Bird Man of the Painted Desert

It is the healer of the tribe that is thought to have the most inspiration, for he is in communion with the spirits. He cures the sick by the laying on of hands, prayers, incantations and heavenly songs. He infuses new life into the patient, and performs most wonderful feats of skill in his practice. He clothes himself in the skins of young innocent animals, such as the fawn, and decorated himself with the plumage of harmless birds, such as the dove and hummingbird.

- Sarah Winnemucca Paiute (1844-1891)

1. Bird Man and Hawk walk as one (hover for outline)

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Walking through the vast Painted Desert of Arizona is the Bird Man, wearing a fur hat and mittens, in the harsh windy desert. He is holding a grouse in his right hand, wearing a talisman at his throat and his sacred medicine pouch over his heart. And upon the Bird Man’s shoulder sits Hawk, his familiar, a spirit that attends and serves him. Hawk and Medicine Man demonstrate oneness in strength, durability and trust. He also represents the starry heavens, higher learning and the light. He moves between the two kingdoms of heaven and earth as an emissary to the gods.

3. Hawk is Bird Man’s guide (hover for outline)

4. Higher learning and the Light are gift's of hawk (hover for outline)

The Navajo say Hawk, Gin’tsoh, is associated with the element of rocks and the Earth Mother. Hawks are medicine and messengers of the spirit world with the gifts of focus and vision. They strengthen the qualities of gratitude, intuition and awakening. All are spiritual features of psychological healing.

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5. Superior focus is a treasured strength

6. Bird Man walks in a meditation (hover for outline)

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7. Medicine pouch is a personal touchstone for the healer

Bird Man is 3.5 miles long (1.6 km) by one mile wide and lies just north of Indian Wells, Arizona. He is easy to find as Navajo Service Route 6 runs across his body. He is surrounded by the vast Painted Desert, a severe and beautiful landscape of rocky buttes and stony outcrops that look more like people than stones. This desert encompasses over 93,500 acres (378 381 075 meters^2) and stretches 160 miles (257.4 km).

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8. Blue Mesa Sandstone

15 minutes below the Bird Man are both the Crystal Forest and the Petrified Forest. Here, miles of great trees have become magnificent, multi-colored sentinels of crystal. Tree trunks 10 feet long lay broken like glass over a colorful canvas of rocks. It derives its name from its endless color palette of stone varying from lavender to gray, vibrant red and orange…even multiple shades of gold, pink and purple.

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9. Petrified Forest

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10. Crystal Forest

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11. Fossilized Forest

One hour West of the Bird Man are the Grand Falls of the little Colorado River. The falls are 185 feet tall (56 meters) and are fed by snow-melt and monsoon rains. Its headwaters are in the White Mountains of Eastern Arizona. Like the mighty Colorado River, the Little Colorado River has a muddy color giving it a chocolate-like appearance. Grand Falls are listed in the top 10 Falls of the US.

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In Google earth’s Historical Imagery File ten to twenty years of images are stored for each landscape. Different times of day, the casting of shadows or seasons may drastically alter the color and even shape of the image from one year to the next. As of today, only one, somewhat clear image of the Bird Man is still available.

The coordinates are 35°29’17.80 N by 110°05’54.64 W on your Google map.

Click Historical Imagery (the blue-ball icon) and choose the date 6/20/2007. The site of the Birdman is just 5 miles North of Indian Wells. View from an eye Altitude of at least 20 miles above the site.

  1. 017_birdman_and_the_hawk.jpg: Google earth
  2. 017_sketch_birdman.jpg: by SLK
  3. 017a_painted_desert_pano.jpg
  4. 017a2_bird_man_and_spirit-guide.jpg; Google earth
  5. 017a2_sketch.jpg
  6. 017a3_hawk_on-shoulder.jpg: Google earth
  7. 017b_birdman_close_up; Google earth
  8. 017b2_sketch.jpg; by SLK
  9. 017c_medicjne_pouch.jpg: by SLK
  10. 017d_ red-tailed_hawk.jpg: bigstock-156369767
  11. 017d2_painted_desert_mountain.jpg: bigstock-Stunning-Striped-Purple-Sandst-155285072.jpg
  12. 017e_petrified_forest.jpg: bigstockphoto-77669873
  13. 017f_crystal_forest.jpg: bigstockphoto-141645896
  14. 017g_fossilized_wood.jpg: File: Fossilized wood at Petrifies Forest.jpg; Kunnar Appaiah-Flickr:Petrified Forest National Park, Eastern, Arizona.jpg; Wikipedia Commons
  15. 017h_grand_falls_summer.jpg
  16. 017i_grand_falls_winter.jpg: bigstock-196175626