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TAHLEQUAH, OK - Walkers from the "Journey of the Sacred Hoop - 2000" will arrive in Tahlequah May 13 after beginning a cross-country walk April 2 in Los Angeles.

White Bison Inc. of Colorado Springs, Colo., organized the walk to focus attention on the "Wellbriety Movement" in Native American communities. "Wellbriety" is addictions recovery, sobriety and balanced wellness. At each major stop a conference will be held and communities will be presented tools for "Wellbriety."

Cherokee leaders will welcome the walkers to Tahlequah with a community feast on May 14 beginning at noon at the Talking Leaves Job Corps. At 2:30 p.m. a powwow will begin which last until 8:30 p.m. Don Coyhis, founder and president of White Bison Inc., will speak to the community during the welcome. White Bison is a Native American non-profit organization committed to providing programs and educational resources for native people's wellness The following day a drug and alcohol conference will begin at 9 a.m. hosted by the Cherokee Nation Behavioral Health Program. The conference will focus on the four directions of Recovery, Treatment, Prevention and Intervention for alcohol, drugs and family violence, organizers said.

"The addictions and family violence epidemic we live with is not confined to Walkers Native America," said Richard Simonelli of White Bison Inc., organizer of the walk. "All four directions or ethnicities-the Red, the Yellow, the Black and the White-are cordially invited to make the walk with us and to share in the conferences and other wellness events along the way."

Tahlequah is the only two-day stop the walkers will make out of nine major stops on their way to Washington, D.C., said Rhonda Cochran, of the Cherokee Nation Behavioral Health Program. She said area walkers are needed to walk from Muskogee to Tahlequah, from Tahlequah to Stilwell, from Stilwell to Sallisaw and from Sallisaw to Ft. Smith, Ark. The walkers will depart Tahlequah on May 16 on their way to Washington, D.C., where the walk is scheduled to end on July 10.

"I'm real excited," Cochran said. "Wellbriety, represents unity and hope among all of the four races. All people are invited to come. It is supposed to be real healing and uplifting experience for communities."