White Bison Launches Journey to Begin Healing in Native Communities

www.wellbrietyjourney.orgFrom 1879 to 1940, nearly 4,000 Native American children were forcibly removed from their homes and sent to one of 500 government-funded boarding schools where they were severely punished for speaking their native language and practicing their traditions. Some say that the abuse that occurred at these schools could be one of the underlying causes for the high rates of substance abuse and suicide in Native communities today. This May, White Bison—an American Indian non-profit organization that offers prevention, sobriety and recovery resources to Native Americans—will launch the Wellbriety Journey for Forgiveness to help Native communities heal from this trauma.

The Wellbriety Journey for Forgiveness, which begins May 16th in Chemawa, Ore. and ends in Washington, D.C., is a 40-day 6,800-mile coast-to-coast journey to 23 present and former Indian school sites in the U.S. During each visit to a school site along the journey, people who attended one of the boarding schools will tell their stories and ceremonies of forgiveness will be held at the school sites. The goal of the journey is to promote awareness, dialogue and forgiveness among Native people for the painful historical events that took place.

White Bison President Don Coyhis said many who attended the boarding schools suffered from post traumatic stress disorder. That trauma was passed down through generations and never properly addressed.

“This intergenerational trauma has devastating effects on individuals, families, communities and nations. There is a growing body of evidence that the trauma Native children carried home with them from the schools is an underlying cause of the suicides and substance abuse-related deaths that are killing young Native people today in alarming numbers,” he explained. “The only way we’ll ever be free of this historical trauma and of the problems in our community is if we are willing to forgive—even to forgive the unforgivable.”

Coyhis said what has intensified the problem is that this brutal history was never discussed openly in Native communities or even acknowledged. He hopes the Wellbriety Journey for Forgiveness will bring it all out into the open and encourage a dialogue among families.

White Bison will also be sending a letter to President Obama, along with a petition, asking if the U.S. government will make a public apology for the boarding school initiative. Coyhis said receiving a formal apology from the government would help the healing begin in Native communities.

“The purpose of this journey is for us to forgive so even if the government does not respond with an apology letter, we have to forgive anyway,” Coyhis noted.

To raise funds for the Journey, White Bison is conducting a Fund-A-Mile program at the rate of $18.79 per mile. The $18.79 amount commemorates the year that the first boarding school opened at Carlisle, Pa. in 1879. The group is also seeking grassroots fundraisers who are passionate about the Wellbriety Movement to help with the fundraising effort. For those interested in helping, contact Joan Dacus at 719-548-1000 or via e-mail at joan@whitebison.org.

To donate, learn more about the Wellbriety Journey for Forgiveness, or to sign the petition, visit: www.wellbrietyjourney.org.