Click banner for home page.

Hawk Dancing's Heritage Quest

On April 3rd, Hawk Dancing completed the Talako Heritage Quest. (The Talakos are the Indian Dance group he belongs to in Orlando.) The Heritage Quest is the Talakos' version of a Vision Quest. In the Heritage Quest, each young man is fasting for 48 hours, alone in the woods with just a bed roll, a breechcloth, water, and selected reading material relating each individual's own Indian heritage. His Quest site was by a pond in Grey Eagle's woods near Davenport, Florida.

While it may sound deceptively simple, a Heritage Quest, like a Vision Quest is extremely demanding. It takes a lot of determination and self-discipline to complete. The loneliness and boredom of sitting alone in the woods can make it very tempting to quit. Add being alone in the dark two nights with no flashlight or fire, and you can understand why it's a big accomplishment.

Some of Hawk Dancing's comments on his Quest were:

"It was very interesting being in Nature"
"It was cold in the mornings"
"Knowing I can calm down and pray in nature"
"The nights were very awesome - peaceful and calm"
"A racoon came by the first morning and I sang to it"
"I saw buzzards, slugs, caterpillars, and dragon flies, and heard fish jump"
"I thought about life. It's interesting and boring at the same time."


Hawk dancing right after completing his Heritage Quest and before heading home.


(OR USE YOUR BROWSER'S BACK BUTTON TO RETURN TO PREVIOUS PAGE