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Stand Up People, A Chief is Coming

August 20, 2018 By wellbriety Leave a Comment

Stand Up People, A Chief is Coming

I met Ozzie 30 plus years ago at where else, a recovery meeting. He was in his glory regaling everyone who would listen with is recovery wisdom and humorous stories. The real love of Ozzie’s life was recovery meetings, recovery Roundups and most importantly Sobriety Campouts.

Ozzie was born into a strong Blackfeet family, he traced his family back many generations and was able to share that knowledge with his family. He held his family in the highest regard, especially his parents and was always in awe that they raised a large family back when poverty was a way of life. He loves his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Throughout his lifetime Ozzie had many accomplishments-too numerous to mention. We all know he put his life on the line for all of us by serving in the Armed Services, in fact he was wounded in the line of duty. He never shared that with many people, only other Veterans and his sons – it was private to him and he said it was too painful to talk about. He said he was just doing his duty.

But I believe one of the movements he was most proud of was being one of the founders of the Intertribal Sobriety Campout held here in Montana. He and his close friend Jim Pipe had a dream to have sobriety campouts on every reservation in Montana. So word went out on the Moccasin Grapevine about a planning meeting to be held in Billings – in a packed room at that meeting he and Jim outlined their dream to carry the sobriety message to our Native people. Their dream became reality and the first campout was held with the Cheyenne Nation and on each reservation in the following years. Overtime Ozzie became the Elder statesman of the Sobriety movement, especially within the Native communities. It didn’t stop there though, he went where he was called. When he visited his daughter Fawn at Fort Belknap, part of his visit was to take a meeting to his Hutterrite friends in Turner, Montana. One time a few years ago, I was traveling with my family to Florida. We stopped at a rest stop somewhere in the middle of nowhere. My car had Montana plates and this man came over and asked where in Montana were we from and of course he mentioned that he knew a man from Montana, a Blackfeet man he said, ‘Helped sober me up, in fact he is my sponsor in recovery’. Of course he was talking about Ozzie! I pointed to Fawn and told him this is his daughter. He said ‘She must be Fawn, he talks about her all the time’. I laughed and said ‘Yes, this is definitely his daughter, she holds recovery meetings with her Barbie dolls’.

In the native culture each brave deed earns the Sacred Eagle Feather – 36 feathers is the number worn by a chief. Ozzie is certainly in that circle with the great Chiefs of the past four generations and has honorably earned all 36 Eagle Feathers for his War Bonnet. When the Feathers reach the ground that is the highest honor. The honor is that the War Bonnet Trail signifies the honor of the people. The feather with red paint signifies of warrior wounded in battle. Ozzie has this Red Feather. THIS MAN IS A LEGEND!!

I could go on and on but I want to tell my friend that his legacy will remain uniquely his in the Native World. There is a saying – when smudge is lit and prayers are offered, the smudge continues without end and blesses all mankind. That is how I see my friend and the people he has helped on the Red Road of Sobriety.

So as he makes his journey through life I say, ‘STAND UP PEOPLE, A CHIEF IS COMING!’

When it is time for you to take that journey to the Spirit World I will sing a victory song in my heart and dance a victory dance for Ozzie, he has counted coup on alcohol and addiction.

Tie on your beaded moccasins and proudly place the 36 Eagle Feather War Bonnet on your head and dance that victory dance across the Milky Way into the great camp in the sky. Again I will say, ‘Stand up, a chief is coming, stand up people’.

SOAR HIGH OZZIE, your 51 years of continued sobriety rightfully bestows on your right to carry ‘51’ feathers on your coup stick. The tracks on Mother Earth uniquely reflect your awesome ability to help others become ‘Happy, joyous and free’. Each time I see an eagle soaring across the Heavens I know it is you watching over us.

THIS MAN IS A LEGEND! BLRSSINGS TO LONEWOLF!!

-Jill P. (8/17/2018)

Treatment Works, Culture is the Path

March 6, 2018 By wellbriety 1 Comment

In 2018 I will turn 75 years old, and we started White Bison 30 years ago. During a meditation in the beginning of 2018, I realized I walk around with intentions of telling people something nice about themselves but I don’t do it and keep putting it off because I am too busy. So this year, I made a list of people and organizations that I intend to say what I have been holding in and want them to know.

Many years ago, when White Bison Inc. was starting out, I had the opportunity to visit NARA. I actually had not heard of them before. Upon arrival to their treatment facility, I first saw a well used Sweat Lodge outside. As I entered the facility at lunch time, there were happy children running around playing. This was the first I had ever heard of treating the mom and allowing her children to be a part of the treatment process. I further learned the center of their treatment strategy was having Native Elders on staff using the Culture as the path to follow for their Native clients, plus using the latest treatment strategies. My thought as I was returning home was “This is the best kept secret that needs to be told all over Indian Country.” If you want your people to heal, send them to NARA!

As we developed White Bison, we frequently consulted with NARA as they had been using this approach for many years before anyone else. Treating the whole family which was the secret. Treatment works, the Path to follow is the Culture.

One of our 4 Directions teachings says, the Creator designed us to develop ourselves in 4 directions: Emotional, Mental, Physical, and Spiritual. Treatment addresses all four of these directions and the culture addresses the spiritual.

This is the reason Treatment Works, and Culture is the Path. I hope I never see NARA change its approach to treatment. I have traveled all over our Turtle Island during the last 30 years, and have seen there are hundreds and hundreds of NARA graduates still sober and leading our people.

I have been meaning to say thank you to Phillip and NARA for setting the footprints in the snow for all of us to follow. May the Creator continue to bless your path. May you be given the insight to continue to be Mission Driven, Spirit Lead.

Conflict precedes Clarity..Spiritual changes 2018

February 26, 2018 By wellbriety 3 Comments

There is a tsunami wave of healing coming upon us! The Elders told us of a healing time. The Natural Law is designed to always maintain balance and harmony, like a teeter totter. If one end starts to lower, the natural law activates forces to correct for the mistake.

By 1920, 99% of the Native Population had been wiped out, and only 1% remained. This activated the natural law to restore the balance and harmony. The first sign of this was the fulfillment of prophecy. This started the awakening. The second sign was the response to Standing Rock and the “Water is Life Movement”. Thousands of people responded from all over the world!

The Elders gave us a teaching for us to follow. They told us an awakening was going to take place. Other Elders said, our spirits were asleep and we would wake up and see the disharmony. The 4 Directions Teaching is:

Recognition, Resistance, Resiliency and Recovery. Recognition: Many secrets would start to be revealed. We would start to see lies, deceit, greed, and the surfacing of many things that have been out of harmony. This awakening would spread among the people and cause a great stirring to take place. A certain person would come forth and reveal the secrets of the dark side. The spiritual design of a secret is for it to tell on itself. Those who are keeping the secrets would be revealed. We would feel the need for change.

As this awareness started to spread we would need to know the second teaching. Resistance: The Elders told us to watch nature to have an understanding of what is going on. In nature, there are certain fish and birds that act in a certain way. When an enemy shows up, they quickly form a swarm of thousands of fish or birds. There is no leader, but all the fish or the birds will turn and change direction simultaneously, turning left and right, changing direction in perfect synchronization. This creates a confusion among the enemy and changes its attack. When the oil company approached the Sioux land and threaten the water, the “swarm” of thousands of supporters around the world reacted on social networks, and gathered in large camps. The enemy lost in court and the swarm won. This is the new resistance! Spiritually with no leader, it can turn left and right, change direction, and the enemy must give in! Spiritual Resistance!

A day after the election, thousands of women from around the world “swarmed” in support of a new enemy that showed up. They gathered in many foreign countries, in every major city around the globe. With no leader really, they can turn left and right at the same time and cause the enemy to back off and change its mind. Next, the enemy tried to deport immigrants at the airport. “The Swarm” gathered by the thousands at airports all over the country, and caused the enemy to back off. Recognition that the act of deporting people is not right and this spiritually forms a Resistance of swarming people by the thousands. Spiritual Resistance!

Now, when the shooting happened at the school in Florida, there has been immediate recognition of the disharmony and the youth are forming the swarm of Resistance. The youth took on Congress and the NRA, and are staying focused on gun control and the disharmony. Thousands of youth are gathering across the US and are making the changes. With no real leader, they can turn left and right, up and down and cause the enemy confusion, and force changes during this new time of healing. Spiritual Resistance!

As the Resistance continues, the enemy will plan an attack. They will try to discredit and stop the swarm by decisive ways. This will call for the third teaching. Resiliency: The ability to bounce back from set backs. Tenacity is a spiritual gift that is required when an enemy tries various means of attack, and we have the determination to keep the Resistance going.

These three teaching are necessary for us to follow in order for us to reach the 4th teaching. Recovery: When we have followed the teachings and our social issues are restored back to being in harmony and balance. When things go out of balance, the Natural Law selects the “coyotes” who will become the activists and lead the charge. We are fortunate that when we experience strange times, we have the Elder teaching to guide us.

Amazon Smile

February 23, 2018 By wellbriety Leave a Comment

What is AmazonSmile?

AmazonSmile is a website operated by Amazon that lets you enjoy the same wide selection of products, low prices, and convenient shopping features as on Amazon.com. The differences is that when you shop on AmazonSmile, the AmazonSmile foundation will donate 0.5% of the prices of eligible purchases to the charitable organizations elected by customers at no extra cost to you!

If you already shop on Amazon, we invite you to shop at AmazonSmile and choose White Bison as your charity of choice. Below you can read about how to use Amazon Smile.

How to use AmazonSmile to support White Bison?

1. Visit smile.amazon.com. The entire shopping experience is the same as using Amazon.

3. Search for ‘White Bison’.

4. Select ‘White Bison’.

5. Begin shopping! Once you have selected your charity everything else functions the same. No extra cost is passed onto you and AmazonSmile will donate 0.5% of your purchase to White Bison!

Raising Consiousness with the Wellbriety Movement

March 1, 2016 By wellbriety Leave a Comment

How many times have you heard this statement: “I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired!” Or, what about this one: “There are too many children dying, too many of our young people going to prison, too many families without fathers—we have to do something!!” Every day, people are impacted by the social issues around them: alcohol and drug abuse, family violence, gang violence, mental health problems, and physical health problems. In our Native communities these issues can seem overwhelming. Yet, if we stop and think about it for a while, we realize that these issues have a source; they are a response to a way of thinking and experiencing that exists in the mind and spirit of each person. At our recent 2014 Wellbriety Gathering, we addressed the impact of Intergenerational Trauma, the impact of the Boarding School Era, and the challenge of alcohol and drug abuse within families. Healing from intergenerational trauma is an essential focus for the Wellbriety Movement for the current generation.

We also learned is that this is not the way our people lived in times gone by. The Elders tell us of a time when families raised their children to have a sense of purpose and meaning; when communities of people cared for one another; when the warriors protected the women and the children. We found that there was a long history of sobriety and wellness within Native communities. The stories and the teachings of the Elders remind us that there is a better way to live our lives. One of those teachings is: You move toward and become what you think about. Another is: When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change. So it is very important that we become aware of what we are thinking about; and that we learn ways to direct our thinking to achieve healthy outcomes.

Move from a Sick Forest To a Healthy Forest

The Wellbriety Movement provides a pathway changing the way we think and changing our consciousness about what it takes to transform the lives of individuals, families, communities and nations. The teachings of the Elders provide the wisdom that we need to have to create healthy lifeways. Over the years, the Wellbriety Movement has identified over many, many teachings that provide guidance for the development of cultural programs, processes, and other resources. These teachings have provided the foundation for our trainings, curriculum and keynote presentations. With the Wellbriety Movement the vision is to move from a sick forest to a healthy forest. The consciousness needs to change from anger, fear, guilt and shame, to hope, unity, healing, and forgiving the unforgivable (the four gifts of the Sacred Hoop).

Wellbriety Movement: a Social Movement Social movements are about change. Consider the changes brought about in our society as the result of these major social movements: The Civil Rights Movement, Women’s Movement, Mothers Against Drunk Driving and the American Indian Movement. The men and women who banded together in these movements designed them to empower people, provide social justice, or prevent unnecessary injury and death, and to give those who were unheard, a voice to change the status quo.

Social movements have four characteristics: (1) people become energized for change; (2) they engage other people to work with them; (3) they identify a vision of what could be; (4) they generate a voice that empowers those who have been silent to speak. The Wellbriety Movement uses a powerful teaching that helps to transform individuals, families, communities and nations: The Four Laws of Change. These Four Laws were identified by the Elders as the natural pathway for making significant change. The First Law says that all meaningful and lasting change comes from within. This means that individuals, families,communities and nations must make the decision to change. Change cannot be imposed by external sources. Gandhi said: You must be the change you wish to see.

Of course temporary change is imposed by governments and regulations all the time. But until the change comes from the will of the people, there will be no meaningful or lasting change. The Second Law explains that without a vision, there is no development; nothing will happen. The people must create a vision of what can be; of what the preferred lifeways are.

The Wellbriety Movement recommends the development of a vision of sober living and wellness. What does this look like for the individual, the family, the community, the nation? Each one must create that vision. The vision includes the answers to three questions: Who am I (are we)? Why am I (are we)? And Where am I going (are we going)? Through this visioning process people will identify what is significant, what is valued, and what is desired.

Once that vision is created, it sets up a cascade of opportunities, that if noticed can bring about the vision. However, before that can happen, the Third Law must be enacted: A great learning must take place. People will need to learn things at many different levels: emotionally, mentally, physically, and spiritually. Doing this work together enables families, communities and nations to learn how to work together and how to coordinate the resources to make things happen. People who participate in the process, learn new ways of thinking, develop new skills, uncover new knowledge and draw upon capabilities they didn’t know they had. Working toward the vision will bring about many lessons that need to be learned and incorporated.

Finally, the vision of the change will not “take root” and will not be sustainable unless the Fourth Law is implemented: You must create a healing forest. A healing forest is an environment where the change, the vision and the health of the people are supported an nourished. The healthy forest is supported by hope, unity, healing, and forgiving the unforgivable. It is nourished by the culture, and the realization that all things are interconnected. To make change occur at the physical (seen) level, it must also occur at the spiritual (unseen) level.

Also by working together, people develop supportive networks, continuous training, share their thoughts and concerns in talking circles, and find ways to apply traditional principles and values to support and maintain the vision. This creates the healing forest. All of this takes significant effort to sustain; and it is not possible without the help of the Creator. Traditional spiritual practices, including prayer and ceremonies are needed to overcome many of the obstacles and to create pathways where there were none. In addition, to launch, support and nurture the changes in communities, the Wellbriety Movement brings the Sacred Hoop to communities around the Nation. There have been numerous Sacred Hoop Journeys since 2000, crisscrossing the United States (including Alaska). As the spiritual symbol of the Wellbriey Movement, the Sacred Hoop brings the message of hope, unity, healing and forgiving the unforgivable.

Many training resources are available through the Wellbriety Movement to support the great learning, change of consciousness, and the development of the healing forest: (1) for individuals: Mending Broken Hearts, Medicine Wheel and 12 Steps; (2) for youth and families: Women–Mothers of Tradition, Daughters of Tradition; Men— Fathers of Tradition, Sons of Tradition, and the National Association for Children of Alcoholics program, Celebrating Families; (3) for communities and nations: Red Road to Wellbriety Starter Kit; Warrior Down, Community Readiness Assessment (developed by the Tri-Ethnic Center).