We are pleased to announce that the Wellbriety Movement Advocacy Office will be at 10920 Connecticut Avenue, Suite 100 Kensington, MD 20895  and co-located with NACoA (National Association for Children of Alcoholics).

We are excited to have this opportunity to be affiliated with and work more closely with NACoA. Years ago at a conference  in New Orleans, NACOA helped to birth NANACOA, the National Association for Native American Children of Alcoholics.  For many years, NANACOA did a great deal of good work toward the healing of our Native People, but unfortunately due to lack of funding it has been dormant for some time now.

 In 2013, the Wellbriety Movement Advocacy Office will re-launch and revive NANACOA to once again help with the deeper issues of healing intergenerational trauma, childhood trauma and co-dependency issues that many Native Americans still suffer with today.

Along with other  like minded  organizations, we plan to co-create a National Wellbriety Vision. Wherever possible, we will  build collaborative relationships and network with other, national level  organizations that can help us to promote the  legitimacy and power of using our Native culture in the healing of our Native People. 

Our work here will include:

• Advocating  to expand the Wellbriety Movement Nationally & Internationally
• Advocating  for including Wellbriety Movement curriculum, models & methods as culturally relevant, evidence based practices for prevention and healing of Native People from addictions, intergenerational trauma, PTSD and other related problems.
• Advocating for a public apology from the White House for the US government’s role in the abuses of the boarding schools.
• Advocating for recovery, wellness and addiction free leadership within our National Native organizations.
• Sponsoring  a number of national and regional conferences to keep the Wellbriety Movement  informed at the grassroots level.
• We are also available to do advocacy work here in D.C. for small tribal organizations or Native Urban centers

We will soon have a Wellbriety Movement Advocacy Office website operational and be able to provide you with additional details on how to contact our office here in Washington.

We arrived safely in Maryland and have been busy unpacking, organizing our house, setting up the internet and preparing the Wellbriety Advocacy Office.  The next several  weeks will be devoted to building relationships with other the Native organizations and the Federal Agencies in an effort to increase our presence.

The main goals of our Wellbriety Advocacy Office are:

1. Building relationships and gaining support from our Native communities, both reservations and Urban Indians, to seek a public national apology from the White House for the United States Government’s  role in the genocide tactics and its role in the boarding schools’ methods of abuse of the Native children who attended these schools.

2. Seeking funding that will advance the healing of our communities through gaining support for the Wellbriety Movement.  We will accomplish some of this work through our sister company, Coyhis Publishing & Consulting, which is a certified Native American Owned 8(a) small business.  Our first Coyhis Publishing & Consulting initiative will be to get funding for the  healing of our Native Veterans (men, women and their families).  We have developed a number of culture-based programs that we believe will offer solutions in the healing of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and other wounding caused to our relatives while serving in the armed services.

3. Raising awareness about the power of our culture in the Recovery movement through creation of a National Vision of Recovery for our Native Communities.

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.