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You may remember from: IN TOTAH: Sobriety Gourd Dance
Anna: This is where we need to bring our relatives back to let them know that "Hey,
you know remember grandma in our lives. Remember grandpa in our lives."
Historical trauma helps explain why Native Americans are nearly five times more
likely to be homeless.
Reconnecting with the culture is one
approach to healing the wounds.
IN TOTAH: Spirituality and Reconnection
Farmington, NM Totah Behavioral Health
Sherrie Bennally: You know our program has the modern perspective of substance
use and the traditional perspective. So some people choose just to go the
modern route. If people choose the traditional track,
we have traditional education, talking circle, women's and men's sweat lodge,
drumming session. Brian Curley: Can we do a combination of
the two? Sherrie Bennally: They can choose
whatever they want you know we are not going to force them to do just the
traditional one or the recovery one. The sweat lodge usually lasts between two
and three hours but people you know are more than welcome to come in and leave as
they go if they are not able to handle it. They will start the fire.
They will put the rocks in there and get the rocks heated up and then after they
are heated up they will put them inside. Brian Curley: The sweat lodge is really
significant to a lot of native people in recovery including myself have been able
to maintain my own sobriety and use a lot of the teachings that I come across in the
sweat lodge with other clients. Sherrie Bennally: This is our hogan.
Some of the relatives actually built it themselves.
As you know the door always face the east. Brian Curley: This will be my first time
participating in Native American Church Drumming Sessions.
Wayne: Spirituality, it has helped out a lot of people.
It's helped out a lot of people throughout the reservation and I for one
got my help through this holy circle and got myself pretty well balanced out to get
back on my feet again as I tie this drum. It puts my mind going through
healing upon all the people that is suffering and this is what the drummer
is supposed to be thinking when he utilizes the drum and it has got power I believe in
this. And back in my drunk days I used to just not care for anything much like this.
It was my mom's song.
The last song I sang.
I always remember her in that song.
I keep it in here.
I keep it in the sweat lodge too and I share it too at home because she always told me
you're not going to be alone even if I go back to spirit world someday you'll
always have something to turn to, you'll always have something to turn to.
And at that time I didn't know what she was talking about because I was drinking,
I was an alcoholic at that time I didn't care what she was talking about but today
at that time when she was singing that I wish I was listening, but this is the only way
right here that I know that we know it is going to become a good day.
Brian Curley: When I was drumming I felt empowered.
Our ancestors were sacrificing themselves so that several generations later we would
thrive and I think these songs, these ceremonies as a reflection and a reminder that is
a literal link that we have to our past.
Anna Holiday: Today we are on a trip to the [Navajo]
My name is Anna Holiday [Navajo]
Roy: I'm from Arizona Reservation [Navajo]
Sober for nine months and it's good to be on this trip and I enjoy it, sobriety. It's the way we go.
[Navajo] Hi. My name is Roy.
Anna Holiday: Your name and your clan. The four clan that you are that is very
important because when we use alcohol and drugs I believe that that's the first
thing that goes out the window.
You know we forget who we are and today it's not practiced because it's not
being taught in our traditional ways. They say that there's no such thing as
homelessness in our tradition and today that's what I see due to them using
substance like alcohol and drugs they burn bridges according to the interpretation of
the English way, the western way.
Our people took in people, our other relatives.
Nobody really push anybody away. They work together building corrals, building
hogans. In that way in return they provided shelter for each other.
Byron: They're saying the Navajo way some how in some way we are all related
and that's why I'm glad that clans are a big part of that to help us know our
origin and who we are. Anna Holiday: When we were born when we
were sent here on earth that we were sent as a Native American as a Dineh and the
first language that we should be speaking is Navajo in that language.
Brian Curley: I know there's a saying an old saying in Indian country,
"Tell me who your relatives are and we will tell you who you are."
[Navajo]
Hi may name is Brian Curley.
There's been a lot of times in history when we have been displaced or we've
been told that we don't belong, those notions and those feelings of not feeling
good enough, have ultimately really funneled down to individual people
and look at the multi-dimensions of my life you know being gay, Native American male who
is an alcoholic, and asking myself, how do I fit in to this society.
What's my role for my own personal journey in recovery and my own personal
journey in my spiritual path I have been able to find a lot of strength in sweat lodge,
strength in ceremonies and songs that begin the process of healing and I think what's
really missing with a lot of our native relatives who are suffering from alcohol
and drug abuse is to stop looking quickly at western ideas of healing and to think
outside that box and to say you know what's missing in my life that was there before.
IN TOTAH: Spirituality and Reconnection