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| Wellbriety
Day in Oneida. (L to R), Marilyn King, Glenn Funmaker,
Pat Twocrow, and Don Coyhis with the small Gift
Hoop, and the Hoop of 100 Feathers. |
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"If
you're in Recovery, you need to have a strong voice.
It is said that in order for evil to flourish, humans
must stand silent. This is not the time to stand silent.
If you need to have strength to have a strong voice,
then get together with someone else who will help you
with that. In this way, we can support this healing
to take place in our Nations."
From
the Circle
Oneida Wisconsin, 2003
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A
Fond Farewell In Oneida
A Sacred Fire had been burning since before
the Sun rose in the East this day. This Fire would be kept
for all of the days of the Oneida Sobriety Conference—May
23-25 2003. We were here today for the Wellbriety Day event,
which would be the "kick-off" for the main Conference. There
were 45 people gathered on the lawn outside the Oneida Parish
Hall awaiting arrival of the Sacred Hoop of 100 Eagle Feathers.
There were several people already there long before any of
the rest of us arrived—probably long before most of us had
awakened this beautiful morning. They had been tending to
the Sacred Fire for many hours. The Fire had four painted
rocks placed around it. As you moved around the Sacred Fire
in a counter-clockwise direction you passed each rock, beginning
with the Yellow in the East, Red in the South, Black in the
West, and finally a White rock in the Northern direction.
We were told that the four colors of rock represented the
Four Directions and the Four Races of Man. It was a good way
to begin our day. Thank you to those who rose early to have
this Sacred Fire for us.
The Day Begins
After an opening prayer, the Sacred Hoop Carriers were offered
the cleansing smoke from the sage plant. Don Coyhis explained
the smudging ritual that he would perform on each of the men
who would carry the Hoop from Oneida Parish Hall to the Norbert
Hill Center for today's celebration of the Wellbriety Movement
and the last visit of the Fourth Journey of the Sacred Hoop—Healing
Native Men and Children. Don said:
"We ask that when you carry that Hoop
that you try to keep a Good Mind. And we ask that you think
about our communities and about healing. We ask that you think
about our traditions and our culture and whatever methods
we are using in our communities for healing. I'll start here
in the North and I'll explain this ritual to the first man
here."
Don lights the medicine plant—the sage—with
fire from his lighter. It begins to smoke and he fans it with
his Eagle Feathers to encourage the sage to produce more smoke.
As he approaches the man standing in the Northern Direction
he continues.
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| Don
Coyhis (left) with the Sacred Hoop Carriers
for the Oneida Wellbriety Day. Darren Jenerson,
Lyle Prouse, Ron Radloff, and Lahnetah • wi.
This is the Sacred Fire that would burn in
Oneida for the entire sobriety conference.
Notice the Four Direction stones on the ground. |
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"We put this Medicine (smoke) on
the feather, and we put it on the hand by brushing the feather
against the hand. What this means is that when you carry this
Hoop today, be open. And when we put this Medicine on your
ears, (Don runs the feathers thru
the smoke once again and then taps the feathers against the
man's ears) that means that
you are to just hear the truth. And on your eyes so that you
see the truth. And on your lips so that you speak the truth.
Then we tap the heart area four times. For the red, the yellow,
the black, and the white. Twice on each side of your chest.
One side of you represents the man's side, the other represents
the woman's side. We pat the Medicine on both sides so that
you are in balance between your woman's side and the man's
side. Then we tap the feather with the Medicine on it on the
top of your head. This means that you are to be open to your
Higher Power—Creator, Jesus, whatever you call it in your
way is good. And lastly, we make this protection or cocoon.
(Don fans the eagle feathers around all sides of the body)
Then on the tip of the Feather
we touch the head and continue with the tip down to the heart
area. This is to remind us that to have wellness, we need
both. We need the head and we need the heart."
After completing the smudging ceremony and explaining it to
the first man, Don continues around the directions to the
West, South, and East, blessing each man in the same way.
The Sacred Hoop Carriers for today's Wellbriety
event were Ron Radloff • Darren Jenerson • Lyle Prouse • and
Lahnetah_•wi. Following the smudging ceremony, the Hoop Carriers
walked across the lawn of the Parish Hall, and with the protection
of the local Police Department they were "on the road" toward
the Norbert Hill Center with twenty Community Members following
closely behind.
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| Members
of the local community walk with the Sacred
Hoop from the Oneida Parish Hall to the Norbert
Hill Center. |
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The last section of the walk to the Norbert
Hill Center was completed on a hiking trail that leads through
the woods and up the hill to a large tent covering, under
which would be held the Wellbriety Day event. You could hear
trilling and feel the excitement as the Sacred Hoop Carriers
and the community members who walked with them came into view.
The youngest member of the community to walk with the Sacred
Hoop was asleep in a stroller by the time he arrived at the
big tent. It was wonderful to see all aspects of the community
come together for this event. From the baby, the youth, and
the women of the community, to the Post 54 AMVETS, it was
a day of coming together for the community. There were around
100 people awaiting the Hoop's arrival. So, by the time we
were all joined together again as one group, there were 145
people in attendance.
The Drum—Duck Creek
Crossing—sang two beautiful honor songs for us as
the Sacred Hoop was carried to the center of the awning in
the middle of the field behind the Norbert Hill Center. One
of the songs was in Honor of the Hoop and the Veterans who
carried it and walked with it today. The other song was in
Honor and Memory of U.S. Army Pfc. Lori Piestewa, Hopi, who
was killed in Iraq in late March of this year. The Keeper
of the Duck Creek Crossing Drum is Patrick L. Madrid Sr. The
Singers were Paul Gutierrez • Anthony Gutierrez • Bill King
• Cory Wesaw • Jason Johnson • Jacob Johnson • Jaydee Johnson
• and Curtis Summers. Thank you for taking the time to come
out today and help us out with these Honor Songs!
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| The
Duck Creek Crossing Drum sings an Honor
Song for the Sacred Hoop and for U.S. Army
Pfc. Lori Piestewa, Hopi, killed in action
in Iraq. Please see Volume 4, No. 14 of Wellbriety!
Magazine (Dayton, Ohio visit) for more information
on Pfc. Lori Piestewa. |
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The Eagle and the Condor Meet
Glenn Funmaker, one of the coordinators for today's event,
served as MC for the Wellbriety Day Gathering. Glenn first
introduced Randy Cornelius to give the opening words and prayer.
Randy had given the opening prayer before we began the walk
today and speaks eloquently both in his own language and in
the English language. Thank you for your good words today.
After the opening prayer, Glenn Funmaker then introduced Don
Coyhis of White Bison, who shared about the Wellbriety Movement
and how the Sacred Hoop was "put together" in Janesville,
Wisconsin in 1995, not far from where we stood today. This
is also not far from the place where Don was born and grew
up, the Stockbridge-Munsee Reservation. After sharing about
the Vision of the Sacred Hoop and how White Bison had received
the 100 Eagle Feathers to build the Hoop, Don went on to tell
us about the Condor Feather in the center of the Sacred Hoop:
"The weekend we were building the Hoop
in Janesville, we got a message from this Tribe in Peru. In
their prophecies it is said that when the Condor and the Eagle
meet, the healing would start. So the weekend we were doing
the ceremony in Janesville with the White Buffalo Calf, they
came down from their mountain for the first time in 500 years
to talk to the "younger brother." They said, 'It's really
foolish what he's doing with the earth.' So we sent a Shoshone
Elder to Peru and they took him up to the mountains for 30
days. Ceremonies were exchanged and the Eagle Feather and
the Condor Feather were exchanged. Then the Elder brought
the Condor Feather back and we had a ceremony and put that
Condor Feather on there. So I want to thank you all for carrying
this Hoop today for all of our People—the Red, the Yellow,
the Black and the White."
We were honored throughout the day's events
to hear from many individuals and learn about their personal
recovery and their hopes for wellness in their families and
communities. We also were honored to have so many people share
with us after the showing of the documentary video from the
Third Journey—Healing Native Women and Children. There was
a traditional feast served at the Parish Hall and it was wonderful!
In the afternoon we heard many good words and inspiration
from Leland ‘Putski' Danforth and Lahnetah • wi . Thank you
for sharing.
The Yarn Exercise
in Oneida
Toward the end of today's gathering, we formed a circle of
men for the yarn exercise. There were approximately twenty-five
men taking part in the demonstration at today's gathering.
As they tossed the red ball of yarn back and forth between
them, a web slowly formed. As they continued to 'weave this
web,' Don Coyhis talked to them about the 'teaching' that
was being demonstrated by this exercise.
"As this web of yarn represents, we live
in our families and communities in an inter-connected and
inter-dependent system. We've been living by 'org chart thinking'
for so long that we've forgotten about this inter-connectedness.
Now we are at a place of thinking where if something happens
in our communities we say, 'It's not my job... it's over there...
not my responsibility.' But when we stand in this Circle and
we are able to experience this, there is a message. Can you
imagine who would do something to our family or our community
if they knew that this circle of men would form? Or if you
did something that wasn't right to the community? Can you
imagine facing a circle of men like this?"
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| Members
of the Community took time to share after
the demonstration of inter-connectedness and
the traditional roles of men during the yarn
exercise. |
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As the men continued to toss the yarn
from one man to another, Don continued:
"Child rearing was very significant in
our communities. Everyone was involved in it. We had ceremonies
for a reason. And a lot of our culture and Ways are still
there. They told us that this is how men need to be. Some
of the men need to be looking out, and some of the men need
to be looking in. The men have to be watching. We have to
watch what's going on in our communities now, because everything
is moving fast. If something goes wrong in the camp, we form
this Circle. And what they said is that we form these Circles
around the things we respect and the things that we love.
In the old days our women were treated with respect. In our
old languages even some of the words for women mean ‘life
givers' and ‘sacred beings.' Our children and our women were
looked upon as being sacred."
The yarn had been tossed to every man
in the circle by this time and the web was complete. Don pointed
out across the web and said:
"This is your community. It's inter-connected.
What one does has an effect on the other. Tension... balance...
harmony... it's the Circle. We are standing in exact harmony
with how an atom is built. There is an energy or something
spiritual in the center and everything cycles around it. This
is the way our villages were designed—in a circle. Our teepees
were in a circle. The Earth goes around the Sun in a circle.
We are at harmony with Natural Law right now in this Circle.
What is really powerful about this circle is what it does
to the enemy. When this Circle forms it's really scary to
someone when they see the circle of the men form like this."
Then the next part of the teaching of the yarn-circle-exercise
took place.
"What I would like to do is to ask
all of you to raise the yarn up over your heads. (The
men hold the yarn web up high).
Then I would like to ask the women and children, if they wouldn't
mind, to come and stand in the center of this circle."
The women walk underneath the raised yarn and
move toward the center of the circle near the Sacred Hoop.
One has even pushed a baby stroller that holds her sleeping
infant inside the circle. Then Don asks the men to slowly
lower the yarn. And as the yarn is slowly lowered, the women
are inside the web, completely surrounded by the men in their
families and community.
Don continues: "This
is how our communities were formed. With everything that was
sacred to us men inside our protective circle. When we look
around here in this circle today we can realize our responsibilities.
NEVER should we allow a woman to be hit. There should be NO
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE EVER in this community. NONE! These women
are chosen by Creator to be our Life Givers. So if a woman
is ever hit in this community, it should be a crisis and the
men should immediately form this circle. Or a child—we should
never have a child hurt in this community."
The men and the women are nodding their heads
in agreement to this strong statement. The people of the community
look around at the web, at their family members, and at their
neighbors. Some heads are bowed now and some tears run down
a few cheeks.
"It is a strong message when this Circle
is formed," Don Coyhis continues. "Without it, there is no
message. There is no protection. Anytime anything, anyone
that we consider to be a sacred being is hurt, it should be
a crisis and this Circle should be immediately formed. As
we get into our Recovery and become That Warrior, we have
got to be responsible. If domestic violence, for example,
goes on and you say nothing, sometimes that says that you
agree! We think, 'Well, I don't want to cause any trouble...'
So we make excuses. But what we are saying with our silence
is: It's OK. We have to say out loud where we stand on these
kinds of issues by forming this Circle in our communities."
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Healing Our Nations:
Don't Be Silent!
A Message From the Circle
"Even those of us men who have
been in Recovery for many years, because of the fears
we still have, might not want to say something about
our cousin, might not want to say something about our
relative, or Father maybe, who is a batterer. We have
got to find the courage to say something to them. And
to say it in a good way so that the heart comes out
and you're speaking from the heart. So that you're putting
tobacco or whatever you use to show respect in their
hands and asking them to stop what they're doing and
try to heal themselves.
"Many times those who are doing
these things were themselves abused and there needs
to be a reconciling of all that 'bad learning' that
they have had in life and a releasing of that. And until
that is addressed and healed within themselves, they
are not going to be able to do that. They will continue
to stay in that fog and stay in that confusion of using
alcohol and drugs, that poison we ingest into our bodies.
They choose not to walk on that spiritual path.
"We need to turn and look toward
those who are going to lead our Nations back to where
we need to go. We are living in that time of the prophecies.
We need to listen to these messages from the Elders
that say, 'It's time to tell your people to go back
to their old ways, to open their spiritual ears, to
go to those ceremonies, because it is coming to that
time when Creator is going to shake the Earth.' That's
when you're going to need to go over there and find
out where we need to go. Some of us are going to go
and some of us are not going to listen. Some of us are
going to stay in those places that will fall into the
sea, or whatever. Some of us are going to have the 'message,'
but are going to choose to perish with our loved ones
because we do not want to survive without them. But
we need to begin someplace.
"If you're in Recovery, you need
to have a strong voice. It is said that in order for
evil to flourish, humans must stand silent. This is
not the time to stand silent. If you need to have strength
to have a strong voice, then get together with someone
else who will help you with that. In this way, we can
support this healing to take place in our Nations."
Oneida, Wisconsin
May 23, 2003
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Closing the Journey
After those Good Words about it being time to speak out because
we've been silent for too long, Don spoke personally at the
closing of this Fourth and last Hoop Journey in the Cycle
that began in 1999.
"We are honored to be on your sacred
land today. We started this Fourth Journey in April, back
in Cherokee N.C. We've been to 18 communities since then.
From Tribe to Tribe, throughout the Six Nations communities
in New York, down to Ohio, to many of the urban Indian Centers,
we now conclude in Wisconsin. I remember asking the Elders
how would we know when we are in healing. One of the things
they said is, ‘When the young people start singing the old
songs...' We have seen that today, and we have seen that on
these Journeys. We have seen fathers and children on the Drums
during these Journeys.
"When I left our reservation in Stockbridge-Munsee
here in Wisconsin years ago, I never thought that I would
end up back here doing something like this. Recovery has been
good to me and I'm really honored to be here. To be here in
Oneida, with an AA group in Indian Country that is 50 years
old! That's unheard of. I'm really proud to be here. We have
videotaped all of the Journeys, and among the ways we use
that video is we make a documentary of each Journey. We will
be making a video of this Journey—Healing Native Men and
Children. That video will be premiered at the September 18-21
Healing Our Nations Wellbriety Conference in Albuquerque,
NM. We distribute as many copies of the Journey videos as
we can to communities—especially to our remote or rural communities.
A lot of them, like in Alaska, can't always get to conferences
or locations where we are holding Wellbriety Gatherings. But
when we are able to send them a video like this they are able
to join in the spirit of the Wellbriety Movement. They are
inspired to heal their own communities when they get to see
some of the things that are going on in other communities
by watching these videos. So we thank each of you who have
given us permission and your blessing to share your words,
families, and communities in this way."
We closed today's gathering by having an opportunity
for people to offer their prayers for healing of individuals,
family, community, and nations. Then we closed our Circle
with handshakes and hugs all around. Thank you to the people
and the planners of the Oneida Sobriety Conference, Celebrating
50 years of Native Sobriety with the first Native American
AA group, for making this Wellbriety Day a part of your celebration!
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| Collapsing
the Circle for the last time on Hoop Journey
IV in Oneida, Wisconsin. The people who attended
today's Wellbriety Event form a Circle during
the Closing Ceremony. There were many handshakes,
hugs and well wishes. |
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| Come
to the White Bison Circles of Recovery Conference
in Albuquerque, New Mexico from September
18-21, 2003 to continue the Spirit of
Hoop Journey IV. It's Free. Call White Bison
toll free at 1-877-871-1495, or visit the
website www.whitebison.org for complete information. |
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Vette Middleton
Richard Simonelli
Thank you all!
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