Thunder Mountain Sundance
Ceremonial practices and expressions of faith sacred to Indigenous People were outlawed in the 1800's. Tribal people were killed and imprisoned and hair was cut off for speaking our languages and identifying with our belief systems. After over a 150 years, the Nez Perce People embraced a once outlawed traditional ceremony.
"We were taught to believe that the Great Spirit sees and hears everything, and that he never forgets; that hereafter he will give every man a spirit-home according to his deserts: if he has been a good man, he will have a good home.." ~ Chief Joseph
Thunder Mountain: Brooklyn Baptiste, Ceremony Leader
Himyuma Community Outreach Director Brooklyn Baptiste, has been a long standing cultural and spiritual leader for the Nez Perce People for decades. He has paved the way by reintroducing what was once an almost lost ceremony back to the Nez Perce Homelands. Serving as a councilmember and former Chairman for the Nez Perce Tribe and currently the Nez Perce Tribes Opioid Response Manager, Brooklyn has established relationships worldwide teaching and speaking on all Tribal issues. For almost 30 years, Brooklyn has been a servant and head man dancer throughout other ceremonies in Indian Country. For his compassion for people and humility in service, Brooklyn was approached by Dance leaders in North Dakota and accepted the responsibility of the alter of this ceremony and bringing it back to the Nez Perce Homelands serving under their covering.
In 2017, Thunder Mountain Sundance located on the Nez Perce Indian Reservation was reborn after an almost 150 year absence. This dance has brought so many of our community members together in this way for the first time in over a century and a half. Words and documents cannot fully capture the positive impacts that this ceremony has had on this community. Parrtners have come from all over the world, from Slavakia, Romania, Italy, Canada, South America, Mexico, France and all over the United States to participate in this healing ceremony. Open to everyone and anyone, this ceremony is sought to help reconnect our teachings to the application through ceremony and prayer.
Our Dance itself happens yearly and is a week long ceremony conducted in the wilderness area and given the name Thunder Mountain. Although the ceremony is a week long itself, our commitment of our teachings require us to gather, fish, hunt and hold monthly gatherings in preparation for the main dance. Throughout the year our team of teachers, elders, hunters, fishers and gatherers will gather and bring an abundance of resources that will go towards the ceremony and community need itself. It is here in this preparation effort, where our teachings and traditional practices reside and are put to work. Our practices to reconnect with the sacred lives of our four legged, winged and water animals and reconnecting to us to where our healing takes place. These individual sessions provide the mentorship to our youth and men and women who are needing to reconnect through getting wood or providing food or resources for our elders or families in need and how it is encompassed within our overall ceremonial lifestyles. This is where we regain our teachings and connection to our culture by reconnecting with our ancient ancestors and reestablishing our relationships with ourselves that remove the need for substance and combat depression. With the love of our families, we will continue to serve the needs of our hurting people.
Prison Outreach
Traditional Response to a hurting population
Bridging the gap to our incarcerated relatives helping create an healthy environment upon release.
Serving Our Local Jails: advocating for policy changes regarding our traditional practices
Restoration and Rebuilding: Leotis McCormack presenting on the impacts of traditional practice incorporated into public policy and law enforcement:
Portland, OR
For almost 2 decades Himyuma Outreach has served the Nez Perce Homelands. The team continues to build upon the work that has been done over that time and have been able to partner with local corrections facilities and prisons to help re-establish the connection of our relatives that are incarcerated.
In 2013, a Nez Perce Tribal member who was being held inside of the Nez Perce County Jail contacted Sherriff Jose’ Rodriguez and requested the ability to incorporate traditional expressions of prayer while inside. Sherriff Rodriquez reached out to Leotis who was serving on the Nez Perce Tribal Executive Committee at the time and held the responsibility of Law and Justice Chairman and Chaplain. Through the collaboration of Himyuma and the Sherriff, protocols were established and for the first time in modern history, Indigenous traditional practices were allowed inside of a County jail facility and open to anyone who wished to participate tribally or not. Himyuma leaders Leotis McCormack and Brooklyn Baptiste attended state certification training courses to be allowed into the jails and prisons to help facilitate these ceremonies. From this effort it has helped countless justice involved individuals rejoin the circle once they leave the facilities and back into their communities. Our efforts continue as we continue to provide the wood, rocks, approved medicines and any and all needed elements for ceremony lodges inside of the jails. Himyuma leaders, Brooklyn and Leotis still go into the jails and offer meetings, cleansing, songs and prayers and help facilitate and build up leaders from within to carry these responsibilities.
Upon release, there have been countless individuals who have joined our family lodges and ceremonial circles to continue their healing journey. Our mission is to help reach our men, women and children reconnect with our traditional teachings and re establish our traditional family balance and thus re establish that balance back to our communities. For thousands of years, our people have maintained this balance and we have seen the healing elements that surround our homes with its protections. Once our relatives are released, we assist and help provide opportunities for them to connect with other local organizations and local leaders and mentors and provide opportunities to serve with outreach efforts.
Now that this work effort has grown here in our homelands, our team of leaders has worked with Tribal leaders to help establish this model as the foundation of the newly developed Nez Perce Tribal Dept. Of Corrections. Through the leadership of the Nez Perce Tribal Executive Committee and Himyuma Leadership the effort was to establish a safe place to wrap our culture around our relatives and give them the ability to rehabilitate while incarcerated. Although this is not a new concept and has been studied and proven to be a better solution to incarceration, we feel the Nez Perce Cultural experience is unique and we feel is what sets our model apart.
Our Community of mentorship and community partnership involvement is specific to our cultural practices and life dedicated to prayer and connection to our Creator. Our mentorship program offers our participants opportunities to receive lessons but also building the pro social connections back to that familial element that has kept our families strong since the beginning of time. We have a network of Longhouse’s, Sweat Lodges and sobriety groups that we work with that have been vetted out as a safe place for our healing people. We will support and sponsor the efforts of ongoing cultural events outside of mentors in helping our people stay connected to these important activities. Our program supports community and have seen the strength bear fruit when our people stand in support of one another. The desire is to spend that needed one on one time that will help deter those negative feelings that may arise by being a powerful presence in their lives as we help to re build and heal every aspect of our families.
Contact
If you have a loved one you want to connect, please connect with us and we will reach out.
208-827-1055