Okanese First Nation healing gathering a success

Page 7

It was windy, it was rainy, it was cold, it was broiling.

And Maryanne Daywalker-Pelletier wouldn't have missed it for anything.

As she and dozens of volunteers helped clean up the area in and around the Treaty 4 powwow arbor the morning after, the chief of the Okanese First Nation pronounced the "Healing Our Mind, Body and Spirit" gathering a success.

The First Nation hosted the four-day series of ceremonial dances, sweat lodges and workshops, held from July 23 to 26. The event was designed to bring back long-repressed parts of Aboriginal culture. By doing that, it was also designed to teach First Nations people the power of traditional healing and their traditional society, she said.

"This is just a beginning of reinvigorating healing concepts within First Nations," said the chief. "It instilled a sense of hope for our people.

"It showed that there are some alternatives for healing, that there are ways to bring our communities together. By having the gathering, the way it was set up, it reminded us of the way it was more than 100 years ago. It really brought back good memories and fond memories to our Elders who were present."

Observers and participants were asked to follow the protocol within the ceremonial areas and the sweat lodges. Those included providing offerings of tobacco, ceremonial cloth or sweetgrass, following clothing restrictions, the prohibition of any audio-taping, video-taping, note-taking or picture taking, and the prohibition of alcohol and drugs from the gathering site.

"The whole traditional healing process is very spiritual. Our Elders say there are protocols we need to follow," said the chief. "We are not to record or document any of the ceremonies because of the spiritual part of it. They have a meaning to them for what they are. Only certain Elders and certain people are allowed to do them."

The event brought a new measure of self-respect to First Nations people, their communities, and their beliefs, said the chief.

"It seems that this event has brought out the best of people by rebuilding their thoughts," she said. "They knew their customs, their beliefs were right all along. But with all the negative things in the past, we've had to re-instill our knowledge."

The respect for First Nations cultures at the gathering contrasts greatly with the outright hostility once shown to it by non-Aboriginal society, said the chief.

"In the past we were shamed by the governments and churches and the residential school system. We weren't allowed to practice our customs, speak our languages, or hold our own ceremonies in our communities. If that happened, our Elders were jailed and punished."

During the opening ceremonies on July 23, speakers from Saskatchewan's Aboriginal and political communities said the event would go a long way to help solve some of the medical and emotional problems facing First Nations people.

"This is a sign of nature, of allowing our people to ride from the past and to begin to heal," said Elder Wes Fineday in his speech. Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations Grand Chief Perry Bellegarde, a member of the nearby Little Black Bear First Nation, said the Treaty 4 grounds were an appropriate place for the gathering.

"These grounds are very spiritual for our people. It is very appropriate that this gathering is here," he said.

The site, on the south side of present-day Fort Qu'Appelle, was where First Nations chiefs and representatives of the federal government signed the fourth of the "numbered" treaties in 1874.

Since the signing of the treaty, First Nations people have gone through generations of oppression and discrimination. Returning to and taking power and comfort from the ways of their descendants is the best way to combat that oppression, he said.

Parallel to the gathering, there was also four days of workshops and activities for youth.

In order to combat the rise of urban gangs, the seminars sought to "gang proof" young people by reintroducing tradiional First Nations culture, values and traditions. In addition, they took part in traditional games, purification ceremonies and story telling, and attended workshops on parenting, sexually transmitted diseases and bullying.

On Wednesday night the Regina-based Saskatchewan Native Theater staged the play Love Songs From a War Drum at the Rexentre.

And after the event, what happens to the participants?

Chief Daywalker-Pelletier said she hopes - and expects - that many who came to the Treaty 4 grounds for the gathering will use their knowledge to help people in their home communities.

"It's up to each individual now to use the knowledge and strength that they got from the gathering, to share that with their families and in their communities," she said.

It's unlikely the Okanese First Nation would hold such a large gathering again in the near future, said Chief Daywalker-Pelletier.

"Okanese had agreed to host this event this year. Okanese will continue its journey. We've been providing our people with the options and awareness to continue our ceremonies. We'll continue with that and to build on what we've learned this week.

"We've got a network established to help our people. And we are ready to assist a First Nation that wants the responsibility to hold such an event."

More than 200 volunteers helped to organize and co-ordinate the gathering. However, crowds appeared to be far short of the expected 5,000 that had been earlier predicted. But the impact of the gathering on those who attended mattered more than how many people attended, the chief said.

"I'm satisfied with who was here, what they came for and what they left with. If one person came, that person had the opportunity to be helped."