EARTHDANCE 2007 HIGHLIGHTS-The Gathering of the Elders
EARTHDANCE 2007 HIGHLIGHTS
3 Day Event
September 14th-16th, 2007
Laytonville, California
The Gathering of the Elders
Earthdance Laytonville is honored once again to present the "Gathering of Elders" featuring first nation and modern elders, who will join in council to share wisdom, sacred ceremony and discuss the important issues facing our planet.
2007 PARTICIPATING ELDERS
Chief Oren Lyons
Agnes Baker Pilgrim
Mercedes Barrios Longfellow
Bob (Bubbunj) Weatherall
Patrick Flanagan
Avon Mattison
Woody Vaspra
Zorigtbaatar Banzar
Nicky Scully
Wavy Gravy
Agnes Baker Pilgrim
The oldest living female member of the Rogue River Indians, Takelma tribe. Originally from Southern Oregon, Agnes was chosen by her tribe as a “Living Legend. Agnes is an ambassador for our Mother Earth. She is a spiritual elder of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz and granddaughter of Chief George Harney, the first elected chief of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz. She is a world-renowned spiritual leader, elder mentor to the Native American Student Union of Southern Oregon University, and keeper of the Sacred Salmon Ceremony.
http://www.agnesbakerpilgrim.org/
Oren Lyons
Oren Lyons was born in 1930 and raised in the traditional ways of the Iroquois on the Seneca and Onondaga reservations in northern New York state. Since his return to Onondaga in 1970, Chief Lyons has been a leading advocate for American Indian causes. He is recognized internationally as an eloquent and respected spokesperson on behalf of Native peoples. He is a sought-after lecturer or participant in forums in a variety of areas, including American Indian traditions, Indian law and history, human rights, environment and interfaith dialogue, and has received numerous honors and awards.
Mercedes Barrios Longfellow
Mercedes Barrios Longfellow, Maya Elder from Guatemala, has dedicated most of her life to sharing the Maya ancestral knowledge with others. She is a wise teacher and loving healer who travels extensively throughout the world conducting sacred ceremony, teaching workshops, and providing spiritual counsel. Her vision is that humanity will fully embrace the role of healing our Mother Earth and all living things.
Bob (Bubbunj) Weatherall
Bob (Bubbunj) Weatherall is an Australian Aboriginal traditional owner of the Gomilaroi Tribal Nation from the Balonne River region in South West Queensland. He joined the Foundation for Aboriginal and Islander Research Action (FAIRA) in 1980. For the past twenty-five years, he has been a strong advocate for Aboriginal Rights. He has become a key voice advocating the pre-eminence of Aboriginal people’s ownership, control and management of Aboriginal cultural properties and the repatriation of Aboriginal ancestral human remains from overseas and within
Australia.
Zorgtbaatar Banzar Zorigtbaatar Banzar
Mongolia Chief Shaman Zorigtbaatar Banzar was called by the Great Spirit to fulfill his life’s purpose as a shaman when he was eight years old and began his apprentice with many renowned Mongolian shamans. He is the leader of Center of Shaman and Eternal Heavenly Sophistication Mongolia. He holds a Master of Shaman Research from Religion University of Mongolia and received an Honorary Doctor of Nalandar University in India. He was honored as Golden Gerege from Mongolian Government and Commission of 800th Anniversary of Great Mongolia Chief Shaman. He has presented his work for The Institute of Noetic Science and several International Conferences on the Study of Shamanism and Alternative Modes of Healing. He lives with his wife and three children at Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
Woody Vaspra
Woody Vaspra, a native Hawaiian, retired Air Force pilot, Vietnam veteran and former corporate director for several companies, co-founded the World Council of Elders, a 501(c)(3) educational organization in 2000. Woody has traveled across the globe meeting with indigenous Elders of many native cultures in fulfillment of the vision of creating a worldwide organization of traditional indigenous wisdom-keepers ready to share their Earth-honoring traditions toward love, peace and harmony for all peoples.
http://www.worldcouncilofelders.org/
Dr. Patrick Flanagan Patrick Flanagan
Dr. Patrick Flanagan possesses a unique ability to reorganize key concepts from a variety of applied sciences to solve intractable problems. He is a futurist with deep encyclopedic knowledge of the applied sciences. At 11 years of age, he designed a missile detection system that was purchased by the Department of Defense. At age 13, he invented a device enabling deaf people to hear and received two patents for it. At 17, he was part of a Pentagon Think Tank and later was a consultant to the CIA, NSA, and NASA. As a physicist and medical doctor, Patrick Flanagan realized that his passion for the applied sciences grew out of a deep love and desire to protect humanity and life itself. For decades, Dr. Flanagan has openly invited stringent scrutiny of his research and discoveries by the medical and scientific communities. The seeds of this effort are blossoming at an exponential rate as the scientific community is validating and embracing his extraordinary contributions.
Avon Mattison Avon Mattison
Avon has over three decades experience working with innovative leaders, groups and organizations committed to cooperatively building inter-generational Cultures of Peace. She is Co-Founder of Pathways To Peace, a non-profit and non-partisan N.G.O., and an international peacebuilding, educational and consulting organization that has Consultative II status with the U.N. Economic and Social Council. Pathways to Peace is . Avon is a former diplomat with the U.S. Foreign Service and serves on the Advisory Councils/Boards of several international organizations including, The Global Commission to Fund the United Nations, World Peace Prayer Society, Center for Visionary Leadership, Radio for Peace International, and the World Fund for the Dignity of Children. Through Pathways To Peace, Avon inaugurated a five-year Inquiry on the We The People’s Initiative - Peacebuilding for the 21st Century, now a co-operative international Inquiry.
http://www.pathwaystopeace.org/
Nicky Scully Nicky Scully
Nicki Scully has been teaching healing and shamanic arts, and the Egyptian Mysteries since 1983. Techniques from her Alchemical Healing form are used internationally by thousands of practitioners. She is a lineage holder in the Hermetic tradition of Thoth and maintains the Lyceum of Shamanic Egypt. She is ordained as a priestess of Hathor by Lady Olivia Robertson, co-founder of the Fellowship of Isis. Drawing on the knowledge she has gained through decades of study and practice, she enlightens and uplifts all whom study and travel with her. Nicki lives in Eugene, Oregon, where she maintains a comprehensive healing and shamanic consulting practice.
http://www.shamanicjourneys.com/
Wavy Gravy
Comedian, comic actor and activist clown. He was a part of the Beat movement in the late 1950s, hanging out in Greenwich Village with hipsters and folk singers like Paul Krassner, Lenny Bruce, and Bob Dylan. By 1966, he was one of Ken Kesey's Merry Pranksters and lived on a mountain top commune near L.A. called the Hog Farm. After a time, the Hog Farm took to the road with its members living in a fleet of converted school buses and traveling the country protesting the Vietnam War. Wavy has filled his days with an endless list of benefits and worthy causes, including the Seva Foundation, Home Aid (for the homeless), Cowboys for Indians (for Native Americans), Blues Against Blindness and more. He also co-founded the legendary camp Winnarainbow for children with is wife Jahanara and has spent countless hours spent in children's hospital ward.