Healing turns conference into festival

Page 18

FIRST PERSON

Stephane Wuttunee attended the First World Indigenous Youth Conference in Quebec City last month. This is his final report from the conference.

Diane Reid, an elder, learned over to me, saying we desperately needed to form

a healing circle if people were to work towards a better future instead of staying locked in past events.

So that's what the women did. Five or six of them stood. Diane made me stay beside her.

Then it happened. The instant when the conference made a complete change-over from a failure to a smashing success.

At first, the talk was about the importance of women as healers. That is what I remember. Then it turned to another speaker. At this point, I cannot recall if it was a woman or a man. I was listening to souls, not people.

I heard about uranium mining in Western Canada...Indian babies born with two heads, moose with three. I remember hearing about environmental degradation from pollution, about the Oka crisis, about people strong enough in spirit to stand for their rights wasting away in jails...

Memories of my teenage years in high school popped in...kids standing around, spitting in my face because they knew I was half-Indian...insults...mounting frustrations...building...body shaking...tears flowing....

I saw the microphone stand in front of me fall, but the blow against my hand wasn't felt. Feminine voices behind urged me not to hold it in, to let it all out...my head found refuge on a woman's shoulders..

And it all came out..

From then on, I do not recall in exact detail what happened. As I was brought

out to the first aid room to rest, the elders say the entire room burst into tears for over an hour. Youths lined up, each one taking turns hugging the women for healing. This, and only this, is exactly what the elders knew we needed but were afraid we wouldn't achieve.

I am also told the old people had smiles from ear to ear after the whole scene. No question about it. Even I, sound asleep in a separate room a hundred feet or so away, easily sensed it.

The purification process of indigenous youth the world over had finally begun!

I could go on from here. Wouldn't do much good. Suffice to say everyone that night had huge grins. We danced late into the night, played songs, held praying circles and had the time of our lives.

Everyone was sad to leave the next day. Addresses and phone numbers were exchanged, conference posters were signed. One friend from Australia told his girlfriend over the phone the whole thing became more of a festival than a conference. He couldn't wait to rush home and tell her all the details.

A spiritual war has been given birth, make no mistake about that! The outer circles of human politics and economics will count no more, for we now admit what needs to be done is to change the smallest circle - people's spirits! I often thought about taking physical arms against enemies. My mind has changed. Battles of spirit for me will now take place through prayer and written word, for a time. And I will take directions as they come. Gut feeling first.

Throughout this whole story, you have seen but my own viewpoint, and I have tried to be as accurately representative as possible. Still, one person cannot represent millions.

The global message we, as youth, wish to make unanimously clear to people is this:

Like it or not, in years to come, we're taking it down.