'Wise practices' - 2,500 people from various indigenous nations gather for a weeklong conference in Waikiki to focus on issues and problems affecting their communities

By Dan Nakaso - Sep 06, 2010

Delegations representing indigenous people from around the world were taken from Hawaii's voyaging canoes yesterday morning and paddled to the shores of Kualoa in a welcoming ceremony unlike any other seen at previous Healing Our Spirit Worldwide conferences.

After a sunrise chant, each canoe full of dignitaries was greeted with a chorus of conch shells.

"It was amazing, amazing," said Maggie Hodgson, the "vision keeper" of Healing Our Spirit Worldwide, who is also a member of Canada's Carrier First Nations. "We felt the wind spirit, the water spirit, the blessings of these lands, the blessings of these people."

Hodgson founded Healing Our Spirit Worldwide as a movement focused on the alcohol and drug abuse problems plaguing indigenous communities. In the five previous conferences, which are held four years apart, the issues have grown along with the number of participants and the nations and countries they represent.

In Hawaii, which is hosting for the first time, 2,500 people from an estimated 20 countries are expected to attend. They come from Alaska, the U.S. mainland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Cuba, Rarotonga, Samoa, Afghanistan, Germany, Nigeria, Cuba, Ecuador, Columbia, Finland, Norway and other nations.

They can pick from dozens of presentations that will focus on a wide range of issues affecting indigenous communities and their concerns, such as cultural and traditional healing methods, the environment, self-determination and caring for the elderly.

"The mainstream calls it 'best practices,'" said Dave Baldridge, a member of the Cherokee Nation from Albuquerque, N.M. "We call it 'wise practices.'"

The formal presentations run through Thursday at the Hawai'i Convention Center. But some participants already have been to an awa ceremony at the sacred Keaiwa Heiau at Aiea Heights, where kahuna treated the ailing; Waimea Valley Park for the Indigenous Culture Arts & Healing Festival; saw yesterday's sunrise chant and canoe welcoming at Kualoa Regional Park; and will visit Kawaiahao Church and other sacred sites around Oahu. Some of the participants also will fly to the neighbor islands for cultural excursions Friday through Sunday.

"Our biggest hope is that people come together and share in the healing," said Allen Benson, chief executive officer of Native Counselling Services of Alberta. "This is a movement more than it is a conference."

Alan Brant of the Mohawk Nation's Tyendinaga Reservation in Ontario, Canada, went to Kualoa yesterday dressed in tribal regalia and brought his five children to Hawaii so they could attend their first Healing Our Spirit Worldwide conference.

Having grown up isolated on the reservation, Brant wants his children to learn about other indigenous cultures and their concerns.

"I want them to broaden their horizons, to get a worldwide, indigenous education," Brant said.

In just the first few days of the conference, Brant's oldest daughter, Tsiokeriio, 18, already can feel her horizons broadening.

She has had an eye-opening discussion with a Maori jewelry maker, who told Tsiokeriio about the cultural significance of a bone necklace that she wears.

"We've met so many different people already," Tsiokeriio said. "It's great that everyone's coming together — because it's so rare to see."

Kumu

Hula Mapuana Da Silva, left, stood with her halau during the opening ceremonies of the Healing Our Spirit Worldwide conference yesterday at Kualoa Regional Park.

JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARADVERTISER.COM

For more information about Healing Our Spirits Worldwide, visit the web site at http://www.hosw.com/