R.E.D.'s Elder~Youth Conference, 2010

We invite you to our 5th Annual Elder~Youth Conference, June 17-20 at EarthTeach Forest Park. Our Elder~Youth camp is a family-oriented event that allows our community to camp-out together for four days in the beautiful Southern Oregon mountains east of Ashland. We join children, youth and elders in the old, traditional way of "being a tribal village together."

This year we look forward to more teachings from elders and tribal representatives who carry traditional knowledge. Our itinerary looks something like this:

Thursday, June 17: Arrive in camp and help with set-up--we will be setting up tipis, getting the Sweat Lodge ready, brushing the Longhouse, setting up the community kitchen and settling in. In the evening we'll provide dinner and have a camp circle to talk about expectations in camp and what projects we'll be working on.

Friday, June 18: Men/boys, women/girls will go in different directions and have some time apart, learning the roles each gender plays in traditional societies. Men and boys will start the day with a hike, have a Drum teaching, do an accuracy skills course, ending the day with a sweat. Women and girls will hold a women's circle and some basketry teachings, crafting and other surprises! Women's Circle in the main meadow will begin at 10 a.m.. Please plan to be there by 9:45 a.m. to be ready and on time--thank you!

Saturday, June 19 will be all about survival skills--fire-making, horse handling skills, shelter-making, hand-weaving, forest ecology with teachings on wild edibles and much more. Also a basketry teaching with a special Shasta elder will be taught in the afternoon.

Sunday, June 20 will be our usual Longhouse at 10 a.m., followed by closing ceremony/circle and taking-down camp.

These basic themes will of course be interwoven with many other activities and teachings, including playing a LOT of stick games (shinny), accuracy games, hiking, storytelling in the evenings around the camp fire, finishing the dug-out canoe (and maybe once again launching it on the lake!), tipi teachings, traditional food preparation and meals, crafting, sweat lodges, community giveaway and more.

For more information, please email us at:

redearthdescendants@gmail.com

Also please see our calendar on this site for further information, location, etc..

As with all our events, we are DRUG AND ALCOHOL-FREE. This is a family event (not a drop-off camp for children)--please come with your kids and experience this camp together! It is free of charge with a community kitchen--please bring contributions equivalent to what your family would eat in 4 days if you plan to camp there and use the kitchen. Camping sites available, also free of charge as part of the sponsorship of Red Earth Descendants.

People spending time at this gathering are there to participate in the vision of uniting youth and elders as we learn from our teachers ways of being stewards of the earth and surviving these changing times as human beings. We are there to build relationships and act as role models for our children and the next Generations of life, which means coming with a plan about how you can participate--there is plenty of healthy work, teaching and learning to accomplish at this Conference!

KITCHEN NEEDS:

Some bulk food ideas for kitchen donations that would be used to fulfill the needs of camp:

Fresh fruits and veggies
Brown rice
Lentils
Black beans
Meats (please bring FROZEN so that they can thaw in ice chests and coolers)
Soy and almond milks (easier to store than cow milk, don't need refrigeration until opened)
Lemons and limes
Coolers (mark your name on them)
Ice
Butter
Cheese
Eggs
Raisins

R.E.D. is sponsoring many of the kitchen needs as a giveaway to our community, yet donations are needed and appreciated! Mary Ann will once again be head cook and will work her menu around donations that come in. We are striving for providing healthy foods in camp once again this year and would appreciate everyone steering away from sodas, high sugar juices, cookies, cakes, candy and other junk food.

We encourage folks to camp for the 4 days, but if you plan to come and go from camp, or if you can only come up for a day or two, please watch for our signs showing where to park for day use. There is limited parking space by the main meadow that we will reserve for handicapped and elders. Everyone else will be asked to park in the upper lot.

No pre-registration required, though we will ask that you stop by the registration table and sign waivers and hold-harmless agreements after reading the information about EarthTeach Forest Park. Each year, EarthTeach graciously shares the Park with us for this Conference and in exchange, we respect the general guidelines as set forth by the stewards of EarthTeach. We have grown to feel that EarthTeach is part of the backbone of R.E.D. and we so appreciate Pete Cotton's work and generosity toward our vision.

We look forward to another amazing Elder~Youth Conference! If you have any questions, please contact us at this address or call:

201-8101 Michael
941-5989 Jaimie
890-3529 Danny

Location: Located at the 9 mile marker on Dead Indian Memorial Road. Look for our signs, as well as the signs for EarthTeach Forest Park, LEAP Camp and Coyote Trails. It's all EarthTeach, and we are in the "Celebration Meadow" to the left as you drive in the main driveway. Parking instructions will be given at that point.

And for those of you who would like to push your sleeves up, break a sweat and help get the camp ready for the Elder~Youth Conference by participating in a second work party, please also contact us at the above email address. We'd love more help! Our next work party at EarthTeach is scheduled for Wednesday, June 16--all afternoon. Thank you to the following people who put in several hours of hard work this past weekend gathering willows to put up the Lodge and cut, haul, split and stack wood: Danny, Michael, Zac, Christine, Jaimie, Didar, Davis, Stasi, Michele, Joe and Lenny. Also thanks to the kids for breaking in the meadow with lots of laughter, log-jumpin', hoola-hoopin' and inspiration--Braedon, Oisin, Cade and Tasker!