Supporting Native Efforts Opposed to Keystone XL - July 26

Keep in mind, that opposition to Keystone XL is something I personally support. In no way does this blog post represent the rainbow gathering or other gathering participants. However, given that the universe pulled us towards South Dakota this year, I think that perhaps other gathering participants may feel called as well.

Keystone XL Resistance March and Ride

Sunday, July  26 11 a.m. Fort Pierre, South Dakota

Meet in Fort Pierre next to the Pizza Ranch at 11am MDT (12pm CT). Riders both native and non-native will be leading us and we will ride and march together across the bridge into Pierre to show our collective resistance to tar sands and the Keystone XL pipeline. The march will be followed by a water ceremony, concert rally, and a community feed.

For details and contact info, click here.

Stopping the Keystone XL Pipeline.

Keystone XL is a proposed tar sands pipeline that would connect Alberta, Canada with Gulf Coast refineries that would carry 800,000 barrels per day of tar sands oil across the United States to be refined, exported and burned.

Tar sands oil has a massive carbon footprint — sometimes requiring more energy to produce than it creates — and Keystone XL is the key to making burning that oil economically feasible.

The fight against Keystone XL has been powered by an unprecedented wave of grassroots actions, led by people from all walks of life, in every state in the United States — and beyond. For general information, visit 350.org.

As is the case with most environmentally damaging projects, big business tries to route the damage through poorer communities thinking they will get less resistance.  Many of the reservations and sacred lands in South Dakota are in the path of this monster.

Watch this message from Native youth to President Obama.


I encourage you to learn more and support the children who are trying to save the land for their generation and the ones that come after them.  For information on efforts to stop the Keystone XL in South Dakota, learn more by reading one of these articles:

Argues Leader Article

Lakota Voice Rez News

Indian Country Today

My hope is that the gathering in South Dakota helps gathering participants (no matter where they are gathering this year) to learn how we can support the people of South Dakota in this effort and that we can then take action to stop this atrocity against the earth, the First Nation people, and the children everywhere.  Together we can make a difference.

Peace and the Planet (Part 5 of 5 of "Creating Peace")

In order to live in a peaceful world, we need to treat our planet, Gaia, with the respect, love, and attention to her sustenance with which we treat our children. Climate change is the result of mistreating our amazing planet. Climate change is about changing weather patterns that make it hard for people to find drinking water for their children, that create flooding of homes and agriculture land, and that wither our crops under relentless sun.

When people are hungry or thirsty, violence can easily erupt over food and water. Not just in Dafur but everywhere including the gathering.  How then do we show with our actions that we are actively working to protect Gaia from climatic changes that threaten world (and local) peace?

Reduce the number of campfires. Burning carbon increases global warming. Plus if you see the cloud of wood smoke in main meadow at a gathering, you'll realize that reducing the number of campfires will improve the health of every gathering participant. Click here to learn more about the negative impacts of campfires on human and planetary health.

Reduce/reuse/recycle - adopt a zero waste lifestyle. Only buy products that you will consume or that will last you for a long time. For example, buy rice in bulk with reusable containers instead of throw away plastic packaging. Buy reusable forks and knives for a gathering not single use plastics. Packaging and throw away junk contributes to climate change. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that by cutting the amount of waste we generate back to 1990 levels, we could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 11.6 million metric tons of carbon equivalent (MTCE), the basic unit of measure for greenhouse gases. To learn more about how what you buy creates climate change, click here.

Plus the less stuff you bring to a gathering, the less stuff YOU need to haul out when you leave. You would be amazed at the amount of camping gear that gets left behind at a gathering.  Re-use that tent or find a loving home for it if you do not want it anymore. Don't leave it behind for the cleanup crew.  YOU are the clean up crew. The less we buy and bring to the gathering, the less clean up we have to do. Buy food in bulk, bring gear to keep you warm and dry and forgot about the rest. Recycling of aluminum cans takes energy which contributes to climate change.  Use reusable stainless steel containers for your beverages and stop giving your money to the multi-national conglomerates like Pepsi and Coca Cola who don't care about the seventh generation and are wrecking your health and the health of the planet.

Put your money where your mouth is. Walk your talk.  We can change this world by spending our money in ways that create the change we want to see in this world. Shop at your local co-ops. Buy locally grown produce. We can make a difference, one person, one family, one clan at a time. Let us follow the wisdom of our Lakota siblings and heal this beautiful planet that gives us so much.

We are the people we have been waiting for to create a future for the next generation. How are you going to step up and create the change for which Gaia is praying?

Together we can change our future

Feeding the Family

Many people wonder how we can feed 10,000 people in the woods for free.  Well just because it's free doesn't mean it doesn't cost money or sweat. Some years, food is plentiful at the gathering especially in the early part of the gathering, other years not so much.  Seems to me that everyone is happier when they're not hungry.  So in the interest of making sure all the amazing kitchens have plenty of food to cook up for all the bellies in camp, here's some suggestions on how to insure we have plenty of food.  Some people seem to like to bring their own food and cook for themselves, but to me that seems to miss the point of gathering and learning how to share what we have with each other. Of course, bringing snacks for yourself like energy bars is a great idea especially if you tend to need to eat when you need to eat as meals (other than dinner circle) can be hit or miss.

Many of the folks who focalize kitchens work hard during the year to buy supplies to feed this family. For the kitchens, this is a labor of love and the kitchen crews (of which you can be one if you volunteer) want you to have nutritious, good tasting and filling food.

If you're not to far away and you're growing crops, bring what you have to the gathering.  Food grown with love is always the best.  If you're coming in by car, stop for supplies on your way. If possible, shop at the stores close to the gathering and be sure to let the store know you are buying supplies for the gathering and invite everyone to come up.

If you're buying supplies, fresh fruits and veggies are the best as we never seem to have enough. If you bring fruits or veggies, pick varieties that can stand be hauled around in the bottom of a back pack and that do not need refrigeration.  Apples and oranges, cabbages, mushrooms, onions, carrots, zucchini, etc. Also important supplies to bring are olive oil, garlic, spices, herbal teas, whole wheat flour, coffee, brown rice, dried beans, quinoa, yams/sweet potatoes, oatmeal and maple syrup. Try to bring things the vegans can eat cause then everyone can eat it.  When you arrive with supplies, feel free to take them direct to your favorite kitchen or if you have a large load, ask for "main supply" and drop off there for distribution. Try to support local farmers whenever possible. The longer the food has to travel to make it to the gathering, the more green house gas emissions were added to the ozone. 

The only other way food arrives at the gathering is via cash donations to the Magic Hat. We don't accept food stamps, EBT cards, Visa, checks etc. If you do not have cash, please go to town and buy supplies and bring them back to the gathering.  If you have cash and you don't want to go shopping, donations to the Magic Hat can be made nightly at dinner circle or at INFO anytime it's open. 


How long does it take food to get in your belly?

If you bring supplies with you, it may take 24 to 36 hours before the food your brought is in your bowl ready to be eaten.  Supply runs during seed camp make take 4 to 6 days between the time a donation is made and the time you're eating the food.  Here's what happens.  You put $20 in the Magic Hat on Monday.  On Wednesday folks start putting together a supply run. The run maybe leaves on Thursday morning early and makes it back around dark or even later on Thursday.  Then on Friday after Kitchen Council (usually at 11 am), the food is hauled from the drop location to the kitchens. If the distances are small, maybe you eat the food Friday night, if not it can take half the day to get the food from the cars to the kitchens, so then the $20 of food that was bought with your donation is served up as dinner on Saturday. 

Generally, seed camp can suffer from a lack of food. The best way to keep people feed is to bring food in by the case load.  The more food folks have at seed camp, the harder they can work and get things ready.

However, if you're hitchhiking in and can only carry so much, or doing a big shopping is to hard, you can always donate cash once you are at the gathering.

If you decide to donate cash, give all the funds you have to share as soon as possible so you can be eating the fruits of your labor.  Some kitchens have their own donation cans and you can donate to them as well but the lag is just as long.  Going on supply runs is time consuming and costs a lot of gas money so people don't go "shopping" every day.

Keep in mind that all food is free at the gathering. Food flows freely to all regardless of donations.  Children, pregnant and nursing women, and their families eat first because proper nutrition is key to growing strong bodies. No one is keeping track of who donated what.

 If anyone asks you for money in order to enter the gathering, camp anywhere or eat any food, just say no cause that's not how we roll and who ever is doing the asking is also doing the scamming.

How we got to where we are now

In the wake of the recent outbreak of violence at a regional gathering, the death of one of our brothers, and severe injury to two other brothers, I thought it was time to share my perspective on how we got to this place as a family.

In late 1995, the US Forest Service passed a regulation that would require any group of seventy-five or more people to obtain a permit to gather on lands managed by the US Forest Service for the American people.  We said the constitution of the United States of America is the only permit we need.  Needless to say, the US government didn't buy it. If you're interested in the history of the permit issue, click here.  During these years, many gathering participants, myself included, focused a lot of our energy on trying to keep our family out of jail, dealing with the practical ramifications of our refusal to obtain a permit, and otherwise directing our energy outside the perimeter of the gathering.

Also during this time, many people dedicated themselves to proving to themselves, the gathering, and the government, that we weren't a "group" but rather random individuals who all showed up in the same place and time.  I believe these well intentioned actions were trying to prove to the US government that we weren't a group in the same way that a corporate picnic is a group.

I never bought into this. We're not a group just because what we are is a living community. The US government does not have a legal definition for people who choose to create community together as we do. I believe we are more than individuals because we are family. Yet we are not legally bound to each other.

We share sweat, love, and food because we want to and anyone of us is free to terminate the association at will.   We listen to each others opinions and perspectives because we believe that together we can create the world the way we want it to exist and that the path of creating a more positive future for the planet and all her creatures requires each voice to be heard, from the five year old girl to the trees standing around us.

Co-creating this family with all of you is the most amazing experience. Talking about the community connection that is more than individuals hanging out together and that is not legally binding is a critical component to helping us learn how to live together in peace and love.  How do we create a temporary space for a community connected by love and shared experiences over decades and through generations?  How do we explain to people that coming to the gathering isn't about the freedom to do what ever you want to do but rather freedom to do what's best for everyone?

Now I'm not blaming anyone for this problem of years spent not working on our internal needs and processes, not improving our counciling process or our methods for helping the old and dis\abled in and out of our gathering because I was part of the problem along with many others.   We had hard choice to make:  do I let a brother get taken to jail or do I sit with others and council while those in council are afraid they will be targeted as "leaders" and jailed.  I did the best I could and I know many others who did as well.

What I want to shine the light on today is what happens when we don't deal with our own housekeeping, when we expect our children to grow up without learning the many lessons we should have been teaching them, what happens when no one wants to or is able to deal with our family who are struggling to learn that the way of peace and love is goal worth working towards. What happens when we start saying those people aren't us.

This is a small planet folks and getting smaller by the day. Climate change is going to force entire nations to leave their lands and go forth as refugees when the islands on which they currently live are covered in three feet of ocean water.  Water wars are erupting over who owns the water and who gets to use it to fill their swimming pools while others don't even have clean and safe drinking water because water has been commodified (and every time we buy bottled water we support water as a product instead of water as life).  Violent conflict is not something that happens over there, but something we create in our actions every day by the products we purchased and the way we disregard the many amazing voices of all the beautiful creatures on this planet. We create violence when we do not reflect on how our actions hurt other people and this beautiful and amazing planet we call home.

It seems to me that since we're reached a shaky truce with the US Forest Service (starting in 2010) and moved to the unsigned operating plan model of creating an intersection between gathering and government cultures, the frequency of and participation in councils has increased. More people are spending more time on healing our gathering and healing our selves. Family issues that we abdicated to USFS law enforcement to manage are ours to deal with once again (with mixed results). Yet in some respects we are starting over with a lot of learning how to deal with our issues. Times change, people change, solutions evolve over time and experiences.

In the early days of the permit wars, a friend said he was afraid that signing a permit would mean we would start depending on the USFS to handle our issues: deal with those who need some extra attention to remain peaceful, heal our wounded, deal with our trash. Unfortunately, not signing a permit also resulted in some of these same problems. I believe the permit wasn't the problem but rather where we focused our attention.

The biggest gift that this wacky, frustrating, amazing, magical gathering has given me is that we can change the world, our gatherings, ourselves.  We just have to get involved. Go visit the problem camp during the day to meet new people and make new friends (not to tell them what to do). Keep an eye out for that person who has had too much alcohol and share some mellowing energy with her/him even if it's just sitting on the ground and meditating.  Be a troubadour and wander the gathering sharing songs of hope, love and peace. Love someone even when that person is not yet capable of sharing love.  A large group of people doing yoga, meditating, or praying together changes the energy of the entire gathering without a word being spoken.

We learn to love by being loved. We learn respect when we are given respect. Unfortunately, many of us weren't given enough of the right kind of love growing up: love that includes boundaries, love that includes respect, or love that includes helping us grow our unique gift to the world in a positive way.

Some of us were born with special challenges that we struggle with on a daily basis. These challenges may be bio-chemical, emotional, mental, physical or some combination there of.  We all need help. We all need to be helpers.


Understand that Babylon is in your heart not in a place and you can chose the energy you wish to carry into this world and into this gathering. Understand, that when you come to a gathering, you do not arrive at a place that has solved all the problems of the world, but a place in which you are co-creating the solutions via art, song, massage, dance, food, storytelling, hugs, council, and as many other peaceful ways that you can imagine.

Our teaching and learning is growing stronger, but it needs your help in the process to reach all the circles and all the bellies that our part of this amazing experiment in the positive evolution of the planet.

On Climate Change and Ride Share

As we all know, burning fossil fuels contributes to greenhouse gas emissions that over the long haul are changing weather patterns. From less rain on the west coast to more snow on the east coast, we are seeing the impacts.  This blog is dedicated to the annual 4th of July rainbow gathering and not for me to proselytise about issues with which I am actively involved. I live about ten feet above sea level along the coast so my house is going to have to be propped up on stilts like those in the Louisiana Bayou if all human beings on the globe due not get a grip on how we are treating mama earth. All that being said, this is the first of a series of blog posts on gathering related issues that can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

What is climate change?

I'm sure everyone reading this knows that automobile emissions are a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions.  One of the best steps we can take to help Gaia and ourselves is to engage in ride share on our journeys to and from gatherings so that we burn less gas, burn the gas we burn in cars that get better mileage and make a friend. Every year, people without rides are trying to find rides and those with vehicles are preparing their vehicles to head home. Once we know where home is, bus information to the nearest stop will be posted.  But in the mean time, there are a number of options on hooking up those with rides, but space for a rider or two and those without rides at all


Star's Rainbow ride share board is the oldest web based rainbow ride share board.

Many people have posted on the local Craig's list board for their local city. Google your city name and Craigslist, then under the "community" section, there is a "ride share" section.

Go to your local rainbow potluck, picnic, drum circle and talk to people.

If you Facebook, visit one of the Rainbow Ride Share boards:  Rainbow Ride Share Redone or Rainbow Ride Sharing. Disclaimer: there are probably more of these on Facebook since groups seem to spin up all the time.

Once you've made a connection, take the time to visit with your potential riders at your local coffee shop, community park or co-op and discuss the ground rules. Is smoking in the car acceptable?  Is this going to be a non-stop drive from wherever to home?  Are pets allowed?  Who will be driving (someone with a driver's license and insurance)?  How much is a rider expected to chip in for expenses? Who is paying for motel rooms if that's where you plan to sleep along the way?  What is allowed in the vehicle?


Once you're on the road, be respectful, help out in anyway possible, be safe and don't rush it.

While it's important to start loving all our family en route to the gathering, if you don't feel safe sharing a ride with anyone, just say no.

If you're planning on hitchhiking, use the buddy system, only do it during the day when you can more easily see what kind of a car you're getting into.  If you have a fancy phone, take a snapshot of the license plate and send it to a friend so in case something happens, we know where you were last seen. Only take rides that your gut tells you to take. Better to take three days to make it home and be safe then risk a bad ride.  Remember it is illegal to hitchhike on the interstate in most states including Montana and position yourself where a driver can safely pull over.

Trust your instincts.  If a situation feels unsafe, get yourself to safety ASAP.  We want every belly home in one peace.

Best time to arrive home is before noon. If you're 100 miles from home at 10 PM, crash at a local campground, motel, or friend's house. Then get up at 7 AM and come home.  The last few miles into the gathering are often twisty dirt roads and you may be driving 20 miles per hour.  The hike from where the car is parked to where you decide to set up camp may take one to six hours if you know where you're heading, longer if you're trying to find that just right spot.If you don't normally live at a high elevation, it will take you a few days to get your mountain legs so you'll be moving much slower than usual.

Every year I see intimate relationships take a hit over the stress of the last fifty miles into the gathering, parking, hiking and getting set up.  Why do it when you're exhausted and you're doing it in the dark?  Arrive early in the day and then you'll be able to see where you're driving, hike your gear in more easily, see the how the gathering is disorganized and enjoy the process.  Plus if you need to make two trips to your car, a 10 AM arrival will give you plenty of time.

No matter how you're coming home, please be safe, look out for one another, and help a traveler in need.  The gathering is in your heart. Be the gathering as you travel home.

Finally, if you don't want to get a mandatory court appearance for a broken taillight, read this info on the right hand side of this blog.