Nelson Healing Center presents Healing, Storytelling & Plant Medicine with Yu’pik Wise Women

Alaskan Native Healers teach 2-day workshop in Sturgeon Bay.

On Saturday and Sunday, May 7 – 8 Rita Pitka Blumenstein and Marie Arnaq Meade, both Yup’ik tribal members will share traditional teachings about energy medicine, storytelling and song in a 2-day workshop. On Sunday at 11:30 am, they invite the Door community to join them in a free, public, traditional outdoor fire ceremony and Blessing of the Children on the grounds of the Nelson Healing Center at 44 S. 2nd Avenue in Sturgeon Bay.

Rita Pitka Blumenstein (above) was the first certified traditional doctor in Alaska. In 2009, she was inducted into the Alaska Women’s Hall of Fame. Grandmother Rita, as she is known worldwide, was a founding member of the International Council of 13 Indigenous Grandmothers. She currently works for the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium.

Marie Arnaq Meade was born and raised in Nunapiciaq, a small village of about 300 members located on the tundra between the Kuskokwim River and the Bering Sea. She is an author and translator of Yup’ik, teaching the language and its conventional spelling system as well as Alaska Native Dance at the University of Alaska in Anchorage. She is a member of the world-traveled Nunamta Yup’ik dance group and also works with the 13 Indigenous Grandmothers.

Together, they will present a 2-day workshop at Nelson Healing Center, exploring the ways of traditional Yup’ik energy medicine, health and spiritual well being.

“When we heal ourselves, we heal Mother Earth. When we can heal ourselves, we also heal our ancestors, our grandmothers, our grandfathers and our children,” explains Rita Pitka Blumenstein.

The course will also include ongoing membership in a private Free U study group dedicated to further exploration and research on Healing, Storytelling & Plant Medicine with Yu’pik Wise Women.

The cost to attend the weekend class is $175. Please, call the Nelson Healing Center at 920.818.0045 to reserve a space as class size is limited. The Center is located at 44 S. 2nd Avenue in Sturgeon Bay. You can find out more about other ongoing classes, events and services provided at www.NelsonHealingCenter.com.