In my work with Native communities my Elders, Spiritual, and Medicine people have instilled in me from an early age, I must first honor myself to do really good work. Honoring self means doing our own inner work ~ the journey inward ~ as this is where the healing begins. They say, folks are always watching you and they know if you are true and authentic. If you do your own work, it reflects your integrity and your dignity.

The Elders say, when the women heal, the family heals, the community heals, the village heals seven generations after me and seven generations before me.

Doing my own inner work sustains me and keeps me connected to self while planting seeds with and for others. The depths of our most painful memories are what make us strong as a people, as a Nation, a tribe, a community, and a village.

I bring the wisdom from the Elders, Medicine People, and Spiritual Leaders into my practice through storytelling and planting seeds ~ sharing the blessings. In the stories, we name the shame, the guilt, identify patterns and learn how to put it all in its place. Relinquishing it all to allow love, light, and healing to take its rightful place. Then, the person can be who they were meant to be instead of the family role or label(s) they may have been identifying with and perhaps acting out.

I teach about the disconnect from our true power - our inner self to no fault of our own. In all cultures our lifestyles were altered and changed to survive, to fit in, to go along with the status quo. It was not okay to be different hence all the confusion and disconnect from our inner selves. This feeds and perpetuates anxiety, depression and all the ways us humans creatively avoid our feelings. We all have coping styles. Feelings are signals. Signals that something requires our attention. Something needs to be honored and something needs to be changed.

Consulting with my Elders throughout the years, doing my own work, attending 12 step meetings and ceremony keep me connected to this wonderful profession that I get to be a part of and partner with clients to help them in their journey.

We are all students and we are all teachers and hopefully, they learn as much from me as I learn from them.

— Trudy M. Roullard-Soole, “Iyan Duta Wi”, Red Stone Woman, Santee Dakotah Sioux Nation & German & Irish Descent