"Here to Bring You Home" (video)
- Albert Laughter is a US Army Vietnam veteran, and although he was drafted, he didn't question serving his "country." He admitted that he suffered "mental sickness" from being away too long from the "Mother place."
- Upon returning, his father Hubert Laughter, a Navajo Code Talker and a fourth generation Traditional Navajo medicine man (hataalii) conducted a "footprint ceremony" for his him. It involved folding and stacking his military uniforms and walking away from his "military" life, not looking back, leaving only footprints.
- As the result of his experience, Albert trained under his father to continue the family tradition of assisting Navajo veterans in reconnecting with the elemental forces of Dinetah.
- Starting in 2003 Albert Laughter was employed by the Federal Government to as part of its Complimetary Alternative Medicine (CAM) program providing Traditional Navajo medicine to returning Navajo veterans on the grounds of the Bob Stumps VA Medical Center in Prescott Arizona.
Citations:
VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scAgN__svvY
Roberts, Michelle. "Traditional Healer Helps Veterans." Honolulu Advertiser. http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2005/Dec/12/ln/FP512120352.html; Accessed November 10. 2019.
Scharnburg, Kirsten. (2007-6-4) "Medicine Men for the 21st Century," Chicago Tribune. https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2007-06-04-0706030707-story.html, Accessed November 10, 2019.