American Indian youth running for world peace
Saturday, May 14, 2005 - GREAT BARRINGTON -- Berkshire residents are invited to meet 30 Indian runners from the Wolakota Prayer Run for World Peace on Tuesday.
The runners will be visiting Great Barrington on their cross-country trek and local residents can share a meal and host them in their homes for the night.
Our Sacred Future Foundation is co-sponsoring a public potluck event with Berkshire South Regional Community Center, 15 Crissey Road, to welcome the runners on Tuesday from 5:30 to 8.
Runners from American Indian reservations nationwide began their journey from the "Four Directions" (Canada, Mexico-California, New York and North Carolina) in early May.
The trek will end June 18 in Piedmont, S.D., also known as Paha Sapa, or Black Hills, the sacred site of the Lakota (Sioux) nation, where they will gather with more than 10,000 others for the 10th annual World Peace and Prayer Day. The run also is open to non-Indian youth and adults.
The run is a rite of passage for the youth, in which they learn to use traditional knowledge, connect with the Earth through prayer, and to experience firsthand waking up with the sun, visiting different communities, and sharing their prayers for peace on the road.
The Wolakota Youth Council is sponsored by Berkshire residents Melissa Kushi and Chris Lindstrom, founders of the nonprofit Our Sacred Future Foundation, which is dedicated to renewing the wisdom and essence of traditional native foods, agriculture and healthy sustainable living.
Their projects are devoted to education for sustainability, appropriate technology, alternative currency, and building sustainable community by bridging traditional wisdom with eco-technology.
To RSVP for the potluck event at BSRCC, to host a runner or to volunteer to help for the event, call Kushi at 644-9050. The gathering is open to the public, and donations are being accepted to help the runners on their journey.
Link to Report
May Reports
Last updated on May 15, 2005