DRUG EPIDEMIC - Special Edition

“The Original Cure for Addiction”

By Robert Wayne Jones

The black walnut is a very, very bitter nut, especially when it has the green hull and first falls to the ground. I welcome anyone to try and eat a green hull sometime to see what I’m talking about. I was doing research on Senecas at Buffalo and came across a diary of a Jesuit priest from like the 1650’s that wrote – (Paraphrased) – “The natives are cooking their food in black walnut oil. There are no sick among them and they attribute their health and well-being to this practice”. The thought came over me, and most know this already, that most times, the thing that can best help health-wise is a medicine that tastes horrible and is bitter and makes you uncomfortable. Medicinal herbs are mostly all bitter. So there are things that can help an unhealthy person to overcome some physical health challenges and make them better, like black walnut.

One subject, I think not concentrated on enough though, is the mental aspect of overcoming any addiction for natives. What a struggle this can be! Some will buy a self-help book to try and figure out how to overcome their bad habits or go to church. Some think they have it figured it out for a time, but have a relapse and after that, hate themselves for it even more. Some are dry drunks and become hateful when anybody around them is suffering from addiction and are really outspoken about it. I think relapse is a good indication you not have had the right remedy for yourself or enough will power, and many fail. I know I struggled a lot trying to figure this all out, but with the help of my father, Hugh Jones, I finally accomplished it at the age of thirty. I was taught as a youngster by my father, Hugh Jones, about many topics. None that I enjoyed listening to or put to good use at the time, for the most part. That is, until life got real and smacked me in the face with a lot of problems. My father taught me lots of ways to look at things, like overcoming drinking, doing drugs, smoking and drinking coffee – all in one shot; and I haven’t gone back to that way of life in almost 25 years. I also know my wife, Sheri, had it really rough as I tried to figure this out over time; but she hung in there and deserves some type of “Patience Award” for sure. At this point, I’m trying to maintain, but I also know if I don’t control my thoughts (since every action first starts as a thought), I could get into trouble and have a relapse.

“A huge obstacle to overcoming addiction is that most don’t know where to look for help and often go to a clinic where someone from the medical field lays out a plan that isn’t in harmony with who we are.”

-Robert Jones

My story probably won’t help everyone, but why not share and take the chance that it just might, ennit? I totally recall the pain and anguish that tortured my soul when trying to convince myself I was worth it, while attempting to overcome my addictions. That seemed for me, to be the biggest struggle – to believe that wholeheartedly. I had to feel like changing first and recognize the life I was living, for myself and my family, wasn’t what it should be. I had to have a sincere desire to change it. I also felt I had let the Creator down – to the point of shedding some serious tears. I got to the point of dam near having a heart attack from feeling bad about what I had been doing and the way I was living. I made promises to myself and Creator that I wouldn’t do those things ever again. I had to be absolutely sincere on that. As much as possible, I also had to right the wrongs I knew I had done to others. (A simple example of that is if you borrowed someone’s lawn roller and haven’t returned it – you need to return it.) These steps sound simple enough to some, right? Believe me, THEY ARE NOT!

In the Code of Handsome Lake, it talks about repentance. This repentance thing in Handsome Lake is the key to beating the problems of addiction and is mentioned more than a few times in the Code. One absolute helpful pointer is to learn how to pray for the help needed. Some people think prayer is for non-native Catholic priests, or something. Communicating with the Creator and the “powers that be” was our way of life – long before the Ha-deet nyohs got here, so don’t be skat to do that or feel ashamed.

For me, alcohol certainly had me in its grip and could make me do a lot of things I never would have done, otherwise. A huge obstacle to overcoming addiction is that most don’t know where to look for help and often go to a clinic where someone from the medical field lays out a plan that isn’t in harmony with who we are. I have called this, “trying to fit a square peg into a round hole” syndrome. Let’s look at this: Creator made all kinds, right? Red and yellow, black and white. Creator had laid out his own clinical plan for his original Onkwehonweh people years ago (in the beginning). First, with Great Law, then in the Code of Handsome Lake. In my belief, a person can overcome addiction using the specific plan laid out for them by the Creator, by following these two specific standards. Look to your roots first! Try and convince yourself to live up to the role of being a drug-free Red man or Red woman, to the best of your ability. It’s a lot of hard work, but it can be done. I know, because I did it and I do it. We never accomplish becoming perfect, but can learn to be on that path. Will you make mistakes while in the path? Certainly you will. But, by a certain point, you will know what you have to do take care of it before it can take you back to a life of drinking and doing drugs.

What an amazing feeling it was – to have that fire back in my chest and that feeling that I was putting a smile on creators face and to feel forgiven, because that’s when the real change happens and I could progress, spiritually. Creator wants the best for all of us and absolutely cares about each and every one of us. Our lives matter! Your life does matter! It was all worth it for me and I know it will be worth it for you too.

I apologize if this offends anyone. These are my thoughts and the core of what has worked for me and I took the chance that sharing some personal information might help someone searching for answers, or ways to look at their addiction to drugs or alcohol or anything else. I know all my conversations with my mentors, when trying to overcome addiction, were private; but the drug dealers on our territories and this drug epidemic is getting out of hand. I know I have put myself out there, but I did it because I sincerely hope it helps another Seneca, truly searching.

Nya:wëh

“Everything is laid out for you. Your path is straight ahead of you. Sometimes it’s invisible, but it’s there. You may not know where it’s going, but still, you have to follow that path. It’s the path to the Creator. That’s the only path there is.”
-Leon Shenandoah, Onondaga