Morning Star Conservancy

Randolph Thompson Jr. born, July 17 1944. He passed to the other side at the age of 79, September 3, 2023. Randolph was better known as Jr. Thompson. He was raised on the Navajo Reservation, under the ancient and sacred monolith, Tsé Bitʼaʼí, or "winged rock", known as Shiprock. As a boy he played, rode horses, and his first song came from the wind while herding sheep in this semi-arid desert. At night he slept on sheepskins in his family Hogan, sometimes awoken by his grandmother with teachings & stories of spirit and life while the others slept. He was chosen from his generation by his community of elders to hold the cultural traditions of his people. His good nature, keen memory, love of stories, and ability to learn and sing with a strong spiritual aptitude formed a lifelong foundation for these teachings. Emersed in this deeply spiritual culture, Jr. was subjected to, informed by, and initiated into ceremonies so old their beginnings are legends. His generation actually saw feathers being levitated with these fading songs, and the newly incoming peyote altars being formed..

Jr began his peyote journey in his mother, Isabelle Kellywood’s, womb as she ingested medicine and sang him onto the red road of life. His father, Kee Dawes, was one of the first men to run weekly meetings throughout the Northwest Navajo Nation in the 1950s under threat of incarceration when peyote was outlawed.

Jr’s grandparents Frank and Marie Duncan, along with other practitioners in his community, developed the V-Star fireplace infused with the older cultural traditions of his Diné people. As a boy he ate a lot of medicine. His voice grew powerful and sublime in prayers and songs to heal, bless and doctor through the rhythms of ceremony. He carried drum, worked fire and eventually was asked to run meetings, and passed the V-star fireplace in his 20s. He never claimed to know what to do, only how to allow his actions to be informed by the medicine. Now, his is body rests on the blanket Marie Duncan gave him when he first doctored his grandfather Frank with this fireplace. The blanket is worn threadbare, having been carried through his lifelong calling as a road man.

From the time Jr was a small child he had made over 86 pilgrimages to the peyote gardens in the state of Texas and witnessed many of the changes affecting the use of this medicine over the years. He was present during the meetings with the Federal Government, when the Native American Church of North America was formed in the late 60s, and helped set the governmental bylaws for peyote use within the Navajo Nation.

Following the medicine, Jr travelled throughout North America finding songs hidden along the byways. He was an esteemed and admired roadman, often helping other roadmen with their altars. In Wyoming he often sat with Tony and Roberta Engavo, of the Eastern Shoshoni/Comanche Tribes, who passed him the peyote fireplace descended from Quanah Parker. Through the years he gave talks on his culture at universities and societies. He was sought after by people all over the nation for his gentle spirit, stories, jokes, laughter, and strong, effective, doctoring ways. As a man, he could adjust a baby for birth, understood how to farm, build homes, fix spiritual instruments, and his silver craft brought finances as he travelled. He was a kind and humble man who lived to serve all people. He was a proud traditional Diné medicine man who took his ancestorial understandings and doctoring ways to humanity’s wider circle, teaching and initiating practitioners of many cultures. He loved this world, our life, and called deeply to the best of everyone. I asked him once what the secret to his doctoring powers were. He said, Maria, everything is prayer, it’s all prayer.