PRESS & MEDIA |
PRESS & MEDIA |
This story is the third of the four-part Our Mission in Action series! Read on to see how Reconciliation, one of the four pillars of our mission, lifts Native and non-Native people of all ages to a place of connection and healing in the Circle. Whether we're on a volunteer service trip in one of the Native communities we serve, closing out a youth workday at our Lafayette Hub, or gathering at camp following a 4 Directions Ride, a day with the Tipi Raisers is almost always punctuated with a call to "Circle Up!" What happens when we "circle up," you may ask? Inspired by the Indigenous tradition of the Talking Circle, each volunteer, youth, and community member gathers into an unbroken circle - no one in front of or behind another - and shares their truth, one person at a time. As the sharing goes around, this can often look like a recap of the workday. Many times, it takes the form of a raw and real reflection on race relations, on trauma, on the prejudice that divides so many communities and the humanity that unites us all. Here are some of the transformative moments of reconciliation we've witnessed in the Circle over the years:
Our Executive Director often reminds us: "There is so much going on under the surface of the circle." When a young person, an elder, a non-Native volunteer, or a Native community member step into courage and share what is true for them under the surface of it all - something magical happens. Barriers fall down; assumptions and stereotypes are admitted, explored, and dismantled. Sometimes tensions rise. Often, tears are shed. It's messy, it's hard, it's beautiful - and it is necessary if we are to move forward together towards reconciliation. In friendship, The Tipi Raisers Team Gen7 Youth, Alleviating Poverty, Reconciliation, and Indigenous Wisdom are the guiding pillars which integrate across all our activities. Stay tuned next week as we explore the final pillar of our mission!
0 Comments
You may have seen pictures of Bison on our Facebook, Instagram, or email newsletters over the past few months and wondered: “Bison?? Have the Tipi Raisers gotten into ranching?!” While we’d love to spend our days herding bison on the range, what we actually do with them is even more fulfilling and deeply tied to our mission! For several years, we have partnered with Hester’s Buffalo Meat Company in Kremmling, CO to provide high-quality, culturally-relevant sustenance to the Lakota families we serve. A package of Hester’s Buffalo Meat accompanies every monthly delivery of food to each of the Pine Ridge families with whom we work. But our work with the Buffalo Nation goes beyond efforts to address food insecurity on Pine Ridge - earlier this year, a partnership emerged between The Tipi Raisers Gen7 Youth Program and the Colorado State University Agricultural Extension. Thanks to the folks at CSU, several Native and non-Native youth - as well as adult community members from the Oglala Lakota & Diné nations - have been able to work face-to-face with the bison that comprise the Laramie Foothills Conservation Herd in various capacities, and to earn a wage as they do so. Throughout the spring, Pine Ridge youth were able to learn from the veterinarian team at CSU about safely catching, vaccinating, blood testing and tagging bison. See footage from one of these “Buffalo Days” here! Perhaps the most powerful development in this burgeoning partnership was the transport of five buffalo donated by the Laramie Foothills Conservation Herd to the Knife Chief Buffalo Nation, a Lakota-led herd on Pine Ridge that supports food sovereignty and cultural preservation efforts on the Oglala Lakota Nation. On one beautiful morning in April, five sacred animals were loaded into our trailers with the help of youth and friends from Pine Ridge, the Navajo Nation, and Colorado. A prayerful and steady five-hour journey north culminated with the return of these powerful beings to their ancestral lands on the grasslands of what is now Porcupine, SD. The image of these sacred four-legged relatives breathing life into the soil upon which their predecessors once roamed is something that will stay etched on our collective memory forever. As is the case with all that we do, youth are the life force behind the healing, learning, and connection which drive our bison initiatives. Trayton, one of the young people from Pine Ridge who joined us at CSU for a “Buffalo Day,” said the opportunity to work with animals so sacred to his Lakota culture was “a gift,” stating: “I can really feel the buffalo’s energy - it’s good energy. It was a great experience.” We look forward to more "Buffalo Days" ahead and more opportunities to work with and learn from the Gen7 youth who bring our mission to life, in all that we do! Wopila, Mackenzie This story is the second of the four-part Our Mission in Action series! Gen7 Youth is one of four pillars of our mission - wage-earning, skill-building opportunities for youth such as those offered through our bison initiatives help us empower and uplift young people towards a brighter future. Youth are also incorporated into all that we do, whether as volunteers on service trips, leaders on horseback rides and demonstrations, presenters at cultural events throughout the year, participants in important reconciliation dialogues, or community partners on the reservations we serve. Gen7 Youth, Alleviating Poverty, Reconciliation, and Indigenous Wisdom are the guiding pillars which integrate across all our activities. Follow along over the next two weeks as we continue diving deep into the two remaining pillars of our mission!
I spent a week recently volunteering in the ancient pueblo villages of Tewa and Walpi on First Mesa located on the Hopi reservation in Arizona. It is sometimes challenging to stay focused on the job at hand working on the roofs of 900-year-old adobe and rock homes clustered from one end of the mesa to another. The views from the rooftops, constructed at the top of a 300-foot mesa, reach all the way to Flagstaff mountain 100 miles to the west and circle in all directions from there. If one pays attention, the view back into history -- and into the way a community used to thrive -- is as clear and inspiring as what one can see with the eyes. While working alongside community members recently, I would occasionally hear a tribal member in one of the plazas, call out to no one in particular: “Askwali!!” Within seconds, someone from a different part of the plaza or mesa, would echo back: “Askwali!” And the call would reverberate from each direction, sometimes for ten seconds -- sometimes for as long as a minute. Interspersed within the female’s calls of “Askwali!”, I would occasionally hear a male pick up the call: “Kwakwhay!” “Kwakwhay!” It was hard not to stop what we were doing and enjoy those words echoing around the mesa. It was a beautiful . . . and gentle . . . . back and forth with no apparent reason understood by a visitor in this enchanted and ancient village. No one in particular would start the chain, or end it. Just every now and then: “Askwali!” “Askwali!” “Kwakwhay!” “Kwakwhay!” When the echo stopped and we returned to our work, I wondered what the words meant, and occasionally would try to understand the context behind them. When the call would start, it was comforting in some sort of way – and once quieted, I would await the next call, if only to be reassured that the people were still there. It became almost a song. . . . a window into the past . . . and then a prayer . . . . and then a beautiful lesson on the power of living in a community rooted in Indigenous wisdom. During one of our breaks, when we sought shade in the scorching desert heat, I inquired of one of the local residents as to the meaning behind the two words. Both words, my friend explained, meant the same thing – though one was spoken by the females (“askwali”) and the other by the males (“kwakwhay”). Like so many first languages, the words themselves were more expressions of content, and are gutted if one attempts to translate them directly. “Askwali”/”kwakwhay” might be quickly (and improperly) translated simply as “thank you”, though that translation barely describes what happens on the mesas when those calls go out. The elder explained to me that the words are expressions of gratitude but not simply just a thank you. The words -- when the call is echoed and carried forward -- reverberates as encouragement and then gathers power in their song and then as a prayer. I remember now sitting on the hot roof that day and hearing the words – being soothed, encouraged and inspired to continue the work. Having left the mesa now, I oftentimes want to call out “kwakwhay” as I move about my day in gratitude for those of you who support the work we do. But also, for those in my community (the first responders, the teachers, those working on the roads and infrastructure, our medical providers, our friends and family whom we walk with, and all of the others). I imagine if the world echoed in that same way, how different it could all be. Kwakwhay, Dave This story is the first of the four-part Our Mission in Action series! Honoring Indigenous Wisdom is one of four pillars of our mission - and the spirit of gratitude that permeates the Hopi & Tewa communities of First Mesa embodies the ancient teachings we seek to acknowledge and amplify in all that we do. Your support for our mission will help us continue uplifting Indigenous wisdom and serving Native communities in a variety of ways! Indigenous Wisdom, Alleviating Poverty, Reconciliation, and Gen7 Youth are the guiding pillars which integrate across all our activities. Stay tuned in the coming weeks as we dive deep into the three remaining pillars of our mission!
Simultaneous volunteer service projects often require supply runs, tools swapped and delivered from crew to crew, and other challenges resulting from the long distances between worksites on the reservations we serve. But on our final day of service during the recent August Volunteer Trip, traditional Hopi architecture helped us avoid that common obstacle! The villages of the Hopi - who are a Puebloan People - are made up of adobe homes which share walls and surround a shared plaza, in which ceremonies and social gatherings still take place. This type of architecture reflects the Hopi & Pueblo emphasis on community and sharing - Indigenous wisdom that still guides the Hopi today. Thanks to these ancient architectural practices, our entire volunteer group was able to work side-by-side on three different projects at Sitsomovi Village atop First Mesa: 1. Finishing touches to a new wood shed for a Hopi family 2. Installation of a wheelchair ramp for a Hopi elder 3. Waterproofing of the roof of a 17th century Hopi home prone to severe leaks Just one of the many ways Indigenous wisdom helps bring this work to life! In the video above: See volunteers work side-by-side to complete three projects on the final day of our August Service Trip to the Hopi & Navajo Nations!
A wheelchair ramp for a Hopi elder.
A new, accessible shower for a 96-year-old Diné great-grandmother. A shed to shelter sheep on whom a community relies for cultural and physical nourishment on the Navajo Nation. A wood shed for a family who depend on firewood to stay warm in winter. A flatbed of trash picked up from a village on a journey of healing from its trauma, past and present. Repairs to a Hopi corn shed housing a year's supply of heirloom corn. Firewood split and distributed to elders and families preparing for cold temperatures. Gutters installed at a historic home on First Mesa. Two layers of plastic sheeting on the leaky roof of a 17th century home in need of extensive repair - a temporary solution to complex problems faced by the community in which the home sits. None of these acts of service solve the deep-seated challenges of poverty and cultural loss, of historical and present-day trauma. But in 11 years of this work, we find that it is the little things which move reconciliation forward, which bring communities separated by conflict, colonization, discrimination, and isolation together in a spirit of friendship, which remind each of us of the importance of showing up, as we are, at service to a shared purpose and a more connected future. It is a drop in the bucket - but if enough good people make the effort to contribute a drop, whenever and wherever they can, a tide of healing is bound to flow someday. On the Navajo Nation, sheep are not just a source of food and wool - they are the lifeblood of a resilient and rich culture, a reminder of those who came before and the embodiment of an ancestral wisdom that continues to sustain Diné communities today. In a quiet, rocky enclave at the center of the Navajo Nation, three Diné women are carrying on the legacy of their ancestors as the stewards of a flock of two dozen sheep. For their family and the surrounding community, the sheep provide meat, wool to be woven into traditional textiles, cured hides for sleeping mats, and a connection to the generations of sheep-herders that preceded them. No part of the animal goes to waste - particularly in a food desert like the one in which the flock is located, where some families face food insecurity on an ongoing basis. For a decade and a half, the sheep have faced harsh, high desert winds and bobcat attacks that have revealed the need for a sturdier and more permanent shed to house them. In partnership with the family who cares for the flock, volunteers on our May and August service trips have helped construct the roof, walls, and fencing of a new shed to house the sheep. This week, construction was completed on the shed, and the sheep are now protected from wind and predator species! In their new home, these stunning animals will be able to provide physical and cultural nourishment to their community for years to come. This project was truly multigenerational and cross-cultural: youth and elders from Pine Ridge, Cheyenne River, the Navajo Nation, Colorado, and Washington D.C. have worked side-by-side to bring this project to life, sharing laughter and building lasting friendships along the way. Collaborations like this help move all four themes of our mission forward.
Pictured above: Tomatoes, melons, squash, corn and more are peeking through the soil at homes across Pine Ridge! In early June, a crew of volunteers and Lakota community members worked together to install and plant garden boxes at over a dozen homes across the Pine Ridge reservation. A month and half later, these small but mighty seedlings are continuing to grow strong! Gardeners on Pine Ridge are up against a unique set of challenges; horses and dogs are prone to disturbing the seedlings, water access is limited or altogether unavailable in some homes, and families have had to mitigate the effects of hail and an unusually wet summer on their plants. The Pine Ridge families and youth with whom we work are engaging with these challenges in a spirit of curiosity and learning. The hard work of these gardeners, many of them first-timers, is beautiful to witness! Gratitude to volunteers Jane and Deanna (pictured below) for making the journey to Pine Ridge earlier this month and checking in with families and their gardens. This project is being conducted in partnership with our friends at Common Name Farm - we're so grateful to them for these seedlings and for exchanging plant knowledge with Pine Ridge gardeners! Stay tuned throughout the growing season for more garden updates.
In this edition of the Reconciliation through Education blog, learn about the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on the Indian Child Welfare Act and explore related resources from Native voices. Pictured: Kimberly Jump-CrazyBear, (Osage & Oglala), demonstrates in support of ICWA at the Supreme Court, November 2022. Image credits to Jourdan Bennett-Begaye/Indian Country Today and The Signal. On June 15th, 2023, the Supreme Court upheld the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), a federal law considered the “gold standard” of child welfare policy. The act, which gives tribes exclusive jurisdiction over cases involving the custody of Indigenous children, was called into question when a non-Native family brought forth a lawsuit challenging it on several grounds. Passed by Congress in 1978 in an effort to help keep Native children with their families and communities and protect them against forced removal from their cultures, ICWA guarantees a tribal voice in determining the placement of Native children into foster or adoptive homes. In the decades prior to its passage, over one-third of Native children had been removed from their families, with most placed permanently into non-Native households. Often, the children were removed from intact families on the grounds of perceived poverty rather than any suspicion of neglect or abuse. These family separation efforts formed part of the US government’s Indian Termination & Relocation policy, a doctrine that underpinned federal relations with tribes in the mid 20th-century. But in the wake of the American Indian Movement, efforts by grassroots organizers and tribal leaders had begun to shift this policy, with the passage of the Indian Child Welfare Act and other federal laws signaling the US Government’s mounting focus on tribal sovereignty and self-determination. Pictured: A fancy shawl dancer celebrates the Supreme Court's decision to uphold ICWA, June 2023. Image credits to ABC News. In 2018, Texas parents Dr. Jennifer and Chad Brackeen set forth a challenge to the Indian Child Welfare Act. The couple, who are non-Native, wished to obtain custody of two Diné (Navajo) siblings after forming a bond with the elder sibling as their foster child - but under the terms of ICWA, placement with a Native family member or, in the absence of a willing and able family member, a non-relative Native family within the child’s tribe, is prioritized. The Brackeen’s case contended that ICWA is unconstitutional, arguing that its provisions violate the Equal Protection Clause, and that its terms undermine state jurisdiction in cases relating to family law. Other non-Native couples who had attempted to adopt Indigenous children joined the litigation, which rose to the attention of federal courts in 2022. Arguments in support of their collective case were heard by the Supreme Court last November - ultimately, the Court did not side with the Brackeens et. al, with 7 out of 9 justices ruling in favor of the constitutionality of ICWA last month. In a majority opinion authored by Justice Amy Coney Barrett, the Court asserted the right of Congress to create legislation regarding tribal affairs and child welfare, but did not address claims that ICWA violates the Equal Protection Clause. While the Indian Child Welfare Act has been upheld on a federal level, threats to its fulfillment in individual states and municipalities persist - only 14 state legislatures have written ICWA’s provisions into their own laws. Dive deeper into this topic at the resources linked below. Resource Links On ICWA and the history behind its passage: A summary of ICWA from the National Indian Child Welfare Association: https://www.nicwa.org/about-icwa/ "Dawnland," a 2018 documentary chronicling the removal of Native children from their homes on the Wabanaki Nation in Maine throughout the 20th century, and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission aiming to heal the wounds of this tragic history: https://dawnland.org/ "ICWA History and Purpose" from the Montana Department of Health & Human Services: https://dphhs.mt.gov/cfsd/icwa/icwahistory "The Brutal Past and Uncertain Future of Native Adoptions" from the New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/16/nyregion/indian-child-welfare-act-supreme-court.html: On Haaland v. Brackeen, the Supreme Court Case that nearly overturned ICWA, and the Supreme Court ruling in favor of ICWA: "Who Can Adopt a Native American Child? A Texas Couple vs. 573 Tribes" from the New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/05/health/navajo-children-custody-fight.html Full text of the Supreme Court's Majority Opinion on Haaland v. Brackeen: https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/22pdf/21-376_7l48.pdf "Win for tribes as high court upholds ICWA" from the Cherokee Phoenix: https://www.cherokeephoenix.org/news/win-for-tribes-as-high-court-upholds-icwa/article_86ac1e80-0bb0-11ee-b315-7ffd756ebbf1.html Actions to take in support of protections for Native children: Urge your local representatives to support the implementation of ICWA in your state: https://action.aclu.org/send-message/protect-native-families Additional educational resources to explore from Native voices on this topic, compiled by the Protect ICWA Campaign: https://linktr.ee/protecticwa Sources for this newsletter include: Coverage of this topic from Native News Online, ABC News, the New York Times, the National Indian Child Welfare Association, and NPR.
The Indigenous Wisdom Gathering & 4 Directions Ride, our annual signature event, concluded last week. Continue reading for a recap of the final two days of the event! ![]() So often, we walk this world unconsciously, not pausing to ground ourselves on the earth beneath our feet. But Indigenous teachings from various tribes invite us to once again tap into our innate connection with Unci Maka/Mother Earth - and last weekend, wisdom keepers Joseph Medicine Robe & Darryl Slim inspired us to recall that knowledge on the final two days of the 2023 Indigenous Wisdom Gathering. On Sunday, June 25th, a flute's gentle melody reverberated through the air of the quiet mountain town of Gypsum, CO - its player, Joseph Medicine Robe, held space as the community of First Lutheran Church of Gypsum reflected on the Lakota spiritual teachings he shared with them. Through drumming, singing, and flute-playing, Joseph keeps the ways of his ancestors alive, and helps bring age-old wisdom into the context of the modern world. “It’s the ancestors coming through this voice. The teachings come through, and the tears sometimes flow," he shared of his work to carry the torch for these traditional ways. Over the course of a powerful two-hour presentation at First Lutheran, Joseph's songs and words grounded attendees in a sense of place and appreciation for the Indigenous lands on which the event took place, and the connectedness we share when we coexist with all living beings: “I thank you for being here, not just here in this building, or here in Gypsum, but here on this earth. Here we are - together - on Mother Earth.” Hear a prayer song shared on flute by Joseph during his presentation in the video linked HERE, and check out this Vail Daily article highlighting other special moments that took place throughout his talk! Teachings around the sacredness of Mother Earth continued into Monday's events, with Tipi Raisers' Spiritual and Cultural Advisor Darryl Slim leading a nature walk in Edwards, CO in partnership with Eagle Valley Land Trust. Darryl's lives in the way of Hózhó, as taught to him by his grandparents during his childhood on the Diné (Navajo) Nation. In his words, “Hózhó means you’re in a place of beauty, joy, love and peace. When you’re living in Hózhó, that’s when healing begins.” Guided by this wisdom, Darryl led attendees of the event through a mindful walk along Eagle River. He emphasized the importance of being present and aware with each step, reminding the group to “be where you’re at at all times. Don’t be at your destination.” While hiking in the Western sense can sometimes become a matter of speed, mileage, or finding the perfect view, Darryl's Indigenous teachings invited the community to see each step as a point of grounding, healing and connection between humans and the Earth: “This beautiful, sacred Grandmother (Earth) heals you from your feet up. When you massage Grandma, she massages you back." Read more about Monday's nature walk with Darryl in this story from Vail Daily! We are so thankful to all who made this event possible!
Our annual signature event, the Indigenous Wisdom Gathering & 4 Directions Ride, came to a beautiful close on Monday - read on for a recap of the first two days of the event! Reconciliation is beautiful and necessary work - but it is complex. Sometimes, the most challenging step is the first. And yet, that is where the transformation begins. Last Friday, the 2023 Indigenous Wisdom Gathering kicked off in Eagle, CO as part of the town's annual Flight Days celebration with a 4 Directions Ride. Riders from the Lakota Nation, the Diné Nation, Mountain Trekkers Back Country Horsemen and the local Colorado community came together to traverse mountain routes and engage with one another across lines of difference - and sameness. Along the trail, barriers broke down and divisions melted away, and those first, brave steps of reconciliation were taken: A handshake with a new friend before checking saddle cinches for trail-readiness, a chat about best practices for crossing a creek on horseback, a laugh and a smile as a Pine Ridge youth wittily quipped "Shouldn't they be teaching you how to STAY on a horse?" after a Colorado rider fell gracefully, just like her trainer taught her - these are the humble first steps that move reconciliation forward. Across generations and cultures, riders found a common sense of purpose, and rode as a united front into Eagle Town Park, welcomed in by the powerful sound of drumming and traditional singing shared by the crew from United Indigenous Dancers. Check out the livestream of the welcome ceremony HERE! A similar story of connection and shared purpose followed during Saturday's Indigenous Wisdom Gathering festivities: in the small and friendly mountain town of Eagle, strangers came together to raise a 26ft council tipi in ceremony with Tipi Raisers' cultural and spiritual advisor Darryl Slim. See footage of the tipi-raising HERE! Other activities on Saturday included an appearance by the Tipi Raisers horse herd and a local youth rider in the Flight Days Parade alongside a float featuring United Indigenous Dancers (UID), a teaching session on Lakota horse-painting led by Joseph Medicine Robe, a showcase of traditional dancing by the team from UID, and storytelling in the tipi. We are immensely grateful to the local Eagle, CO community and the individuals from the Northern Cheyenne, Shoshone, Arapahoe, Anishinaabe, Oglala Lakota, Hunkpapa Lakota, Yaqui, Tlingit, Diné, and Apache tribes who connected with one another at this event and took the first, important steps towards reconciliation. Deep gratitude to all who brought this event to life!
Stay tuned next week for a recap of the second half of this four-day event. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
July 2024
Categories |