There is something I have always felt when I am an observer of a tribal function that feels different from my ordinary life. There is a slowing, a paying attention to the moment, a reverence, a stillness that surrounds me, and a sense of honor and belonging that I always feel. So when the invitation came to join a ribbon-cutting ceremony for Lake County Tribal Health’s newly opened Wellness Center, I knew it would be unlike any other one I have attended thus far.
And I was right. Before the ribbon-cutting began, a local tribal leader was asked to bless the event, after having already blessed the facility, calling it a medicine house. It is one thing to observe a prayer. It is something entirely different to participate in blessing our community, mothers, fathers, children, infants, grandparents, food, the lake, our mountain, and, finally, ourselves and each other gathered together, all before the guest speakers were formally introduced. It is the blessing before the blessing that still speaks deeply to me.
And then the formalities began:
Alan Flora was one of the first to speak. “On behalf of the city of Clearlake, I could not be happier to welcome the Lake County Tribal Health Wellness Center. After the closing of the DaVita Clearlake Dialysis, we felt the loss. But now, we can offer even more resources for our community with this Wellness Center.”
“We knew that space was a factor in what we wanted to do when we put in the clinic, and our services would be limited,” Ernesto Padilla, Lake County Tribal Health CEO, explained. “So when DaVita closed, we saw our opportunity to expand in this way.”
“Historically, Lake County has always been low in the healthcare metric, and Tribal Health is addressing this issue,” Bruno Sabatier, District 2 Supervisor, added. “Healthcare is the foundation of future changes in the future of Lake County.”
Yes, it is a community celebration because this building represents many more stories of lives that will be forever changed. Because Lake County Tribal Health means more to the community than just medical services. Its work is transformative.
For example, one memory stands out to me in my past experiences with Tribal Health: It’s nearly the birth of a new day when my family and I scramble to the top of a hill overlooking the lake, careful not to trip on rocks because our eyes are still sleepy. Finally, our feet reach the summit, and we take in the view, which doesn’t just overlook just Clear Lake, but also our beautiful Mount Konocti rising tall into the morning sky. A hint of pink, no, I recall orange, splashes across the horizon.
Only a dash of color rests against the still blackened sky. Stars already bow their goodbyes to welcome the sun’s return. It is not forced, but steady. This dance has been going on for eons. This is a sliver of time, a flash in history, and yet I still remember it so vividly.
We had our own mission in welcoming the birth of a new day, and that was to bless the first use of drums we had made at a Lake County Tribal Health drum-making class. I’ve heard better rhythms, but the heart of the experience drove itself deep into the very fiber of who we were, shaping and forming us even more into our true selves.
This is only one story of how Tribal Health impacted my family and me. And it is just a small sample of the impact Tribal Health has had in our community, offering not just medical services but also a comprehensive approach to reconnecting us with ourselves, our community, and our county. And it is reflected in their opening of a new Wellness Center.
Ernesto Padilla stated it best: “This Wellness Center helps people graduate out of opioid use and incorporates alternative practices in treating patients holistically. That is why we have rooms devoted to acupuncture, chiropractic, physical therapy, diet, and counseling. This is a medicine house.”
To learn more about Lake County Tribal Health or to find a clinic near you, visit here.
