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After nearly taking his own life, Thomas teaches others importance of vision, purpose
By Crystl Murray   SALT LAKE CITY — When Arnold Thomas was 18 years-old, he put a rifle to his head and pulled the trigger. For most this would be an ending; for Thomas it was a beginning. Permanently blinded and unable to speak for two years, Thomas, who is a member of the Shoshone- Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley Reservation on the Idaho-Nevada border, tapped into his resiliency and learned how to live a new life. "I had to train myself how to speak," said Thomas. He also enrolled in a Salt Lake City, Utah school for the blind to re-learn everyday tasks. A decade later, he has a master’s degree in social work and is a highly sought-after motivational speaker. At the age of 31, Thomas travels throughout the United States and Canada, speaking about his past, teaching skills to overcome problems. He has worked for various school districts, human service agencies, colleges and tribal governments. He is away from home ten months of the year. Thomas teaches the importance of keeping oneself in balance, mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually. These are the components of what is called the medicine wheel or sacred hoop in Native culture. He maintains his own balance by practicing traditional Native ways; he is a sun dancer, participates in sweat lodges and lives in concordance with Native American spirituality. Since 1995, Thomas has served as a spiritual advisor for the State of Utah’s correctional facilities, conducting talking circles and advocating for the accessibility of the sweat lodge ceremony for prisoners. He believes this is a step towards rehabilitation for those involved in the correctional system. The sweat lodge is a sacred ceremony and is only conducted by a recognized and traditionally trained spiritual advisor. Music is also an important outlet for Thomas’ spirituality. He has recorded a CD in the Shoshone-Paiute language, accompanied by drums, rattles, flutes and guitars. The CD is called Dosa Weehee: Sounds of the Great Basin. More information is available on the Internet at www.whitebuffaloknife.com. Thomas graduated from the University of Utah in 1999 with a master’s degree in social work, with an emphasis in clinical practice. While in graduate school, he began speaking to different groups about his suicide attempt. After graduation, he found it nearly impossible to find a position as a social worker in Salt Lake City. His solution was to start his own consulting firm, White Buffalo Knife Consulting. The name has special meaning to Thomas, who originates from both the White Knife clan and the Buffalo people clan. Thomas shares his experience as a suicide survivor to audiences, a subject that has affected his family. His father and his paternal grandfather both committed suicide. In the 1980s Duck Valley had one of the highest rates of suicide in Indian country. Arnold Thomas is pictured in his traditional regalia. (from the whitebuffaloknife.com) Thomas said that suicide is serious issue in Native American communities. "The problem is that people have the mentality that suicide is a viable option," said Thomas. "Suicide is only one option." Of his own experience with suicide, Thomas said, "Sometimes we just lose our purpose in life." Thomas says that the idea of suicide crosses cultural boundaries, but that he has recently seen an improvement in how tribal members deal with hard times. "A beautiful thing that I see," said Thomas, "is people starting to seek counseling and therapy." Thomas encourages members of his audiences to "find a vision." He said that purpose and vision will people through tribulations. In addition to the serious topic of suicide, Thomas tries to use humor in his presentations. Whatever emotion he can use to connect with people and help them realize their worth and resiliency, he will. Thomas said getting people to express their thoughts and feelings, whether through counseling or writing in journals, is one of his goals. Thomas said that resiliency cannot be taught. "It is innate," he said. "The unique thing about Native people is our resiliency" Thomas believes resiliency will get anyone through anything. "Everything tends to work out with patience," Thomas said. "Life is too powerful and precious." top about the project links to other native sites Freedom Forum University of Idaho contact