* Original Area: NA-CHAT
* Original To : All (90:80/3)
The Native American Multicultural Community
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Our goal is the formation of a self-sufficient community where
individuals can work on personal growth through spiritual,
emotional, and physical healing in a supportive and
non-threatening environment, and where other communities can
send delegations to study the healing that is needed within a
community.
The former Boys ranch near Ramah, Colorado, is a 600 + acre
ranch including two residences: one with twelve bedrooms, and
the other with six. Volunteers and some steady residents live
in the ranch. The larger house is for groups who come for
seminars, workshops and similar intensives. The community will
thus be self-sufficient, as a working ranch and as a resource
for a variety of purposes.
The residents who are drawn there to work on their personal
issues are people who gain strength from closeness to Mother
Earth and distance from urban pressures. Spiritual growth and
feelings of community are enhanced through the Talking Circle,
Sweat Lodge, and similar cultural activities. Physical healing
is served by working on the ranch and helping with chores.
Living closely with others stimulates emotional growth when
some of those otheres are trained in ways to help people
develop better interpersonal skills and healthy ways to
intereact. Through the help of qualified volunteers, the
steady residents are able to address their problems and use
them as opportunities for growth and learning rather than
obstacles. Residents also have educational options and
referrals for employment which provide the opportunity to
develop financial security before leaving the ranch.
Many people are struggling with addictions, pressures of
urban life, alienation from families, disorientation after
leaving the reservation, homelessness, and starting over after
coming out of institutions. Treatment programs abound for
helping these people. However, since many repeat treatment
after treatment, with frequent episodes of domestic violence,
child abuse, return to prison, not holding a steady job,
resumption of drinking or drug abuse, and continuing gang
involvement after completion of the programs, it is obvious
that these programs are not based on Native spirituality.
For this reason, the Native community must be the source of its
own healing. The problem is not limited to one tribe. All
individuals must draw upon the guidance of their own cultures.
The Native American Multicultural Community intends to help
each resident do just that, providing the opportunity to reach
a balance between the demands of the dominant society and the
spiritual realities of Native traditions.
In addition, many communities are experiencing a great deal of
trauma and outright difficulty in making the switch, first,
from sovereign nation/tribe to an oppressed, poverty-stricken,
uneducated group of individuals, and then into becoming a
prosperous, well-adjusted circle of friends and families. A
myriad of afflictions follow the appearance of addictions among
members of the changing communities. These communities can
affect the degree to which they contribute to the problem by
studying and developing the practice of consistently healthy
interactions. The workshops and seminars offered on the ranch
focus on the practical ways of education community members in
techniques of healthy interactions through a combination of
(minimal) lecture, (maximal) discussion, and guided role-playing.
Ten to twenty members of individual communities may attend these
sessions so they can return home with specific skills to share
with others in their communities.
Youth issues can be addressed both by educating the parents, and
by working directly with young people. The young people need
connection with their cultural roots, role models, and personal
strength to effectively counter the influences of peer pressures
and gangs. The Native American Multicultural Community offers a
place where young people can come to learn about Native Cultures,
meet adults who have successfully encountered the problems they
are currently facing, and be honored through traditional
ceremonies. Unity within the family is produced when the family
shares spiritulity and practices effective communication.
Parents are encouraged either to attend the same functions as
their children, or to come to the community seminars and
workshops.
A lot of work must be done to make the ranch fully operational,
so the people it serves can help themselves effectively. Since
we do not receive any grants from state or federal sources, we
are asking the community at large to help us begin our work by
volunteering skills (plumbers, carpenters, etc.), giving
donations (blankets, mattresses, furniture, vehicles, etc.), or
contributing money for the bills, electricity, phone, etc.)
Before long, the ranch will have the ability to generate enough
cash flow through sales of Native art, crops and livestock to
cover the normal operating expenses.
For more inforation, or to volunteer to help, write to the
Native American Multicultural Community at Post Office Box 24,
Ramah, Colorado, 80832, or call (719) - 541-2344 and ask for
David Castaway or Laina Corazon.
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** Scott Robert Ladd ** | internet: coyote@latrans.alphai.org
Coyote Gulch Productions | fido: 1:128/112 nativenet: 90:80/3
423 North Cooper Avenue | bbs/modem: 719/578-1340
Colorado Springs, CO 80905-1120 | *** FREE CLIFFORD DANN! ***