(PR.co.nz) Native American Lakota John has been working in the suicide black-spot area of Kawarau in the Bay of Plenty for three years. He will be a guest speaker, as well as introducing Charitable Trust Nga Hau e Wha (Pukenga) at this weekend’s Suicide Prevention carnival in Auckland.
The trust has been set up to provide holistic solutions to difficult societal issues including depression, suicide, and alcohol and substance abuse. Lakota John’s traditional wisdom combined with a comprehensive understanding of the challenges that families’ face, has brought increased health and happiness to Maori and other communities he has worked in.
“The work that we do is so effective amongst New Zealand’s indigenous” says Lakota John, “because it is based on indigenous wisdom that comes from people with an ancient oral tradition; spatial-visual people who see life from a see touch and do perspective. I work with youth in schools and often find that their body is there but their mind isn’t. Our approach is to teach children to be single minded before anything else. Once they become single minded they can stay focused enough to step back into the mainstream curriculum. ”
The therapy offered by Nga Hau e Wha (Pukenga) works on tracing the client’s issues back to the original event which caused separation within the fragile balance between mind, body, and soul. Often clients’ problems started generations back, and tracking the root cause on this level can unlock patterns of behaviour which have been entrenched in the family line for generations. The patterns are passed down not only through learned behavior but also directly through the DNA. Lakota John coaches clients to be able to break these cycles by changing unhealthy belief systems. Facilitating such self-knowledge amongst a whole family can dramatically alter its dynamics and bring healing on many levels.
The mission statement for the Nga Hau e Wha (Pukenga) Charitable Trust is ‘Building healthy communities, one person at a time’. Certainly in the small rural town of Kawarau Lakota John’s presence has worked remarkable changes.
His personal mission to restore people to wholeness came about through his own life journey, which has taken him from big city gang life in America to peace, prayer, sobriety and sacredness. Lakota John’s message touches the hearts of many. He connects to people through his life experience, sense of humour, and astute ability to feel what is going on within an individual.
Lakota John and the team from Nga Hau e Wha (Pukenga) will be presenting at the Keep on Keepin on Carnival for a Cause this Sunday 1-4pm at Corban Arts Estate in Henderson, Auckland. The annual event is held in West Auckland to bring greater awareness and more resources to the field of suicide prevention.
Complete with tipi, drums, authentic songs and traditional costume, Nga Hau e Wha (Pukenga) looks set to bring a slice of ancient Native America to West Auckland this weekend.
Media Release 4 December 2014.