Printer-Friendly Version (pdf) of Wellbriety! Special Edition: Issue#6

The Northwest Healing Gathering
Our Seattle area Hoop Journey visit

Clouds threatened the sunrise ceremony at the Northwest Healing Gathering. There was even a forecast of snow at the higher elevations. But nothing could dampen the spirits of the People, circled around the fire ring as they greeted the sunrise of Saturday, June 8, with songs and prayers.

Several people had camped out the prior night waiting for the ceremony. There were tents and also a couple of beautiful lodges set up on the banks of Skagit Bay. As the Sunrise Ceremony drew to a close, the people moved from the edge of the water into the Kenny Moses Building on Tulalip Tribal Lands at Marysville, Washington, some 30 miles north of Seattle. There they began to sign registration rolls, catch up with old friends, and meet many new ones. Breakfast was served to anyone and everyone attending the Gathering. The food was delicious!

Many thanks to Lisa Powers for the great job she did in coordinating this day for all of us. Lisa was assisted by many people, and while we can't name them all, we would like to give a special thanks to Grandma Kathy Monger, Leonard D. Williams Jr., DarkFeather Ancheta, Bibiana Ancheta, Alyrece McCloud, Loretta Walters and Clinton Fry Berg.

A Tipi lodge is set up on the lands of the Tulalip Indian Reservation in Marysville, WA where the Northwest Healing Gathering was held. A core group of about 125 people attended the two-day event on June 8,9, 2002.
	Lori Parks (left) with the Tulalip Youth Prevention Program exchanges greetings with community members at the registration table.
Lisa Powers, second from right, and others sing during the Northwest Healing Gathering at Tulalip. Lisa was the coordinator who made it possible for the Hoop to come to Tulalip. A big White Bison THANK YOU! , Lisa. Scheduled Speakers included • Chief Vince Johnson, (Onondaga) • Bernice Delorme, Ojibwe • Lucille J. Rhoads, Tlinget • Chief Frank Nelson, British Columbia • Carolyn Hartness • Harold Belmont • Karl Anquoe • Shelly Means • Connie McCloud, Puyallup • Mary McQuillen, Makah Elder • Vi Hilbert

Breakfast, lunch, and dinner were served in generous proportions with delicious home made offerings leading the fare. Thanks were given directly to those in the kitchen and to Creator for the bounty that was set before us. You could taste the love in every bite. When a meal would be getting close to being over, Chief Frank Nelson, Harold Belmont, or one of the women would begin to sing and call us back into the gathering so that we could proceed with the full schedule of events planned for this enlightening weekend.

After our morning meal, the Sacred Hoop was carried into the middle of the Circle by four women from the Seattle area. There were more songs of honoring and gathering. Elders from this community, and from the Onondaga Nation in New York State, spoke to us about the significant role that our cultures and our teachings can play in our healing as Native People. We were urged to learn the languages and the ceremonies of our respective Tribes and to pass the teachings onto our children.

On Sunday, June 9, the Sacred Hoop was brought into the Circle by young men. The drums and the singing at a nearby powwow came through to our Ceremony. The beat of the drum--you could actually feel it in your chest and in your heart. The Hoop was then taken to the powwow going on next door from our conference building. The Hoop was carried around the circle at Grand Entry. People were very respectful toward the Hoop. They stood holding the Hoop as Don told the Story of the Hoop and of the Journeys in 1999 and 2000. Then the group of young men walked the Hoop back to the conference site to set it back up.

Grand Entry at the powwow coincided with lunch at our gathering so it worked out great and the Hoop was seen by more people. After all, sharing the Sacred Hoop and the purpose of this Journey is the reason we are out here on the road, out here on Hoop Journey III. So we were honored and delighted to have been invited to be a part of the Grand Entry.

On Sunday afternoon Harold Belmont shared a video entitled "Community Support is Strong Medicine." The introduction on this video from the University of Washington was presented by Floyd Red Crow Westerman. The project it reported on is called TRIBAL BEAR: Building Effective AIDS Response. It's a project to raise community awareness about HIV/AIDS and to illustrate the fact that HIV can be a manageable disease thanks to anti retroviral drugs.

The video features HIV-positive Native Americans from Coastal and Plains tribes sharing their stories and talking about how they long for support and care to be available at their Tribal Health Clinics. After this video there was an opportunity for a Q & A session. In our discussion afterwards, one of the remarks was, "This has really helped me to become aware of something that I had not thought about before. How difficult it must be for someone who is still abusing alcohol and other drugs to diligently take all those medications daily."

	Vi taq 'sablu Hilbert (Vi Hilbert) sits by the water as she speaks in her language to all of the Grandchildren. "Get Well... Get Well," she says. Vi loves the term Wellbriety. She was an inspiration with her 'hawk vision' of the world. Eighty-four years old, she is planted firmly in the soil of tradition--and yet she is flexible. Like the willow tree, bowing in the winds of change, she embraces the technology of today. "We need to embrace whatever means at our disposal in order to preserve our traditions and help our young people embrace our cultures," she says.
Harold Belmont, in red, and seated, in these two photos, brought a video about HIV/AIDS, to share with the Healing Gathering. Here he is surrounded by the Hoop and other participants. Harold is a strong member of the local community and a tireless advocate for healing and Native culture and sovereignty, nation-wide. He says, "I see the Sacred Hoop and this Healing Gathering as a fulfillment of the prophecies. We are beginning to live them out. We are beginning to live out the time of the fulfillment of the prophecies. On a personal basis I say— This is exciting!"

There was a moving question and answer session after the AIDS video Harold showed. People shared from the perspective of being a relative or friend of a person with HIV/AIDS and from what it is like to be the caregiver for someone devastated by this disease. It was a very informative and enlightening video that allowed many to speak about a difficult experience. Harold spoke for many when he said, "Cultural relevance is important. The inclusion of our own people, traditions, culture and teachings in our own videos helps us to identify with the people and the issues. When we identify with the information, we are able to use it to heal."

Many local people came to hear these healing messages on our Saturday and Sunday stop at Tulalip. I counted somewhere between one hundred and two hundred, considering the visits from the powwow on both days.

	The Sacred Hoop of 100 Eagle Feathers during the Grand Entry of the Pow- Wow! When the Honor songs ended, Don Coyhis shared with all those present about the Wellbriety Movement and this Journey dedicated to Healing Native Women and Children. A young girl from the local community looks down from the balcony as the Dancers stand, holding the Sacred Hoop, in the center of the Arena.

Just before the closing ceremony, I found myself outside speaking with Chief Frank Nelson of the Musgamaqw Tsawataineuk Tribal Group. He summed up this Northwest Healing Gathering, our visit on Hoop Journey III, and the Wellbriety Movement, by saying in his Native language, "Take Care of Yourself...Your whole Being."