Jodi Rave: Sacred Hoop Journey inspires hope

Thursday, July 26, 2007  

"Don Coyhis can feel the electricity building, growing daily with a healing energy that will one day burst upon Native communities.

For the last 19 years, Coyhis has been traveling to tribal communities and sharing a message of healing and well-being. His plan is to enlist 100 Native communities into the “Wellbriety Movement” by 2010.

Coyhis, founder of White Bison Inc., a nonprofit wellness organization based in Colorado Springs, Colo., has developed a multifaceted program designed to help Native people, particularly men and women who are returning to reservation and urban communities after having served time in prison or who are recovering from a drug or alcohol addiction.

Coyhis, who is of the Mohican Nation, uses an analogy where he compares Native communities to forests. Some are healthy, some not. Some are sick to the root. Others sprout trees that rise and grow from tainted soil.

Participants work on the advice of elders, which has been developed into cultural practices specific to each community and are supported by the tribal leadership.

Here's how it works: Coyhis and a team introduce community leaders to the Wellbriety Movement, a term coined to mean sober and healthy living. The message has been delivered on the road in what the Coyhis calls the Sacred Hoop Journey. To date, four national journeys have been organized across trails that led from coast to coast."

Get the Story:
Jodi Rave: Journey of healing gives Natives hope across nation (The Missoulian 7/26)

Relevant Links:
Jodi Rave - http://www.missoulian.com/jodirave

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