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Men
of Detroit
The Sacred Hoop is 'retreated' from the Gathering
at the end of the day by some of the spiritual warriors
who watched over, protected, and joined with us
in circles of healing at the American Indian Health
Center today. |
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Tears
of Healing and Wellness
Welcome, we're glad you're here! That's what
the brochure at the reception table read, the first impression
one gets of the community of people who gathered for today's
Wellbriety event. It was a welcome in the Anishnaabe (Ojibway)
language, too.
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| American
Indian Health and Family Services Coordinator,
Doug Hill welcomes everyone to the Wellbriety
Day Event held in Detroit. Seated at the White
Bison Product table is Amanda Manbeck, Field
Coordinator for this Journey and member of
the "Hoop Crew." |
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Don Coyhis of White Bison, Inc. began his presentation
today by saying, "Those of uswho
are in Recovery should not be walking with our heads down.
You hold your head up and you be proud! Put your head up and
just strut down the street." *Applause* "We need
our children to see us—those who are in Recovery
and working on it."
Taking Notes in Detriot
Don continued by sharing that last year he and others with
White Bison had traveled 120,000 miles to different communities
and he is hearing the words "wellness and sobriety," Wellbriety,
more and more. People and communities are having gatherings
and camp-outs to celebrate Recovery and Sobriety. He said,
"White Bison is involved in the
Native Communities for the National September Recovery Month.
And we are asking you to pick a day or a week in September
and have a gathering or a cook-out, or maybe a run, or whatever.
Just come together and celebrate Wellbriety. Let us know about
that activity at White Bison and we will publish it so that
others can see this movement toward Recovery and Wellness.
And we will send you a kit of free information to assist you.
This will allow our children to see a new face on Recovery.
Last year we had 47 Indian Communities and Tribes to write
a proclamation to declare September as National Native Wellbriety
Month. We're hoping this year to have over 100 communities
join in that celebration."
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| Don
Coyhis shares the information about the White
Bison organization and The Sacred Hoop Journeys.
People gathered to hear the 'Elder's Teachings'
that have been incorporated into the resources
and tools available thru White Bison. |
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As Don continued with his presentation,
he shared about the upcoming Conference to be held in Albuquerque,
NM from September 18-21. Don said, "Just
as this is our fourth Journey, this will be our fourth Conference.
We have held a conference after each Journey. This Conference
will focus on Nation Building. We have joined with NANACOA,
the National Association of Native American Children of Alcoholics.
They will have speakers at our Conference as well. We had
750 attend our conference last year and expect 1,000 to attend
this year." Come to Albuquerque
this September to continue what you're experiencing on this
Hoop Journey!
There were many people taking notes as Don continued
with a presentation that highlights the teachings of the Elders
and other sources that have been incorporated into the programs,
resources, and tools available thru the White Bison organization.
The Four Laws of Change , The Healthy Forest, The 7 Philosophies
for a Native Man. All of these were well received and reviewed.
Don explained how some of the handouts and teachings came
about. He said, "For instance, in
1996 we had a gathering in the mountains of Colorado. There
were about 2,000 Native Men gathered there. And we asked them,
'What is it that a man needs to know?' It took them almost
three days and what they came up with was what you are seeing
today as The Seven Philosophies
of a Native American Man.
This Journey is dedicated to Healing Native Men and Children
and we're asking the men in the communities to take one of
these booklets and start a Talking Circle and discuss these
Philosophies. We have to teach ourselves and we have to teach
our young men. And the best way for us to do that is to sit
in those circles and start talking about that."
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| Making
notes during Don's presentation—The Four
Laws of Change. |
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Don also provided information about Well Nations
Magazine. "It was the dream
of Kevin Peniska, a Lakota from South Dakota. Kevin's wife
told him that she would support him in that dream and now
it's a nationally distributed magazine." Well
Nations Magazine is all about Indian Wellness. It is a magazine
that connects people. Check out Well Nations on the web at
www.wellnations.com
or call Kevin at (605) 348-9283 for a subscription.
Don then continued, "We have
our culture, we are doing our own videos, we are doctors,
we are writers, we are healers. We know what is wrong in our
communities and we know what to do to heal ourselves and our
communities."
There was time for sharing then, and the microphone
was passed around the room. Several people shared about being
on the Good Red Road now. Some shared about the heartaches
and struggles still going on in their families and communities
due to substance abuse, violence, and the insanity that surrounds
an unhealthy forest. Some spoke about crying—how they had
as of yet, been unable to cry. Among those attending today
were three beautiful women from the Passamaquoddy Nation.
They had come all the way from the village of Pleasant Point
(Sipayik) on the eastern tip of Maine to attend today's Wellbriety
Gathering.
It Feels Good to Cry
Grace Davis walked up to the front of the room and slowly
reached out to touch the Sacred Hoop of 100 Eagle Feathers.
She alternated between her Native language and English as
she shared with all of us. "I'm so
thankful and happy that I'm able to be here. To be able to
touch this Sacred Hoop. My brother and I were the first ones
to get this Sacred Hoop. Don Coyhis invited us to his house
long ago. He allowed my brother to sleep right next to the
Hoop so it would help my brother. My brother was very sick
because of that alcohol. (Grace is crying softly) Me
too... I'm not an Angel... Far from it. I have a lot in my
closet too. This man, Don, he came to our reservation in Passamaquoddy
and he changed all that for me. I used to hate a lot of people
too. And Don...he said, ‘go to the person that you hate the
most and ask them for forgiveness and tell them you love them.'
I went to that person and I told her that I loved her. And
Don played a song—The Greatest Love of All—everybody was
crying. There was a lot of healing that day."
Grace continues to stroke the feathers of the
Sacred Hoop and continues to cry softly and to share. "After
Don left, I prayed a lot. I teach the children in Passamaquoddy,
first thru fourth grade. And I have wanted a Sacred Hoop for
the children and for our reservation. I finally asked this
man if he could make a Hoop for us. They are not Eagle Feathers.
They are Turkey Feathers. We have over 100 Turkey Feathers
on our Sacred Hoop. All the Children put Feathers on there.
I told them that it wouldn't be sacred until all of them put
their special blessings on it. The Elders also blessed the
Hoop, and when they called us to come and get the Sacred Hoop,
I went to a special island near us and I prayed and I thanked
the Elders for their blessings. And when I was leaving the
island this chant came to me. I started chanting. To me, that
was the Sacred Hoop Chant. Many of the Children know it too
now. We pray and bless our Sacred Hoop with that Chant."
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| Grace
Davis (left), Margret M. (Maggie) Paul, (right),
and Deanna Francis (inside circle, to Grace's
left). These are the Passamaquoddy Women who
came to help us let go of some of our pain
and tears today. BEAUTIFUL!! Thank you! |
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Grace walks slowly from the Hoop and she picks
up a Hand Drum. As she returns she is followed by Maggie Paul
and Deanna Francis. She nears the Sacred Hoop and the people
begin to stand. Everyone in the audience rises to their feet.
No one asked us to stand. We realize that something special,
something sacred and powerful is about to take place. Grace
says, "When the children and I walk
around this Hoop we sing this Chant."
As the women sing and cry it brings tears to
the eyes of many standing in the audience. Sweet tears. "Letting
go" tears. As the songs continue, the tears continue. One
by one people from the audience make their way to the Sacred
Hoop and cry. Some had shared earlier what they cry for: "My
niece took her own life." My cousin was killed when he was
drinking and driving." "My father never sobered up and never
said he was sorry." "I lost my family because of my choices."
Many of us did not speak out loud what caused
our pain, but we wanted to cry. We wanted to heal. As the
women walked to the front of the room and cried out their
pain, they were joined by other women and by men. We all have
pain. The Passamaquoddy Women continued to sing. It seemed
we cried the tears for generations of pain. In 2000, we had
heard a young woman say, "I cry for
the people who are afraid to cry—the people who don't yet
know how to cry." Perhaps some of us cried for them—the
ones who don't know how to cry.
There were many Spiritual Warriors at today's
Gathering. We had seen some of them outside the American Indian
Center when we arrived early this morning, tending to the
Sacred Fire. They had been standing in the back of the room.
When they heard the women crying, they instinctively knew
what to do. No one had to tell them. They walked to the front
of the room and stood close to the women in the circle. They
began to sing. They sang a song of healing. Their voices joined
the women's voices in a song of "letting go" and healing.
The Sacred Medicine was lit and the smoke filled the room.
The Feathers held by many of the people were being used to
cleanse away the pain. The tears were wiped. This was a powerful,
amazing, healing ceremony. We are honored to be here in this
circle. It feels good to cry.
Retiring the Hoop
During the afternoon the documentary film Healing Native Women
and Children was shown. Following the viewing of this video,
there was another open mic session. Many people came up to
share. Following this sharing the closing ceremony offered
an opportunity for the people to offer tobacco to the Sacred
Hoop of 100 Eagle Feathers as they prayed for the healing
of individuals, family, community and nations. The Sacred
Hoop was then carried out by some of the Spiritual Warriors
who had sung during the morning healing circle around the
Sacred Hoop. They were followed by the people of the community
as they took the Hoop outside to be placed back into its box.
The Hoop's strength comes from the prayers of the people over
the years. It comes from all the people on all the journeys,
at the conferences, at individual gatherings, each prayer
giving strength to the Gifts of the Hoop—Healing, Hope, Unity,
and Forgiving the Unforgiveable. Each prayer and each event
gives strength to the Wellbriety Movement.
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| Some
of the Keepers of the Sacred Fire of this
American Indian Health Center Community,(right),
watch as the Sacred Hoop of 100 Eagle Feathers
is returned to it's box during the Closing
Ceremony. |
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Thank You Minobinmaadziwin
The American Indian Health and Family Services of Southeast
Michigan, Inc. has many programs in place for the people of
this community. The vision of wellness at Minobinmaadziwin
grew out of a need for healing in the Native American Community.
Native people have suffered cultural deterioration, countless
health crises, and environmental contamination. The Staff
at the center is dedicated to the physical, emotional, cultural,
environmental, and spiritual health of the Native American
Community. Spiritual Leaders from diverse Native communities
are often invited to the Healing Center to share their gifts,
beliefs and wisdom, Helping People
Help Themselves.
The programs at Minobinmaadziwin
include:
Family Social Night
Alcoholics Anonymous
Dreamseekers Youth Program
Women's Men's Children's Elders' - Talking Circles
Living with Diabetes
Traditional Use of Tobacco
Youth Theatre Project
Traditional Healing
Special Events Community Gatherings and Workshops.
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| Lucy
Harrison, Executive Director of the American
Indian Health and Family Services of Detroit,
holds the Miniature Sacred Hoop presented
to this Center in appreciation of their dedication
to the community and the efforts they had
shown in coordinating today's Wellbriety Gathering. |
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All of us at White Bison are greatly honored
to have come into the Detroit Indian Community and to have
shared with you, experiencing your own dream and reality of
healing and Wellbriety. We also thank the Passamaquoddy women
who gave so much to this Gathering.
Woliwon!
Migwetch!
Vette Middleton
Richard Simonelli
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