day and did certain chants multiple times a week. He told the people he talked to the stories his parents taught him when he was younger.
Shortly after Brandon returned from his mission his father died of heart complications. He said he struggled for a long time thinking about what happened to his dad when he died. Whether his spirit was one with the earth and the hawk or if he was in heaven with God.
“I thought a lot about which one could be right, Mcentire said. “So I went to New Mexico on a spiritual journey to think and to grieve. I was on the Navajo reservation camping and praying and chanting. The next day I swear on my heart, I was walking and I saw a Great Horned Owl and I knew my dad was with God. I knew it was all true and that I would see my dad again.”