AMERICAN INDIAN AND ALASKA NATIVE
MENTAL HEALTH, COUNSELING,
EDUCATION AND TRAINING
INNOVATIVE TRADITIONAL PRACTICES
President: Catherine Swan Reimer, Ed. D.
Portland, Ore. 97230
"I am really excited about this training. I have years of experience in the Counseling world, student world, and Indian and Native world. The unconscious work of Jung was aligned with our people's way of doing things through stories and actual directed activities. So much of the counseling work is very "clean" and directed which is good but it is really directed to the conscious mind. Many of our people want to be talked to and worked with at a deeper level where they get it... "Ah ha!" experience. We must talk to clients in "their language". This is why stories, metaphors, directed cultural activities, and rituals are so promising and meaningful. This workshop is novel because it is planned it to GO THERE with the hope that even the dreams of our participant's become expanded and opened to new possibilities.
Please help us out by passing this on to other educators, mental health workers, and counselors who work with Alaska Natives and American Indians.
So take a journey and listen to the research but follow your ancestor's roots, memories, and deep recollections, and dreams and take home practical applications to use from Head Start to Old Age."
Dr. Catherine Swan Reimer
Inupiat psychologist
Our Nations are saddened by the Minnesota killings at Red Lake, we offer our condolences to the community. We pray that the healing will come to the people who have lost loved ones and that the community will be blessed with graces to heal. It is very hard when someone as young dies in a community but when several die in an act of violence, it is difficult to overcome the sadness and grief. In our villages, I remember one lady told me from Point Hope, that "we can help each other, but when someone young dies in our community, we are all in grief, and it is at that time that we need intervention from the outside."
Whenever there is a tragedy, there are also great outpourings of graces. These graces may come in many forms. For us Native Americans, it may be something from Nature that reminds us that the Creator is watching over us. This may be in the form of a bird, a special messenger to our people. Even an eagle will come to let us know that we are cared for. It may be in a rainbow, or if it is dry weather, rain will come; and if it is rainy and cold, the sun comes. Even a breeze will let us know that we are not alone. Our spirit helpers, our Creator, Our Lord, our ancestors are there to help us. We American Indians and Alaska Natives have a special relationship to the land, and because we take care of her, she will take care of us in our time of need. It is good to go out to Nature and good to cry so that much of the pain and grief are washed from our souls.
We also as Native Americans have a special sensitive soul that "knows the spiritual that surrounds us. This means that we are sensitive to the spirits of our love ones who may be so near that we can feel them. They come back to let us know that we are not alone and that they are in a good place. Sometimes, they may come back in a dream and communicate with us; other times, they may even come in a vision. One Northwest Tribal member told me his grandfather came to his grandmother three days after his death to tell her some important things he forgot to tell her about the house when he was alive. So, it is important to be open to these things because they are all forms of consolation that are given to us in our times of need.
When my son died a year ago, last February, I was visited by a symbol in my dream that became the catalyst for healing and hastened up my healing and lessened the grief. The symbol was that of a salamander. My friend asked me, "Do you know what it means? I did not know. She said, it means, "Can endure fire. This became so powerful to me that I drew the salamander with fire coming from it. I knew this was my son, and that his death was not the end, but he was being transformed from his earthly state and could endure the fire. (Some family members wanted him cremated). When, I became overwhelmed by grief; I looked at the symbol and was elevated to a higher state of grace, to walk in hope and love.
Lastly, there are also those special feelings that are felt. Usually, they are very subtle and come to us as a feeling of love or peace. This is the Lord, be aware He comes with His angels, your ancestors, His special friends to offer comfort to you and your family. We send our prayers to Red Lake and all their members that they are all blessed with this special grace.
Catherine Swan Reimer, Ed.D.
Inupiat psychologist
www.swancircle.com
