The Hoop of 100 Feathers
The Sacred Hoop was born from a vision in 1994, not long after Miracle, the first white buffalo calf, was born on August 20 in Janesville, Wisconsin. In that vision, an Indian man saw a willow sapling lose its leaves and form itself into a circle. One by one, eagle feathers began to arrive from each of the four directions to attach themselves to the willow hoop. He saw in his vision that each of the quadrants of the Hoop was painted a different color: Red in the east, Yellow in the south, Black in the west, and White in the north. The feathers stopped coming when 100 were hanging from the circle.

A hoop just like in his vision was built in a sweat lodge over a weekend in May of 1995. On the first day of summer of that year, a multicultural Elders gathering was held in Janesville, Wisconsin to provide prayers for the Hoop and align its purpose to the coming Healing Time. The Elders placed the four gifts of Healing, Hope, Unity and the Power to Forgive the Unforgivable into the Hoop, entrusting it to Don Coyhis, Mohican nation, and the White Bison organization for the work to come. The sacred Hoop took part in many different healing activities and ceremonies between 1995 and the first full-fledged Hoop Journey in the Spring of 1999.

Hoop Journey I began on March 6, 1999 in the Longhouse of the Onondaga nation near Syracuse, NY with prayers and blessings from the traditional people. From March through May of 1999, the Hoop was carried on an east-to-west route of over 11,000 miles, visiting 27 of the Native American Tribal colleges in both the US and Canada. Seven presentations were also given outside of the Tribal College network. At each Tribal college visit White Bison staff and volunteers gave a Wellbriety Awareness Day presentation at which students, faculty, local community members, and Elders all took part.

Hoop Journey II was undertaken the following year. From April through July of 2000, a core group of about 25 people walked, ran and drove the Hoop from the Los Angeles area to Washington, DC on a 4200 mile west-to-east Journey for Wellbriety. Hoop Journey II began with a send-off in L.A. from two Native American sobriety elders, Ozzie Williamson, Blackfeet Nation, and Bill Iron Moccasin, Lakota Nation. Hoop Journey II had a special dedication to the ending of domestic or family violence in Native communities. Hoop Journey II brought its program of one-day Wellbriety conferences and the sacred Hoop ceremony to 10 planned stops along the way. The Journey concluded in Washington, DC with a moving ceremony at the Iwo Jima memorial, and an all day-conference and powwow right in the heart of the Washington

Hoop Journey III took place in the late spring and summer of 2002 on a 7000 mile circle of 16 planned visits and stops in Indian communities west of the Mississippi river. The theme of Hoop Journey III was Healing Native American Women and Children. The Journey was dedicated to Ingrid Washinawatok, the Menominee woman who worked for peace and Native rights both in Turtle Island and around the world. Visits on Hoop Journey III ranged all the way from Reservation stops to big-city Wellbriety Day presentations. Many women's healing and wellness events and moving moments happened on Hoop Journey III. The Daughters of Tradition Program for Native girls was especially highlighted on this Journey.