What's In A Name?
Native American prayers sometimes begin with a simple statement of one’s name--“My name is... I send a voice to you, Great Spirit.” I say my name because my words are a matter of honor; I take responsibility for what I say. Spirits and the Great Spirit recognize me by my name, especially by my sacred name, the name that I received in vision. Some names are public and may be shared. Others are secret, not spoken aloud, a kind of password by which one is recognized in the spiri