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The National Wellbriety Drum

White Bison was founded in 1988 with a mission to bring 100 communities into healing by 2010. Originally, White Bison set out to help young people, but as it progressed, we discovered that we had to focus on individual healing first. We began to develop culturally-based programs for recovery and treatment of alcohol and substance use, and began working in Indigenous communities all over Turtle Island. As the need for these programs grew, a movement was born, and it became The Wellbriety Movement. Wellbriety means to live a sober life that is balanced emotionally, mentally, physically, and spiritually. White Bison’s Mission today is creating and sustaining a grassroots Wellbriety Movement that provides culturally based healing to the next seven generations of Indigenous People.

 

Growth Tip:  Anticipatory grief refers to a feeling of grief occurring before an impending loss. Typically, the impending loss is the death of someone close due to illness.

I remember when my sister got cancer the second time, and the doctor told her they could do nothing more. Even though I was working the 12 steps to my best ability, I got this feeling that was weird and would not go away.  I was hoping and praying for a miracle.  I was making deals with the Creator.  I was acting strong.  I was talking hope, but deep down I knew it was over. I felt guilty thinking I will be glad when it is over for her. I was sharing my weird feelings with a friend in the program and it was explained to me this feeling is called Anticipatory Grief. It’s a feeling that some people get when they know death of a loved one is going to happen. It is different than grief after a person dies, this is like a pre-grief.

I have moments of this feeling going on now with the COVID-19 crisis. They are predicting large scale death. I am anticipating getting a call that it will be someone close to me, someone, I know, friend, family, but I am preparing myself.

The Healing Forest Graphic shows the hurt is deep down in our community roots. That is where the Intergenerational Trauma is hidden. The cause behind Anticipatory Grief is fear which can be in two categories: 1. We are not going to get something we want or 2. We are going to lose something we have.

Talking to a few Elders, they shared this happened to our ancestors with smallpox, Trail of Tears, the Long Walk, the Pueblo War, the hunting of Native in California, etc.  By 1920 99% of the Native people had been killed off by Genocide. This Intergenerational Trauma is passed down through the DNA from one generation to the next if healing has not taken place.

Will this Epidemic be causing trauma inside ourselves because it happened to our ancestors?

We may be facing death in our Native Communities and experiencing Anticipatory grief. We need to make sure our mental health workers, our counseling professional can help us process through this Epidemic. We need to count on our culture, ceremonies, prayer, and spirituality to carry us through.

What does one do if you feel you have this grief before the grief? Talking to counselors or an Elder is always a positive step. To use our medicine is also a good step. We are looking for a safe place to go when uncertainty occurs. We are looking for the LOVE place. Our medicine takes us there. Smudge with sage, cedar, sweetgrass, cedar baths, or other culture medicines. Pray in the mornings to the 4 directions, sing your morning songs, your healings songs, etc. find that place where fear cannot exist. Gratitude is a medicine that helps us to focus on our blessings.

This virus is spread by breath and touch. Try to stay away from other human beings when possible, wear a mask to keep from giving it to someone else, and wash hands frequently. Isolate if you can if you have symptoms.

Even though we are in isolation, as humans, we can still stay in contact socially with those we love, telephone, Skype, Facebook, Instagram, Zoom, etc. We can see each other. This is for a short time, but a time of testing. We need one another to make it through this time of testing. We ARE all connected, all over the Earth.

If there are professional mental health workers in Indian Country that would like to attend a Zoom meeting to share ideas of what you are doing or want to know what others are doing to help process grief from this virus, send your email and contact information to  and we will set up a meeting.

 

Why We Need to Vote!

Our responsibility, given to our ancestors and handed down to us, is to be the voice of our Turtle Island. 

For many decades, we have had Washington come to our communities, make treaties, agreements, make false promises, manipulate, lie, and cheat. We don’t need a trial or court for us to recognize these activities. We just see what their actions are, not what they say. It is easy for Native people to see what is going on in Washington. WE have seen it before!

Age does not make an Elder. There are Elders and there are old people.  A long time ago, Congress had Elders Statesman who kept the young Congress members from being foolish. Behind the scenes, they were kept in line. They knew to focus on the Constitution and to do what was right for the people. but, over time, these Elders passed on, and now the Congress members have drifted and some are doing foolish things.  Congress has old people who have allowed big corporations to give them money to tell them how to vote and make policy to protect the Greedy. It’s bribery, but they passed a law to call it Lobbying so now it is ok to take money. 

There are spiritual Laws that govern everything. There are Laws for people to live by.  There are Laws for the animals, plants, environment, Seasons, Tribes, organizations, Leadership, and Corporations, etc. One of the Laws governs Systems, the unseen side of an organization. One of the Law of Systems is: “You always have a perfectly designed system that gives you the results you are getting”. This means you can create a system that is corrupt, and then it becomes normal.  Congress now has become a dysfunctional system. Electing new people who come into the system and using what the current rules are will not make changes. Electing new people does not guarantee change. Nothing changes until the rules of the system changes. If the system does not change, the results do not change.  Nothing changes if nothing changes. Corporations are paying our officials to make decisions in their favor, and the resources, the air, the water, trees, land, food supply, chemicals are being poisoned to make quarterly profits.

Lobbying will still create the same results when new people start taking the money. Nothing changes if nothing changes!

We must no longer be silent! Greed based ways of life do not stop on their own, and this way of life must be stopped before it’s too late. We must talk to our Elders and ask them to help us do a spiritual intervention.

During 2020, the Wellbriety Movement will start publishing a series of teachings from our Native communities to encourage and organize our communities to vote, encourage our Native women to run for political offices at all levels and to encourage our youth to get their degrees in political science.  We will share information from our Elders and from the teachings that will help make decisions that are not greed based.

For example, currently the corporate leaders get big money to show profits each quarter. THE CHANGE: Give the Corporate leaders big money if they can implement this teachings. Make decisions, not for Quarterly profit, but for what effect of our decisions will have 7 generations from now!  What will be the effects on the Earth, resources, our children, the air, the environment, etc?  Give them big money for intergenerational results. This thinking is not Greed based, but in harmony with Nature and changes the outcome for our future generations. This teaching comes from the Elders.

We must pray and vote! We will not say who to vote for, but pray and vote because what is going on is currently affecting our children and grand-babies. Bad leaders have been coming to our communities for a long time, and we recognize a wolf in sheep’s clothing. We know leadership that is honest, respectful, prayerful and has good intent will help lead us to a world our children can live in. We need to say out loud the things that need to be said. There are thousands of us that are sober and walking the Red Road. We need to become Recovery Activists. We need to Vote for the person(s) who will make decisions for the good of the people, not for what political party they are in, or because they are making promise they cannot keep.  They have to have the character to lead in a good way. Stay tuned as The Wellbriety Movement will be posting more on these types of issues.#NativeRecovery #SayingOutLoud #EnoughisEnough #RecoveryActivists

 

 

White Bison is honored to announce Dana Tiger as The First Wellbriety Artist of 2019.
Dana Tiger is a Muscogee Creek-Seminole and Cherokee artist from Oklahoma. Her artwork focuses on portrayals of strong women. She uses art as a medium for activism and raising awareness. Dana was inducted into the Oklahoma Women’s Hall of Fame in 2001. She has been a strong supporter of the Wellbriety Movement since the first Journey of the Sacred Hoop in 1999. She generously allowed White Bison to use her artwork for our Daughters of Tradition program, which is a youth prevention program for girls ages 8-17. She was also one of the first women to carry The Sacred Hoop of 100 Eagle Feathers.
In 2002, Dana Tiger founded a non-profit organization, Legacy Cultural Learning Community, to foster arts development for Native youth. She comes from generations of famous, talented artists such as Jerome Tiger and Johnny Tiger Jr.

You can visit her website at https://www.tigerartgallery.com/
Please support this amazingly gifted Wellbriety Artist by purchasing paintings, custom work, T-Shirts designs, book cover designs, cards, Christmas presents, and Birthday presents.
Dana also does presentations on art and sobriety.

We will publish more of her work during the following month.