Walking the Red Road

Indigenous Leaders gather in ceremony to stand in Unprecedented, Unified Action to halt the abuse of Mother Earth!

Actress Wendie Malick holds horses close to her heart.

Actress Wendie Malick holds horses close to her heart. I loved her speech today at Horses on the Hill and with her permission, I would like to share it with you. Thank you Wendie Malick for never giving up on our horses! ~Declan

"In 1971, Richard Nixon signed into law the 'Free Roaming Horse and Burro Act', quoting Henry David Thoreau, 'We need the tonic of horses'.

I would submit now, more than ever, we need the tonic of wildness...Americans are in the midst of an identity crisis:
'What do we stand for?'
'How does the world see us?'
'What values do we share?'
Well, for one thing, we do not eat horses and we do not condone enabling other countries to do so.

I have the privilege of living with 5 horses, 2 donkeys, 2 dogs and a husband and a niece. They have all been instrumental in helping me evolve, but it's the horses who've been keeping me up at night... For their kin are under assault. Both wild and domestic.

I have witnessed roundups, visited the government holding pens, seen footage of slaughter plants, and hear hear about the kill buyers outbidding at auctions for the lucrative flesh of healthy horses.

These are the horses that have fought our wars, plowed our fields, delivered our mail, instructed our cildren, been our beloved companions, thrilled us with their speed and grace and heart... Living symbols of America we hold dear. Why are we destroying the horse we rode in on?

I have a dear friend who, when her children are on the verge of doing something wrong, simply says, 'No. That is not who we are.'

Make no mistake, there is no "humane" way to slaughter a horse. Due to their flight instinct, they are not easily stunned, often suffering repeated blows and can remain conscious during dismemberment. If you have any doubt about this, watch 30 seconds of a slaughter video.

My niece is here with me today. She's been around horses since she was born and considers them her best friends. Like these other young people here, she wanted to be part of 'government in action' on behalf of these magnificent creatures. Let 'government in action' be three words, not two.

Do not appropriate any funds to inspect horse meat. Let us ban this gruesome practice and announce to the world, 'THIS IS WHO WE ARE!' " ~Wendie Malick

Elder's Meditation of the Day May 16

Elder's Meditation of the Day May 16
"It's time. If you are to walk the path of heart, then it is time..."
--Nippawanock, ARAPAHOE
If not now, when? If not me, who? To walk the path of the heart is a great honor. Every human has the choice to walk this path, but very few will decide to make it. Why? Well, because you can't act and behave like everyone else behaves. You must be the person who will learn to look within. You must be the person who will be fully accountable for yourself. You must be the person who prays and meditates. You must be the person who will sacrifice. You must decide to be a Peaceful Warrior. What will you decide today?

Oh, Great Mystery, lead me on the path of the heart.

Kristal Leonard Photography

Good Words

Elder's Meditation of the Day May 15

A very great vision is needed and the man who has it must follow it as the eagle seeks the deepest blue of the sky. — Crazy Horse

"We must have respect and understanding for women and all female life on this Earth which bears the sacred gift of life."
--Traditional Circle of Elders. ONONDAGA
At a gathering of Native Elders we were told that many men of today had lost their ability to look at the Woman in a sacred way. They said we were only looking at Her in a physical sense and had lost the ability to look at Her sacredness. They said the Woman has a powerful position in the Unseen World. She has the special ability to bring forth life. They told us to start showing Her respect and to look upon her in a sacred manner. We must start this today.

Grandfather, show me how to see in a sacred way.

Straw Bale Garden

If you want to see a beautiful Straw Bale Garden, check out this one in France. The garden is an entry into a very prestigious garden tour with 20 gardens around Paris, that runs for six months. Make sure to hit the translate button in the upper right corner unless you are fluent in French. http://www.un-paysage-a-gouter.weonea.com/blog/22607/
http://www.un-paysage-a-gouter.weonea.com/blog/22607/

Elder's Meditation of the Day May 14

Elder's Meditation of the Day May 14
"Prayer is the best answer to all of the trials that face us, because without prayer, even if we succeed in accomplishing some great goal in the eyes of men, we have failed in our sacred responsibilities, and thus we have failed in what is truly important."
--Thomas Yellowtail, CROW
What are our sacred responsibilities? One is to be of maximum service to the Creator, and two is to serve the people. In a way, it's like the Great Spirit is the employer and we are the employees. We live each day, do what we do, accomplish our goals, face our difficulties, overcome them all to the Glory of the Creator. We do these things to make Him proud! Even if we work for a company, agency or tribe, they are not really our employer; the Creator is our employer. Working for the Creator is better than working for a human being, because each night we can talk to the Creator and ask Him, "Well, how did I do today?". He answers back each night, "I'm proud of you, my child; sleep well, and in the morning I'll give you a new set of growing experiences.".

Great Spirit, today, let me work for you. You will be my new boss.

All Nations Native American Veterans Memorial

Earth. We are one. EWAO

Earth. We are one.
The Mind Unleashed
Spirit Science and Metaphysics
The Natural Way
Universe Explorers 

Buffalo Skulls

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then this picture is worth many thousands of bison. This photo from the 1870s shows a man proudly standing in front of a mountain of tens of thousands of bison skulls - an iconic American species that was systematically slaughtered by the millions as European Americans settled the west. 

The US Army actively endorsed the wholesale slaughter of these animals for two main reasons: to remove any competition with cattle, and to starve Native American tribes who greatly depended on the bison for food. Without the bison, the resisting tribes of the Great Plains would either be forced to leave or die of starvation.

More than a century after this dark period in our history, the bison is making a comeback. After living on the brink of extinction, this American icon is slowly but steadily returning to the Great Plains - one baby bison at a time. You can watch a video of how Native American communities and conservation groups like Earthjustice are fighting to bring back the bison on our website:http://ejus.tc/Ovv8lV 

Earth Guardians--Why Bully Kids

Why would people from the Oil and Gas Industry bully 10 and 13 year old kids?

I am writing this op-ed because I want to know why the biggest, most powerful industry is picking on kids who are trying to educate their peers about an issue they are passionate about.

MY STORY: My name is Xiuhtezcatl Martinez. I am a 13-year-old boy from the Aztec tradition and I have doing environmental activism since a young age. My first public speaking engagement was 7 years ago, at a local climate change rally. I began speaking out on issues that are directly going to determine the kind of world we the youth are going to be left with, because I started learning facts about what was happening globally to our earth, to eco systems that are disappearing, to animals that are going extinct, to oceans becoming acidic and glaciers melting because of our climate and environmental crises. I grew up in the Aztec tradition as well, learning that all life is sacred and that all life needed to be protected. Since I was very young, I have had a deep connection with the earth and nature, contributing to my love for activism.

I have been giving presentations in schools on these issues, showing kids the state of the planet we are inheriting and the power we have to do something about it. A couple of years ago I learned about Fracking and started studying and uncovering the disastrous effects Fracking had on our health, the water, the air, and our community. I did hours of research, and reviewed many many studies about the direct hidden impacts of fracking in our community. So I decided I wanted to educate my peers by giving a multi-media presentation on fracking.

I was invited to do a Fracking presentation for two classes of about 26 students each at Evergreen middle school, but then word got out that a couple of kids were coming to talk about fracking and EVERYONE wanted to come. Together there were about 200 kids total and they were all very excited about the presentation and participated by asking questions and joining us in the Fracking song we performed.

It went great and the kids loved it and they were all talking about how cool the presentation was and many of them signed a petition I brought for a Statewide ban on Fracking. I was totally psyched, until I heard that one of the kids went home and told their parents who work for the Gas industry about the presentation and the song me and my brother performed called “What the Frack”. The parents got so mad and started calling other parents. Then they contacted the schools and said it wasn’t fair to give a one sided presentation to their kids, which I can see the point in that but the oil and gas industry do go into schools to convince kids Fracking is safe and are allowed to give kids brainwashing coloring books saying fracking is great. They talk about the coloring books in this Colbert Report if you go to the three minute marker:http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/391552/july-11-2011/anti-frack-attack


The whole thing escalated when conservatives and oil and gas parents pulled a video of our Fracking performance at Evergreen school and started posting it all over the web saying very horrible things about me and bullying me and my little brother. They were posting name calling even cursing on my facebook and youtube pages, that other kids see who are a part of the Earth Guardian youth movement. I even got emails and one of them was from someone who said they work at the school I go to and they wanted to talk to me about the hate mail, and when my mom talked to the school they said no such person worked there. Someone even set up a fake email using their name at centennialschool.net.

I believe they got really upset because I was exposing the truth about fracking and they said I was “brainwashing” the kids, when I was just sharing knowledge that I have spent lots of time studying, because I care about the kind of world me and these kids are going to be left with. The first amendment is Freedom of speech!!!! I was educating them on the facts and science I have learned about fracking.

Their was study done by NOAA on the air quality in Erie Colorado, close to my home where their is lots of wells, and it stated that they found levels of Methane, butane and some other carcinogenic chemicals in the air were higher then levels in big cities like Houston Texas and Pasadena California. The Lisa Mckensey study and report shows that living within a half mile of a fracking well results in a 66 percent increase in cancer. Wouldn’t you want to protect your kids from being exposed to these dangerous chemicals. The kids I have worked with in Erie who live near wells have severe nose bleeds, migraine headaches, asthma and other symptoms they never had until fracking wells showed up practically in their back yards.


More and more people are learning about how bad fracking is, even Robert F. Kennedy jr, came out and publicly admitted that Fracking is not a safe bridge away from fossil fuels and is worse for climate change then using coal because of the fugitive methane emissions that are released in the fracking process’s. A movement is growing across the country to stop fracking and implement renewable energy solutions. If they put half the money into renewables that they put into the gas, we could power our whole state of Colorado by solar or wind, which are both resources that are abundant in our state. Josh Fox’s new movie Gasland 2 is being released and I encourage anyone who wants to learn more about the dangers of fracking to watch it.

So my question is? Why does a multi-million dollar industry need to bully 10 and 13-year-old boys? Is their something they are hiding about the true impacts of fracking?

I value my health and the health and wellbeing of my community and the Earth. I am standing up for the future of my generation which includes their kids, and no matter what anyone says, I will stand up for what is right and work to leave a better world for the generations to come. The adults can’t just have a party on the planet and leave the mess for us kids to clean up. It’s not fair!

I have travelled nationally, and internationally to spread the Earth Guardian message that we all need to be guardians of this precious Earth that gives us life. If we don’t unite and work together to stop these dangerous practices, and change our consumption based life styles then our generation won’t have a chance of inheriting a healthy, habitable planet!

Elder's Meditation of the Day May 13

Elder's Meditation of the Day May 13
"But the great spirit has provided you and me with an opportunity for study in nature's university, the forests, the rivers, the mountains, and the animals which include us."
---- Walking Buffalo, STONEY
What we really need to learn is how to live life. Nature is the greatest university when we want to learn about balance, harmony, the Natural Laws and how to live life. But we will never learn unless we spend time in the "living university." Nature is full of examples, lessons, and exercises about life. Nature will help humans learn. Nature will help humans heal. Nature will help with Medicine, knowledge, and healing. The reason our Elders are so wise is because they have attended the right educational system - nature's university.

Great Spirit, help me to become wise.

Elder's Meditation of the Day May 12

"All the stones that are around here, each one has a language of its own. Even the earth has a song."
---- Wallace Black Elk, LAKOTA
To believe that every tree, plant, and insect can talk takes an open mind. Go by yourself into nature and sit quietly. Then pick up a rock and listen to your thoughts. After a while, put that rock down and pick up another rock. Your thoughts will change. These are the voices and wisdom of the Stone People. Each one has different wisdom and they are willing to share their wisdom with you. Many of the Stone People are very old and very wise.

Great Spirit, let every rock and leaf be my teacher.