Thank you for the outpouring of support the Indigenous Voices on the Pandemic Call. We will continue the conversation in July with...
To expand the conversation on Indigenous needs during the Covid-19 pandemic further, our July guest for Indigenous Wisdom for the Earth is Thomas Pizer of Aquaverde. Thomas will be sharing details about the emergency pandemic fundraiser for food and medical support to help several tribes in the Brazilian states of Rondonia, Acre and Amazonas. Thomas is the lead contact for the TreeSisters planting project in the Amazon and we hope to get an update about the project during the call. Alision Fast will also join us and will be talking to us about the medical school that the Ashaninka tribe are hoping to build to preserve their vast knowledge of the plants and medicines of the Amazon.
Lead Out Text Goes Here
Claudia Blanco of the US Green Chamber of Commerce kindly typed up a list of key point notes for those looking for a quick summary of points. Her group is in partnership with the Kuntanawa and she was inspired to help us by pulling this together for us to share. You can read that here.
We will feature blogs and additional material for each of the speakers beginning with Jo Overton of Protect Native Elders. Please scroll down to see the added resources!
This week's Guest Spotlight:
Jo Overton a co-founder of Protect Native Elders and a proud tribal member of the Sicangu Lakota (Rosebud Sioux) people.
Protect Native Elders is a diverse team of indigenous community members, activists, healthcare professionals and other like-minded individuals spread across the United States. We are a Native founded organization and use native principles and values to do our work. This is a 100% volunteer grassroots which uses 100% of funds (minus expenses such as processing fees, shipping and fuel) to provide rapid relief supplies to Indigenous communities, families, medical staff and other front-line workers. www.
For sharable memes, the transcript of Jo's section of the call and questions answered by Jo please click here.
Memes
Video provided by Protect Native Elders
More resources
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Atossa Soltani the founder and board president of Amazon Watch. She is currently a senior strategist for the Amazon Sacred Headwaters Initiative, working to protect one of the most biodiverse ecosystems on Earth.
Amazon Emergency Fund In Solidarity with Amazon Forest Guardians ~Support Rapid Response Grants for Urgent and Immediate Prevention and Care; Food and Medical Supplies; Emergency Communications and Evacuation; Protection and Security for Forest Guardians; & Food Sovereignty and Community Resilience.
Atossa will be bringing a guest:
Patricia Gualinga, a globally renowned indigenous leader from the Kichwa people of Sarayaku in the Ecuadorian Amazon.
Jyoti (Jeneane Prevatt, Ph.D.) is an internationally renowned spiritual teacher. She has cultivated projects that demonstrate ways of life that honor the Earth and all Peoples. As one of the founders and now holding a Grandmother Seat, and in her active role for so many years as the Spiritual Director of the Center for Sacred Studies
Jyoti's guest:
Alexis Bunten, (Unangan/Yup’ik) co-directs the Bioneers Indigeneity Program. She has served as a manager, media-maker, consultant and applied researcher for Indigenous, social and environmental programming for over 15 years. She is a delegate on the Mother Earth Delegation of United Indigenous Nations.
Haru Kuntanawa (shown with wife Hayra) is one of the main leaders of the Kuntanawa Nation and is responsible for the revitalization of his culture's reemergence and for his people. The Kuntanawa People are 1 of the 13 tribes of the Pano linguistic trunk that live in the State of Acre in the Brazilian Amazon. In 1911 the Kuntanawa Tribe suffered a genocide where only 5 members of the Tribe were captured, being that only 2 survived and today they are reconstructing their history. Today the population has reached approximately 500 people mixed of Indigenous, European and African decente due to slavery.
"In our region we have no markets or economy, and the pandemic has severely restricted our Tribes access to food and supplies from the nearest city via an 8 hour boat ride. This year our river measured its lowest recorded level coupled with a 55% increase in deforestation compared to this time last year, making this coming period from July-December dangerously dry for our communities in the rivers for food, and the springs for water. With these climatic factors and the COVID-19 pandemic, our people are being affected by the dramatic increase in invasions of our territories, also due to the lack of food of the neighboring communities living around the Kuntanawa People, in turn resorting to hunting, fishing and land clearing for crops and cattle raising." Learn more here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/kuntanawa-sustainable-food-security-campaign
For more on the Kuntan please visit www.kuntanawa.org
"As women we have an obligation to remind everyone that it is imperative that we have this closeness relationship with nature, not allowing ourselves to go a moment without realizing that we are part of the sacred elements." ~ Grandmother Flordemayo
"The most beautiful gift for the Earth is your thoughts." ~ Sylvie Decaillet
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“Through consciousness, our minds have the power to change our planet and ourselves.
It is time we heed the wisdom of the ancient indigenous people and channel
our consciousness and spirit to tend the garden and not destroy it." ~ Bruce Lipton
This series is a place for indigenous people to share their wisdom, their cultural heritage, their beliefs, and the challenges that they face. It is also for groups who work to help indigenous people to bring a voice to their needs and offer ways that you can get involved.
The purpose of the series is to open our hearts and minds to cultures who have treasured our planet and could share with us insights that we can use to become more connected with nature and each other. We hope that you will be inspired, informed and intrigued.
We hope you can join us for the beauty and wisdom that will come from these interviews.
Photo by Mirek Jahoda
You are Invited..
For 2020, our Indigenous Wisdom for the Earth series will move to a recorded call release. On occasion we may still offer a live call.
Everyone is welcome and the calls are free.
Simply sign up to be on the email list and you will receive each month's guest by email so you can listen at any time.
Thank you for being with us!
Please explore our library of previous calls below. They include the call itself, a transcript and a blog excerpt.
Photo by Mar Nunez
Background photo of trees on water by Clare Dubois, CEO and Founder of TreeSisters
Indigenous Wisdom for the Earth
Luisah Teish ~ Radical Love, Poetic Presence and the Art of Lifting Each Other Up
Indigenous Wisdom for the Earth
Grandmother Flordemayo Sharing Her Visions & Prayers
Indigenous Wisdom for the Earth
Jo Overton ~ Protect Native Elders
Indigenous Wisdom for the Earth
Praising Earth with Madi Sato
Indigenous Wisdom for the Earth
Seeing Beyond the Illusions with Woman Stands Shining (Pat McCabe)
Indigenous Wisdom for the Earth
Healing in the Heart of the Amazon with Quina Care
Indigenous Wisdom for the Earth
Moving into Right Relations with Mona Polacca
Indigenous Wisdom for the Earth
Protect the Forest, Celebrate the Culture with Anne Marie Miller of Indigenous Celebrations
Indigenous Wisdom for the Earth
Healing the Broken Human to Water Connection with Grandmother Carole
Indigenous Wisdom for the Earth
Heal the Healer with Grandmother Sasa
Indigenous Wisdom for the Earth
Unity and Prayer with Angelique Boas
Indigenous Wisdom for the Earth
Ice, Truth and the Sacred with Angaangaq
