ONEIDA, Wis. (NBC 26) -- Hundreds of Northeast Wisconsinites gathered at the Oneida Pow Wow grounds one week after a shooting left two men dead at a casino complex in Ashwaubenon.
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"[The ceremony] kind of gave me a good perspective of what my place is on the planet and the universe," attendee Andy Jicha said.
For locals like Jicha, life feels short. And the past week has been a constant reminder.
"A month from now, [hopefully] we still remember how precious life is and how fleeting a moment can be that takes it, and that we have to guard against that," Jicha said. "All of us do."
Saturday morning's event aimed to cleanse and heal spirits in an effort to move forward following a tragic incident at the Duck Creek restaurant within the Oneida Casino Complex. A gunman shot three employees of the eatery. One man is currently in the recovery process.
"It's important for the community to start the healing process, and we have a lot of Oneida friends that are hurting," Jicha, a Green Bay area resident, said.
And Jicha started that process by joining in Saturday's tobacco burning ceremony, where community attendees offered the plant as prayers.
"I was reminded about how temporary my life is in the continuum of things," Jicha said. "And I'm just a caretaker for a short period of time."
Oneida chairperson Tehassi Hill says the last week of healing is just the start.
"I think it's going to be a long process," Hill said. "Everybody handles trauma a little bit different. We're just trying to make sure that we have the resources available for the long haul as well."
While state politicians and local officials also sat in on Oneida grounds, Hill says events like this are sacred in a time of pain.
"The words that were shared aren't typically spoken, except for in times of grief like this," Hill said about the event.
Oneida leaders finished the ceremony with smudging, a smoke-bathing process that aims to cleanse negativity.
The final portion of Saturday’s healing ceremony included a smudging process, which aims to cleanse after last week’s tragedy. @NBC26 pic.twitter.com/VxW1tJUIok
— Ben Bokun (@ben_bokun) May 8, 2021
While Jicha says he's cherished life over the past week of tragedy, he hopes the community feels the same after a day of healing.
"The good words, the prayers that went up... it's going to help, hopefully sooner rather than later," Jicha said.
The Oneida Casino reopened Thursday. Investigators are still looking into the shooting.
Oneida officials say they are experimenting with the idea of additional security on casino premises.
