"The Red Cedar Circle conducts open meetings for prayer and song in the SiSiWiss (Sacred Breath) tradition of the Pacific Northwest Coast (coastal northwest Washington State and southern British Columbia). SiSiWiss is an ancestral native medicine way --a spiritual and healing tradition-- that has, over the past century, held medicine circles open to all persons of open heart and mind. "When we com
e together like this, as praying people, we strengthen each other spiritually…to renew our soul. The Spirit is speaking to each of us to help each other, work together. It does not matter what religion you follow, if you are a praying person –you love God- work together." -Johnny Moses, Whisstemeni, Walking Robe (Nuu-chah-nulth and Tulalip Coast Salish).
“There are so many different types of medicine in the Northwest Coast, different types of medicine circles or societies. When I was growing up, I was raised in many different types of societies. A lot of them I’m not allowed to talk about because of tradition. The type of medicine that we call SiSiWiss is a medicine that is shared to anyone; to help anyone that is in need, anyone who is having a hard time, or who wants to use healing –if they want to use it in their artwork or music, or hands-on healing, or visiting people, they learn this type of medicine that we are sharing today. The Red Cedar Circle is an open circle, open to the people because of the prophecies of our grandmothers and grandfathers that are coming true. They say that the teachings are going to go out and reach people, because we are getting closer to the changes of the earth, destructions, poisons that are being put into the earth. The people in this medicine are going to be able to help people, to heal the earth and each other, to help with the suffering that is going on. There are four of us younger people from our country, from the Northwest Coast, who were sent by our elders to share the medicine with people who wanted to follow it in a good way, to be clean and to help brothers and sisters, and especially to help yourself." -Johnny Moses
The Red Cedar Circle of SW Illinois has been meeting since 1995 at the Center for Spirituality & Sustainability on the campus of Southern Illinois University and other locations. The Red Cedar Circle also conducts study groups.Check back for dates & times of study groups and medicine circles.
