By JAMES EIK
Staff Reporter
The dreams of children at the Ronald McDonald House in Spokane will be a bit brighter, thanks to a generous donation.
A Native American regalia group at the Airway Heights Corrections Center presented 42 handmade dream catchers to the charity last Thursday. Nine of the 15-member group were on-hand to present the gift and perform some traditional songs.
“We made all of these and put some of the best things we had for months into them,” presenter George Ferrell said. “They're not something that should be thrown away.”
Each member of the group was connected to children in some form, whether it was family of their own or friends. When a child is sick, most families are worried, and doubly so when they are in a hospital, he said. Every member of the group made at least one dream catcher in the voluntary effort.
“We all came together to do this,” Ferrell said. “It wasn't put on us.”
The creation of the dream catchers brought many in the group together. They said it is the first of many future projects. Numerous cultural items were also on display for the ceremony.
Kathie Vlahovich, a representative from the Ronald McDonald House, was at the corrections center for the ceremony.
“We're built with the idea that nothing should matter when it comes to the health of a child,” she said.
An average stay at the charity lasts around 22 nights, with 18 percent of families extending their time to 45 to 70 nights. Vlahovich spoke of two children leaving the hospital to whom she'd present the dream catchers. She also hoped a couple of them could be placed in staff areas.
“Our staff needs to dream, too,” she said.
Making the dream catchers served as something of a reprieve from the offenders surroundings.
“We're in an environment where negativity is all around us,” presenter Hector Ortiz said. “It allows us to discover ourselves and our culture in deeper ways.”
And why choose the Ronald McDonald House?
“Why not choose them,” Ferrell said. “When all of us come together, we can make a difference.”
Ferrell said the Muckleshoot Tribe made a generous donation to the group, which jump started their efforts. The talent within the regalia group allows them to create a wide array of items, including the dream catchers.
“Everything we make we give it away,” Ferrell said. “We hope in some way, shape or form they can help out. When people look at it, we hope they know they're not alone.”
Even though members of the group won't meet the recipients of their gifts, their thoughts are still with those suffering some difficulty.
“We don't have to know them to be thinking about them,” Ferrell said.
Harlan Eagle Bear, the Native American spiritual adviser at the corrections center, said the group has worked in a positive environment, promoting pro-social values the facility likes to see.
“These men have shown incredible growth,” he said.
Since his first meetings with the offenders in 2009, over a dozen have gone on to earn their General Education Diploma.
At the end of the ceremony, the group performed three songs on a drum, the first of which was “Song of the Dancers.”
James Eik can be reached at [email protected].
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