sewing the seeds of healing
by angela watkins

Ever since she was seven years old, BJ Red Brown Buffalo has been sewing the stitches that would lead her to a vision that could change the world. Her journey led to Mars Hill, North Carolina, where she now hopes to share that vision with as many women as she can reach.

A seventh generation quilt-maker, BJ carefully weaves the web of wisdom and healing in each quilt she sews. She wishes to direct her wisdom into an outreach for other women in Western North Carolina, and throughout the world. She hopes to teach us to access our inner wisdom, heal our families, communities, and ourselves through the ancient art of traditional star quilts. All of these things come to fruition in the simple and beautiful act of making a quilt for a child.

Fourteen years ago, BJ met Grandfather Wallace Black Elk in Seattle, Washington while attending a spiritual exposition. His sincere and profound wisdom led her to the star design that defines her vision. Grandfather shared the 8-pointed star with four-sided diamonds in which all living things in the universe could be deciphered. He then told BJ to take the idea and expand upon it, with the goal of healing the wounds of the past. It was months later at a Sundance ceremony that she found the inspiration and direction she needed to begin her vision: "I saw the murder and violence in schools as a direct representation of pain and wounds of the past. I knew that I had to make these star quilts for the children. I wanted to weave a web of protection for them. But, I then realized we have to help the women before we help the children."

With this new direction, BJ gathered women in her home in Wisconsin, and other women involved with the Sundance ceremonies, to make 40 star quilts to present to the children at the next Sundance ceremony. BJ and her daughter-in-law, along with a few other dedicated women, put together a kit that would take someone step-by-step through the process of making a star quilt. They also included the multi-colored fabric diamonds for the design and mailed them to women interested in their project.

Through their dedicated efforts and BJ’s compassionate guidance, they made 150 for the first star quilt gifting at the Sundance ceremony. The portrait of the event is spectacular: "We laid the quilts out on the ground and stood around them in a circle, then the children, ages 0 to 17 went out and picked their own star quilt. They wrapped them around themselves and wouldn’t let the quilts out of their sight." BJ was beginning to realize the power of her vision.

She then made more star quilts for charity and family members, but in another meeting with Grandfather Black Elk, he told her that she had only just begun. The first quilt gifting was only the inception of a lifelong commitment that she must make to healing through quilting.

Upon moving to the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, BJ felt that she must make the star quilts her living as well as continuing the outreach she began in Wisconsin. Her background as a designer and drafter made using new technology natural in her endeavors. She could design the star quilts on the computer using a special program, and incorporate the theology of her Native American heritage. Grandfather had told her that every living creature lies in the star, so she set out along with her husband to discover the possibilities within the star. Symbolic figures such as the eagle, buffalo, rainbow, and the spider revealed themselves to BJ as she experimented more with the star quilt design. This only strengthened the meaning and medicine that the star quilts could provide. She gained the knowledge to be able to "read" the quilts; they became reflections of life and healing.

Yet handling the quilts is not easy, and can be extremely tiring. BJ had reached the point of giving up, and announced to her family just a few months ago that the quilt she was making for a friend would be her last. "I just couldn’t do it anymore, they were too big and I am getting to old to handle them," she told me. Once again, BJ was just at the beginning of another path on her journey. Rather than giving up when we are tired, just ask for some help! While the quilts are heavy and the work tiring, BJ still has the passion, knowledge, and commitment to her vision. Taking the kits that she put together a few years ago for the first quilt gifting, she plans to teach women in Western North Carolina the ancient art and theology of star quilting. Her vision is still the same, to give the quilts to the children. "If every child in the world has a star quilt, I find it hard to believe that a world of violence could prevail."

Her direction now is to teach a class for $100 per person, which includes the in-depth instruction of quilt making and all the fabric diamonds required to complete the design. It takes a commitment of 46 hours to complete a quilt, which seems minimal to the great rewards of quilting and creating for compassion. Her web site, magicstarquilts.com (still under construction) reaches a new audience for her vision. BJ's only request is that the first star quilt you make must go to a child. This furthers her dream of having the children of the world draped in star quilts. "This is not an I-thing; this is a we-thing. It is time that the women came together to change things, and I know the power of the star quilts. The star quilt represents the universe, and within each star quilt is the spider web. From that web, the Grand Spider Mothers have spun their cocoon around each legend, myth, and medicine to keep them safely protected for us. As we begin to design and then sew the star quilt together, it unwraps the cocoon and reveals these sacred medicines–thus giving us back our women medicines."

If anything, the act of creation is powerful, and creating something to give to a child, needy or otherwise, is a powerful act of kindness. At times like these, any act of peace and kindness may have the potential to change everything.

Listening to BJ was inspiring, and I felt blessed to hear her powerful story. I looked around my room, seeing four different quilts made by my great-grandmother. I noticed their patterns of traditional Appalachian designs, different from BJ’s heritage, but just as symbolic. I remembered something my grandmother told me about a month ago when I was "poor-mouthing" about being unemployed and not wanting to spend my savings just to survive. She told me that I might not have many possessions or money to spend, but I have a quilt on my bed to keep me warm and safe, and that is more than many have. I then recalled a quote from one of my favorite movies, Dead Poet’s Society. A young student, prompted by his visionary teacher, spouts out this impromptu poem:

Truth, like a blanket that always leaves your feet cold
You push it, you stretch it, it’ll never be enough.
You kick at it, you beat it, it will never cover any of us.
From the moment we enter crying, to the moment we leave dying,
It’ll just cover your face as you wail and cry and scream.

I always loved this poem, especially in the angst-ridden days of my adolescence. But now, I realize that "truth" is better replaced by "fear", and that the visions of women like BJ represent a truth that can and will cover us with a blanket that reveals the beauty and wisdom of our heritage.

Angela Watkins is a singer/songwriter who lives in West Asheville. She loves the blues and life and happily has no idea what the future has in store for her.