Sunkawakan Wolakota: Horse Balance
By Elizabeth Warson PhD, ATR-BC, LPC, NCC, EMDR III, EXAT, EAP II,
and
Kimberly I. Tumlin, PhD, MS, MPH
Community partner, Dr. Elizabeth Warson integrates arts-informed and equine-assisted psychotherapy into her counseling practice. As the keynote speaker at the Colorado Art Therapy Association Annual Conference (October 21, 2023), she will be presenting on community outreach and resiliency building through nature-based expressive arts therapy. In this contribution by EACH Hoofprint, Elizabeth revisits a summer expressive therapy program that incorporates horses with her community partners from the Oglala Tribe in the states of South Dakota and Nebraska.
Kimberly I. Tumlin, PhD, MS, MPH, is a faculty at the Center for Innovation in Population Health and the
Assistant Professor, Athletic Training and Clinical Nutrition, College of Health Sciences
Research Director, Equestrian Athlete Initiative
One of my favorite programs—one that I am returning to—involved a summer equine-assisted expressive arts therapy program held with children, adults, and elders from the Oglala Lakota Tribe of Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Partnering with Lakota equine therapists and equestrians, 27 members from the community participated in a 10 equine-assisted expressive arts therapy workshop held over a two-week period. Each workshop lasted approximately 3 hours in the evenings.
Our participants ranged from adults from a recovery program to adolescents in residential treatment and children from the community. Our Lakota partners acclimated us to Lakota customs and practices. To bring you to the experience, close your eyes and breath in. They started by smudging the group participants and horses with smoke emanating from dried sage. Smudging is a tradition common in indigenous peoples involving burning of herbs to cleanse a person, or in this case horses of negative energies. I can still sense the cleansing sage smoke as I write this blog.
From a Lakota perspective, encompassing prayerful painted images on the horse (using non-toxic tempera paints) reflecting Lakota symbols such as hailstones, lightning bolts, and handprints are an integral component of equine-assisted therapy. In addition, sculptural pieces created from natural materials followed interactions in trust exercises, nonverbal communications, as well as through Lakota stories, songs, and prayers.
This program is vital to improving outcomes for our community partners. Integrating not only culturally responsive workshops, but rather culturally intuitive approaches wraps the participants in spiritual knowing to build strengths in resiliency.
Centering the equine-assisted and expressive-arts therapeutic approaches in Lakota spirituality include opening and closing prayer ceremonies involving horse and human participants. Through nonverbal means, participants engage in their own healing process through several activities. Connection is first established through “calling” the horse. Grooming, which is a common term used with horses meaning to brush gently to create trust is building “nurturance” of spirit. Next using personal and cultural symbols to dress or paint the horse is “communication” of spirit. Finally, it is vital that these activities are part of the sacred practice to give thanks to the horses for the humans’ healing, considered “making sacred”.
Following the horse interactions, the participants shared stories in story-circles specifically to bear witness to the healing process. In response to these shared stories, participants created a sculpture out of clay and natural materials, giving visual and verbal expression to their experience. Often, Lakota horse stories and songs from elders were spontaneously shared to convey a parting message to participants.
This workshop format is repeated. From these experiences we have discovered a deepening of the healing process observable in our participants. The horse contributes to this balance. There is a movement past initial fears to clearly processing grief responses. An important component for this format is the transdisciplinary team. The team’s purpose is to ensure a safe healing environment during the immersive process and to promote overall balance in healing.
Using this programmatic framework, we are using an assets-based approach to interviewing called appreciative inquiry adapted from Cooperrider and Whitney (2001). The manner in which questions are asked focuses on fostering positive relationships and assets, moving the interaction away from deficits and diagnoses. We see the whole person using four processes of discovery, dream, design, and destiny. In discovery we identify processes that are effective and culturally balanced. Dream includes planning and prioritizing processes that are effective in community involvement and collaborations. Destiny is the step to implement what has been envisioned.
Through this process and engaging horses, we are focusing on strengths-based balance in the healing process. This concurrently reinforces the Lakota values of generosity, courage, respect, and wisdom. In this manner we are living the core Lakota beliefs in relationships. We are working to formalize curriculum for equine-assisted therapy based on these experiences, which incorporate Lakota values, expressive arts, and storytelling to promote healing.
Cooperrider, D. L., & Whitney, D. (2001). A positive revolution in change. In D. L. Cooperrider, P. Sorenson, D. Whitney, & T. Yeager (Eds.), Appreciative Inquiry: An Emerging Direction for Organization Development (pp. 9–29). Champaign, IL: Stipes.
EQUINE – ASSISTED COLLABORATIVE FOR HEALTH (EACH)
We’re healers at heart. EACH is a groundbreaking virtual partnership to connect, inspire, and support practitioners, volunteers, and participants in equine-assisted programs. You are invited to our virtual stable, arena, and pastures to share ideas, connect with others, and collaborate on best-practices in equine-assisted transformations!