Wellbriety Journey for Forgiveness
Oneida Indian Boarding School
Oneida, WI, June 15, 2009
Horses Help with Intergenerational Healing at Oneida
The Oneida reservation is located just west of Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Oneidas are part of the Six Nation Iroquois Confederacy located in New York State where there is also a branch of the tribe. The day was nice and sunny, a perfect day for an outdoor event with the temperature in the upper 70s and a slight breeze to keep everyone from becoming too hot. It was almost summer in Wisconsin. The large tent that was set up for the event had ample room for the ceremonies to be held that day. Three different drum groups were present and diligently honored us by playing until we were loaded up and leaving the grounds at the end of the day.
The opening walk for the Oneida visit of the Wellbriety Journey for Forgiveness
The Oneida Indian Boarding School was in existence from 1893 until about 1920 on the same spot where the Forgiveness Journey took place. Now these are the grounds of the Norbert Hill Center, an important community center for Oneidas. The ceremonies started out with a prayer from Bob Brown and a handshake ceremony welcoming us to the event. The Drum on opening was Wohitika (The One Who Is Strong). The Hoop was carried in by Mike King, David Metoxen, Maxine Thomas, and Nina Kaupisch. Brandy Jo was honored by Maya Chinana, and the Eagle Staff by Wendell Kenote. There was also an introduction and sharing by Coordinator Emma White. Don then did his presentation and lunch was served. After lunch the invited panel spoke and community members shared.
The tent site at Oneida The Oneida gathering in Wisconsin had a number of special happenings. Oneida Behavioral Health had a few counselors on hand in case people needed to process their feelings as the day went on. As it turned out, their services were not required except to support speakers who had the courage and the heart to talk about their own boarding school memories.
The presence of three horses was another first at Oneida for our Journey visits. These equine participants were with us through the courtesy of the Pegasus Leadership Consultants, LLC organization of Wisconsin. In Greek mythology, Pegasus is a horse with wings. The Pegasus organization utilizes horses as important teachers integral with their leadership training approach.
Ginger the horse
and trainer
during the event Some of the participants petted the horses and some rode bareback. After one ride, the trainer remarked that the horses are really good at being able to take the energy from people and then releasing it into the world. They can take the pain that people are feeling or experiencing and release it on their own.
She said that one woman was in a lot of emotional pain and wanted to ride hoping the horse could help her release some of the pain. As she was riding the emotional pain was so intense that the horse began huffing, almost like a woman giving birth, in order to release that energy. The horses' handler had never seen that before and was moved to say "don't be afraid of the pain." Almost immediately both the rider and the horse began to relax and move more slowly with less stress. It’s important to know that horses live in the here and now and do not feel a human's pain as pain but as energy that they are able to let flow through them and disperse with no harm to them, she said.
One of the people who got up and spoke at the microphone said it was nice for him to be able to hear his four-legged relatives calling and neighing back and forth to each other. They helped to give him some strength to speak he said. Click on the link after this story to learn more about the Pegasus approach to therapeutic riding and equine-assisted psychotherapy.
During the panel discussion, Ken Fish of the nearby Menominee nation shared his own experience with boarding schools. Ken’s father and mother both went to boarding schools. His father went to government boarding school and his mother went to a Christian boarding school. He said we are losing our young people. Our young people need to know their history and their culture or the vision of our ancestors will vanish.
Ken Fish Ken said he did some research into the boarding schools and trauma issues. He states that he was shocked. All the females and males wore uniforms. All the males were at attention with wooden guns. As time went on, so did the programming. Mr. Fish says when we as a people brag about being loyal to this country, we are. We are the first to stand up and defend this country. But he also talks about things that are maybe unspeakable. For example, he says in the Pledge of Allegiance we say One Nation Under God, Indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for All. But we, as indigenous people, know it isn’t true, he said. There is a small percentage of us that believe it, because past generations were programmed into thinking it.
A community sharing session followed the panel sharing. Maxine Thomas is from the Bear Clan. She didn’t know she was Oneida and she didn’t know the language. She knew when she went to town people would make fun of her, but she did not know that it was because she was an Indian. Maxine was raised by her grandparents. She tells us Grandpa Bill went to Carlisle. He was really good at sports and competed a lot at Carlisle. She knows people were punished and put into sweat boxes. Her grandmother’s sister caught on fire and died at Carlisle. Her grandmother could never hug them. Her grandmother’s body would become stiff or she would pull away if Maxine tried to hug her. Maxine says that it was hard for her to hug her own children and she feels bad about that today.
Maxine Thomas and
two counselors in support Maxine’s parents grew up in Carlisle, Pennsylvania in a white community. Maxine had always tried to figure out who she was. She was told not to marry into Oneida because they drink and they will beat you up. Maxine also has had confusion with religion. She was raised Methodist and Episcopalian. Later she became agnostic and didn’t believe in either. She says in the Oneida way, when someone passes, there is a 10-day feast. Mrs. Thomas was encouraged to learn her culture and traditions by her husband, who is a white man. Maxine learned her culture through education and began to understand why Oneidas have a 10-day feast. She learned about the Long House and the medicines. She states that she found out they were not witches for doing their medicine in the woods. She learned that the Long House is beautiful.
Coordinator Emma White
shares her experiences Coordinator Justine Souto later told us that the Oneida Nation has offered workshops and presentations about the boarding schools and intergenerational healing since about 2005. People are starting to become familiar with the terms “intergenerational healing” and “historical trauma,” she said, even though it is still kind of a foreign concept to most. “There are still too many people in our community who are not prepared to begin that healing process,” she revealed, “or they are still in the very early stages where they are not ready to hear a challenging message.”
Coordinator Suoto said the gathering in Oneida was a wonderful event. She said a few people said the Journey was a gift, the Hoop coming was a real gift to them. Now they are able to carry that gift forward and be responsible for the knowledge that they gained. She said the turnout of about 50 people was the only disappointment despite the good advanced publicity. She felt that many people are still in denial about how historical trauma issues affect themselves and their families. We are still at the beginning of that educational process. She was grateful to White Bison for breaking the ground to intergenerational healing.
“Thank you to White Bison for taking on this responsibility––and it is a responsibility,” she remarked. “It is something that can be a real emotional burden, but when you know the truth, and you can’t deny it, you have to act on it. White Bison has clearly demonstrated their willingness to act time and time again. I think the kind of work all of you do is an amazing thing.”
–Forgiveness Journey Team
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