For the past 25 years we have spent time building the Wellbriety movement and expanding the training of  White Bison throughout our Native communities in the US as well as Canada.

We have been evaluating my Purpose  in the Wellbriety Movement and where I can be most useful.  In 2008 we made a 7,000 mile historic journey to 25 boarding schools across the US, video taping the stories of those who attended.

We produced a documentary called, The Journey to Forgiveness. This journey started at Chemawa and ended at the Native American Indian Museum. On the way we gathered thousands of signatures, requesting President Obama to make an apology on behalf of the United States government for its role during the Boarding School era.   We have distributed over 10,000 DVD’s and have had more than 15,000 views on You Tube.

We are just beginning to fully understand the effects of the Intergenerational Trauma (Historical Trauma) and its connectedness to the present day social issues such as alcohol abuse, drug abuse, violence, suicide, PTSD, domestic violence, etc.    We believe that the recognition by the government and the admission of the atrocities committed against Native People would greatly accelerate the healing of the Intergenerational Trauma issues and allow the healing of our people to take place.   We are asking for a apology similar to that which was given by the Canadian government to the First Nations People and by the Australian government to the Aboriginals.  The story of the boarding school era and the genocide of Native People must now be openly discussed and taught in our schools.

We are moving back to the Washingtom D.C area to dedicate the next two years to organize a major grassroots effort, working  with congress and the other National Native organizations to get the apology from the White House. We are not asking for a favor because a bill was passed on December 19, 2009 that authorized the President to make an apology to the Native people. What we would like is for the President to carry out what the bill requires and that is to issue a formal apology.

We will be opening a Wellbriety Advocacy office in D.C. area and help to Create a Native Voice and will communicate via facebook, blogs and twitter.

Wayne Records will be the Acting Executive Director of White Bison and I will remain as the Chairman of the Board. The Wellbriety Training Institute will continue to grow and expand the healing programs for our communities. We will need the support of everyone in all of our communities, churches,  reservations, urban Indian centers, Elders, prayers and encouragment. But, with the help of our Creator, we can succeed to get the apology.

The mover picked up the household goods today, and we will drive back most likely leaving on Sunday spet 23rd. stay tuned.

forgiveness 1 (click on the word forgiveness for the graphic)The Elders explained to us that to hold past hurts….we keep ourself in a prison. the hurts done to many of our people in the boarding schoosl, are now being passed down generation to generation. this intergenerational hurt is behind the alcohol problems, the violence, the abuses and even the sucides. it is time we break the cycle of passing this on to our children and our grandchildren. they told us that our last test is going to be ….can we forgive…..even to forgive the unforgivable. there are 4 directions of forgiveness. in the east is the everyday forgiveness. then we say, I’m sorry.The Second forgiveness is in the south and is called the forgiveness of the unforgivable. this would be like violence, domestic abuse or sexual abuse. we do this type of forgiveness to free ourselves, doesn’t mean we make the offenders not be responsible for what they did, but we ask the creator to help us be free. The third forgiveness in the west is the forgiveness of yourself. Sometimes this is harder to do than the first two. You ever do something stupid during the day or night and the next day you are filled with reqret that won’t go away? maybe you try to keep it a secret and the secret eats away at you. maybe even wishing a thousand times that you had not done what you did. Help from the Creator often is the only hope to forgive self. there is one thing the Creator CANNOT do and that is to not help one of His children who asks for help. He/She must help by his own rules. the rule of love. there is a saying….Love thy neighbor as thyself…and that is the problem..most of us do. The Fourth forgiveness is when we forgive someone to set their spirit free. or it could be an institution like a church or the government. you ever have someone hurt you, you have forgiven them but they cannot look you in the eye? you do it to set their spirit free. You forgive even though they don’t derserve it. You forgive, anyway. When our children see us practicing forgiveness, they will do it also.