Changing attitudes, touching hearts

Page 15

Gradually, very gradually, lives are being touched. Attitudes are changing and people are finding something meaningful and deep inside themselves that they didn't know existed. The catalyst for this change is a series of cultural awareness workshops. At the heart is a most unusual chaplain in a most unusual setting-a jail.

Leonard Bananish, chaplain at the Thunder Bay District jail, is an Ojibway from Long Lac, Ont. Bananish has worked at the jail for about 10 years. Eight years ago he became aware of the need to offer cultural awareness training to the staff at the jail.

"They started asking questions about what the Elders were bringing in when they came for pipe ceremonies with the inmates," said Bananish. "They were suspicious because they didn't understand what was going on."

More than 60 per cent of the jail's inmate population is Aboriginal.

Bananish approached Mike Coons, deputy Superintendent of the jail, and asked permission to bring in people to teach correctional officers and staff about sacred items and traditional beliefs. Coons agreed.

"There was a lack of awareness about why offenders requested certain things," said Coons. "We operated out of ignorance...We just didn't know."

And so the first cultural awareness workshops began. Bananish brought in Elders to talk about sacred items, helping the staff to understand the significance of the eagle feather, sacred plants, tobacco ties, drums, and traditional foods.

Little did he know then how this would change the lives of some staff members.

Steve McKinnon has been a correctional officer at the jail for almost 23 years, and was one of the first to sign up for the cultural awareness workshops.

"I'll be honest, at the time I wasn't particularly interested in Native culture. You want the truth, it was a day off with pay," he laughed. "But when I went to the sweat with Len and (Elder) Harvey Churchill, I found a real sense of community...and a sense of peace."

McKinnon began spending more time with the chaplain.

"Len is an easy person to talk to. He invited me to more workshops and gatherings. Today I am a fire keeper. My spirituality is very important to me. I don't differentiate between Native culture and white culture. This is just another aspect of my life for me."

Glenda Paull, another long-time correctional officer tells a similar story.

"I liked Leonard and wanted to be more educated. I wanted to know about things like the use of sweetgrass.

"The workshops have helped me understand what these people lost and are trying to get back," Paull said. "The old Native culture is a nice way of life, but it changed a lot because of alcohol abuse and residential schools.

"Women's issues and the traditions of Native culture also intrigued me," she said. "Len helped me through a lot of tough times...This is a simple way of believing...It has changed me."

What began as a one-day workshop eight years ago has grown to a full two days, including a sweatlodge ceremony, now held twice a year in the spring and fall. "Other organizations soon found out about it and were invited to participate," said Bananish. "We opened it up to the other correctional facility in town... then started involving other agencies, like the police, hospitals, social service agencies and churches."

"This has led to a real outreach into the community," stressed Coons, "and paved the way for the jail's involvement in a series of suicide prevention conferences."

Bananish, McKinnon and Paull not only work for the jail, but are active members of the Gathering Circle, a Thunder Bay charity dedicated to cross-cultural understanding and healing.

In 1999, the district jail partnered with the Gathering Circle to offer the first in a series of conferences addressing the issue of suicide prevention. The third conference in the series will be held in Thunder Bay in March 2003.

"We all have our role and all of us are needed," said Coons. "I am only one of a number of individuals that elp make it happen. I've got the easy part. I give the support and secure the funding. Len and the Gathering Circle do all the work and planning.

"What this has done in the community is raise awareness and the profile of the jail.

"We have a very unique relationship here with the Gathering Circle, other local agencies and the community at large."

Bananish, a gentle giant of a man, speaks of the need for healing for all peoples, but especially for his own through a cultural re-awakening. He has helped inmates and staff alike to develop respect for the sacred bundles that come into the jail. But he is quick to give thanks for the support that he receives.

"When I talk to Mike (Coons), he listens," said Bananish. "He believes in me and that I'll do what is needed for the inmates. I wanted to give him an eagle feather because he is someone I can trust. He has always been there for me in support and he has allowed me to develop my gifts."

Coons did receive his eagle feather in a ceremony late this past summer.

"When I received the feather it was a total surprise," said Coons. "I was speechless. I couldn't believe it. My heart was racing and I knew that this was big. This was really significant."

But appreciation runs both ways at the Thunder Bay District Jail. Correctional officer Kit Heintz has only worked at the jail for about two years. She participated in her first cultural awareness workshop and sweat in June 2002.

"I wanted Leonard to know that he is appreciated," said Heintz, "so I asked a friend to make him a pipe."

"I was deeply honored to receive such a special gift," said Bananish.

These days at the Thunder Bay District Jail, Elders are allowed to bring in sacred bundles.

One-on-one counseling with Elders is available whenever it is requested by an offender, and the correctional officers are themselves involved in providing input on how to develop and improve the workshops.

But the road to cultural awareness has not always been smooth.

"It'snot always an easy task," said Leonard Bananish. "Sometimes we faced some negativity. People are afraid of what they don't understand, but Mike stood by me."

"Sure some issues have arisen," said Micheal Coons. "For instance, how can you allow smudging in a no-smoking institution? I work through Len to seek the advice of the Elders on what we can do and how to do it. It has forced us to work jointly and I can't think of an issue that we haven't been able to resolve to everyone's satisfaction.

"I know it has helped over the years. Staff now understand more. If they are doing searches, they know what to touch and not to touch. They understand the concept of sacred items. Because of these workshops Len has developed a closer relationship with the Thunder Bay Police Department and has helped them a lot."

"Now in my job, I can talk with Native inmates intelligently, said Steve McKinnon. "I know what they are talking about. They are surprised when they find out I am a fire keeper. It has opened a lot of doors with inmates that before were closed... they talk to me now but they wouldn't before."

"I'm more patient than before," said Glenda Paull. "I try to understand what makes people do what they do. Before I just judged them. Male inmates know I work with Len.

"They open up to me whereas they wouldn't before."

"The flip side is that offenders benefit because staff understand their needs better," said Coons.

"I never wanted to convert them but I wanted them to understand where the clients were coming from," said Bananish. "When we started, I wanted the correctional officers to be confident enough in the teachings to be able to share them with their peers...and I see that today."