The Pollen Path, Indigenous Appropriation

 

I've attached the portion of "Seeing with a Native Eye" edited by Walter Holden Capps containing the story about the Deer death by suffocation. Capps describes a ritual that I think Simon expanded on. The themes are the same in the book, same process, same philosophy about life/death, he sings, he knocks it over, prayers, ritual dismemberment, then creating a sacred object etc. The Major difference is that the "Path of Pollen" is bee pollen, and the Navajo Pollen Path is corn pollen  The sacred object created by the Navajo man is a pair of Moccasins, rather than a part of an ancestral rick.

 

If you have a kindle version of Shamanic Way of the Bee, you can easily search up this part of the book (or any part) and review. It's featured in the chapter titled "Vitamin Pan". 

 

 

 

 

Simon also writes that he carries the deer out of the forest on his back, and while they are lighter after gutting, an adult Red Deer stag (as described) is an average of 400 pounds, it's the 4th largest deer on earth. I find this incredulous after days exhausting yourself in the woods, or on any given day. Not plagiarism, perhaps possible- definitely petty and unimportant but it laughably drives me bonkers, I have so many questions about this one detail. Simon has told others that this happened as written (but has also said the book was meant to be fiction), so perhaps it did. 

 

https://jcf.org/mythblasts/mythblast-the-turn-of-the-pollen-path/    

 

The book "Inner Realms of Outer Space" by Joseph Campbell, referenced in this article, came out the same year Simon said he was initiated into the Path of Pollen (1986, according to the court case, between he and Ross Haven, linked in another post), discussing a ritual pollen walk. Something that seems it may have been an inspiration, in light of the deer ceremony.

(There is also an ancient Siddha Walk with an 8 form, and the Infinity walk developed in the 80s. This isn't plagiarism, or bad, simply interesting to note for those seeking).

 

There are a few books about the Navajo Pollen Path and, of note, PL Travers lived with the Navajo and Hopi communities for two summers around WWII, Writing about this is kept in the New South Wales Library, in Australia.