About Rick

Rick McBride was born a long time ago. His heritage is part Scot and part Ani’yunwi’ya, what most people know as Cherokee. There is a very large mixed-blood Cherokee population in the US today for one simple reason: The Ani-yunwi’ya nation was, and still is, one of the biggest native nations on Turtle Island. Significantly bigger. In colonial times, people from Scotland settled in the southeast, a region once dominated by his nation, which included all or parts of modern Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, and West Virginia, later extending into Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma during Removal. Rick developed a strong interest in things Indian in adolesence, long before he was told of his heritage. This interest finally expressed itself fully in his mid 30s and has grown stronger since. He has been active ceremonially for well over 35 years now and about 15 years ago dedicated the rest of his life to teaching Red Road ways, leading ceremony, and doing whatever he can to help people on their spiritual journey. At the Buffalo Sundance he was named Cante Lute (Schan-tay Lou-tah) by the Spirits, which means Red Heart. Rick has taught these ways and led ceremony across the country. In the winter of 2016-17 he was invited to teach and lead ceremony in England. What Rick has learned over the years has come from direct interaction with many elders and other “fullblood” people: What he knows comes from first-hand experience. He is a product of the modern phenomenon known as “pan-Indianism.” Rick completed his 18th year of sundance in South Dakota in June of 2021. (The 2020 dance was canceled due to COVID.) He plans to continue sundance until he physically can’t.