Rage, pain, sadness, insecurity, bitterness - all the troubles and challenges of 18 Tucson teens wafted into the universe on the down of an eagle's feather Monday afternoon as Tony Redhouse tried to ease their fears.
The three-hour program presented by Redhouse, a Navajo musician and speaker, was part of a two-day workshop for teenage clients of Tu Nidito Children and Family Services, which offers support to children who are suffering serious illness or grief.
Redhouse, dressed in Navajo ceremonial garb replete with beads, feathers and bells, asked each teen to place a pinch of cedar-and-sage incense into a shell. As they did so, the participants intoned the troubles that most heavily weighed upon them. As he burned away the group's worries, Redhouse told his audience how his spirituality had eased his own addictions and illnesses.
"Life is not easy. Sometimes there are things that challenge us. Sometimes we feel lonely. Sometimes we feel sad. Sometimes we lose people we love," said Redhouse, who laced his messages with native chants and melodies that he played on an indigenous flute, drums and chimes.
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"Things get really complicated in life, so it's good to go back to that heartbeat, that very simple place," Redhouse told them as he slowly beat a handmade drum. "When we follow our hearts, the best things will happen to us.
"Let go of these things that keep us from our potential. Sometimes there's nothing else you can do, so you let go."
The workshop differed from the usual Tu Nidito support groups, said Ariel Toner and Luis Salazar, both 17. Depending on what brought the teens to Tu Nidito, they are placed in one of three groups.
"This is all three groups put together, so we can meet other kids who have troubles," said Salazar, who dances in Yaqui ceremonies and found the peek into Redhouse's Navajo culture "amazing."
Toner found camaraderie, too. "You realize you're not alone," she said.
She found the workshop to be more personal than the usual group meetings because "this one's more about what's inside us."
It was the first time that camp coordinator Helen Ekholt had scheduled a program for the teens that focused on American Indian spirituality. Redhouse held their attention and encouraged them to voice their feelings.
"I'm always surprised," Ekholt said, "at how open they are."
Contact reporter Kimberly Matas at kmatas@azstarnet.com or at 573-4191.
