What To Bring To An Inipi Ceremony:

Often I am asked "What should I bring to the ceremony?" The following list has worked well for me over the years.                                                                                                              1-  Two gallons of drinking water (tap water is fine).  This water will be used in the ceremony.
2-  Two or three towels -one to sit on, and one or two for wiping sweat from yourself.
3-  If you're not able to enter the lodge due to illness or physical condition.  Please bring     folding chair, lawn chair, or the like to place outside of the lodge for your comfort.  This will     enable you to be part of the ceremony regardless of your ability to enter the lodge.
4-  Very Important ; please remember to bring a change of clothing to wear either after ceremony or for during the ceremony itself.  It is very cold after you exit the lodge (even more so in the night air) as your core body temperature sharply plummets while wearing the sweat drenched, wet clothing which is usually made of cotton.    We survivalist know of cotton as the people killer as once it is wet. It quickly draws the heat from your body's core causing hypothermia.  Anyone who suffered from it can tell you, it's no fun.  Please remember, we're not there to suffer from extremes in temperature.  Hot or cold.  Please heed my advice as I'm personally responsible for your safety and could not bear the thought of anything bad happening to any of my brothers and sisters.
5-  please bring something small to eat for after the ceremony is over.  It is very traditional to share a meal after all ceremonies no matter how big or small.  It is a gathering of the people as a family.  However considering that our family is in transition at the moment, bring a bag lunch or the like for your own personal consumption.  We will iron out the meal thing as we establish a more permanent routine for our ceremonies.
6-  Personal drinking fluids.  Please remember to bring something to drink for before and after ceremony.  Anything you want will be fine.  I personally prefer something like Gatorade to help keep the fluid levels high. (no alcoholic beverages of course.)                                                                                                           7-  Tobacco ties.  I'm asking everyone to bring the string of seven red tobacco ties of a personal nature.
8-  Flashlights.  Since we're finishing the ceremony at or around dark it will be important to have lights so we can see while we pack up the lodge and other belongings.  Any kind of flashlight will be fine, just be sure the batteries work.                                                                                                               9-I'd like to thank each of you personally for making this Inipi ceremony come together.  As we work together to make these ceremonies a permanent structure within the fabric of our lives.  The creator of all things becomes part of the weave itself.  Indeed a part of our lives.

If you have any questions, or concerns please feel free to contact me either by e-mail, phone, or on facebook under Terry Craig OR Windy hill sweat lodge.  Thanks again and I hope to see you all soon
Mitakuye  Oyosin
Terry