Note: This story contains depictions of domestic violence, sexual abuse, and drug and alcohol abuse.
There is power in resiliency.
That’s the message behind an event hosted by the Forest County Potawatomi Community tonight.
Four speakers will be sharing their stories of resiliency.
“We recover loudly so people don't have to suffer in silence,” said Jorge Cisneros Sr. His life story isn’t an easy one.
He’s a survivor of childhood sexual assault, alcoholism, and drug addiction. His brother died in his arms after CPR failed to resuscitate him. His children were put in group homes after he was in and out of jail with seven OWIs.
“The outcome was me going into back of that squad car and going to prison and losing everything I had. That's what it had to take,” said Cisneros.
Cisneros is a descendant of the Potawatomi, but for a long time growing up, he felt disconnected from his own culture.
“It was hard for me to fit in being Native, being a half breed and going to the white schools and being brown. You know, it was a struggle growing up not knowing my identity and it took me to be 40 years old to find out who I am today and to accept who I am, and to heal that scared little boy, that is always there,” said Cisneros.
Cisneros says sitting in the back of the squad car was the first time in a long time he had prayed.
He found sweat lodges in prison which led him to work on himself and focus on his culture and spirituality.
“When I did come home in 2018, I lit a sacred fire on our reservation. The community and the elders came together and wanted something to fight this epidemic we had with the opioids,” said Cisneros. “Like I said, when I was in prison, I'd call home and people would be passing away left and right. With them asking me to do that it kind of lit a fire under me and helped me share my story down here. We had that fire going for 54 days.”
Cisneros is now the Forest County Potawatomi Community Prevention Advocate.
He works to prevent drug and alcohol abuse. One of the ways he does that is by sharing his story.
“When I was growing up, everything was hush, hush, you know. The drinking, the fighting, the sexual assaults. On a reservation, anywhere, in my household, it was ‘what's happened here stays here.’ I was on the verge of passing that to my children,” he said. “I’ve seen firsthand sharing my story on my own reservation, my own community, how it changed.”
Cisneros will be sharing his story at the Power of Resiliency event tonight, February 21, at the Forest County Potawatomi Community Center.
He’ll be one of four speakers.
Eric Dixon, the youth sports performance coach, is the keynote speaker.
“I don't want to talk about it. I don't like talking about it. I hate talking about it. But I've been told by some people that it would help others. And if it will help others, then that's my sacrifice, I guess you could say, is talking about it,” said Dixon.
Dixon is a survivor of child abuse, neglect, suicide attempts, and severe trauma.
“The child abuse and domestic violence with my father. Witnessing my father shoot and kill my mom. Knowing that their fight was over me because they both hated me so much. They told me how much they hated me, but they never told me why they hated me,” said Dixon. “I went through years, up until I was about 23 years old, when I finally found out why they hated me so much. Years later, I found out I'm not his son. He married her thinking that I was his kid, and I wasn't. That's why the abuse started when I was two years old because I look just like the other guy.”
Dixon was good at sports and made the high school cross country team, but he wouldn’t compete because the uniform would show his bruises.
Since he was always at practices to be with his brother and God brother, Dixon’s coach asked him to help coach the girls cross country team.
“His wife was having a trouble pregnancy, and he needed somebody to help work with the girls,” said Dixon. “So I started working with the girls. They did very well that year. The school gave me a Letterman's jacket. That started my coaching career.”
Dixon has gone on to coach nationally ranked youth athletes, World and American masters record holders.
The work is about more than just training athletes.
“[My past] also helps you to recognize the signs when other kids were dealing with certain things. And to me, it helps me to deal with what I had to go through in the past,” said Dixon.
Dixon and Cisneros found very different paths of resiliency.
Yet when asked what they hope people will take away from their talks, their answers were the same, hope.
“Understanding that they have control from that point on. That they can make the change and what happens in the past, even though that might be your basic coding, you can rewrite the code and you can live your life the way you want to live and not allow the past to dictate your future,” said Dixon.
“If I can do it, you can do it. If I can do it, anybody can do it,” said Cisneros. “[I’m] sharing what I had to bring that hope.”
The Power of Resiliency Event is tonight, February 21, at 5:00 p.m. at the Forest County Potawatomi Community Center.
Doors open at 4:30 p.m.
The event is open to the public, ages 13 and older are encouraged to attend.
