Storytelling Reflections 2016

On behalf of our core R.E.D. community, we'd like to once again express our gratitude for the help in supporting and participating in our annual Native Storytelling Conference last month. Please click "Read More" below photo for full story. It's amazing to reflect it has been a complete decade hosting not only the Storytelling Conference, but also ten years of hosting our Elder/Youth Conferences, Eco-Symposiums, Harvest Festivals, Stickball Tournaments (Native Gaming), countless benefits for elders and teachers in our midst, countless community education forums, Socials, Ceremonies and gatherings, including hosting the 20th Annual World Peace and Prayer Day 2015 in our own backyards. It's been a decade of building relations, trust and skills together, and we constantly feel blessed to have your watchful hearts and hands giving us so much support. As we are currently making this huge transition into creating Red Willow Center, we look forward to the next decade as we continue to serve our community.

We will post video of the Storytelling Conference once it is edited and ready--be on the watch on our website and social media (www.redearthdescendants.org and you can find Red Earth Descendants on Facebook and Twitter).

Our sincere thank you's to the following~
MRG Foundation for your generous grant to support the Conference (www.mrgfoundation.org).
Ashland Community Food Store for your Community Grant to support the Feast and speakers.
Jeanine Moy with KS Wild for acorn processing (and giving us just a little bit of our brother Wiley back to remember and honor!).
City of Ashland for Pioneer Hall and all your flexibility in and around the new construction!
Featured Storyteller and Story-Keeper for her Kalapuya Tribe, Esther Stutzman for holding these ancient stories and gifting them to us, once again. And for her undying guidance, encouragement and direction.
Tom Smith for presenting and honoring us with the Rogue Valley Veteran's Eagle Staff and for the beautiful story behind the creation of this Staff.
Ed Little Crow for his continual gift in educating the public regarding the history of Native people and how that relates to current activism.
Speakers from Standing Rock sharing their personal stories--Oshana Katranidou, Zhawen Wahpepah and Aaron Moffat with their raw, honest, eloquent messages from their time on the front-lines.
Our vendors for providing some lovely gifts and for sharing their wares.
Our set-up and clean-up crews--you are the heart and soul of any event, and you are SO appreciated!
Our community for 'potlucking' a wonderful feast!
Our community elders for helping, directing, correcting and loving us.
And last but not least, we broke our usual giveaway tradition (of always hosting free events) by creating a voluntary benefit for Standing Rock and asking you all to help donate, if possible, to provide more winterizing support for the camps. Many of you gave generously and we raised $1,215 at the Storytelling Conference. All proceeds were hand-delivered to the Karl LaDue Wodakota Foundation to specifically support the Alaska structure campaign (the "Arctic Fox" structures that are being gifted to Standing Rock). Stay tuned to our work within R.E.D. and to Karl LaDue Wodakota (thekarlladuewodakotafoundation.org) as we expand our vision and goals for empowering Native youth, providing for our elders and continuing traditions through green technology and new innovation. This is a very exciting precipice we stand on as we enter the era of taking land back, using our current land base to shift uses of energy, and creating sustainable communities. Standing Rock is our beginning in this new realm, inspiring us all to physically make the change. Many of us who have worked diligently to bring this change for many years are seeing all races of people waking up and celebrating this new chapter. It is truly what has been prophesied, and as our elders have been telling us now for generations, the change lies with us. Now.

As always, we are honored to be of service to you all and we give thanks for your trust in us. I am personally beyond grateful to our growing, vibrant circle of friends and family.

Pilamaya,

Jaimie
Red Earth Descendants