A spiritual place to sweat

Andrew Soliz stands next to his backyard sweat lodge where he says he has a right to perform his Native American traditions. (Don Leach)

A Bluebird Canyon backyard has recently become the site of Native American rituals.

Resident Andrew Soliz, an Acoma Pueblo American Indian, is a sun dancer and comes from a line of medicine men. He has a tattoo of buffalo marching down his right forearm, an homage to his Native American name “Tatanka Mani,” which translates to “walking buffalo.” He ties his long brown hair in a low-hanging ponytail.

Part of his tradition includes sweat lodges, which he’s conducted all over for the U.S. for 12 years, including for youth at a prison in the Virgin Islands, adults at San Quentin State Prison and for groups of at-risk teens.

A resident of Laguna Beach for a little more than three months, Soliz, 47, said he told nearby neighbors of his gatherings and informed them of his extensive knowledge of the practice.

However, on Jan. 29, a neighbor reported Soliz to police, claiming a nude man had urinated on his property after participating in Soliz’s sweat lodge.

Authorities arrived at Soliz’s home, and he explained that he was a Native American holding religious services, which occur a couple of times a month.

–Joanna Clay, @joannaclay, Coastline Pilot

… Continue reading “A spiritual place to sweat”