By BROOKLYN BROWN
One Feather Reporter
CHEROKEE, N.C. – Cherokee Choices just celebrated their 10th Anniversary of the Stress & Healing Arts Retreat (SHAR), a wellness retreat that ran from 2006 to 2011, and started back up in 2015 to now. This year’s two-day retreat, held on March 19 and 20, featured several workshops and sessions to promote healing and wellness for the Cherokee community.
Yolanda Saunooke, Cherokee Choices behavioral change specialist, said the anniversary retreat included between 42 and 45 attendees, with increased community presenters, outdoor activities, and food prepared by Nutrition/Fitness Coordinator April Innis.
Shown are Yolanda Queen-Saunooke, Cherokee Choices behavioral change specialist, and Keahana Lambert, Cherokee Choices prevention specialist. (BROOKLYN BROWN/One Feather photo)
“SHAR increases your self-care toolbox. A lot of times when you’re younger, you don’t realize the things you have to help you as you are more open when you’re an adult,” she said.
Keahana Lambert, Cherokee Choices prevention specialist, shared that Shenelle Feather, community programming manager with the Museum of the Cherokee People, presented on the seven Cherokee core values and discussed her personal experiences with each value. The retreat also included a chunkey demonstration by the museum, yoga led by Cherokee Choices Director Robin Callahan, clay mask making with Tara McCoy, a panel discussion with the Remember the Removal riders, and more.
“I think SHAR is an important reminder that we’ve gone through fires, and we forget that because we keep trudging through. It gives us a pause to say, ‘Wait a minute. Yeah, we lived through that, and we’ve got to take care of ourselves,’” Lambert said.
“If we’re not healthy and we’re not trying to be healthy, our seven generations to come will not be, and that’s our responsibility as Indigenous peoples to the next seven generations.”
The retreat is open to members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI), and non-enrolled community members. Lambert believes it’s important for community members who may not be Cherokee to register for the retreat as well, because they are serving the Cherokee community. “If you’re taking care of us, we need you to be healthy, too,” she said.
Saunooke and Lambert encourage everyone to take the ACE’s questionnaire, even if you do not plan on attending the retreat in the future.
