Born and raised in a little house on the Tohono O’odham
reservation, Joseph Enos has been on a spiritual path that
few can ever make. He studied to be a Catholic priest.
He has served in the United States Army. He has been an
alcoholic and abused drugs. He has been to dinner with
the Dalai Lama and he has travelled to St. Peter’s Basilica,
Vatican City to take part in religious ceremonies.
Enos is not a priest. He is not a “Medicine Man”—at least
not in the traditional sense of Tohono O’odham culture. It
would be best to describe him as a spiritual counselor and
a leader among his people as he performs blessings that
combine Tohono O’odham and Catholic prayers.
As a profession, he has been a drug and alcohol counselor
for Gila River. He is now retired.
“When I was a sophomore, going to school at St. John’s
in Gila River,” Started Enos, “I, among with a few others in
the Nation, that showed promise, were sent to seminary
school.”
Enos left home to study at St. Anthony’s Seminary School
in Santa Barbara and then went on to college at San Luis
Rey. However, as Enos says, “I began to think I wasn’t cut out to be a priest…”
Enos left school and returned home.
“There was a big disappointment on the reservation because people had hopes for me to become a priest,”
Enos said. “There were no Native priests in Arizona.”
Enos says that was the start of his “getting lost in the world” stage. He was then drafted for the Vietnam War
with two years of his service, being stationed in Germany. In Germany, Enos began smoking hash.
“I really got lost in drugs and alcohol,” Enos said. When Enos returned home, he was not alone in his alcoholic
tendencies. He saw many friends and family struggling with addiction.
“One day, I just felt I didn’t want to be here anymore,” Enos said.
Enos’ father was an alcoholic. Even as a child, Enos knew alcoholism caused conflict and disharmony. He
even made a vow to never become one.
“I knew better but I was raised in my father’s home,” Enos said. “It was like I was programmed to become an
alcoholic because of the role model and there was just no way I could escape it.”
Enos at his bottom point, reached out for help. His mother, along with other spiritual leaders in the
community pulled him from his abyss.
“My mother was a very spiritual person, and those that loved me, prayed for me, and it was the intervention
of God into my life that helped me,” Enos said. “I cried out to him to help me because I was losing control of
myself…and he did, but it was through the prayers of people that loved me and cared for me. It was not on
my own.”