Heritage of Healing is a
blending of modern healing with our traditional culture. In 2005, the initiator
of the Heritage of Healing Project dreamed of a place for healing of all those
who were suffering. And in 2006, when her mother was diagnosed with Multiple
Myeloma, this young girl became aware of the absence of support for children
who have a family member with cancer. These two events became the impetus for
Heritage of Healing.
Background: Cancer in Indian Country
We have become increasingly aware that American Indians
with cancers are often not diagnosed in a timely manner, and healthcare
facilities for them are often not equipped to identify these diseases.
Additionally, the cancer rates in some Native communities are higher due to the
effects of mining, nuclear facilities that leak radiation, and other
environmental events that have occurred on Native lands, where regulation is
more lax than in other areas. The report issued by the National Cancer
Institute in the Fall of 2007 noted that deaths from cancers are down all
across the country for all segments of the population except Native Americans. This has led us to begin Heritage of Healing,
dedicated to cancer awareness and relief for Native American children in
families experiencing cancers and other serious and chronic diseases.
Program Goals
The
goals of Heritage of Healing are four-fold and will be instituted in four
stages. The goals are thus:
v
To
increase awareness, especially among our youth, of healthy lifestyle choices
that can help reduce the risk of cancers, diabetes, and other chronic diseases.
v
To build
a spiritual foundation, and to provide solace and comfort through gathering.
v
To help
families experiencing cancers retain a sense of normalcy through the Heritage
of Healing Relief Program, dedicated to providing some of the normal day-to-day
things that are hard to maintain when undergoing treatment, such as new school
clothes, winter coats, trips to movies, summer camps, etc.
v
To
establish homes near major hospitals in the US where families can stay while
receiving treatment, as Native families are often too far from hospitals to
receive regular treatment.
Achieving the Goals
The first goal of the
Heritage of Healing Project is to increase awareness of cancer risks and
healthy lifestyle choices among Native American people. To fulfill this goal, we
attend a number of pow wows, conferences and other gatherings where we put up
tables full of free information on these topics. We have been doing this since
January 2008.
Heritage of Healing
has also made considerable progress in fulfilling its second goal. We have
begun to hold gatherings of our own focused on this issue; in May 2008 Heritage
of Healing began a 4-year commitment to hold a Pipe Ceremony in Washington, DC.
In Summer 2009 we fulfilled the originator’s dream for this project with a
Gathering of those who were experiencing cancer or otherwise in need; this was
held in Ypsilanti, MI. The gathering began with a Pipe Ceremony and included
opening remarks from the Mayor of Ypsilanti, talks by representatives of the
American Cancer Society, and a Walk for Health on Sunday morning. Participants
came from all over the Michigan area, all those present joined us for a feast
on Saturday, and all left with a good feeling.
In May 2010, the Heritage of Healing
Cancer Relief Program took youth to participate in the May Dayz Experience in
Washington, DC. And in 2012-2013 we will continue the third stage of fulfilling our
goals, our Heritage of Healing Relief Program, which plans to provide several
times a year for children in families that are experiencing cancers; the Relief
Program intends to help make sure that these children have warm winter coats,
presents at holiday & birthday times, new clothes for school, and trips to
the movies & museums—all the everyday things that become hard to manage in
a family experiencing cancer.
Heritage of Healing has also begun to hold regular Walks for Health, Craft Workshops, Movie Nights, and other monthly events. Please see the Calendar or our Facebook page for details. These events are open to all, so please join us.
