tagged w/ First Nations Peoples
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Winnipeg, October 13, 2009 –Today, in his final days in office before becoming Canada’s Ambassador to the United States, Manitoba’s Premier Gary Doer announced a $10 million trust fund for conservation. The fund will support the on-going work of several First Nations involved in designating their Boreal homelands as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Spanning an area larger than Vancouver Island, this 40,000 square kilometre region straddling the Manitoba-Ontario border is one of the most ecologically intact Boreal forest ecosystems in the world.Winnipeg, October 13, 2009 –Today, in his final days in office before becoming... more
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The adorable K-6th grade Navajo children during the second week of school at the Navajo Lutheran Mission in Rock Point, Arizona.
Narrated and videotaped by Rev. Dr. Lynn Hubbard, executive director of the Navajo Lutheran Mission
Featuring K-6 students, teachers and staff.
1-928-659-4201 (Office)
1-928-659-4202 (School)
Navajo Lutheran Mission School:
NELM School Principal Felisita Jones
Kindergarten teacher Sharon Woody
1st grade teacher Lark Pettit
2nd grade teacher Jolene Wilson
3rd and 4th grade teacher Pauline Wagon
5th and 6th grade teacher Eileen Holiday
Tara Chee, NELM Community Services Coordinator and Navajo Language and Culture Instructor
2009 Board of Directors
Navajo Evangelical Lutheran Mission
Ron Augustson, Chair
Janice Lee Jim
Roger Johnsen
Jerry Thomas
Bill Heincke
Richard Wixom
David Ulibarri
Jeannie M. Harvey
Christel Badey
Clarence Begay
Sue Vogel-Herrera
Alice Natale
Support the Navajo Lutheran Mission through financial donations, volunteering
and many other national programs.
http://www.nelm.org/support.htm
Campbell's Labels for Education
http://www.labelsforeducation.com
Boxtops for Education
http://www.boxtops4education.com
NELM Related Links
More on new NELM executive director:
http://www.nelm.org/special/newExec2009/index.html
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Navajo-Lutheran-Mission/162194916280
Twitter:
http://twitter.com/NELMRockPointAZ
myspace:
http://www.myspace.com/navajolutheranmission
bliptv:
http://NavajoLuthMission.blip.tv
youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/NavajoLuthMission
WordPress blog:
http://navajolutheranmission.wordpress.com
Blogspot:
http://navajolutheranmission.blogspot.com
Zimbio:
http://www.zimbio.com/Navajo+Lutheran+Mission+in+Rock+Point%2C+AZ
Photobucket:
http://photobucket.com/NavajoLutheranMission
flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gregdonnaphotos/sets/72157621891406253
Shutterfly:
http://navajolutheranmission.shutterfly.com
Flute music courtesy:
Carol Buckley, owner of Arizona Flutes and Native Arts in Camp Verde, AZ (high desert in Verde Valley) and a non-native flute musician specializing in American Indian music.
She has Michigan roots - lived in Davison and taught school in LakeVille Public Schools in Otisville, where she was a Speech and Language Pathologist.
In 1994 Buckley decided to refocus her life, escape from the cold weather, and move to the beautiful Verde Valley in Arizona’s high desert.
She is a poet and writer who plays Native American style flute music and has great respect for the Navajo and other Native American tribes and their respective cultures/heritage.
Carol also teaches classes on how to play the Native flute.
Songs used from Carol Buckley's “Rhythm Keepers” and “Raindrops on Roses” CDs
Navajo Lutheran Mission Second Week of School & Photo Montage:
Carol Buckley's “Raindrops on Roses” CD
Track 4 “Living Life”
Track 6 “Dancing Moccasins”
wk email:
sales@arizonaflutes.com
Arizona Flutes & Native Arts
P.O. Box 1511
Camp Verde, AZ
86322
1-928-300-4781 (wk)
Arizona Flutes:
http://www.arizonaflutes.com/index.html
Navajo Nation Flag used in this video was created by artist R. Daniel Markstedt of Linköping in central Sweden:
Wikipedia username Himasaram:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Navajo_flag.svg
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Himasaram
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Himasaram/gallery
Knox College
2 East South Street
Galesburg, IL
61401-4999
1-309-341-7000
Knox College
http://www.knox.edu
Knox College students at NELM
http://www.knox.edu/News-and-Events/News-Archive/Knox-faculty-and-students-study-in-Americas-Southwest.html
Cal Farley's Boys Ranch in Texas
http://www.calfarley.org
Boys Ranch
Located 36 miles northwest of Amarillo, Texas, on US Highway 385
http://www.calfarley.org/boysranch/pages/default.aspx
Cal Farley's Girlstown, U.S.A.
Situated on 1,425 acres of land eight miles south of Whiteface, Texas, (west of Lubbock)
http://www.calfarley.org/girlstown/pages/default.aspxThe adorable K-6th grade Navajo children during the second week of school at the... more
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(Rock Point, AZ) - During July 2009, volunteers from the Lutheran Church of the Cross in Sacramento, CA visited the Navajo Lutheran Mission in Rock Point, AZ to assist the Navajo people with the health of their livestock.
Despite the extreme summer heat and the remote Navajo homes, church members helped deworm and vaccinate 500 sheep and goats plus 200 horses.
The volunteers from the Lutheran Church of the Cross paid for the expense of vaccinating over 700 livestock.
The vaccination program badly needs funding and anyone wish to help should contact the Navajo Lutheran Mission (see contact info below)
The Navajo Lutheran Mission extends special thanks to Arizona Navajo musician Anthony Maloney, who music is featured in this video and will be used in upcoming videos (scroll down for more info and links about Anthony Maloney)
Songs by Maloney included in this video are "Our Warriors" and "A Better Life."
Navajo Lutheran Mission:
http://www.nelm.org
New NELM executive director Rev. Dr. Lynn Hubbard:
http://www.nelm.org/special/newExec2009/index.html
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Navajo-Lutheran-Mission/162194916280
Twitter:
http://twitter.com/NELMRockPointAZ
myspace:
http://www.myspace.com/navajolutheranmission
bliptv:
http://NavajoLuthMission.blip.tv
youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/NavajoLuthMission
WordPress blog:
http://navajolutheranmission.wordpress.com
Blogspot:
http://navajolutheranmission.blogspot.com
Zimbio:
http://www.zimbio.com/Navajo+Lutheran+Mission+in+Rock+Point%2C+AZ
Photobucket:
http://photobucket.com/NavajoLutheranMission
flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gregdonnaphotos/sets/72157621891406253
Shutterfly:
http://navajolutheranmission.shutterfly.com
Church of the Cross in Sacramento, CA:
Church of the Cross
4465 H Street
Sacramento, CA
95819
Church of the Cross (ELCA Lutheran)
http://www.xross.org
1-916-456-8880 (office)
Pastor serves as a Chaplain at California State University Sacramento
Church is on the Board of Directors of the Sacramento Area Campus Ministry.
http://www.sacacmin.com
Rev. Michael Walton
(916) 548-4624
michael@mdwalton.com
Wikipedia on the Navajo Nation:
The Navajo Nation (Diné Bikéyah in the Navajo language) is a semi-autonomous Native American homeland covering about 26,000 square miles (17 million acres), occupying all of northeastern Arizona, the southeastern portion of Utah, and northwestern New Mexico. It's the largest land area assigned primarily to a Native American jurisdiction within the United States.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navajo_Nation
Navajo Nation Flag used in this video was created by artist R. Daniel Markstedt of Linköping in central Sweden:
Daniel Markstedt Wikipedia username Himasaram:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Navajo_flag.svg
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Himasaram
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Himasaram/gallery
The Navajo Lutheran Mission extends special thanks to Arizona Navajo Musician Anthony Maloney, who music is featured in this video and will be used in upcoming videos
Songs by Maloney included in this video are "Our Warriors" and "A Better Life."
Navajo (Diné) singer, songwriter and poet Anthony K. Maloney, a member of the Navajo Nation (Diné Bikéyah) from Yuba City, AZ "Music City"
Anthony Maloney official website includes background & profile:
http://www.akmrecords.bravehost.com
Anthony Maloney music on soundclick:
http://www.soundclick.com/anthonymaloney
amaloney1998_98@yahoo.com
1-253-661-3652
Links to a few of Maloney's songs:
Taken Away
http://soundclick.com/share?songid=1059384
We Were
http://soundclick.com/share?songid=1107571
The High Life
http://soundclick.com/share?songid=1580501
Our Warriors
http://soundclick.com/share?songid=1692003
A Better Life
http://soundclick.com/share?songid=1737075
4-Directions
http://soundclick.com/share?songid=1755167
What are my Chances
http://soundclick.com/share?songid=2281129
Walk Away
http://soundclick.com/share?songid=3379744(Rock Point, AZ) - During July 2009, volunteers from the Lutheran Church of the Cross... more
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See Links to vote below:
Please vote daily through August 30, 2009 for story about Rev. Jon Magnuson's nonprofit environment projects in Michigan's Upper Peninsula: Vote for the story by Donna Kumpula about the EarthKeeper Initiative and the Zaagkii Project
It was weekly winner in April but now its competing against about 19 others for the big prize . Money that would help fund the projects for a year.
You'll need to register - or login if you have voted before.
Its entitled:
Creating numerous environment projects that bring together diverse groups, students, American Indians
Link to story is near end of list on lower right hand side of page.
http://www.friendsofelsie.com/friends.asp?action=register
Or go directly to story – and register or log-in:
http://www.friendsofelsie.com/SingleSensations.asp?action=readStory&story=70
Brief summary of projects your vote would support:
The interfaith Earth Keeper Initiative:
The interfaith EarthKeepers planted twelve thousand (12,000) trees across northern Michigan for Earth Day 2009 thanks to over 100 churches/temples from 12 religions.
During past Earth Day projects, the EarthKeepers have recycled or properly disposed over nearly 400 tons of waste including cellphones, computers (and related equipment), printers, car batteries, poisons, pesticides, oil-based paint, pharmaceuticals and much more.
The Zaagkii Project:
This summer Native American youth and at-risk teens are repairing the ecosystem along a Lake Superior beach, built dozens of Mason Bee houses including some to be placed at the U.S. National Gardens in D.C.; Native American teens this month are helping build a greenhouse for native species plants on the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community reservation.
Last summer the teens built dozens of butterfly houses for migrating Monarchs.See Links to vote below:
Please vote daily through August 30, 2009 for story about... more
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Please vote daily through August 30, 2009 for story about Rev. Jon Magnuson's nonprofit environment projects in Michigan's Upper Peninsula: Vote for the story by Donna Kumpula about the EarthKeeper Initiative and the Zaagkii Project
It was weekly winner in April but now its competing against about 19 others for the big prize . Money that would help fund the projects for a year.
You'll need to register - or login if you have voted before.
Its entitled:
Creating numerous environment projects that bring together diverse groups, students, American Indians
Link to story is near end of list on lower right hand side of pagfe.
http://www.friendsofelsie.com/friends.asp?action=register
Or go directly to story – and register or log-in:
http://www.friendsofelsie.com/SingleSensations.asp?action=readStory&story=70
Brief summary of projects your vote would support:
The interfaith Earth Keeper Initiative:
The interfaith EarthKeepers planted twelve thousand (12,000) trees across northern Michigan for Earth Day 2009 thanks to over 100 churches/temples from 12 religions.
During past Earth Day projects, the EarthKeepers have recycled or properly disposed over nearly 400 tons of waste including cellphones, computers (and related equipment), printers, car batteries, poisons, pesticides, oil-based paint, pharmaceuticals and much more.
The Zaagkii Project:
This summer Native American youth and at-risk teens are repairing the ecosystem along a Lake Superior beach, built dozens of Mason Bee houses including some to be placed at the U.S. National Gardens in D.C.; Native American teens this month are helping build a greenhouse for native species plants on the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community reservation.
Last summer the teens built dozens of butterfly houses for migrating Monarchs.Please vote daily through August 30, 2009 for story about Rev. Jon Magnuson's... more
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2010 Olympics promotional train tour becomes target for protests across Canada.
With more than a full year before the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics begin, the games have already encountered stiff opposition. A range of groups have expressed their disagreement with the way that the Olympics are being run on Canada's west coast. Their concerns include: environmental destruction, the rights of low or no income residents, lack of transparency and consultation in decision making, and development on indigenous land that has never been surrendered to Canada. Olympic sponsor Canadian Pacific Railway ran a promotional tour, known as the Spirit Train, across Canada which became a target for activists countrywide. One group went as far as to occupy the train tracks, thereby temporarily postponing the train while en route to its Toronto stop. The Real News spoke to Angela Sterritt who provided background information on the various reasons why the Olympics have created such a backlash. One of the major issues being raised by activists is the construction of Olympic venues on indigenous territory that has never been signed over to the Government of Canada via treaty or otherwise. The Real News also spoke to Leah George-Wilson, Chief of the Tsleil-Waututh nation, who is supporting the Olympics, to get her response to the points being raised by the protesters.
Angela Sterritt is a grassroots organizer, artist and writer from the Gitxsan Nation of Northwest British Columbia. She currently works as a support worker in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside Women's Centre and is a member of the Olympic opposition group, the Native 2010 Resistance. Angela recently completed a nationwide speaking tour of Canada regarding the 2010 Olympics.
Leah George-Wilson is the Chief of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation, located in North Vancouver, British Columbia. Chief George-Wilson is a Co-Chair of British Columbia's First Nations Summit, a forum for issues related to treaty negotiations in the province. As Chief, Leah represents her nation as a member of the Four Host First Nations Society, a group made up of leaders from the four indigenous nations that will be hosting the Olympic Games on their lands.2010 Olympics promotional train tour becomes target for protests across Canada.... more
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TIP Dir. Rev. Dr. Lynn Hubbard:
I think we have here two different forms of religion. Ands its this religion of my ancestors that I participate in that I think really has been the problem. I think we have to come to understand that religious consciousness evolves just like anything else does. It's not just the material world that evolves but also our cultural world evolves and the realm of the concept evolves. We are going now, as a people - there was a time from prehistorical religions to historic religions. the religions of the book Judaism, Christianity, Islam to this historic period. Now I think that is transending to this transrational understanding of spirituality. And as part of this transrational understanding of spirituality is an appropriation of this knowledge and spirituality of Earth-based cultures. I think we have to be open now to what John Trudell called ‘spirit making and escape.’ I love this idea. My spirit needs to make an escape from my religious consciousness. The racial and cultural genocide that still goes on today inside this country . Judaism is an inherently ethical religion except you have to be a Canaanite. You may get your ass kicked or your head cut off but basically it's OK. But sky Gods and cultures that worship sky Gods are traditionally barbaric - Read the Old Testament - Wow! Talk about patriarchy. But we are in a war. It is not a war of my choosing.But we are in a war I truly believe that - a war fore our hearts and our minds. We have to continually fight.It's multi-generational. We fight against great principalities and powers. It's amazing. If you stick your head up out of the foxhole just a little bit and you start speaking on behalf of the poor. Those bullets are flying. I said something about a corporation. I said we created these corporations and political structures that aren't moral entities because you have to say things like: ‘I'm sorry. I made a mistake.' You have to admit your humanness. When's the last time your heard a politician ever admit a mistake unless they were forced to? ‘I did not have sex with that woman - I did not inhale - yes I smoked but I did not inhale' And I said corporations are liked this too - they are not moral entities because they cannot do these things like apologize. Well, good Lord that's attacking a sacred cow - there's a guy in my congregation who just went ballistic - who quit the church because he had spent his entire life benefiting from, working for, a non-moral entity. I did not say all corporations were liked this - I just said some corporations are like this. Well that's all you have to say. Rev. Hubbard said Americans and all people who call Earth home need to protect the environment. He said we have lost the sense of the sacred - a lesson that can be learned from Native Americans and other Indigenous peoples. I understand this because I feel desperate. What John Trudell was talking about is the same way. We've lost our way. We do not have any spiritual sense because we have lost any sense of the sacred. A great historian of the religions Mircea Eliade who was at the University of Chicago where I for many years - I did his funeral. Mircea Eliade had this notion that in order to have a hierophany, an experience of the sacred, you have to have sacred space. If this Earth is not sacred to you, which it isn't to Mickey Mouse, then you can't have an experience of the sacred. I deal with people every day in my congregation who have lost or are losing any sense of the sacred. And it's not only - like you were saying this relationship between Earth and women - and the earth and man. If you do not have power in a capitalistic society, you become part of and you are thought of in terms of the Earth. Women who have less economic power, children who don't have any power at all unless somebody gives it to them, Indigenous communities, you are all thought of as expendable commodities.TIP Dir. Rev. Dr. Lynn Hubbard:
I think we have here two different forms of religion.... more
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Western Shoshone leader, Corbin Harney talks about his prophetic conversation with the waterWestern Shoshone leader, Corbin Harney talks about his prophetic conversation with the... more
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(Keshena, Wisconsin) - The Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin contributed over 4 tons of electronic and pharmaceutical waste to the EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge.
This is the second of several videos explaining the numerous MITW projects including teaching youth about the legend of the sturgeon and its place in tribal culture, cleaning up the reservation, and replacing gang symbols with Native American art.
In part two, the non-profit interfaith Earth Healing Initiative looks at the sturgeon education classes.
The tribe was creative as it added other facets to the challenge like teaching the children about their culture and the close relationship to the earth and its many lakes and streams.
All classes at the tribal school taught the students about the sturgeon, that is a vital part of Menominee legend and heritage, said Joe Awanahopay, language arts instructor at the Menominee tribal school.
Earth Week tribal school classes applied subjects like math, history and others to different aspects of the life cycle, biology, habitat, legends, spawning grounds and the cultural and practical value of the sturgeon, an important fish to the Menominee people since the dawn of their tribe.
“The sturgeon are a historic importance to our people,” he said. “Since the beginning of time, our people have relied upon the sturgeons for various reasons including for food and scraping hides.”
“In our legends, the sturgeon are the protectors of our wild rice,” said Awanahopay of the slow-growing giant fish known for its thick hide and rubbery snout whose uses and related regulations have sometimes pitted white fishermen against American Indians. “We have been engaging the students in the culture, language, science and the social studies of what the sturgeon mean to our people.”
“They've been studying the anatomy and the physiology of the sturgeon and the students are looking at the sturgeon habitats and what the effects of pollution are.”
“They are looking at the different migrations, the geography, the path the sturgeon used to take to come to their home here - their traditional spawning grounds on the Menoninee Indian reservation,” he said. “Because of two dams that are here now south of our reservation, sturgeon are no longer able to come home here to their ancestral spawning grounds.”
“We are so fortunate to have so many elders that we still work with that are able to give us this knowledge and pass it from one generation to the next, despite all of the forced assimilation and the changes in our youth, who are trying to make their way in modern society yet integrate the traditions with the technology in today’s world," Awanahopay said.
Sponsors include the tribe's Community Resource Center, Menominee County Police, Menominee Tribal Police, Tribal Clinic Wellness Program (Maehnowesekiyah), Probation and Parole, Community Recycling Project, Recreation Department, EarthHealing.org and the U.S. Post Office in Keshena.
This video is possible by a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in collaboration with the EPA's Region 5 office and the EPA Great Lakes national Program Office (both in Chicago); in cooperation with the non-profit Interfaith Earth Healing Initiative in Marquette, MI.
The EHI involves American Indian tribes and "a coalition of churches, synagogues and other faith traditions joining together to heal, protect and defend the environment," said EHI founder Rev. Jon Magnuson of Marquette, Michigan.
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Menominee Indian Tribe of WI:
http://www.menominee-nsn.gov
MITW Tribal School:
http://mts.bia.edu/
College of Menominee Nation
http://www.menominee.edu
Earth Healing Initiative:
http://www.earthhealinginitiative.org
Interfaith graphics by Justice St. Rain (Bah'i Community) of Interfaith Resources Special Ideas website:
http://www.interfaithresources.com
1-800-326-1197(Keshena, Wisconsin) - The Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin contributed over 4 tons... more
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(Marquette, Michigan) - The Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge is in its biggest week with help from interfaith groups and American Indians in reaching the goal of one million pounds of electronics and one million pills.
The EPA issued the challenge to Great Lakes basin residents participating in over 100 projects that are collecting pharmaceuticals, electronics and household poisons. The EPA awarded grants to some of the projects.
Interfaith groups are involved in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Ohio, New York and Pennsylvania. An EPA grant helped start the non-profit Earth Healing Initiative (EHI).
Trust between religions and interfaith environment projects are vital to protect the future of the earth, said a Lutheran bishop, who has participated in numerous Earth Day recycling projects.
"We are in an environmental crisis in many ways," said Lutheran Bishop Thomas A. Skrenes of the Northern Great Lakes Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. "The Great Lakes watershed is really a kind of a mother to all of us here in the upper Midwest."
The EHI involves American Indian tribes and "a coalition and partnership of churches, synagogues and other faith traditions joining together and sharing their projects and resources to heal, protect and defend the environment," said founder Rev. Jon Magnuson of Marquette, Michigan.
The Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin (MITW) is holding a curbside pickup of electronics for members during Earth Week, April 21-24. Over 1,000 pounds of electronics have been turned in at the MITW transfer station since April 1. The College of Menominee Nation hosts pharmaceutical/electronics collections on April 22.
On Friday, April 25, students at the tribal K-8 school are picking up litter and cleaning up the a reservation community. Students recently created "Garbage Monsters" out of bottles other items found in their trash, said Diana Wolf, MITW Solid Waste/Recycling Coordinator. Students gave presentations on other uses for the garbage.
"This interfaith earth healing effort is really a great gift that has been given to all of us," Skrenes said. “The church is called to bring people together to be part of the healing."
Examples of established interfaith organizations that are assisting the EHI include the University of Minnesota Lutheran Campus Ministry, the Duluth Arrowhead Interfaith Council, Marquette University Ministry in Milwaukee, several Catholic interfaith groups and the ELCA office of Ecumenical Formation.
The interfaith EHI is one of numerous environment and Native American projects founded by the non-profit Cedar Tree Institute in Marquette, Michigan including the Earth Keepers who removed more than 370 tons of e-waste, pharmaceuticals and household hazardous waste during three Earth Day clean sweeps.
The northern Michigan Earth Keepers belong to ten faith traditions with 150 churches and temples including Catholic, Episcopal, Lutheran, Presbyterian, United Methodist Church, Unitarian Universalist, Bahá'í, Jewish, Zen Buddhist and the Quakers. The EHI is working with the same faith traditions.
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EPA:
http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/earthday2008
http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/earthday2008/events.html
EPA Press Release:
http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/dc57b08b5acd42bc852573c90044a9c4/bb279434e6f40c6e8525743200582794!OpenDocument
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Earth Healing Initiative:
http://www.EarthHealingInitiative.org
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Interfaith graphics by Justice St. Rain (Bah'i Community)
Interfaith Resources - Special Ideas website:
http://www.interfaithresources.com
1-800-326-1197
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Duluth
University of Minnesota LCM:
http://www.d.umn.edu/lcm/index.html
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Arrowhead Interfaith Council:
http://www.arrowheadinterfaith.org/home.html
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Milwaukee
Marquette University LCM:
http://www.mulutherans.com
http://www.marquette.edu/um
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Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin:
http://www.menominee-nsn.gov
College of Menominee Nation
http://www.menominee.edu(Marquette, Michigan) - The Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge is in its biggest... more
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(Chicago, Illinois) - Faith leaders across eight Great Lakes states are urging their members to participate in an Earth Day 2008 challenge to collect one million pounds of electronics and more than one million pills because trust is needed between all people to stop “an environmental crisis.”
The U.S. EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge is in high gear with more than 100 projects involving hundreds of communities collecting pharmaceuticals, electronics and household poisons.
An EPA grant to the non-profit interfaith Earth Healing Initiative (EHI) is mobilizing religious communities in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Ohio, New York and Pennsylvania.
A Lutheran Bishop who has participated in numerous interfaith Earth Day recycling projects hopes people of all faiths will help protect the environment.
“We are in an environmental crisis in many ways,” said Lutheran Bishop Thomas A. Skrenes of the Northern Great Lakes Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). “The Great Lakes watershed is really kind of a mother to all of us" in the Midwest.
Interfaith environment projects like the challenge will help ensure a better future for all humans, Skrenes said, adding “sometimes it's trusting each other that really counts in environmental work.”
“The culture, the society and the environment are now connecting in some fantastic new ways to build relationships between people,” Skrenes said. “We are building trust along and across denominational lines.”
The EHI is a coalition of American Indian tribes and a "partnership of churches, synagogues and other faith traditions joining together and sharing their projects and resources to heal, protect and defend the environment,” said founder Rev. Jon Magnuson of Marquette, Michigan.
Saying “it’s not your grandfather’s environment movement anymore,” Skrenes said that environmental work is now more mainstream and no longer “an obscure thing for a certain group of people” unlike 40 years ago when he was in high school “and I dare say some of my relatives said it was kind of a hippie movement.”
“The church is called to bring people together to be part of the healing,” Skrenes said. “This interfaith earth healing effort is really a great gift that has been given to all of us."
Interfaith organizations assisting the EHI include the University of Minnesota Lutheran Campus Ministry, the Arrowhead Interfaith Council in Duluth, the Marquette University Ministry outlets in Milwaukee, several Catholic interfaith groups and the ELCA office of Ecumenical Formation and Inter-Religious Relations.
The interfaith EHI is one of numerous environment and Native American projects founded by the non-profit Cedar Tree Institute in Marquette, Michigan including the Earth Keepers, who removed more than 370 tons of e-Waste, pharmaceuticals and household poisons during three Earth Day clean sweeps.
The northern Michigan Earth Keeper project involves the congregations of over 150 churches and temples representing ten faith communities: Catholic, Episcopal, Lutheran, Presbyterian, United Methodist Church, Unitarian Universalist, Bahá'í, Jewish, Zen Buddhist and the Religious Society of Friends commonly known as the Quakers.
The EHI is coordinating the same interfaith relationships. For more info call 906-401-0109(Chicago, Illinois) - Faith leaders across eight Great Lakes states are urging their... more
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The 2008 Indigenous Earth Day Summit will be held in Marquette, MI on April 22-23 at Northern Michigan University.
The summit is a "call to action" on Indigenous environmental issues in the Great Lakes area, on Turtle Island and around the world.
It is sponsored by the Center for Native American Studies, the Environmental Science Program and the Office of International Programs.
An Aboriginal Australian delegation from the Traditional Knowledge Revival Pathways project are the keynote presenters and will provide musical entertainment.
http://www.tkrp.com.au
Presentations include ideas on how to address Indigenous environmental concerns.
Rev. Dr. Lynn Hubbard, founder of the Turtle Island Project, has two presentations at the NMU 2008 Indigenous Earth Day.The 2008 Indigenous Earth Day Summit will be held in Marquette, MI on April 22-23 at... more
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An Introduction: The interfaith Earth Healing Initiative and Earth Day 2008
Numerous faith communities, American Indian tribes and many others being encouraged to volunteer or participate in a large eight-state Earth Day 2008 project with events across the Great Lakes Basin through mid-May.
The new Earth Healing Initiative (EHI) is organizing faith communities. The EHI is one of numerous environment and Native American projects founded by the non-profit Cedar Tree Institute in Marquette, Michigan.
Collection sites will accept old/broken computers, cell phones, TVs and other electronics to be recycled, and old/unwanted medicines to be properly disposed during the Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge.
The EPA is awarding grants to some of the collection sites where residents can drop off e-waste and old/unwanted pharmaceuticals.
The Michigan Earth Keeper Initiative, co-founded by the Cedar Tree Institute, have alliances with ten faith traditions across the Upper Peninsula, and the EHI is coordinating the same relationships with religious communities across the Great Lakes and beyond.
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Earth Healing official website::
http://www.EarthHealingInitiative.org
EPA GLNPO Official challenge link:
http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/earthday2008/index.html
http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/earthday2008/events.html
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EPA Press Release on challenge:
http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/0/D48F2AD96EC624E38525740B003AEE57
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The co-founder of the Michigan Earth Keepers, ELCA Lutheran Rev. Jon Magnuson created the Earth Healing Initiative in March 2008 to spread the word about interfaith and Native American environment projects.
The EHI is offering free media assistance to environment projects including press releases, press contacts, internet and high definition digital videos, podcasts and vast internet postings.
For more details call Greg at 906-401-0109.
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An Introduction: The interfaith Earth Healing Initiative and Earth Day 2008... more
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The founders of the Turtle Island Project believe residents of Earth are facing a Kyros moment because of the abuse of the environment.
Kairos is Greek for seizing the moment.
The Turtle Island Project promotes respect for the planet, nature, wildlife and fellow humans.
Turtle Island Project founders say we can learn a lot from Earth-based cultures like the Celts and Native Americans.
Dr. Cairns said a former of chanting called jubilation (that he demonstrates in this video) helps him focus on the problems he wants to tackle - plus demonstrates the interconnection between humans and the Earth.
TIP volunteer media advisor Greg Peterson reports
TIP website:
http://www.turtleislandproject.org
Turtle Island TV (blipTV)
http://turtleislandtv.blip.tv/
Turtle Island TV (youtube)
http://www.youtube.com/MunisingWhiteHorse
Turtle Island (myspace)
http://www.myspace.com/TurtleIslandProject
Turtle Island Project websites/Blogs:
http://groups.msn.com/WhisperingTurtle
http://turtleislandproject.wordpress.com/
email:
TurtleIslandProject@charter.net
White Buffalo Calf Woman Society:
http://www.wbcws.org
Solastalgia is a term by Glenn Albrecht to describe profound sadness over the effects of the long-term drought in Australia
Glenn Albrecht, environmental philosopher, University of Newcastle:
http://healthearth.blogspot.com/
http://healthearth.blogspot.com/2007/03/solastalgia-new-concept-in-human.html
http://home.iprimus.com.au/tammie1/Publications%20-%20Journal%20Articles.htm
http://www.newcastle.edu.au/news/2006/09/newsyndrome.html
Solastalgia:
http://vector1media.com/spatialsustain/?p=255
http://www.collisiondetection.net/mt/archives/2005/12/solastalgia.html
http://watershed.typepad.com/watershed/drought/index.html
http://www.greendaily.com/2008/01/07/word-of-the-day-solastalgia
http://fermiparadox.wordpress.com/2008/01/05/solastalgia-or-thre-sadness-of-climate-change/
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Huston Smith: Scholar, writer and a Thomas J. Watson Professor of Religion and Distinguished Adjunct Professor of Philosophy, Emeritus Syracuse University
http://ethics.sandiego.edu/video/Kenan/Smith/index.html
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Species Extinction/Endangered Species
http://www.ecosyn.us/ecocity/Challenges/index.html:
http://eelink.net/EndSpp
http://www.animalinfo.org/rarest.htm
http://www.unep-wcmc.org/
http://www.teamhumanity.com/News-Environment08012004.htm
http://www.planetguide.net/book/chapter_5/extinction.html
http://www.sciencenewsden.com/2007/riskofextinctionacceleratedduetointeractinghumanthreats.shtml
http://www.grconnect.com/murals/html/n2252462.html
Voluntary Human Extinction Movement - Plus Graphic by Nina Paley:
http://www.vhemt.org/aboutvhemt.htm
http://dsc.discovery.com/news/afp/20030721/carbon.html
http://www.zeroextinction.org/charts.htm
http://www.nhbs.com/averting_extinction_tefno_63272.html
Robert Camacho:
http://www.robertcamacho.com/paintingpic4.htm
http://www.archbold-station.org/fai/species4.html
Eco Kids
http://www.ecokidsonline.com
Kyros (Greek) unique moment in time, gives people a platform to serve God.
Kairos (Kyros), a fullness of time, an appointed time purposed by our creator.
Kyros (KIR os): The Greek word for power that is legitimate, but limited and compassionate
Kairos’ is Greek for ‘occasion’ or ‘timing.’ Kairos is the art of seizing the moment.
Kairos, or kairotic time, refers to God's eternal time.
Kairos is the ancient Greek term that can roughly be interpreted as a rhetorical combination of understood context and proper timing.
Kairos: ancient Greek word meaning right or opportune moment
http://english.ttu.edu/kairos/layers/start.html
http://www.kairospower.org/whowe.asp
http://www.kyros.org/NEWKyros_AboutUs_TheMeaningOfKyros.htm
http://www.kairostherapy.com/why_kairos
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kairos
http://www.kyros.org/NEWKyros_AboutUs_TheMeaningOfKyros.htm
Jubilation:
http://www.envoymagazine.com/backissues/2.3/ihaveaquestion.html
http://blip.tv/file/480070The founders of the Turtle Island Project believe residents of Earth are facing a... more
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Call for Proposals: NMU 2008 Indigenous Earth Day Summit
EXTENDED DEADLINE!
Northern Michigan University is seeking presentation proposals for the 2008 Indigenous Earth Day Summit to be held at NMU April 22-23.
This summit is made possible by the Center for Native American Studies, the Environmental Science Program and the Office of International Programs.
This summit will function as a call to action on Indigenous environmental issues in the Great Lakes area, on Turtle Island and around the world.
An Aboriginal Australian delegation from the Traditional Knowledge Revival Pathways project will be featured as keynote presenters and will provide musical entertainment.
http://www.tkrp.com.au
Presentations should ultimately include ideas on how to address Indigenous environmental concerns. Topics include, but are not limited to, the following.
- Traditional Ecological Knowledge (T.E.K.)
- Education and Indigenous environmental concerns
- History of industrialism, industrial threats, Indigenous peoples and the Earth
- Economic globalization and Indigenous peoples
- Indigenous languages and the Earth
- Solutions in Indigenous cultures to environmental problems
- Indigenous subsistence rights and protection of sacred land
- Global poisoning and the impact on Indigenous peoples
- Climate change and its impact on Indigenous peoples
A variety of presentations are encouraged (music, art, films as well as papers and panels).
Activists, Native elders and Native community members are strongly encouraged to submit proposals.
Proposals should be 150-300 words in length. Deadline for submissions has been extended to Monday, March 17, 2008.
Send to:
cnas@nmu.edu
(attachments should only be in Microsoft Word or as a PDF)
Subject line: Indigenous Earth Day Summit Proposal
-or-
Center for Native American Studies
Northern Michigan University
1401 Presque Isle Ave
Marquette, MI 49855
For more information call 906-227-1397
http://www.nmu.edu/nativeamericans
Call for Proposals: NMU 2008 Indigenous Earth Day Summit
EXTENDED DEADLINE!... more
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The Turtle Island Project in northern Michigan was founded in August 2007 by two Midwest pastors who believe the future of mankind and world is at a crossroads.
Rev. Dr. Lynn Hubbard and Rev. Dr. George Cairns believe that Christians could learn a lot about nature and the environment by listening to Earth-based cultures like Native Americans, Celts, and other Indigenous peoples.
Rev. Hubbard is a Lutheran pastor, and Rev. Cairns is an ordained United Church of Christ minister.
Both have extensive backgrounds in interfaith and multicultural work.
The Turtle Island Project (TIP), based in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, promotes respect for the environment and Native Americans.
Two Midwest pastors created the TIP to foster a national discussion and debate on a wide variety of issues involving the future of the planet and mankind including encouraging Christians to learn how to appreciate nature like Earth-based religions such as American Indians, Celts and other Indigenous peoples.
Turtle Island Project volunteer media advisor Greg Peterson has more on the founders and their goals.
Time: 9:50
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White Buffalo Calf Woman Society:
http://www.wbcws.org
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Turtle Island Project related websites:
Turtle Island Project main website:
http://www.turtleislandproject.org
Turtle Island TV (blipTV)
http://turtleislandtv.blip.tv/
Turtle Island TV (youtube)
http://www.youtube.com/MunisingWhiteHorse
Turtle Island (myspace)
http://www.myspace.com/TurtleIslandProject
Turtle Island Project websites/Blogs:
http://groups.msn.com/WhisperingTurtle
http://turtleislandproject.wordpress.com/
email:
TurtleIslandProject@charter.net
The Turtle Island Project in northern Michigan was founded in August 2007 by two... more
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Washingtonians - and others with big egos - have a portrait fetish that is obscene especially when it involves taxpayers money.
Even half that nealry 50 grand could have been significant funding for the non-profit Native American and environment projects I volunteer for in northern Michigan.
More comment after a few sentences of the article and a look at this portrait:
Portrait Cost Indian Museum $48,500: Senators, Trustees Question Spending By Former Director
By James V. Grimaldi
Washington Post Staff Writer
W. Richard West Jr., the founding director of the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian, spent $48,500 in museum funds to commission a portrait of himself.
The portrait of West by New York artist Burton Silverman hangs in the patrons' lounge on the fourth floor of the flagship museum, which is dedicated to the arts and culture of American Indians.
Silverman said West picked him after he saw a portrait Silverman had done of former Smithsonian secretary Robert McCormick Adams.
The Adams portrait, completed about a decade earlier, was smaller and cost about half as much.
Rest of the Washington Post story:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/03/AR2008010304163.html
Portrait:
http://media3.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/photo/2008/01/04/PH2008010400031.jpg
[IMG]http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee225/YOOPERNEWSMAN/RichardWestcrookedSmithsonian.jpg[/IMG]
Native American on Native American crime - much like black on black crime - is especially insidious because so much good could have been done for First Nations peoples heritage with this wasted and misappropriated money.
It's also a crime against taxpayers and common decency.
Spending $48,500 on a self portrait is among the disgraceful financial crimes of W. Richard West Jr., the founding director of the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian.
For this crime to occur in the hallowed halls of the Smithsonian shows again thievery knows no class boundaries - and should be treated just as severely as the poor man who sticks a gun into the face of a 7-11 clerk.
The Smithsonian needs to be thoroughly audited from top to bottom as this is at least the second huge scandal to tarnish its once respected reputation.
No doubt it's only the tip of the fiduciary iceberg that's tearing through the Smithsonian's highbrow richly-protected hull.
I do volunteer work for several Native American related non-profits whose budgets are much smaller than even the cost of that disgraceful portrait.
And the suggestion that it could not have been painted by an American Indian artist is as laughable as it is sickening with a hint of racism against one's own culture.
Even the portrait stance is borrowed and unoriginal, as a buttoned-down Mr. West gazes thoughtfully off to the east, his coat hanging on a crooked forefinger and tossed over suspenders with his soft thumb and the remaining fingers forming the "OK" sign.
The Washington ego commands that a portrait much be painted to prove one's importance.
No doubt many law offices, banking institutions and the halls of officialdom are plastered with the self-aggrandizing crafty art.
Prior to the Polaroid, a self-portrait may have been necessary to preserve one's historic legacy but in today's world it's merely a measure of one's self-importance that is more often scoffed at than admired by those it's meant to impress. Perhaps, a modern definition of irony.
Maybe the next exhibit at the Smithsonian will be portraits of former executives doing the proverbial "perp walk" - cuffed and stuffed for perp-etuity. Washingtonians - and others with big egos - have a portrait fetish that is obscene... more
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(Marquette, Michigan) - The Manoomin Project is restoring wild rice to northern Michigan after the grain disappeared a century ago due to logging, pesticides and other manmade impact.
Over 100 at-risk teens are learning to respect themselves, nature and American Indian culture by planting more than one ton of wild rice during the past four summers. The teens also learn about social issues like racism against Native Americans.
The 2007 planting was delayed six weeks until November due to low water levels.
The teens first participate as part of juvenile court probation for minor crimes but many enjoy the project so much they return the next year.
Guides from several tribes volunteer to teach the teens how to take water samples, and about the historical and cultural importance of the grain that is used in many American Indian ceremonies.
The project was founded by the non-profit Cedar Tree Institute and the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC).
Guides belong to KBIC, the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa (Ottawa) Indians based in downstate Harbor Springs, Michigan, and the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa located close to International Falls, Minnesota near the Canadian border.
Rev. Jon Magnuson, project founder, praised the tribes for working with the teens, most of whom are white. The project includes classroom time, stress reduction exercises, and learning about social issues like prejudice against Native Americans.
In July 2007, the teens heard from Ojibwa elder and Vietnam War veteran Glen Bressette who explained he was the target of racism while their age and overcame problems familiar to the youth like substance abuse and scrapes with the law that included being shot at by police while stealing gas.
The teens witnessed Bressette have a dramatic flashback when a helicopter flew low and close to their meeting site along Lake Superior. He had been a gunner aboard a chopper in Vietnam.
American Indian guide Don Chosa said the teens carry hundreds of pounds of wild rice seeds for miles through thick forests and over mountains to get to seven secret remote planting sites along rivers and lakes. During the hikes, the teens have come upon bears, eagles and other wildlife.
An annual "Blessing of the Wild Rice" ceremony is held that includes American Indian food, songs, language, and prayers. If they want, the teens have the opportunity to learn about God and the environment but they are not forced to be be involved in any religious activities.
Manoomin Project volunteer media advisor Greg Peterson looks at the 2007 planting and four years of success.(Marquette, Michigan) - The Manoomin Project is restoring wild rice to northern... more
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