The State of the Wellbriety Movement January 2018
White Bison was founded in
1988. Ten years later, the Wellbriety Movement was introduced to Indian
Country. White Bison made 5 journeys across the United States, bringing
awareness to our communities about being in a time of healing. We started
with a program called the Medicine Wheel and 12 Steps for Men and Women.
Over the years, we continued to develop more culturally based trainings that we
delivered to communities, which addressed healing for youth, parents, families
and others seeking sobriety. The Wellbriety Training Institute was established
20 years later. As we began to expand our programs throughout the U.S.
and Canada, our training team grew to include several elite trainers to meet
the growing demand for Wellbriety programs. In 2017 alone, we trained
1,148 facilitators.
As we move into a new season in
2018, we are designing a vision for more innovative approaches for enhancing
healing and the recovery movement.
1. We are expanding the training to include the Medicine Wheel
and 12 Steps for the Deaf. The first training will be scheduled for early Fall
2018.
2. We are piloting a Medicine Wheel and 12 Steps
Program for Native Veterans in prison.
3. We have a grant that will focus on Survivors of Homicide
Victims in Native Communities.
4. We will announce a suicide prevention program called "No
More Fallen Feathers".
5. We will be hosting a series of educational webinars, which
include Wellbriety programs and cultural teachings.
6. We have expanded our Board of Directors to include members
from Canada.
7. We have expanded our Council of Elders to include Elders
from Canada.
8. We are translating the Elders Meditation book into Spanish.
9. The meditation app is now available for free download on
Android and iPhone. You can find it in your app store by typing in
"White Bison Elders Daily Meditations."
10. The
Store will begin selling books from other authors whose writing supports the
Wellbriety Movement.
11. We
have established a Wellbriety Book of the Month Club.
12. We have provided a space on the website to collect "Red
Papers", which are research articles written on Native teachings and
cultural approaches.
13. We
are evaluating the possibility of an Annual Wellbriety Addictions School
bringing together science and Cultural approaches.
14. We
are working with a law firm on establishing a Wellbriety Movement Foundation
that will focus on Social Injustice in our Native Communities. This will be
ready around May-June time frame. We will begin implementing various efforts
all around “Taking a Stand.” This means we will no longer sit and silently
witness social injustices but will take action.
15. We
will launch a campaign to increase Native votes and encourage our people to run
for office
2018 is the time the Wellbriety
Movement will advance to its next cycle of growth. White Bison will continue to
deliver training and technical assistance to communities. We must
mobilize all our resources, cultural knowledge, programs, skills, insights,
ceremony and prayers, uniting across tribes in urban and rural communities in
ways we have never done before. We must use the technology and all resources
at our disposal. We must create our own cultural logic models, describe
cultural congruency, and certify culturally based promising practices to keep
advancing the movement. We must include our children and make them part of this
change. We are at a point where the Wellbriety Movement is spreading and we
will now notice with our eyes and our minds that we are in a time of Healing.