The talking circle at the Gathering of Native Americans (GONA) at Salt River Schools’ Accelerated Learning Academy on Feb. 14 might as well have been in the shape of a heart. It was Valentine’s Day, after all. But it was also Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month.

This one-day GONA at the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community had one very specific focus: healthy relationships.

The event was a partnership between the SRPMIC Family Advocacy Center and the Phoenix nonprofit Native Health.

“We’re trying to emphasize how healthy relationships impact recovery and wellness in the Community,” said SRPMIC Behavioral Health Clinical Administrator Jessica Hunter, who helped facilitate the event.

Since it was developed in 1992, the GONA has been recognized as an effective culture-based intervention. A GONA is a gathering space for tribal members to address community-identified issues. It uses an interactive approach that empowers and supports American Indian and Alaska Native cultural values, traditions and spiritual practices.

One of the main themes of a GONA is promoting the sense of belonging. Belonging ensures that everyone feels welcomed in an inclusive, open, safe and trusting environment.

Throughout the day, participants of different ages and stages in their personal journeys acted out culture-based scenarios and shared their experiences in a safe environment in their chairs and inside the circle.

Edison Andrews, an SRPMIC member from Lehi, said that he participated in the GONA not only for himself, but for future generations. He looks forward to more children being involved in the Community’s culture and traditions, something that he said wasn’t always available to him when he was a child.

“I have four beautiful girls, and I’m hoping that future generations learn and live by our culture and the things that we believe in and push for togetherness, mindfulness and just learn how to be a community again,” said Andrews.

“We need to learn healthy relationships and togetherness.”

Andrews’ spiritual journey was positively impacted by simply being around other people in the GONA talking circle, he said.

“I struggle with a lot of things, as we all do on the reservation,” said Andrews. “We’re trying to figure out our generational traumas and learn about ourselves a little more.”

Henry McCabe said that he attended GONA to be a beacon of light and “spread flavor on peoples’ lives.” What he gained and understood from his experience is that trust and belonging are two key components to sobriety.

“In sobriety, when you can trust and you can have that confidentiality with somebody, it’s easier to be vulnerable,” said McCabe.

“When you’re vulnerable, you can let out the things that are hard to see. You can identify things inside of yourself because you know that somebody else is going through it.”

Amber Means is five years into recovery and feels like she is in a place where she needs to know what healthy relationships are like.

“Right now, it’s about healthy relationships all around—not just romantically, but with my family, with my daughter, [and] other people,” said Means.

At the GONA, Means learned the value of “self” and how different cultures and ceremonies have an important role in understanding that.

“Even though in relationships you think about other people, I think today is about yourself.”

A previous GONA at the Chemehuevi Indian Tribe of the Chemehuevi Reservation was a spiritual experience for Grant Lomayaktewa. He learned to honor himself and where he came from at his second GONA at SRPMIC.

“I am very much in a big crowd of people coming out of my comfort zone to interact with people and learn about everybody’s spiritual beliefs,” said Lomayaktewa.

“I’m hoping to be open to learn something and to be teachable to myself so that I can be teachable to others as well.”

The technical approach of a GONA is built upon the Indigenous theoretical framework of vision: acknowledging the effects of historical trauma, honoring cultural values and developing a vision of success.

Another part of this framework is building quality and authentic relationships for effective work through circles of relationships.

Community-based trainers and expert consultants facilitate the GONA by following its guiding principles.