MANY NEEDED TO HELP MANY

"These and other traditional healing therapies are the treatment of choice for many Native American veterans according to a survey conducted at Washington State University." 

University. Military.com
     Native American veterans battling Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) find relief and healing through an alternative treatment called the Sweat Lodge ceremony offered at the Spokane Veterans Administration Hospital.
     In the Arizona desert, wounded warriors from the Hopi Nation can join in a ceremony called Wiping Away the Tears. The traditional cleansing ritual helps dispel a chronic "ghost sickness" that can haunt survivors of battle.
     These and other traditional healing therapies are the treatment of choice for many Native American veterans according to a recent survey being conducted at Washington State University.
     The findings will be presented at the American Psychological Association conference in Washington D.C. Here are the The Survey questions asked to Native American veterans.

Honoring and remembering our fallen men and women veterans on Memorial Day 2015 during a Navajo way sweat lodge ceremony at the Sanctuary on the Trail a Native American Church of Virginia.

By Rene' Locklear White (Lumbee)
and Chris (Comeswithclouds) White

      Native American Church of Virginia -- The two-star Air Force general who resigned, saying he "inadvertently made an unfortunate comment" about Indians during an airman's disciplinary hearing was my vice commander during a two-year assignment in the Republic of Korea. What was the context of Maj. Gen. Michael Keltz's remark?
    "Noble Savage." What did the person who authored “noble savage” mean? Was he or she describing people who are “barbarous and uncivilized” or describing “the others” as a people who “symbolize humanity’s innate goodness?”
      Gen. Keltz's comment was clearly about Indians and drunkenness. Now, after serving 34 years in the military, he ends it with four words directed to more than 10,000 Indians.
     I am tired. I help people deal with alcohol abuse, especially Native American Indians from the rez (Indian reservation). In fact, I have spent this last week doing just that; removing stitches; making meals; teaching life skills; and checking to see if someone is still breathing. It is 2:00 a.m. right now, and my husband is praying with someone. I believe helping a person stop drinking is harder than my 22 years of military service.
     Years after trading alcohol with settlers, living in poverty, homeless and dealing with regular occurrences of suicide, our Indian people are now literally drinking themselves to death. Many drink  cleaning detergents and cough syrups because they can't afford to buy FDA approved alcohol. Our people are dying and need help.
     I am disappointed. The people who coined words like, "primitive,” “uncivilized,” and “savages,” had passion too. They made a difference. But, the impact of those words on our Native American ancestors continues to linger.
     Power, control, powerlessness, authority, influence, sovereignty, independence and freedom are all contained in language and have vibrations.
     Unfortunately, the vibrations of Gen. Keltz four words will be felt for some time. By him and others. I'm sure it was not his intention. He is a kind man.
     I challenge Gen. Keltz to visit an Indian reservation after his retirement. Please consider starting in South Dakota or my Lumbee Tribe in North Carolina or stop by our Native American Church in Virginia. There is plenty of Indigenous people who are suffering and need help. We can begin with a traditional sweat lodge ceremony for Gen. Keltz to help him through this unexpected transition.

     Language is a Barrier. We must work on our language. To be present to what people around us are saying and what they are not saying. It is vital to removing the barriers that separate us
     Likewise, we cannot skirt our responsibility for what we are saying. The tongue is a sharp part of the body. Like a forest fire set by a small spark, the tongue is also a fire. It can set the whole course of your life on fire. A fire can be destructive and a fire can be beneficial.
     Are we any better? Our communications are complicated by texting and simplified into capital letters because we don’t make time to talk to each other.  When people type LOL they aren’t really "laughing out loud." When people don’t want to take time to explain something they text TTYL, but they never really "talk to you later." When people say, “praying for you”, they aren’t really.
     What next? We must continue to ask ourselves, "Are my words destructive or beneficial?"
We should help others understand that we “mean what we say” and we “say what we mean.”
     Out of the mouth comes truth of an authentic or inauthentic heart.
     I forgive him. Gen. Keltz is an extraordinary commander. It takes courage to resign. It takes acknowledging truth. I believe where there is no truth, there is no justice.


Gen. Keltz, you can reach us at this EMAIL.

"These and other traditional healing therapies are the treatment of choice for many Native American veterans according to a recent survey being conducted at Washington State University." 

University. Military.com
     Native American veterans battling Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) find relief and healing through an alternative treatment called the Sweat Lodge ceremony offered at the Spokane Veterans Administration Hospital.
     In the Arizona desert, wounded warriors from the Hopi Nation can join in a ceremony called Wiping Away the Tears. The traditional cleansing ritual helps dispel a chronic "ghost sickness" that can haunt survivors of battle.
     These and other traditional healing therapies are the treatment of choice for many Native American veterans according to a recent survey being conducted at Washington State University.
     The findings will be presented at the American Psychological Association conference in Washington D.C. This past August.
     Here are the The Survey questions asked to Native American veterans.

by NPR Taki Telonidis
     Substance abuse. Violence. Even thoughts of suicide. These are some of the problems that many veterans returning home from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are struggling with.
     Today it's called post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, but it has affected veterans going back much farther. While doctors and researchers put enormous efforts into developing new treatments, one group of veterans in Salt Lake City is finding relief in a very old tradition: a Native American sweat lodge.
     If you didn't know to peer over the six-foot brick wall next to a parking lot at , you'd never guess it was there.
     On a Friday afternoon, Cal Bench, a Vietnam veteran, is here early, gathering firewood like he does every week for the ceremony that will start in a few hours.
     "I went into the service at 18 and I went to Vietnam at 19," Bench says. "And I had no idea how it would change or affect you mentally. The concept that I would carry that around forever was just hard. But I just never had any place to turn. I came here and I was given a blessing."
'Healing Right Down To The Core'
     Bench started coming to these sweats in 2005 to cope with anxieties related to his combat experience. He found relief in the sweat, as well as a spiritual connection that has kept him coming back.
     This VA is one of just a handful in the country that offers them. A sweat is a ceremony conducted by a Native American spiritual leader in a dome-shaped structure, or lodge. Sweats are common in Indian country. (Full Story)