There is a new word that describes a lofty goal for the descendants of the earliest inhabitants of North America (Alaska Natives and American Indians). The word is "wellbriety." It is much more than sobriety.

With the European invasion of North America, ungracious newcomers brought pain, grief, and loss to the indigenous peoples of our continent. Alcoholic spirits, along with disease and abuse have ruined previously proud and able people.

We encourage a movement toward "wellbriety," a situation where the First Nations of America return to wellbriety - a state of well-being. For the nations to be well, the tribes and groups must be well. For tribes and groups to recover, the families must be well. For families to be well, each individual person must become physically, mentally, and spiritually fit; we must all achieve a state of wellbriety. Only then can we become what the Great Spirit wills us to become.

We must therefore help ourseves and our bretheren - our mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters - become the kind of people that will make our ancestors proud.

This page is the beginning of a forum that will help us help ourselves. We can have a forum for discussion, an exchange of knowledge, a collection of ideas and information and lessons that we can share among our people to become what we need to be to succeed in this new world of ours.

“Oh, Great Spirit” by Chief Yellow Lark, Lakota Tribe

Oh Great Spirit,whose voice I hear in the winds,and whose breath gives life to all the world,hear me!

I am small and weak.
I need your strength and wisdom.

Let me walk in beauty, and make my eyes ever behold the red and purple sunset.
Make my hands respect the things you have made and my ears sharp to hear your voice.

Make me wise. so that I may understand the things you have taught my people.
Let me learn the lessons you have hidden in every leaf and rock.

I seek strength, not to be greater than my brother, but to fight my greatest enemy - myself.

Make me always ready to come to you with clean hands and straight eyes.

So when life fades, as the fading sunset, my spirit may come to you without shame.