Post by Tekpatzin on Jun 15, 2004 9:48:36 GMT -5
Good Morning,
I have received a few emails requesting some more information regarding the Sun Times article concerning the Ritual and Spiritual (Stronger Roots, Stronger Branches) conference held at the Oakbrook Hyatt Regency on June 2 and 3rd. As many of you know we (YSS) and some of our other sister/brother agencies (Kuumba Lynx, Brickheadz, Mexika danzantes, Chicago Tribe) participated at this conference specifically because it provided us with a great opportunity to educate others about our Rites of passage work, the urban arts work that so many of us are doing and the history and cultures of our native American roots.
Our Chippewa elder Starr honored the ancestors of the four directions to start off the conference and to remind us that many of us have forgotten our story (history) and it is so important to remember our story to pass down to our children.
As the article below points out we were all part of a conference with an "unusual theme".
Guess that many of us that know our history and our roots will always have to face this kind of adversity especially coming from Democratic "elected" officials. But as many of the people that attended the many cultural and spiritual workshops and those that witnessed our Culture Clash of dance that featured members from YSS, Brickheadz, Chicago Tribe and Mexika danzantes we provided something that is sorely lacking in many of the intervention and prevention programs, our roots, our cultures and our spiritual way of life.
FYI..our native American spiritual way of life, the Red Road, is something that is not accepted nor recognized by many of the western (Euro) cultures. It wasn't until the 1970s that native people (The First Nations) were able to pray and do our rituals and not break the law.
If holding it in Oakbrook is a problem for the elected officials then maybe they can provide a space in the city for our next Ritual and Spiritual conference.
Thanks for your time...BTW
Tomorrow at 3pm there will be a rally at Truman College to protest the Chief Illiniwek mascot (U of I). This sad episode may be coming to an end as the U of I board members are nearing a vote on ending the mascot. Vernon Belcourt of the American Indian Movement will be the main speaker. Time to get rid of that cartoon character (U of I mascot) once and for all. Please spread the word....
Ometeotl!
Frank Tekpatzin
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'Touchy feely' program called waste of money
June 14, 2004
BY LESLIE GRIFFY
Sun-Times Springfield Bureau
SPRINGFIELD -- At a time when the cash-strapped Illinois Department of Human Services can't pay its bills on time, the agency hosted a $78,000 conference to promote "spirituality and ritual" as drug-abuse treatments.
The two-day program this month at the Hyatt Regency Oak Brook was funded through a $70 million federal grant and designed to help drug-treatment groups reach out to communities of color, the agency said.
But the June 2-3 conference has drawn bipartisan fire for being held in a mostly white suburb far from the areas it was designed to reach and for its unusual theme when other human service programs face the possibility of major cuts.
"It's bad enough that we now have to scratch and claw for the money to help real people meet their basic needs," said state Sen. Jeff Schoenberg (D-Evanston). "These funds would have been far better spent supplementing the state's existing commitment to hospice care for the terminally ill and their loved ones.
"I resent the department wasting precious federal dollars on some touchy-feely, new-age, hot-tub conference," the senator continued.
A brochure sent to members of the General Assembly said the conference would begin with a Native American prayer, include an "African water ritual," and involve singing, dancing, Korean drumming and more.
"We will rejoice in music and dance and the healing powers it brings to our communities," the brochure read. "We will be serenaded by a Latina jazz singer and stirred by the youth of Culture Clash performing a traditional Cuban warrior dance."
Tracey Scruggs, a DHS spokeswoman, defended the program. She said it did not involve the use of precious state funds, enabled attendees to earn credit toward counseling and teaching certificates, and trained people to "incorporate spirituality and rituals to promote health and healing in the communities we serve."
"This is what we do. We do put on these sorts of conferences for our providers so they can get the kind of training they need," Scruggs said. "We feel that what it is we did is important. We need to enhance our providers' ability to do the job."
The federal government did not hamstring DHS by requiring that the $70 million in grant money be spent on training exercises like the one in Oak Brook. Scruggs said most of the funds were divvied up among social service providers.
DHS expects to recoup part of the $78,000 spent on the program through the $50 registration fees paid by each of the nearly 700 people in attendance, she said.
While one provider who attended the conference said its speakers did give her insights she could use, she said the money used to underwrite the two-day affair would have been better spent on people who need services.
"Two of the presenters weren't just talking to you, they were giving you stuff you could use. But when I look at people missing treatment, the two things I learned are not worth it," said Linda Densen, who works with Chicago-based Sankosa, an advocacy group representing those with HIV infections, drug addictions and mental illnesses."I would rather see that $78,000 on the streets helping people who need treatment," she said.
State Rep. Mary Flowers (D-Chicago), who protested the conference in a recent letter to DHS Director Carol Adams, said holding it in Oak Brook would do little to reach low-income communities of color.
"I think we miss the opportunity so often to really impact the people that we are trying to serve and improve their lives," Flowers said.
If nothing else, other lawmakers said, the conference seemed frivolous when so many other human services needs aren't being met because of the state's dire fiscal condition.
I have received a few emails requesting some more information regarding the Sun Times article concerning the Ritual and Spiritual (Stronger Roots, Stronger Branches) conference held at the Oakbrook Hyatt Regency on June 2 and 3rd. As many of you know we (YSS) and some of our other sister/brother agencies (Kuumba Lynx, Brickheadz, Mexika danzantes, Chicago Tribe) participated at this conference specifically because it provided us with a great opportunity to educate others about our Rites of passage work, the urban arts work that so many of us are doing and the history and cultures of our native American roots.
Our Chippewa elder Starr honored the ancestors of the four directions to start off the conference and to remind us that many of us have forgotten our story (history) and it is so important to remember our story to pass down to our children.
As the article below points out we were all part of a conference with an "unusual theme".
Guess that many of us that know our history and our roots will always have to face this kind of adversity especially coming from Democratic "elected" officials. But as many of the people that attended the many cultural and spiritual workshops and those that witnessed our Culture Clash of dance that featured members from YSS, Brickheadz, Chicago Tribe and Mexika danzantes we provided something that is sorely lacking in many of the intervention and prevention programs, our roots, our cultures and our spiritual way of life.
FYI..our native American spiritual way of life, the Red Road, is something that is not accepted nor recognized by many of the western (Euro) cultures. It wasn't until the 1970s that native people (The First Nations) were able to pray and do our rituals and not break the law.
If holding it in Oakbrook is a problem for the elected officials then maybe they can provide a space in the city for our next Ritual and Spiritual conference.
Thanks for your time...BTW
Tomorrow at 3pm there will be a rally at Truman College to protest the Chief Illiniwek mascot (U of I). This sad episode may be coming to an end as the U of I board members are nearing a vote on ending the mascot. Vernon Belcourt of the American Indian Movement will be the main speaker. Time to get rid of that cartoon character (U of I mascot) once and for all. Please spread the word....
Ometeotl!
Frank Tekpatzin
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
'Touchy feely' program called waste of money
June 14, 2004
BY LESLIE GRIFFY
Sun-Times Springfield Bureau
SPRINGFIELD -- At a time when the cash-strapped Illinois Department of Human Services can't pay its bills on time, the agency hosted a $78,000 conference to promote "spirituality and ritual" as drug-abuse treatments.
The two-day program this month at the Hyatt Regency Oak Brook was funded through a $70 million federal grant and designed to help drug-treatment groups reach out to communities of color, the agency said.
But the June 2-3 conference has drawn bipartisan fire for being held in a mostly white suburb far from the areas it was designed to reach and for its unusual theme when other human service programs face the possibility of major cuts.
"It's bad enough that we now have to scratch and claw for the money to help real people meet their basic needs," said state Sen. Jeff Schoenberg (D-Evanston). "These funds would have been far better spent supplementing the state's existing commitment to hospice care for the terminally ill and their loved ones.
"I resent the department wasting precious federal dollars on some touchy-feely, new-age, hot-tub conference," the senator continued.
A brochure sent to members of the General Assembly said the conference would begin with a Native American prayer, include an "African water ritual," and involve singing, dancing, Korean drumming and more.
"We will rejoice in music and dance and the healing powers it brings to our communities," the brochure read. "We will be serenaded by a Latina jazz singer and stirred by the youth of Culture Clash performing a traditional Cuban warrior dance."
Tracey Scruggs, a DHS spokeswoman, defended the program. She said it did not involve the use of precious state funds, enabled attendees to earn credit toward counseling and teaching certificates, and trained people to "incorporate spirituality and rituals to promote health and healing in the communities we serve."
"This is what we do. We do put on these sorts of conferences for our providers so they can get the kind of training they need," Scruggs said. "We feel that what it is we did is important. We need to enhance our providers' ability to do the job."
The federal government did not hamstring DHS by requiring that the $70 million in grant money be spent on training exercises like the one in Oak Brook. Scruggs said most of the funds were divvied up among social service providers.
DHS expects to recoup part of the $78,000 spent on the program through the $50 registration fees paid by each of the nearly 700 people in attendance, she said.
While one provider who attended the conference said its speakers did give her insights she could use, she said the money used to underwrite the two-day affair would have been better spent on people who need services.
"Two of the presenters weren't just talking to you, they were giving you stuff you could use. But when I look at people missing treatment, the two things I learned are not worth it," said Linda Densen, who works with Chicago-based Sankosa, an advocacy group representing those with HIV infections, drug addictions and mental illnesses."I would rather see that $78,000 on the streets helping people who need treatment," she said.
State Rep. Mary Flowers (D-Chicago), who protested the conference in a recent letter to DHS Director Carol Adams, said holding it in Oak Brook would do little to reach low-income communities of color.
"I think we miss the opportunity so often to really impact the people that we are trying to serve and improve their lives," Flowers said.
If nothing else, other lawmakers said, the conference seemed frivolous when so many other human services needs aren't being met because of the state's dire fiscal condition.