President Clinton addresses American Indian conference at Maharishi University of Management

President Bill Clinton delivered the opening address, via a special videotaped message, to leaders of Indian Country at the American Indian Sustainability Conference, held 25-27 September at Maharishi University of Management in Iowa, USA.

A key feature of the event was a five-point plan for sustainability, developed by the Hocak Elders Council of the Winnebago Reservation. The plan will use Transcendental Meditation to improve academic performance, reduce violence, and also reverse diabetes, which strikes 80% of these Native Peoples.

After noting beneficial effects of Transcendental Meditation in their children, who were practising it at school, the Elders started the practice themselves and noticed an immediate and surprising effect: a dramatic reduction in the symptoms of diabetes. Consequently, the tribe has now launched a major research study, in collaboration with the US Government’s Indian Health Services to evaluate the effects of Transcendental Meditation on this disease, so prevalent among Native Americans.