Dr. Melissa Nelson is hosting a unique cross-cultural learning opportunity at the Nelson Healing Center in Sturgeon Bay.
In mid May the Nelson Healing Center brings two highly-regarded Native American Yup’ik elders to Door County for a 3-day workshop and prayer ceremony.
Marie Meade
Marie Meade is Yup’ik Eskimo from Southwestern Alaska. She was born and raised in Nunapicuaq, a little village of about 300 people located on the tundra between Kuskokwim River and the Bering Sea, in the Southwest region of Alaska. In 2002, she received the Governor’s Award for Distinguished Humanities Educator. Presently, Marie teaches Yup’ik language and culture at the University of Alaska Anchorage campus. She is also a dancer and a storyteller, a mother of three adult children and a grandmother.
Rita Pitka Blumenstein, a member of the International Council of 13 Indigenous Grandmothers is a Yup’ik tribal doctor who uses plant and energy medicine in her practice. Among many forthcoming topics, she will speak about the Grandmother’s Council meetings and the power of their prayers.
Rita Pipka-Blumenstein
“We come together to protect the lands where our peoples live and upon which our cultures depend, to safeguard the collective heritage of traditional medicines, and to defend the Earth herself,” say the Indigenous Grandmothers. “We believe that the teachings of our ancestors will light our way through an uncertain future.”
You can learn more about the upcoming event at a free public screening of “For the Next 7 Generations,” a documentary film on the Indigenous Grandmothers taking place at Nelson Healing Center on Wednesday, May 5 at 7 pm.
The 3-day workshop taking place May 14 – 16, begins with a 2-hour introduction on Friday evening at 7 pm. On Saturday and Sunday the women will share traditional teachings about plant, energy medicine and healing in all-day sessions that begin at 9 am each day. Registration is limited and the cost to attend is $170.
“I hope you will join us in hearing the teachings of these Native elders as they share their stories, dreams and healing therapies, planting prayers of peace found within the poetry, visions, challenges and celebrations of the Yup’ik People,” says Dr. Nelson.
On Sunday, May 18 the public is invited to join with Rita Pitka Blumenstein, Marie Meade and workshop participants in the “Healing of the Waters,” a prayer ceremony taking place in the late afternoon at Potawatomi State Park. There is no charge to attend. Please, contact the clinic for details on time and specific location.
Dr. Masaru Emoto, who has gained worldwide acclaim through his groundbreaking research and discovery that water is deeply connected to our individual and collective consciousness, explains that, “Water retains information. It’s as if water were a mirror of our heart.”
“Join us in celebrating these days of sharing, learning and envisioning peace in our Prayer for the Waters,” says Dr. Nelson. “Our main intention is to return the Waters back to their pure DNA blueprint, to add to their abundance and capacity to nourish all living things on the planet.”
Visit the Website at NelsonHealingCenter.com or call the clinic at 920.818.0045 (local calls do not require the 920 area code) for further information or to register.
