Indian Men Will Hold Gathering Leaders Hope Three-Day Event Will Revive Sense Of Responsibility

Inspired by the Million Man March and the Promise Keepers, American Indians are planning the Gathering of Native American Men next month in Colorado.

Members of tribes from around the country will assemble May 31 in the Pike National Forest near Wilkerson Pass, 60 miles west of Colorado Springs.

Already, members of tribes as far-ranging as the Seminole in Florida, the Menominee in Michigan and the Mohawk in New York have reserved space. Members of Western tribes - the Cheyenne, Apache, Navajo and Cherokee - also are planning to attend.

The three-day gathering is aimed at bringing a new sense of responsibility to Indian men, said Richard Simonelli, a spokesman for White Bison, a Colorado Springs-based American Indian group organizing the gathering.

“The Million Man March was definitely one of the inspirations, but it’s also something that’s in the air now - the healing of men, and minority men in particular,” Simonelli said.

Indian men have been a lost minority for decades since their role and their culture were taken from them, he said.

“They lost their roles in many ways when the way of hunting disappeared and when native religions became basically outlawed. Those were two main functions of men in tribal society,” he said.

“At the same time, (American Indians) have not been allowed into education and career ladders very easily. So they have been left out,” he said.

Two separate healing ceremonies will be a part of the gathering, Simonelli said.

All American Indian men who attend will be addressed by a group of tribal elders, who will speak about becoming better men, fathers, husbands and members of their communities.