Shinnecock To Host Health Expo on Saturday

For generations, Indigenous people have relied on the medicine wheel when it comes to living a healthy and balanced life.

The specifics of the medicine wheel can vary in different native communities around the country, but the general concept is the same: a belief in the circular, interconnected nature of the mental, physical, spiritual and emotional aspects of life, and the way they form a holistic picture of an individual’s health and well-being.

Dyashwa Sylvester is a member of the Shinnecock Nation and the head of the tribe’s chapter of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. She explained the significance of the medicine wheel.

“Our values are embedded into the medicine wheel,” she said in an interview last week. “Humility, respect, our overall health and well-being. It’s the biggest symbol for Native Americans as a whole to represent who we are as a people. It’s really in depth and emotional for us, and represents that we’re still here.”

Sylvester and several other members of the Shinnecock Nation will share the knowledge and values represented by the medicine wheel with the greater East End community this weekend when they host the Shinnecock Indigenous Whole-listic Health Expo and Fundraiser on Saturday, July 20, on the Shinnecock Territory.

The event will be a full day of fun and information, for people of all ages, with participation from both Shinnecock Nation organizations and outside groups, meant to help people live healthier, more complete lives and embrace overall wellness.

Cornell Cooperative Extension is bringing farm animals for children to engage with, there will be yoga sessions for both elders and younger people, as well as other movement and dance classes, and more. Representatives from the New York State Department of Health will be on hand to provide information about different ways to access health insurance, and Planned Parenthood will have a presence at the event as well. Blossom Sustainability, a Shinnecock organization, will be on hand to address mental health and substance abuse issues, and how to help people readjusting to regular life after incarceration.

There will be food as well, with several special vendors, including Sly Fox Den, an Indigenous restaurant and cultural center based in Rhode Island and created by James Beard Award-winning chef Sherry Pocknett, a member of the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe.

The gathering will also be a fundraiser to help the Nation continue with its goal of creating a state-of-the art space: The New Shinnecock Recreational, Continuing Education and Cultural Center, which will be given a traditional name once completed.

The event is being put on by the Shinnecock Education Department, in collaboration with the American Indian Health program, Good Health and Wellness in Indian Country, and the Community Health Worker Program departments.

The event, essentially, is about driving home the importance of not only individual holistic health and wellness but the well-being of the entire community, both on the Shinnecock Territory and beyond.

“All of us are connected,” Sylvester said. “Young kids look up to adults and elders to learn new things, and in turn the elders are able to share with the younger generations, and the younger people are able to help the elders. Everything is cyclical.”

The long-term goal of building the new cultural and recreational center will help the tribe in its efforts to do all of that, and adhere to the principles of the medicine wheel.

“We want to share it with the world, because we can change the world if we utilize some of the practices taught through the medicine wheel,” Sylvester said. “It’s a beautiful thing.”