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About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (May 10, 2007)
Sptlyay Tymoo, Warm Springs, Oregon Page 3 Maay 10, 20 07 Veterans focus on spiritual healing at conference By Leslie Mitts Spilyay Tymoo Flames begat* t# q rack leas Larson Kalama helped a woman lig h t a fire at the H eH e longhouse. The woman recently served in Iraq* and for herself and her fel- losy veterans of war, what would ordinarily be a campfire instead served as a symbol of healing. : The fire burned continuously throughout the weekend for those in attendance at the an nual' Healing o f Veterans Con ference, from April 26-29. > § Kalama first began the heal ing circle with the help of fellow veterans and friends at a veteran’s hospital in Washington in 1987. | From there the circle, ex panded and has since traveled, through several states and res ervations in order to reach as many veterans as possible. For Kalama, a Purple Heart recip ient,‘and Veteran of: the Vietnam War, the healing circle brings to life inspiration that he saw in a vision at a young age. As a child, he said, he saw a vision on the w ay , home from ch urch o f flam es > dan cing around the steeple. Kalama then saw seven war riors sitting on the top who then went riding into th,e white hill and vanished between the earth arid the sky. “That was the last time I saw them,” Kalama said. “Now I know why it happened because I work with veterans.” This year the circle chose to honor women combat veterans specifically, Kalama said. Elke Bach-Zeeroeah proved ' to he instrumental in building the healing circle in the early 1990s because of her own work with veterans as" well as her connec tion to the Kalama family. A veteran h e rse lf, BaCh- Zeerocah had worked with vet erans for years and saw that American Indian veterans in particular were struggling for a way to heal spiritually ¡ ? It’s an event that she said she looks forward to ever^ year— and a p rocess th at B aeh- Zeerocah feels would be useful for everyone. ‘1 think situations like this are undervalued ' in dominant soci ety medicine,” she said. Cyndi Johnson served in Viet nam and said she’s attended thè healing circle for several years. Because she suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Johnson said the only place she feels at peace is, in nature. ‘1 love walking in the woods around here,” she said. The .first time she attended a healing circle, Johnson realized it was something that she could benefit froin. “They were just all so friendly and wonderful,” Johnson said. She now travels to the heal ing circle from her home in Washington----and said she feels a great sfense of belonging with those at the healing circle. | It’s som ething she hasn’t found in the rest o f I society, Johnson said. ■ . “Just the opportunity to be around other people that are acceptant o f the way that yoh are-—it’s a very familial feeling,” Johnson added. ‘T hese people are my family.” A fter serving in Vietnam , JohnSon said ¿she qntered a veteran’s hospital • While thaC helped heal her physically, she still felt that het spirit was wounded» With the help of the healing circle, Johnson said she feels she is bging healed, spiritually. ‘T h e VA doesn’t treat that,’! she’ said. “My' spirit was gone. This all helps me get back tefit:’? Jim Waetjen traveled to .the healing circle from Prineville. He served in the Korean War and became acquainted with the Kalama family through therapy with die VA in Warm Springs. Now, Waetjen said,. “We’ve; Museum hosting Day of Discovery Photo courtesy of Susan Hess Reuben Henry recently recevied an award recognizing . his work on Tribal Council for the Celilo. Housing ¿Restoration project. The project, funded by the Army Corps of Engineers, is helping improve the infrastructure 'a n d living conditions of Celilo Village. The M $|eum at W arm Springs will host the Seeds of Discovery science day-camp for fottrth-gradeis-' tms IMday;*MaV 11 4 1 1 Tnis' year the sciene&, eamp will include presentations by the World. Forestry Center- and the Central Oregon Audubon Soci ety, which w ill be new at the camp this year. OMSI will be present, as in years past. >/;; - Close to.300 fourth-graders o f the Jefferson County 509-J School District will participate in the cam p, said R o salin d Sampson, education coordinator at the .M useum at W arm Springs. Thè Seèds of Discovery sci ence camp is funded by a grant from NASÀV 8 kind of adopted each other, like brothers.” ■ He said the healing circle is vital to helping veterans. “We fed safe here,” he explained. “We’re all from the same family.” “It is a place that I feel .I can relax and enjoy .the company of these veterans and their fami lies,” Waetjen added. - ■Plus, he said, “It is a means o f exten sio n the N ative American culture.” fj Bob “Sandman” Coalson has been .a part of the healing circle since it’s beginning in the early 1990s. A veteran o f the Vietnam War, Coalson said, “I think that healing frotri the trauma of war isn’t something that you do in one setting or one season.?;' s — operied the door to m y own spiritual path.” T fs just been a real, real bless ing to me personally,” he said. “We’re just all in it together:” In addition to speakers and time spent in the sweat lodges,, veterans had an opportunity this year tp w o rk w ith H eidi Katchia, who attended the circle to deliver the “healing touch.” The healing touch, she Said, works with the body’s, energy centers.: and the energy field around the body. “It’s basically light touching and hands over the body, work ing with the energy field,” she explained. Plus, he said, “We have to heal in all the w ays th a t w e’re wounded in war.” B ecause o f that,. Çloalson said, the healing circle allows him and his fellow veterans to concentrate on the part of heal ing not: typically addressed. ■ For some, the healing circle is about focusing on spiritual inju ries acquired in other parts of life. . Cordell Covert traveled to the healing circle from Washing ton and said he first -began at tending healing circles with a friend who was a veteran. While Covert isn’t a veteran o f war, he faced his own de mons in the form of a wild past of drug and alcohol abuse. ■When he first entered a sweat lodge, Covert said, ‘T h a t,really See VETERANS oh 11 Introducing — 541 - 475-6900 541 - 410-4557 OCB# 17414196 Service Repair Drain Cleaning Parts Fixtures Special Orders Did You Know: T s u b tle shift of weight. A tug of fabric. A sudden draft. The moment he first felt comfortable That the body is 98% water. Drinking 10 8oz. glasses p day is known to reduce arthritis and joint problems plus in crease mental alertness. . calling himself.aDlumbeiv ... 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