Paths to wellness

We were connecting with the Creator through the presence and teachings of the various Elders, through the fire that burned from the beginning of the gathering until it’s closing, through the pipe ceremonies, prayers and songs that began and greeted each new day, and through the sweat lodge ceremonies that followed the daily sharing circles. [...] As we sat in the circle over the course of the gathering, we talked about the difficulty of beginning the healing process, the steps people and commun-ities have taken to begin this journey, the approaches that have proven to be helpful and effective, and the challenges and difficulties associated with addressing sexual abuse and sexual offending behaviour. [...] I think there’s a lot of fear on the part of individuals in the community of taking that step because they don’t have any guideposts in the community to say they’re doing well or that this is the right direction or that there is some hope at the end of the journey that the community will be any better for having gone through the pain of trying.” 4 Paths to Wellness: A Gathering of Communities Taki [...] We had to focus on the common needs because we all had the same needs in the community and we did our own needs assessment of the whole community and then we started to break down the programs and fit the programs to the needs of the people. [...] It has to stop somewhere – the abuse, the anger, the criticism, all that the pipe teaches what not to do.” Prevention It was noted that it is not sufficient to address the damage that has already occurred as a result of sexual abuse within communities, but that it is important to get to the root of this problem and conduct healing work that will minimize the chance that sexual offending behaviour