Talking Circle in Prison

Thu Nov 10 04:32:34 PST 2005

Hello everyone,  I am new to the network and am enjoying the
discussions.   I was fascinated by Lisa's story and by Chris's
description of the circle Lisa held at OSonOS.  Would Lisa say a little
more about it please. Many thanks. 
Cliodhna

"But I also wanted to remind you of the circle you held for us at OSonOS
this year where participants were you kicked off the conversation by
turning to the person on your left and asked a question.  THe're job was
to answer the question and then turn to THEIR left and ask the next
person a question, and so on.  "

________________________________

From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of Chris
Corrigan
Sent: 09 November 2005 22:40
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject: Re: Talking Circle in Prison

Lisa:

Of course there is a long tradition of circle gatherings in prisons with
Native Brotherhoods, for all the reasons you cite...they are powerful,
healing, non-outwardly chaotic processes.  

Certainly, PeerSpirit Ciricling as a formal process would be well suited
for prison work.

But I also wanted to remind you of the circle you held for us at OSonOS
this year where participants were you kicked off the conversation by
turning to the person on your left and asked a question.  THe're job was
to answer the question and then turn to THEIR left and ask the next
person a question, and so on.  

It was one of the most powerful, and elegantly simple, processes for
balancing advocacy and inquiry, and it just got deeper and deeper as we
went along.

Thanks for your reflections here.  They are really useful.

Chris

On 11/9/05, Lisa Heft <lisaheft at openingspace.net> wrote: 

	Hi, all -

	I just wanted to share that last week I was working inside two
women's prisons in Central California.

	One of the things I was doing was training inmates who are peer
health educators - on a new curriculum I developed that teaches other
inmates who are about to be released about HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, sexually
transmitted diseases, how substance use affects disease transmission and
progression, self-esteem, and communication in relationships.

	The other thing I did was the reason I was thinking of you all -
I also attend the annual prison health fair at several prisons, where I
set up a circle of chairs so people can just talk and converse and ask
questions about absolutely anything that is important to them.  Because
that is health, too.

	So this last time I had the pleasure of hosting an all-day
talking circle.  Or maybe I should call it a listening circle?

	It's the closest thing to Open Space I can get - in prison you
cannot do anything that an onlooker (say a guard looking down from a
tower or across a prison yard) might interpret as chaos.  Therefore, so
far I cannot set up a delightful-chaos-of-Open Space situation. But I
can do one circle, that lasts for a day, that goes wherever anyone wants
it to go.

	As this was during the health fair (imagine a big gymnasium -
along the walls are tables with community agency representatives
offering brochures and information - Planned Parenthood, transitional
houses, family support agencies); and in the center, a circle of chairs.
With a sign that says "Join the conversation".  In other prisons I have
done this outside on the exercise yard.  

	Yes, it's a health fair.  And yes, I am there to answer any
questions anyone has about health issues.  I am also a health educator
so I can share general health education about a cross-section of
concerns.

	But it's mostly about listening.  And inviting others to share
their thoughts.  And about affirmation, and about belief, and about
support for people to take good care of themselves and each other.  To
treasure themselves.  It's really a participant-led conversation, with
me doing some deep listening and holding space for participants in the
circle to share, support each other, listen, and just be in a safe
space.  

	Here are some of the topics that came up. The participants
shifted and changed throughout the day.  There had been some sort of
fight the day before, so the institution was on a modified 'lock down'
(lock down is when you must stay in your cell with the door locked and
cannot leave for days - usually inmates can leave to go to their meals
and prison jobs, as long as they have 'ducats' - papers that give them
permission to move about the prison for a specific reason or
appointment).  So on this day, only one 'yard' at a time (one section of
the prison) was allowed to come to the health fair, so the overall
population did not mix.  So we sort of had 3 sessions (though the law of
2 feet and butterflies and bumblebees were definitely in effect
throughout the duration).

	Topics included:

	*       Methamphetamines (serious drugs - this topic came up
several times during the Talking Circle, as some are in prison because
of it and some have seen their loved ones affected by it)

	*       Fibroids (non-cancerous tumors in the uterus)

	*       Cysts in breasts (they feel like lumps)

	*       Inner peace (how to achieve peace amidst the chaos and
constriction of being in prison - these are women who are housed 8 or 9
in a cell that was originally designed for 2 people)

	*       Access to proper diagnosis and appropriate treatment
(inside prison, doctors are often unable to access and prescribe certain
medications, and may not have access to diverse tests and laboratory
analysis; there may also be some communication issues with some inmates
feeling listened to or not by some clinicians)

	*       Drug use and self-esteem (how when you use drugs it
erases your outline, in a way - the boundary between your self and the
world / others, so that you may not care for or protect yourself during
those times; but you may use drugs because you need to erase bad
feelings or because you do not love yourself)

	*       Relationships (speaking up for your needs, getting away
from abuse, finding another someone who treats you as a treasure)

	*       The oppression (my word) of the system (the experience
of being in prison)

	*       Menopause and hysterectomies

	*       Meditation (how to start, how to practice, in a place
where there is no quiet time or private space)

	Most of these women come from communities, families and lives
where nobody ever told them anything about health, and they may not
access healthcare due to lack of resources or mobility.  They mostly
come from lower income communities. Then they come into prison and
sometimes they stay for decades, so health issues around aging and
depression are added to their worries.  There are also myths about
health being shared as truths, because in most institutions there is no
education regarding health.  

	I thought you might like a little look into this rich setting
for dialogue, conversation and holding space,

	Lisa 

	___________________________

	L i s a   H e f t

	Consultant, Facilitator, Educator

	O p e n i n g  S p a c e

	2325 Oregon

	Berkeley, California

	94705-1106   USA

	+01 510 548-8449

	lisaheft at openingspace.net <mailto:lisaheft at openingspace.net> 

	www.openingspace.net <http://www.openingspace.net>  

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CHRIS CORRIGAN
Consultation - Facilitation
Open Space Technology

Weblog: http://www.chriscorrigan.com/parkinglot 
Site: http://www.chriscorrigan.com 

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