Scenes from HOSW Gathering-Hawaii snapshots

Sacred stones at entrance to Waimea Sanctuary

The Healing Our Spirits Worldwide (HOSW) Sixth Gathering in Honolulu, HI attracted over 2500 participants from around the world- most from Canada, New Zealand and Australia- joining a sizeable contingent of hosting Native Hawaiians and a fewAmericans and Europeans.  The agenda was both jam-packed and diverse with lots of opportunity for networking and exchanging perspectives.

Healing our Spirits Worldwide Sixth Gathering

Here are just a few snapshots:

Plumeria lei-fragrant 'hello'

Lush botanical gardens

Waimea Valley on North Shore-biological sanctuary
 and site of  cultural arts festival

Interpretive Signs in the Gardens

Graceful Monkey Tree

Out the window enroute to Waimea

Healing Our Spirit Worldwide-North meets South (and East and West)

I will be traveling with some of my Canadian (and Alaskan) colleagues  this week and next to participate in this meeting in Hawaii.  For those unfamiliar with HOSW, I encourage you to check out the  website and review the History/Covenant created at earlier gatherings.  See background info and website link below.  Consider becoming a friend to this important movement.  Healing Our Spirit  Worldwide (HOSW)  The Sixth Gathering  Honolulu, HI  September 3-10, 2010 http://www.hosw.com/index.php OSW History/Covenant The Healing Our Spirit Movement The Healing Our Spirit Worldwide movement began as one person’s vision to create an international forum and movement focused on the alcohol and drug abuse issues and programs in Indigenous communities throughout the global community. With the Second Gathering (1994) in Sydney, Australia and the Third (1998) in Rotorua, Aotearoa (New Zealand), HOSW established itself as the international cultural and spiritual movement celebrating the tenacity and resilience of Indigenous peoples around the world in the struggle against alcohol and drug abuse. The fourth gathering of HOSW held in Albuquerque, New Mexico (2002), expanded the vision with the inclusion of health and governance issues. The Fourth Gathering provided two important developments: • The Covenant – a document to be designed for use at many levels, promoting health  and healing and ensuring these issues have a prominent place in the everyday life of  Indigenous peoples around the world – was formulated to provide guidance and direction  for Indigenous peoples in developing models of healing, self-determination and wholeness. • The International Indigenous Council (HOSW IIC), the vision-keeping and advisory body  consisting of Indigenous leaders from different countries. The Fifth Gathering expanded the vision with the inclusion of health and governance issues in relation to alcohol and drug abuse Held in Edmonton, Canada (2006) saw increased participation of indigenous Peoples from the Pacific and expanded the vision of the Covenant  of HOSW to make it one of the world’s most remarkable documents. The Fifth Gathering’s Indigenous Delegation from Central and South America, sponsored by  NNAPF, set the stage for their full and active inclusion in the HOSW movement.  The Sixth  Gathering is reaching out to more communities in Central & South America, as well as to those in Africa.  Spread the word! Healing Our Spirit Worldwide Covenant Celebrating that our Creator has given Indigenous Peoples, who belong to the land  and the sea, a unique and rich collection of gifts including mother earth, the sky and water,  or families and nations, our culture and wisdom and our own lives; Recognizing that these gifts rest at the heart of our past, our present and our future; Believing that the Spirit is the energy that empowers us to share, replenish, protect  and respect these gifts according to the Creator’s design; Remembering the devastation and confusion that colonization brought, including  alcohol and disease; Grieving for the land taken and the loss of communal life; We the Indigenous Peoples of the world having come together as part of the  Healing Our Spirit Worldwide movement declare with one voice and heart our resolve  to strengthen the Spirit of our Nations and Peoples, to clear from our hearts and minds  the clouds of confusion and doubt. We hold as true and as our guide the teaching of our grandmothers and  grandfathers that; We hold a sacred role to protect, maintain and respect the Creator’s gifts  so that our children and generations of children after them may live a healthy and rich life; Our responsibility to address, enhance and restore our sacred role; as custodians  of these gifts we need to make wise decisions because we are accountable to the  Creator and to generations to come; The health and well-being of our people and nations is built on our ability to maintain  compassionate, functioning relationships within ourselves, with the earth, each other,  our families and communities; Knowledge and wisdom are our partners and we must enrich them both and use them  well if our children are to build a meaningful future. We commit ourselves to work in unity and with resolve to strengthen and  heal the spirit of our Peoples.

  

Hay River and Wood Buffalo National Park

Late Summer in the NWT

Lacey the wonder watchdog

August colors  and calm

Moonrise over Great Slave Lake-Hay River campground about 10pm

Wood Buffalo Habitat-Salt Plains

Golden Eagle Nest-local adaptation

Suggestions of autumn in the leaves

Afternoon reflections on our way home

Our trip via the Waterfall Route (south of the Great Slave Lake) took us to and through Hay River and on to Fort Smith, the southern most community in the Northwest Territories, just above the Alberta border. And not incidentally, along one of the few roads through the Wood Buffalo National Park, a World Heritage Site (and home not only to the bison, but also one of the last known nesting grounds of the endangered whooping crane and the northern most reach of the migratory white pelicans). Perhaps ironically, we saw alot more buffalo up close and personal along the side of the road from Yellowknife to Fort Providence (it borders the Mackenzie Bison Sanctuary) than we saw via the telescopes overlooking the Salt Plains of the National Park...but must admit the buffalo looked more relaxed grazing on the plains in the distance.  No crane or pelican sightings on this trip (we hear that fly-in trips are typically needed to net those), but we did see creative use of the telephone lines by golden eagles, and at least one red fox checking us out along the way.  And more than a hint of the turning season ahead...

Words to live by

Scoping the Buffalo grazing on the Salt Plains

Weekend of Waterfalls -August 2010

One of the Twin Falls-Louisa

In our continuing quest to explore our newest 'neck of the woods', we travelled south from Yellowknife this weekend, through Fort Providence and over to Hay River and Fort Smith, along what is sometimes called the Waterfall Route. Take a peek below to see why.

Lady Evelyn Falls

Favorite Traveling Companion

McNally Creek Gorge

Two for the price of one!

The other twin:  Alexandra

The Long Portage-only way around the Falls

Path through the Boreal forest

Slavey history-past and present paddlers in the region

Tamarack tease-Fall is in the air.....

Rigolet Storytelling & Digital Media: My Dad taught me well

Summer Weekend at Prelude Lake

Autumn is just around the corner...

Lacey and me at the Prelude Lake Campground

Another beautiful weekend in our new temporary home.  We hit the road for one of the popular local lakes off the Igraham Trail and were happy to snag a walk in campground up on the rocks of Prelude Lake. We also got to check out the Prelude Nature Trail in its late summer glory.  Warm and comfy in our 20 year old Meteor Lite tent, enjoying the occasional rain shower overnight.  Here are a few photos from the campsite and nature trail.

Another magical landscape

One view from our campsite

Along the nature trail

Favorite traveling partner

Ephemeral pools abound

Lush growth atop the rocks

Along the trail

Diamond Capital of North America

Polar Diamond-Yellowknife Visitor Center

Yellowknife bills itself  these days as "the Diamond Capital of North America".  This is a relatively new designation for a still relatively young town.  Here is what the official site says about this very out of the ordinary place:

Official Site for City of Yellowknife


If you get a chance, I encourage you to download and take a peek at the 'Blue Book" of the same name, available from the home page above. It's got some stunning images and intriguing text all available free on line.

Another thought-provoking 'take' on recent developments in this old-time mining region (past gold, now diamonds), is the 2003 book I just finished this week by Alaskan Ellen Bielawski. It is called Rogue Diamonds:  The Rush for Northern Riches on Dene Land,  and is now available in paperback.  Dr. Bielawski was involved in the initial negotiations with the government and mining companies on behalf of some of the Dene communities.  Hers is a unique and valuable perspective on this complex yet oh-so-familiar, multi-cultural and socio-economic dance.  I recommend it.

 Rogue Diamonds (2003)