Youth Invited to Speak with Indigenous Grandmothers

Call to Youth: Speak With the Grandmothers
5th Council of the The International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers
Deadline: June 1, 2007
http://www.nativevillage.org/1International%20Council%20of%20the%20Thirteen%20Indigenous%20Grandmothers/The%20Thirteen%20Grandmothers'%20Youth%20Forum.htm

The Grandmothers
Grandmother Aama Bambo, Nepal, Asia
Grandmother Margaret Behan, Cheyenne/Arapho North America
Grandmother Rita Pikta Blumenstein,Yupik, Arctic/North America
Grandmother Julieta Casimiro, Mazatec, Mexico/North America
Grandmother Flordemayo, Mayan, Central America
Grandmother Maria Alica Campos Freire, Brazil, South America
Grandmother Tsering Dolma Gyalthong, Tibetan, Asia
Grandmother Beatrice Holy Dance Long-Visitor, Lakota, North America
Grandmother Rita Holy Dance Long-Visitor, Lakota, North America
Grandmother Agnes Baker-Pilgrim, Takelma Siletz, North America
Grandmother Mona Palocca, Hopi-Havasupi, North America
Grandmother Bernadette Rebienot, Bwiti, Africa
Grandmother Clara Shinobu Iura, Amazonian Rainforest, Brazil South America

This year, The International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers will hold their fifth council gathering before and during Sundance from June 12-22, 2007 in the Black Hills of South Dakota. During the conference, the 13 Grandmothers will meet with Native Village director Gina Boltz who is assisting in the creation and publishing of their Internet Youth Forum for kids and young adults up to age 25.

Kids, we need your help. The 13 Indigenous Grandmothers -- elders, healers, wisdomkeepers and spiritual leaders held in the highest regard -- want to hear from our world's youth. If you could ask them one question, what would it be: How do we end global warming? Why can't people just get along? What can I do to become a better person? No matter the question, these wisest of women are here for you. All you have to do is ask.

Native Village will compile and present your questions to the Grandmothers during council. Your questions, along with the Grandmothers' answers, will later be posted in the Grandmothers Youth Forum housed on the Native Village website.
To post your message and for more information:
http://www.nativevillage.org/
The International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers
www.grandmotherscouncil.com

Thank you for Speaking With the Grandmothers:

Warm Regards,
Gina Boltz, Director
Native Village Publications
http://www.nativevillage.org

The beginnings....

LIGHTING OF THE GRANDMOTHERS' SACRED FIRE
Source: Grandmothers Council the World: Women Elders Offer Their Vision for Our Planet
Written by Carol Schaefer
Published by Trumpeter Books, Boston, 2006

"In a magical valley, protected by the ancient spirits of the towering Catskill Mountains, a sacred fire was lit.

"The flame that kindled the sacred fire was originally ignited in 1986 just outside the United Nations building by Chief Shenandoah of the Iroquois Nation. He rubbed two sticks together to create a spark, then lit a torch for peace in the International Year of Peace. That morning, in the gleaming sunlight of a beautiful sunrise, the UN building shone like the envisioned "Great Hall of Mica" spoken of in Hopi prophecy for over a thousand years. A message was to be delivered at an amazing shining place at the time of the "Great Turning" in hopes of ushering in a millennium of peace in the world. The Hopi knew the times described in the prophecy had come.

"Through extraordinary cooperation, the peace torch traveled from the Great hall of Mica around the world through sixty-two countries in eighty-six days. During the flame's miraculous journey, it was borne by thousands of runners and witnessed by millions of people, including many world leaders ... When the torch returned to the United Nations, there were many incredible stories about the powerful alchemical nature of the fire. Afterward, the flame was brought to the altar of the holy Santurario de Chimayo in New Mexico where it has since been kept burning, except for when it traveled to the hallowed land of the Iroquois in 2004.

"Surrounded by golden woods and in the cool, still, evening air of mid-October, 2004, the flame initiated an unprecedented and historic gathering of thirteen indigenous Grandmothers from around the world, keepers of their tribes' teachings from original times. The Grandmothers had come to fulfill another ancient prophecy, known by many of the world's indigenous tribes: "When the Grandmothers from the four directions, speak, anew time is coming..."