"Talking Circles"
Several varied objects are used by different First Nations peoples to facilitate the talking circle. Some peoples use a talking stick, others a talking feather, while still others use a peace pipe, a sacred shell, a wampum belt, or other selected object. The main point of using the sacred object, is that whoever is holding the object in their hand has the right to speak. The circle itself is considered sacred. First Nations people observed that the circle is a dominant symbol in nature and has come to represent wholeness, completion, and the cycles of life (including the cycle of human communication). As well, many talking circles were traditionally "opened" through a prayer and smudging. A sacred space was facilitated by these reverent acts and observances.
http://firstnationspedagogy.ca/circletalks.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GUIDELINES- Shared here for educational purposes
http://www.muiniskw.org/pgCulture2c.htm
There are a few very simple guidelines that allow a talking circle to function:
1) Only one person speaks at a time - only the person holding the feather or talking stick may speak. Dialogues are not part of the circle, as they can become confrontational.
2) Introduce yourself - it is polite to introduce yourself in the first round. Use your spirit name, if you have one; otherwise, use your given name.
3) Speak from the heart - the speaker should address the circle from the heart, and may speak for as long as they need to, with respect for the time of others.
4) Listen with respect - all people except the speaker listen attentively and give support to the speaker. Listening with the heart allows you to hear the true intent beneath what the speaker is saying. Listen in the way you expect others to hear you.
5) What is said in the circle stays in the circle - never repeat anything that is said within the circle, unless you have the permission of the speaker.
When convening a circle, smudging the participants with sage will help dispel any negativity they may be carrying with them. In a way, it's like 'wiping' your spiritual 'feet' before entering the circle. As well, keeping a sage smudge burning during the circle, particularly when emotions are intense, will help keep negativity from entering.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Talking Circle: Fact Sheet- Related Links
http://www.learnalberta.ca/content/aswt/talkingtogether/facilitated_talking_circle_fact_sheet.html
http://www.learnalberta.ca/content/aswt/talkingtogether/facilitated_talking_circle_sample.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Talking and Healing CircleShared here for educational purposes
http://www.dancingtoeaglespiritsociety.org/circles.php
Speak honestly and truthfully from the heart, be brief, and listen attentively to others, do not cross talk or interfere with what someone else is speaking.
The process is not one of making strong arguments for or against something, or convincing one another of right or wrong, but a process of becoming still and quiet, connecting with collective wisdom. When the truth is spoken on some issue it is seen and heard as such.....it rings true.
It’s listening without reacting or intending to respond, listening without being influenced by long-held images, memories or firmly held position, listening instead with a beginners mind. This is not to say that all is serious. Wholeness includes all forms of experience, good and bad, light and heavy, joyous and sad, trivial and significant. Everything is an invitation to look deeper, sense more fully.
The power of a circle lies in our seeing and feeling exactly what is, and suspending the noisy internal and external responses that get in the way. There's no right and wrong way to do participate in a circle or to do a circle. There are only honest efforts to hear, see and say what is most real at any given moment.
The Talking Stick Circle Can Help: decision making, inquiry management, prioritizing opportunities, clarifying group dynamics, team product development, problem solving, planning, conflict resolution, creating the bonding needed to build learning communities or just about anything that organizations use meetings for.
Circle Facilitation
Whether with humor, the weaving of words or silence, strong leaders stay present and committed to what is actually taking place, rather than invested in the Circle being "successful"... a truly successful Circle is an authentic one, no matter how dark or unresolved the outcome.
Good facilitation is usually "transparent," in the sense that members leave the Circle less impressed with the wisdom and power of the facilitator(s) than with a strong feeling of the movement and connectedness of the whole circle.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In its simplest form, a Talking Circle:
Is done in a complete circle
Only the person holding the ‘talking stick’ talks, while the rest listen
The stick is usually passed around in a clockwise direction
A person talks until they are finished
The talking circle is complete when everyone has had a chance to speak
A person may pass the ‘talking stick’ without speaking, if they so wish
If desired, the stick may be passed around again. This may be beneficial, as it allows more time for people to process the experience What is said in the circle stays in the circle
The circle is extremely respectful of everyone as individuals and what they have to say
Algonquin Elder Albert Dumont says that “the circle can handle all emotions”. It is therefore important to prepare for a talking circle in advance, and to let participants know that it is all right to express doubt or other emotions in the circle, but it must be done in a respectful way.
Adapted from the First Nations Pedagogy Online resource. For more information.
Introducing Healing Circles and Talking Circles into Primary Care
Shared here for educational purposes
We report on the incorporation of a North American aboriginal procedure called “the talking circle” into primary care in areas serving this population. Communication is regulated through the passing of a talking piece (an object of special meaning or symbolism to the circle facilitator, who is usually called the circle keeper). Twelve hundred people participated in talking circles in which 415 attended 4 sessions and completed pre- and postquestionnaires. Outcome measures included baseline and end Measure Your Medical Outcome Profile version 2 forms. Participation in at least 4 talking circles resulted in a statistically significant improvement in reported symptoms and overall quality of life (p < 0.001 and effect sizes ranging from 0.75 to 1.19). The talking circle is a useful tool to use with Native Americans. It may be useful as a means to reduce health care costs by providing other alternative settings to deal with stress-related and other life problems.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4022550/
Council circle
A council circle is a distinctive feature at the center of some tribal communities in North America. The historical function of the council circles is debated. Some[who?] suggest that the talking circles are ceremonial, and others support a hypothesis that they were places for political discussion that suggest aboriginal democracy.
In current use, the council circle is often synonymous with the talking circle, and is a means of group communication that promotes input from all the members. The practice has been adopted by people of many cultures. A talking stick, or other significant or impromptu object, is passed around the circle, and only the circle member holding the stick is allowed to speak, though he or she may allow others to interject.
Talking sticks in the context of the council circle may have been used pre-historically by indigenous peoples to create egalitarian forums.[citation needed] From photographs, we know that some talking sticks were very tall, suggesting that circle participants would have stood when speaking.[1]
"The Circle of Healing" at July 25
http://dragonflycanada.ca/products-services/talking-circles/Using talking circles in the classroom - Heartland Community College
https://www.heartland.edu/documents/idc/talkingCircleClassroom.pdf
http://www.theteachertoolkit.com/index.php/tool/inside-outside-circles
http://aboriginalperspectives.uregina.ca/tipianaquod/lessons/socialstudies/talkingrocks.shtml
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talking_stick
A Kwakwaka'wakw man with a talking stick, photo by Edward S. Curtis
"Curtis photograph of a Kwakwaka'wakw (Northwest US) tribesman is shown with a talking stick. Alternate description: "Hamasaka in Tlu Wulahu costume with Speaker’s Staff - Qagyuhl, British Columbia, approximately 1914. Elders played a key role in the education of Aboriginal children. Library and Archives Canada, Edward S. Curtis, Edward Curtis’s The North American Indian collection, C-020826." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talking_stick
NOTE: it's NOT A COSTUME, it's is REGALIA
From Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talking_stick
"The talking stick, also called a speaker's staff,[1] is an instrument of aboriginal democracy used by many tribes, especially those of indigenous peoples of the Northwest Coast of North America. The talking stick may be passed around a group or used only by leaders as a symbol of their authority and right to speak in public.[2]"
"In a tribal council circle, a talking stick is passed around from member to member allowing only the person holding the stick to speak. This enables all those present at a council meeting to be heard, especially those who may be shy; consensus can force the stick to move along to assure that the "long winded" don't dominate the discussion; and the person holding the stick may allow others to interject. Talking sticks have high ceremonial and spiritual value, and have proved to be exceedingly useful during current implementations.[citation needed]"
