Never ignore Native wisdom

My brother passed away today. Mr Ballen he loved your videos. He battled a drug addiction for years and he was doing good…your videos brought him peace of mind which he rarely ever had. He struggled for so long. And thank you for doing what you do man. Watching this one for him. Sorry if this is depressing…you made him incredibly happy thank you. Wow. Thank all of you for the comments. No this isn’t fake lol…I usually never even comment on YouTube videos. And yes beef I guess that is weird. What’s more weird is the approach you took to call me out on that. I didn’t hold my brother dying in my arms and pull out my phone and comment on a YouTube post. Hence if you read what I said I said today..not right now. Not ten minutes ago. Not last month like you said. But today. And people grieve differently. But I pray for you as well homie to deeper peace and happiness as you may not have that yet. And to anyone who thought this was weird or inappropriate. I apologize. We both knocked out watching mr Ballen and at the end of the day. It wasn’t for anyone but Mr Ballen to know his content can truly help people out. Again thank you everyone 🙏❤️. Anyone who battles this or knows someone who battles this I will keep you in my thoughts and pray for you as well! You got this. They got this. Crazy how negative some can be in a comment section. True Mr Ballen may have never seen it for the 20 people hating but 6 thousand people did and 590 of those people understand. Thank you everyone for your thoughts and prayers

Side note if you ever find someone who is starving or dehydrated to almost death, do not give them lots of fluid or food. They will puke it up and do more damage to themselves. Small sips and small bites.

Man, if a native American is giving me instructions while in the wilderness, you bet your ass I'm going to freaking listen 🤣

One thing about this story that I love is Chief Ouray. He was trying to save these men in 1874, this was right after the government had promised to keep miners off his tribes territory. The federal government never once kept that promise. Chief Ouray complained about the miners in 1872 and he had continuous renegotiations over tribal land, which ended up basically reducing their land significantly and their land rights for a small amount of money because the government threatened war if they didn’t agree. All of this and he still just wanted to see those men live. He was an incredible person who saw value in human life. Every human life.

Me, I personally wouldn't disregard the warnings of native inhabitants who know the natural surroundings well, anywhere. That's so many generations of human experience, regardless of what you believe in.

Anytime there’s a warning in a story…you know it’s gonna be ignored

Shout out to Chief Ouray and his wife, Chipeta. I live in western Colorado where they are still legendary figures.

I’m half Ojibwa, my family takes ‘legends’ seriously. We never whistle at night or while the moon is out, and we never wander around at night alone after dark. But that seems like common sense to me. 😅

Not gonna lie Alfred was one of the biggest plot twist ever 😮

I love how you add the “not real photo” or “real photo” it’s such a small detail but really appreciated 🙏

MrBallen would be a 10/10 Dungeon Master, dude is so animated and full of life while being mysterious. Really knows how to set a scene too. I know he’s got written stories already he’s reading off of, but he clearly is free-balling a lot of his speech and it’s really impressive

To the man who’s brother was an addict and passed away: god bless you and him. Your love kept him alive. It’s so hard. No one understands it. Everyone looks down on it. No one tries to care— they just judge. It hurts. It’s so painful. Most people who become addicts become that way from pain and trauma and an inability to cope in healthy/normal ways. I know i didn’t— I was never shown. I was abused. It’s been a challenge in my life. Having the support of someone who loves you— is life changing. Mine ever got it. And it traumatized me. I am clean now, but that pain and loneliness lingers. I am trying to heal myself. It’s so good that you care that much. Thank you. Thank you for loving him so much anyway. ❤️

Can we all just take a moment to appreciate Mr. Ballen for going out to the San Juan Mountains in the dead of winter to tell this story? It's not fit for man nor beast out there.

"He was able to make fires at night... and eat his friends" was not something I expected to hear today.

Us natives would say he was a wendigo or under the influence of one. Our elders told us that during the winter it's best to stay put and close to home, never go wandering into the forest for you'll fall victim to a wendigo, once human but has an appetite for human flesh, often depicted as a rotten half deer half human. I liked to believe that the deer was a sign of Alfred's deeds and what he had become. He should've listened to the warning his elder had given him.

Don't drink alcohol to warm up. It brings your blood away from your organs, giving the illusion of warmth while it freezes you. That, and it doesn't last. You'll be colder than you were to start.

Native advice while in the woods at night: If you ever hear the voice of a loved one call you out or you hear a whistle. DO NOT respond or whistle back, leave immediately.

Am I the only one that stands on guard ready for the weekly upload? Nothing shall interrupt 🤣 thank you mrballen yet again for another brilliant video!

Our oldest gift our ancestors left us when we were born is our instinct, our "gut feeling", when we can sense something is wrong before even knowing what it is. Never ignore it. Do what it tells you. Those who do ignore it may not survive. If you're wrong, you can laugh about it later ...but if you're right, you might learn just how narrowly you escaped death or things worse than death.

My little sister passed away last Wednesday, she was only 29. I’m having such a hard time and don’t even know how to process these overwhelming feelings. I’m sitting in parking waiting to go in to my baby sister’s wake and then funeral tomorrow morning. 😢 I have always watched Mr. Ballen but now I find myself binge watching because his voice gives me some peace. Ok I got through the wake now just the funeral tomorrow ahhhh