It seems some people have forgotten or perhaps they never knew. Perhaps they never realized that the land upon which we stand, this land beneath our feet which is called Eureka Springs, is sacred land.
This place that we are privileged to call home arises from a place known to the ancestors as a place of healing waters.
Throughout time immemorial, indigenous nations regarded it as sacred land. No tribe could live here, for the place was Wakan.
From the Cherokee of the southeast, to the Lakota of the great plains, all came here to heal.
This was the place of healing waters, the place where the spirit of healing dwells.
It was said you could not drink and bathe in the waters for one moon, but that you would be healed.
And so they came.
Later, the others came, they came for the same reason, to heal, but they forgot the ways of honoring.
And now here we are. Living upon sacred land. Beneath us the healing water still flows. We feel it.
The healing spirit still dwells here. We feel her.
People still travel from all directions to be, even for one day, a part of the healing that is Eureka Springs. They may not know why they are drawn here, but still they come. They come and they feel the magic. They might say it is so magical here. But in truth, they are experiencing the spirit of healing that dwells here.
There is an energy, call it what you will. Whatever it is named, it is a rare and beautiful thing.
People feel it and decide to get married here. They return and celebrate their anniversaries here.
They bring their young families here. And those children grow up and return bringing their children here.
Even though few realize, it is the same medicine that called our indigenous brothers and sisters to this place. Deep within the spirit of healing calls.
We do not need alcohol in our streets to draw the people to our door. She calls them.
Remember where you are and why you were called to the place where the spirit of healing dwells.
Josie Yerby