Wellbriety and The Hoop of Nations

By Don Coyhis

In 1991 there was a gathering of Native American Elders. They talked about the healing time that would occur in Indian country. They said there was prophecy that foretold the time of healing. This time of healing would begin when the sun became blocked in the seventh moon.  Coincidentally, there was a solar eclipse in July of 1991. A week after this eclipse, the Elders Gathering took place.

In 1994, an Indian man had a vision in which he was told by a Native Elder that he was to build a Hoop of 100 eagle feathers. He was told that the eagle feathers would come from the various Indian nations. When the Hoop was complete he was to gather the Elders from the four directions. At this gathering, the Elders from the four directions were to put their blessings into the Hoop. The eagle feathers came from each of the four directions. They were put on a willow hoop during a ceremony performed in a sweat lodge in May of 1995.

During the same weekend that the Hoop was built, tobacco was taken to the Elders in South Dakota. The story of the vision and the Hoop was told to them and they said they knew that this was to be. The Elders foretold a sign from the north which would signify the location for a second Elders gathering. They said they would come and help to conduct the ceremonies at this gathering. They spoke of the White Buffalo calf which was born on August 20, 1994 in Janesville, Wisconsin. It was understood that this was the sign indicating where the gathering was to take place.

Indian Elders came from the great nations of North America. When their numbers were counted, over 27 different Native American tribes were represented. There were also Tibetans representing the yellow direction, and there were black Elders, some of whom came from Africa. There were Hispanic Elders, Aborigines from Australia, and Saami people from Norway and Finland who represented indigenous White Elders. I understand from the Elders point of view that the Elders had to meet first. It is very significant that the Elders had to meet first because that’s the beginning. If the Elders come together from all those four colors, sitting together in the same circle, it sends a message to others. There was no prejudice. We experienced a meeting of hearts and minds at the Elders Gathering in Wisconsin.

The Elders told us that what we see on the outside of we human beings is an earth suit. That’s the way the creator made everything. He made one race, the human race, but he made humans to wear different earth suits. The creator made different types of trees. He made different kinds of flowers. He made us as humans, different types of humans. The Elders told us that we are living in a coming-together time and that’s what the Hoop represents. The Hoop represents the four colors and the many ethnicities, all in one circle. They said if you tell one color that it can’t come to the Hoop, then you have to take that color off the willow branch which makes up the Hoop.  As soon as you take the white ribbon off there, or the black ribbon off there, or any color off there, it is no longer a circle. The creator made it that way: one race, the human race, one circle.

The Elders put four gifts into that Hoop. The first gift was the power to forgive the

unforgivable. They knew that when we come together and sit in the circle there is a lot of hurt inside of us. They knew that one of the things which would allow us to come together is forgiveness. Indians forgiving Indians, Whites forgiving blacks, blacks forgiving whites, and so on. Forgiveness is one of the powers that we need as individuals and as communities or nations as we enter the coming-together time.

The second gift they put into the Hoop is unity. If you come to that Hoop with a hardened heart, it doesn’t matter what color you are or what your gender is, but if you come there and your heart is hard it will soften your heart. If you come there, but you are prejudiced and think certain people shouldn’t belong there, you will experience a change. When you come to the Hoop you will know unity. If you come there thinking disunity you will come to know it is not right.

The third gift they put into it is healing. When you come there, like thousands already have, you might start to cry. Those tears mean that pain is released from the mind and you can begin to heal. So tears flow by that Hoop. I’ve seen black people cry, yellow people cry, white people cry, Indian people cry. Men cry, women cry. The Hoop brings the healing waters of tears.

The fourth gift they put into the Hoop is hope. If you come there hopeless, when you leave the Hoop you will have hope. If you come thinking, “My community cannot change,” after praying by the Hoop you’ll think, “It can change.” If you come there seeing all the racial tension in the world, the gangs, the violence in our schools, and you think it is hopeless, when you leave that Hoop you will have the strength to work for change.

The Elders told us that the Hoop will go on a great journey. They said wherever that journey goes, the community will heal. Why would they know it will heal? Because the Hoop is like a radio antenna. It broadcasts––not noise, not music out into the circle, but it is broadcasting these four gifts of the creator. Unity, healing, hope and forgiveness. They told us that when the Hoop goes on a great journey it will attract people of all colors. They said this is the only instruction you have: no one can be refused that Hoop. The Hoop is not a Indian Hoop. As Indians, we carry the Hoop. We move it. We take it where the Hoop tells us to take it. We believe it is a magnet. It is something that will draw people who will then go back to their communities and start to make those changes. Throughout hundreds of communities, not one person has disrespected the Hoop. I’ve seen blacks respect it; I’ve seen different religions respect it. I’ve felt the respect that people of any background bring to that Hoop. It’s something the creator put here. It’s something really special. It is one of the things that is going to help in this healing time, this coming together time.

That’s how I see the role of the Hoop: bringing together the four colors. Giving the four gifts to anyone who comes seeking. Those four gifts are the deep roots of any individual’s tree of Wellbriety. Receiving those gifts of healing, hope, unity and forgiveness can help a person in their recovery from addictions and their journey into sobriety and wellness. The more people who come to the Hoop and pray near it, the stronger it is. It carries the prayers of individuals and communities. It carries the presence of the creator. If you walked in front of the creator, would you have hate in your heart? Would you not want to be with your brother or sister? Would you not heal? And when you left the creator, would you be hopeless? No. That’s what I see the Hoop doing in the Wellbriety movement. We are honored to take it to different places.