Campfire Requirements in South Dakota

There seems to be some confusion about the fire restrictions in national forest lands in South Dakota.  The order from May 2014 is called an "Open Fire Prohibition".  You can read the order for your self by clicking here.

The brief summary is that campfire's outside a developed campground are prohibited unless you obtain a permit from the USFS or the state.  Enclosed stoves are permitted.

The 1998 gathering in Arizona and the 2006 gathering in Colorado operated in this manner. Each camp or kitchen that wanted a fire got their own permit.  In 2006 in Colorado, USFS staff issues permits on site after inspecting the proposed setup.

Please do not take this post to mean I favor or disfavor a gathering in South Dakota. I'm providing the facts as so many people seem to be confused about the ordinance. I strongly recommend you read it for yourself.

Images from 1972 and 1973

Check out these amazing photos from the first gathering in 1972 and the second gathering in 1973.   Same beautiful smiles then as I see now. 

The Oracle

Sort of a table of contents of the Oracle

The Oracle was a collectively produced bookish publication put together as part of the planning efforts for the first gathering  which took place near Granby, Colorado in 1972. For the Rolling Stone Magazine version of what happened on July 4, 1972, click here. 

However, for today, we'll be focused on the Oracle itself and a bit of Garrick's Hipstory.

Garrick's rap on the Oracle Hipstory: The Printing

The plan was to print 5000 copies. We printed extras of some of the sheets (each sheet was a 8 1/2 x14 inches folded so there were four pages on each sheet) and so to make the full number of copies we used some additional sheets to make 5k. Some sheets misprinted and I'd guess there were about 4800 complete copies, then an additional 200 copies with varying numbers of sheets missing.

The printing was at Visionworks Press in Eugene, Oregon which was managed by Kate Jackrabbit and Sean O'Reilly of the Lost Cactus Cowboys. We collated the pages, working day and night at The Free University (right next door) run by Eugene's counterculture power couple, Bill and Cindy Wooten. At first we sewed the pages together with purple thread but that was so time consuming that after a while we got large rubber bands to put along the middle crease to hold the books together.

144 pages, plus the gold colored cover. We intentionally left the middle centerfold blank - kind of like the Silence - so that everyone could fill it in themselves with whatever they felt belonged there most. Of course pretty much everyone left them blank rather than color something in. Lastly we used all the extra pages up, so there are some copies floating around that have 16 or 20 or 24 pages missing. They were all given away for free starting right outside the Free U, and emanating out from there in the many directions.

Cars left loaded with them in their trunks heading east, southeast and so on. When the Woodstock Family got their copies, they - with Day, from Woodstock Earth at the helm - reprinted 2000 copies in black and white with a tan cover. I could hardly believe my eyes when someone at Strawberry Lake handed me a copy - and it was the reprint!

In the original we tried to divide the book into halves, with more or less everything in the first half about the envisioned upcoming Gathering, and the second half about all the other aspects of the emerging world peace culture: organic gardening, holistic child-raising, women's rights, home birthing, recycling, (some of these words were hardly in the language at that time!), wind and tidal power, herbal remedies, companion planting, as well as information about the Hopi's struggle at Black Mesa (which they had given us to use and reprint if we wanted to), and many other topics most of which are widely known about today. But 4 decades ago a lot of this was pretty new stuff for most people.

We wanted to print in a rainbow of colors, and while it looked really beautiful, the pages printed in yellow ink were almost impossible to read! And the pages in yellow-orange ink almost as difficult! Ahh, the excesses of youthful enthusiasm. A year later some of us worked on a revised edition which never got published...we were trying to undo, or re-do some of the slightly unwieldy phrases that we had written, and which didn't quite read as well in print as we had thought.

In the early 1980's Baker Paul set up the first large-scale bakery at the Gatherings in 1981 at First Idaho. He rigged up piping thru the stone - not mud - ovens which made for showers that were frankly a lot more fantastic than the baking facility!  He worked on a book he called Rainbow Oracle 2, which he printed maybe a hundred copies of, and which was mostly about how the next generation of Rainbow Gatherers were stepping in and stepping up.

That's sort of where we are at today, really. There is a next generation that really is doing pretty much all the infrastructure, and all the coordination and footwork. It would be beautiful to see a new edition of the Original Oracle, and even better to see a renewed Oracle that could bring the vision forward, not just for us old-timers, and not just for the current Riders On The 'Bow, but for the generation that is yet ahead of us.

~ ~ ~ End Garrick's Rap ~ ~ ~ ~

If you'd like to seem a somewhat tattered copy of the Oracle in PDF format, click here.

Please note the oracle is copy righted under the following Creative Commons license:

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

French-Dutch filmmaker wants to understand why we do what we do

Information provided by filmmaker

I am a French-Dutch filmmaker and I would like to do a film for the French TV, about the Rainbow Family: a utopic and hippy community.

The main idea aims to understand who are the people who live currently a hippy life, what does it mean concretely in every day life and why did they choose this way of living.

I would like to follow and interview families, members of the Rainbow from its beginnings and youngest people who chose recently to be a part of this community.

The better way to realize this project would be to be able to meet members and follow them a few days in their everyday life, to understand what they are standing for, in what do they believe, what they are working on.

I would like to follow them also at the annual gathering in July, where my story would end.

I think today more than ever, it is important to put forward communities such as the Rainbow Family, to show another way of living and communicate the values of the Rainbow.

For the filming, we will be a small crew of two people. The cameraman and myself. We are very discrete and friendly. We will use a small camera, a 5D, which makes beautiful pictures. We are very attached to the aesthetic of the film.

If you are interested in participating and for any further information, please contact Melanie via email.

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.

Carla's Gathering Basics (guest post)

Today's guest blog post was originally posted to alt.gathering.rainbow or the AGR mailman list (I think they were still linked back then) in 1996 by Carla.  I've kept it intact but removed two sentences at the end that only had relevance in 1996 so as not to confuse people.  I reread it today and feel it is just a relevant now as it was almost 20 years ago.  Carla is responding to questions from another person, which I have put into italics. In fact this person's questions may be similar to yours. Enjoy!

Carla's Gathering Basics

At 02:35 AM 7/15/96 -0700, gathering@cygnus.com wrote:

I personally have never been to a RFOLL Gathering as of yet. I do hope to to be able to attended one eventually and perhaps become one of those helpers, I do have a bellybutton. I have heard of people that promote "Gatherings", and it would seem that they have reasons, other than what I thought the RFOLL brought peoples together for. How can any one person distinguish between what one group sez is a gathering and anothers? The gathering of the vibes is a well known happening, as are many others. If someone in my area, though, sends out requests for supplies and meds and volunteers, how can I know what they are gathering for? Other than reading between the lines of the flyers, it seems that it wasn't casey at the wheel of that train that just roared thru my front yard,but it sounded good! By this I mean that I have heard of people complaining, campaigning and rasing cane because of gatherings that might or might not happen.The locale is always the neighbors concerns. How would I know if some cockroach laden,heatseeking,just crawled out of the wall group is trying to get some quick cash,saying one thing, yet meaning another? This is especially true since I rarely watch T.V. and sometimes read the newspaper, so keeping up with all the scams is indeed a difficult task.

Carla's Reply:

Good questions, all of them.

What follows is my take on it. No one put me in charge (thank goodness), so you may get other answers from other folks that add or subtract stuff - but basically I think most folks will be in agreement with what I see as being the basics for a gathering.

    It is free and non-commercial. This means no entry fee and no money charged for any service at the event (food, medical, etc.). There are people at gatherings who hang out with the barter circle and essentially have a commercial trip going either with trade or cash, but this is their own personal trip and has nothing to do with the actual set-up of a gathering. I personally consider these folks in violation of the basic spirit of the gathering and wish they would go away, or at least put away their trade goods. But since we have no cops, no courts, and no jails, they continue to do as they please, over the objections of many but also with the support also of many. Anyway, with the exception of these folks who are taking advantage of the free space, you shouldn't find any commercialism at a gathering whatsoever.

    Rainbow gatherings are non-aligned both spiritually and politically. There is no one right religious or spiritual belief; people of all faiths are welcome to come gather. Often, people from specific churches or temples come set up their own camp and feed lots of folks from their kitchens (the Krishnas and the Bread of Life Christian camp being the most notable). There are no hassles towards any church group proselytizing or trying to win converts - if people want to listen, that's their own business.

    Rainbow also does not support any specific political cause, party, issue, or candidate. Many people come to gatherings to recruit for their own specific Peace Walk, Drums around the Pentagon, environmental action, or whatever; but again, that is their own trip. They certainly have the right of free speech to spread the word about whatever event they are sponsoring. But they do not have the right to call it a Rainbow event or claim they have support of the Rainbow Family. If they do make such claims, they are ripping off the Family name. Folks involved in such actions have every right to also mention, if asked, that yes, they consider themselves to be Rainbows. No reason not to fly your colors, especially when you're doing something you consider a good cause and are proud of being involved in. You just can't say that your event (protesting logging the rainforest, for example) is a Rainbow protest as such.

    We have no leaders. We operate by consensus process. No one is in charge, we have no board of directors. For many regional events, a small circle of people often initiates the event, and the circle grows and becomes many. All the labor of getting the gathering together in a safe and healthy manner is done by volunteers.

    The only rule we have is that of peaceful respect. That actually encompasses a lot, when you stop and think about it. Sure, no one can tell anyone else what to do, but if someone builds an unsafe fire under a tree, they will hear about it (hopefully in a sweet way) from many people who are worried about the safety of the camp. We like to say that everyone is Shanti Sena (Peacekeeper). The idea is to communicate in such a way that folks doing something non-peaceful, non-respectful, unhealthy, or unsafe will see the error of their ways and choose to get with the program. When something really out of line occurs (a violent individual hitting someone with a club, for example) a Shanti Sena council (consisting in the ideal of all interested parties, as well as some experienced folks from the Shanti Sena Clan to give guidance and physical safety) forms to deal with the issue. If the victim of the violence wishes to press charges, the incident is dealt with accordinly, and the Shanti Sena folks cooperate in turning the perpetrator over to local law enforcement - a controversial move, to be sure, but in some cases unavoidable and sometimes even desirable. If no one wants to see the local authorities involved but a person is considered a danger to the safety of folks in camp, two options are commonly turned to: someone capable of handling the situation volunteers to accompany the offending person 24 hours a day around camp; or the person must leave the gathering and not come back that year.

    As per a standing consensus by the Rainbow Family Tribal Council, we don't apply for or sign permits. With the new group use regulations instituted by the Forest Service this year, this has become a difficult position to hold.One regional gathering signed a permit and gathered under a different name than Rainbow. Weird, and lot of people were angry at the folks who signed the permit,but what are ya gonna do? Take away their hippie cards? Anyway, theoretically,if a gathering has a permit, it is by definition not a Rainbow Gathering. 

    Also, by long tradition, we do not gather anywhere but public land. Occassionally there may be focussed councils (Thanksgiving Council, regional councils) that happen on private land, but gatherings themselves are always held on public land. Again, if it happens otherwise, it is by definition not a Rainbow Gathering, though the event may be very rainbow in nature otherwise.

    We take responsibility for every aspect of the gathering, from set-up to clean-up. We don't ask for help bulldozing roads, getting donations from local charities or food banks. We are self-sufficient in every aspect of our gathering, and responsible for ourselves. Most important, when the gathering is over, many people stay behind to totally clean up the site. No janitors are paid to clean up after folks. Gatherers are expected to use the recycling center set up on site and to pack out what they packed in. The clean up crew takes out all trash to recycling centers and to landfills, then restores and rehabilitates the site. This may involve scarifying the earth to loosen up compacted areas, filling in ruts caused by vehicles, water-barring hilly areas, and reseeding the ground. All shitters and camps are disappeared and naturalized. This is a lot of work folks! If you've never stayed for cleanup, you've never really done a gathering. This is not a dead lot - this is real, this is a labor of love, and it's one of the only reasons, both karmically and politically, that the powers that be haven't put the ax to us long ago.

    A Rainbow Gathering is not a rock concert or a platform for speakers. If cars are allowed in the gathering area proper, and if there is amplified music as a central theme, it most certainly is NOT a Rainbow Gathering (the drive-in gathering in Texas was an exception, as we were not allowed to close the road).

If it were up to me to define it, I would say this is the most important aspect of the Gathering: It is a free assembly of individuals who come together to practice peace. The focal point of the Annual Gathering July 1-7 is a coming together in a large circle, each person praying silently in their own way for peace. Most of the regional gatherings also set aside a day for the Silent Circle. A Rainbow Gathering is not a party, although partying certainly happens. It is not just a big hippie campout, although there are lots of counter-culture and new-age types camping in the woods. It is not just the world's largest love-in/be-in/ smoke-in, although a lot of that certainly goes on. For me, without the element of prayer we might as well not gather at all. For me, without the element of the Circle in which we participate, we mights as well have a hippie convention at the Hilton. For me, without the practice of Peaceful Respect and continuing attempts to create harmonyamong each other and all beings of the Earth, me might as well give up any pretense that the human race is evolving.

So, does that make things more clear? You'll probably get as many different answers as you will people answering. Good luck sorting it all out.

Love and Light,

Carla

On Gathering in South Dakota (Guest Post)

Today's guest blogger is Plunker - one of the earlies who has been gathering since 1972. While I don't agree with everything he says, he deserves our respect and I hope you take the time to read his words.

 Now, in Montana, 1976, up near Choteau, Montana... and, Montana Chuck and i traveled over to see the Governor, a couple more folks with us... both Montana born, bred, true (as folks say)... it seemed like a good Meeting... then we go to Radio Station... talk about it... radio station were told we got run out of the Capitol by security...

then, gets back home to the Gathering and folks had a Circle, and somehow come to a consensus, in those times, that if I wanted to go to the Border for Hands across the Border for Peace... the Feds, etc... didn't want us to go as Rainbow and, the circle of the Day... agreed... also, agreed to signing a permit -- unofficially OF course... just folks all stood up and agreed People could go, but not wearing Rainbow Colors... across Blackfeet Reservation.... when Chuck and i got Home... I asked for another circle, and, in that circle... said NO to the PERMIT (permit got signed anyway -- more folks in consensus, circle one, than in circle two... dang)...

anyways, Morning of the 4th about 150 folks... including Feather, who spoke about this at the City council... Blackfeet Tribal Council,. (still) Chief Earl Old Person.... sent Thomas Medicine Crow, B.I.A. officer, who said to me, others... "If I had been ordered to, I would have stopped you at the edge of the Reservation, but I have been ordered to escort you across the Reservation." with State Police, sheriffs, Forest Service L.E.O.s (of the time...)

Early on, before the Gathering... Montana Chuck and i traveled to Browning, Montana, knocked on Chief Earl Old Person's door.... at Tribal H.Qs.... We spoke of the Rainbow Gathering, told him all we could in the short time there.... and ASKED... said.... EVEN THOUGH STATE HIGHWAY... to Chief Mountain International Station, from Choteau, Montana... IN RESPECT, we asked as a neighboring crew of people, a small tribe of folks seeking Peace...

wanting to pass through their lands. chuck and i brought Tobacco, sage, cedar, small bundle... gave it to Chief Earl Old Person, for the Blackfeet People, etc.... (unnoticed by chuck and me, the Chief had turned on the speaker system to all the offices and places... so many, many folks heard.

blessings of the Spirit, there was opposition in "official" Browning, until July 1st.. when the Tribal Council changed.... AND, Curley Bear, friends, a young traditional with strong vibes, tad wild like in the days of long ago.. fierce, later with laughter... came, sorta on his own, with with friends and came into the Gathering... his words to the Blackfeet People were, to me, what opened the Way for an escort rather than a blockade... Traveled to the Hands across the Border for Peace, escorted through Browning, through the Blackfeet Lands (only one way... thomas and the cops all left -- no biggie) iffn they hadn't escorted the Rainbow Caravan.. it mite not have been noticed...

There was SWAT team surrounded us at the Border, as Feather said.... Garrick was on that Ride... some great folks... David.... I have always advocated, and acted on the Concept that there are many Tribes and People... it is Respect to communicate with folks before you drop in on their Homes and/or Spiritual Places.... I did that with the Hopi and Dine (Navajo) best i could when i reckoned 1st Gathering would be within a 100 miles. Wyoming 1973, Gathering was not held across the Wind River Tribal lands (reservation) some folks who advocate and acted on their beliefs, got jailed.. Rainbow was in Popo Ashie (sp), Red Canyon area...

There are hundreds of RAINBOW laundromats, in America... the color Rainbow is in the hands of the Great Spirit... there are folks who Gather in one Way, some in another... some folks even fly the Rainbow Gathering "colors" .. amazing.... a number of years ago Zeus took his "No Masturbation" msg, 1992, rolled in Black Hills area, many tribes of Sioux Lands, with a few folks.. flew Rainbow "colors" all the way in and out... still being talked about --

Iffn I was to be wanting to roll into South Dakota, with an assembly of folks i.e. a gathering.... AND, I wasn't riding choppers, heading to Sturgis.... AND, i was reckoning to be bringing in the "kind village" of Rainbow People.... to live and pray for days... to be with the (many tribes) of Sioux, and South Dakotans... etc... why,

(1) i be sure "kind village" Rainbows intended to be there

(2) are you sure a Rainbow Gathering, as is, these days, is a "kind village of folks", for these times, in those lands

(3) act with minimum respect, go there, not with thousands, but a few folks, beforehand, talk to all the different folks, in Tribal offices, in Sweat Lodges.. iffn you get close enuf... people in the streets...

at least, be strong enuf to step up to this level of minimum respect... All kinds of people travel as tourists thru these lands... this is different... iffn this is not understood... wasting my breathe...oh, yeah, take along some Tobacco, sage, cedar... etc...

(4) Gathering in Peace , clean up, please DON'T leave thousands and thousands of hospital bills for the Tribes to have to pay off.. or the small South Dakota towns... (as in Dillon, Montana 2013)... even iffn it ain't the responsibility of Rainbow, per se... understand, in Sioux Country the people is barely surviving

(5) as far as flying Rainbow Colors... anyone can fly whatever they want... lots of folks calling themselves Rainbow Family had done dumb, messed up shit hence the name Rainbow Bozos, LameBows... etc.-- the poll in Missoulian paper, is running 4 in ten against Rainbow, right now... i am amazed it ain't 6 in 10.... it mite be.

I won't be traveling to the Black Hills... or South Dakota... or East, for that matter... for me, there are a very few opportunities for some weakening, older Rainbows i been riding with, for many years, to get together.. to Gather again... most of these are on the West Coast, Northwest, Southwest...

I thought there mite have been a chance in Montana 2013.. oh well -- needed is a LOW elevation, west coast Site, either southern oregon, northern calif, accessible for the handicapped, older bunch..... last couple Gathering automatically cut all these folks OUT --

younger Gatherers.... whether they are Rainbow, or ride as as friends, neighbors, on the common ground.. can roll bout anywhere....

there are some folks who have their visions, dreams, plans and want to fly Rainbow and roll into South Dakota... AND....

there are, blessings, more than one gathering, many circles... you know the song... MAY THE CIRCLES BE UNBROKEN... by and by... so be it...

iffn i am going to put my energy into something, i am wanting to understand to where is the best place... and i don't go where i don't see to go... and where i see to go i go so i will keep on going and be in the west somewhere this year... either in such a (regional) as i describe or, if there is no event... in Montana.

Felipe, ole guy like me, and i talked about rounding up Montana Chuck traveling over to South Dakota, in Sioux lands, meet the folks like i been relating... i know folks there, he knows folks, chuck... iffn i was to go, i'd ask some of younger, now "kitchens" i.e. tribals... to make the journey..

Or, folks want to be heading that way... mite be good iffn you read this long rap, mite mean something.... i know some of the folks who are planning on South Dakota... i can't visualize them folks paying any attention to what i am writing, nor, or care one way or the other about the Sioux people or the people of South Dakota, etc.. ain't any of there concerns (far as i can tell) .... to them, they reckon they got something going and they will.... also, so be it..... each to their own path along this Trail..,

Other folks i know very sincere... mite even want to reach out, etc.. but unlikely to be in the early scouting...

i have gathered in Sioux lands, with Sioux people, and like Felipe, have long time friendships... so i hope, pray .... whoever rides and Gathers in South Dakotas or Sioux country, do so with Respect...

peace with justice,and justice comes with respect... Barry, plunkr, Montana, Rainbow Family Tribe (imagi-creed)

Declaration of Interdependence

Some passages from the Family’s 1977 Declaration of Interdependence

We the people of this nation, each with our own freedom and responsibility, recognizing the absolute
power of Love in our lives, do hereby declare our interdependence, and do set forth this plan and these many visions to bring forth alternative system of spirit, supply, law, organization and trade, and so become the new humans of the Lord of Love’s Plan for Earth.


This New nation is being established in our hearts and minds and end forever the disharmonies and
injustice among nations, peoples, and governments.

That we recognize the essential unity of all beings, the oneness and connectedness that is so much a
part of fabric of life. We affirm that by recognizing this direction of Love-Harmony, Energy will lead
every one to their own personal identification with the Creator and Humankind. And that this
identification leads to a power of manifestation unknown to Earth in its recorded history.
That these precepts when held in the heart and mind, in conjunction with proper visualization and use
of our talents will create an approach to life such that anything we propose to do shall unfailingly come to pass …

Throughout this time we hold these truths to be self-evident:

We rely on cooperation, respect, goodwill, and equal rights to exist create and recreate . . .

The concepts of the National Homestead Act be restored to the laws of the United States for the
purpose of restoration . . .

That as conscious sons and daughters of God we claim this Earth as inheritance and will do all
in our power to attune ourselves to God’s plan for us and the Earth.

We affirm the common desire for wholeness in relationships, that we hold the right to do with our own children what is right and good for them, the we will educate ourselves in wisdom, knowledge and charity, and will allow all people to do as they please, given that their actions are not harmful to other living beings. So we do take all responsibility for the total transformation of the old.

We propose to establish a network comprised of land based communities and individuals to
communicate the current information and to mobilize the concerned citizenry given a time of crisis. We also propose to establish barter-trade-exchange transportation system called the World Family Healing Caravan and to volunteer one member from our community and sometimes one vehicle to travel on this mobile service system.

We also propose to establish P.E.A.C.E. villages on unowned pieces of land . . . to meet regionally in
each season on the equinoxes and solstices until all tribes are united and gathered and we receive the
City of the New Jerusalem from on high.

Giving full support to these ideas and plans we recognize the power of the spoken and written word to bring forth results and more importantly the power of an idea whose time has come. We also propose to put forth these ideas before the American people until such time as we are recognized as the alternative to commercialism and capitalism and as the fulfillment of the Lord’s plan for this nation and the world.

this was signed by 46 people on July 4, 1977 at the high noon silence ceremony.

The Lost Tablet of The Hippie

Written by Garrick beck

In the winter of 1971 I was cutting firewood up at a farm outside of Eugene, Oregon. It was part of the Back to the Land movement as they called it a generation ago, when thousands of people -- young people mostly -- fled the cities for greener pastures at the edge of the backcountry, -- planting gardens, cutting firewood, building buildings with recycled materials, domes, yurts and living or at least trying to live, in some kind of communal harmony.

At the same time we already had become an information outpost of the Gathering -- letters being written, invitations being distributed, ideas being brought together in preparation for the first Rainbow Gathering now only a year and a half away.

People came looking for a community of people to be part of, looking for a group of people who wanted to touch the earth with their labor. And also looking for a place to freak freely, to abandon ship from the upheavals -- the marching in the streets or the marching away to war -- of the sixties. For draft dodgers heading to Canada we were a stop on the Underground Railroad. For runaways we were a secure unharmful spot offering food, and good advice. For the young local citizens and loggers we were a place to go party. For scientists or architects or botanists we were a place providing in-the-field examples of geometric architecture, organic farming, small scale logging, and solar technologies. We were experimenting, sometimes experimenting wildly, with herbal medicines, and very carefully with midwifery, meditation, yoga, acupressure chanting, and so on. It was a wonderful, bold time. And we knew that all over the country -- 5n the h533s 6f r4ra3 A0er5ca -- there were others like us, in both smaller and larger groups working on the very same problems and the same dreams.

Into this farm rolled a large deep-purple square-backed truck containing a small clan on their way north. They had been on the road trading. They said they didn't want to use any money so they had adopted the trading lifestyle. They had a truckful of good stuff Tools blankets books, toys, candles, rope, clothes, stuff we could use. It was fun to go to their big purple truck and trade.

As they left they gave us a pouch of Hopi corn seed. They said it was a gift really for the nice welcome they'd been given. And with the seed they gave us planting instructions for the traditional way to plant the corn.

A few months later spring sprang, the ground dried out, and we turned the soil I the lower field. First we planted the frost hardy greens, then the transplants from the cold frame greenhouses we'd built, followed a few weeks later by plantings of corn and beans.

We brought everyone together by blowing the conch shell. We talked about the way of planting where the man with a stick goes ahead, poking the holes and the woman follows behind planting the seeds, dropping them into the holes the man has made. But in the discussion seeking balance, people wanted to do it both ways with both men and women each taking turns with the sticks and the seeds.

It was beautiful. All done in silence. The corn pouch was passed with reverence for the life inside it. As we planted, the afternoon began to cloud over and a light rain started to fall. In the end we held hands in our OM circle as the clouds burst over us and wetted down the valley. The sun dipped under the clouds filling the forested hills with golden misty light and a rainbow rose up from the river and arced down -- I thought it was going to land on where we'd just planted the corn. But no, it touched instead on the godseye standing on the center of the garden. The whole scene was dazzling. The sun, the mist, the rainbow, the new planted deep brown earth, us apart of it all.

Then someone's small voice said, "Why don't we go up the hill to the meditation platform to take this all in"

Single file we went up the trail, a flute casting slow notes across the valley. As we get to the prayer platform overlooking the valley, someone notices a rock nestled in the decay of a giant cedar stump.

But it's only after we've sat that we look it over, passing the carved stone among us. We leave it setting in the stump as it was.

Over a joyful, noisy dinner, amid many other topics, the rock is mentioned. "Hey did anybody see that carved rock out by the prayer platform?"

Nobody had but those of us who'd just been there.

For most of the next year the stone sat where it was

The rock itself was carved on one side with images that were themselves made up of smaller images, figures and faces, and within those smaller signs, figures, designs, until smaller than that it was hard to tell where the carving left off and the natural pattern of the rock began.

More than 7 months later I left Oregon for the East Coast and holiday visiting. But along the route we made stops passing out invitations to the Gathering next July. The invitations were printed and posted, but wherever possible it was given by word of mouth, in coffee houses, yoga centers, community newspapers, laundromats, street corners, on campuses, at rock ' roll shows, places of worship … wherever, whenever. And my travelmates and myself were not the only ones out doing this. There were other carfulls traveling criss-cross the countryside meeting people and spreading the invitation

One set of travelers went through the American Southwest and then eastward and up the coast to where we met up. We planed a trip to Washington, D.C. to distribute invitations and we traded tales of where we'd been

One of their stops had been in the Hopi Lands where they'd heard the yearly ceremonial telling of the Hopi histories and prophecies

They spoke of the part of the story about the times yet to be, where people called the Warriors of the Rainbow would come and somehow set things right in the troubled world -- and they would come bearing a rock, a carved rock that would signal to the Hopi that these were the people of their prophecies.

A rock? A carved, inscribed-type rock? I recounted the tale of our corn planting and we made plans to go back to Oregon and bring the stone down to the Hopi for their examination. First I got on the phone to Kaushal and asked him to go get the rock and hold onto it, protect it.

Returning west, we found the tablet safe and dry, now wrapped up in a small white woven cloth and tied with a coiled cord.

We loaded up two cars and a van with fourteen of us and headed toward the southwest. Close to our destination we stopped at Jacques' place on a remote mesa. He'd been living there for years, acquainted with the Hopi and Navaho peoples.

"You gotta purify yourselves, make yourselves ready," he told us. And we followed his advice taking time to fast, bathe ourselves, meditate and wrap up our hair as a sign of respect.

Then we went early I the morning, to the Hopi village where Feather Knew there was a Kiva, a prayer space, that was open and where we could sit and meditate before going on. An older woman met us and explained that this Kiva used to be open but that too many people had come and abused the space so the Kiva wasn't open to the public anymore. On we went, guided by Feather and Jayson to Thomas Banyaca's house. He wasn't home.

Our next stop was David Monongye's house. Already the sun was starting to bake us. People were home there, and I and Rome and Barry went inside. The radio was blaring loud tinny music. A woman was feeding young children. An old woman sat still on a bench at the side of the room. There were buckets of fried chicken on the table. An old man sat eating. "Come in, c'mon in boys," said the man, gesturing toward us at the door. This was David.

And in we went. "What do you want. What brings you here?" He asked over the din of the radio and the children.

"We … we brought you a stone tablet which we found." I began, getting right to the point.

"You brought a what?" He said, trying to hear over the lunchtime noise.

For a moment the possible foolishness of this entire journey flashed thru my brain. "We brought you a stone tablet." I went on slowly and clearly this time, "which we found."

The younger woman's hand switched off the radio.

"Do you have it with you?" Asked David.

"Yes, it's outside in one of the vans."

"Well go and get it and bring it in."

Like a curtain rising on a whole different scene the place transformed. The food was swept off the table. The children ushered out another door to play. The old woman had lit a candle and was sitting by it at an altar in the corner when we returned inside with the wrapped up stone tablet.

"Open it up." David encouraged

We did, and he ran his fingers over it, almost more to be touching it, feeling it, than looking at it. "Well, how did you get this?" He wanted to know. And I recounted, in brief, the story I have told you here. Barry spoke about the planned Gathering that we were all working on, and Rome, as a Native American, spoke to David about the respect we young people had for the Native American ways.

David asked a few specific questions about where and when we got the rock. Then without further to-do, he wrapped it back up and getting up, said, "We'll just have to see who's here to take a look at it."

He went out and spoke with his neighbor, then told us they were going to round up some of the others, that he thought there were "enough of us here to have a good look together," and that we should go to the house he gave us directions to.

We followed the directions he'd given us, which took us back to the very same place, next to the Kiva, where we had been that morning.

It was Mina's house. She s head of the Hopi Bluebird Clan and she met us at the door, once again, and invited us inside. The entryway opened to a larger room and there were assembled a group of older Hopi. Seventeen I counted. I was nervous as could be. It was a humbling experience just standing there and feeling the combined weight of thousands of years of the tribal culture.

David motioned for us to come up closer and tell our tale. As we spoke, he translated into Hopi, and there was another man there who translated. Sometimes the translation process was simple, other times the Hopi would all speak among themselves in this wonder song-like language. David was encouraging us not to leave out details. Things that were small to us might be important to them.

We spoke also about the vision of this Gathering, and how this was the spiritual quest that had brought us together as a clan. They talked again for a bit among themselves, and then asked a series of questions: What were the colors of the godseye in the garden? How much corn did w plant? What direction was the tablet facing when we found it? How many people had handled it, carried it since? And so on.

In all this telling we were clear, very clear, that we made no claims whatever about what this tablet was or was not, only that all things considered it seemed that the right thing to do was to bring this stone to them.

At last,their glances turned to Mina. And she came forward and asked us -- her eyes as piercing as a great night bird's eyes in the dark of the desert -- she asked us to show them the rock. Without any further fuss I unwrapped it held it toward her.

She looked and spoke with clarity and to the point. "It is not the same color, it is not the same type of rock, nor the right shape to match the piece missing from the tablet that I have."

She turned now and was addressing not just we rainbows, but all the people in the room. "However," she went on, "when my father gave me that tablet, and left me his instructions he told me that this world is full of illusions and we must not let our eyes be fooled. He told e then, that in a time like this I should take the rock and place it near to the tablet itself to see edge to edge if the pieces fit."

"Can you give it to me?" She asked, and without a word I held the stone out to her.

She took the rock and moved thru the bunches of people toward the rear of the room and out a door at the back.

Perhaps ten minutes later she was back. When she spoke her quiet voice had a strength like the Grand Canyon. "It is as I thought, your rock is the wrong shape, color and size." She was shaking her head, "It does not fit as the missing piece of our tablet."

David took it from her and handed it back to us. "This is you tablet." He said as he passed it back to us.

I spoke, feeling honor at having been thoughtfully received at all by these real elders of a enduring tribe. "We are a very young tribe, like a grandchild tribe. Your are a very old tribe like a grandparent tribe. We need al the help and advice we can get from you … and if there is anything we could do for you, let us know and we will do what we can. At least we will try."

David again translated, and from the eager responses, it seemed there was a lot to be told to us. "It is clear," He began, "that you and we are working for the same Great Spirit. We all desire Peace in our lives, for our children and for everyone. Because this is what you are working for, we know that you are warriors of the rainbow, but whether your are the Warriors of the Rainbow that have been foretold well, that is another matter, but you are young and full of hope and there is much life stretching out in front of you."

Then the other Hopi man was translating, "If you want to know a task that we believe The Rainbow Warriors will accomplish, it is to rid the Black Mesa of the demon machines that the coal companies have put there. These are sacred lands for us and they are being destroyed for coal and the smoke in the sky that the coals brings."

Several Hopi were talking in the old tongue now all at once and the translator was trying to keep up with it. They were telling us about the strip mining. I felt I awe of their serious wisdom and their passion not for the money coal and uranium could bring, but for the safety and security of the children of our world.

Then the conversation changed tone, and now they were giving us instructions on Care of Sacred Tablets. A number of the old Hopi spoke, and they were telling us of their traditions, several of them speaking up in modern English.

"Don't take any photographs of it."

"Don't make any rubbings of it or draw a picture of the pictures on it."

"This way the only way to see what it looks like is to see it with your own eyes."

"Keep it wrapped up. Don't keep it open all the time on display. That way when you do open it up it is a special moment to pay attention to. Otherwise if it's open all the time o n your shelf, the people will forget and they will argue and do foolish things in front of it."

And with glad hands and many thanks we wrapped up our tablet and departed from Mina's house out under the now darkening sunset sky.

Things moved along quickly toward the first Rainbow Gathering. We went back up to Oregon and included in the booklet "The Rainbow Oracle," an account of the meeting with the Hopi, and an article about the coal company digs at Black Mesa. And rainbow people have been volunteers trying to keep destructive forces of profitgreed from damaging Native sacred lands ever since. We may not have made a lot of headway but we do keep trying.

In "The Rainbow Oracle" we also asked people to bring a stone from their own home and put these in a pile at the site of the July Fourth meditation, a kind of representation of the earth. And people did this and Skyblue carried our carved rock up Table Mountain and set it on the pile of stones that was heaped there. It sat there all day. But in the evening, with the cool Colorado wind beginning to blow she brought it back down the mountainside.

The rock began a long odyssey. It was carried and cared for by many different people. It went to the Native American in Minneapolis where a petroglyph expert pronounced it "at least a 100 years old." It was bought to a psychic reader who made tape recording about its connection to the great pyramids of mythic Lemuria. It was brought back to the Hopi lands and some there saw a bear claw sign on it and remarked that was like marker stones left behind during the bear clan migrations long ago. It was wrapped and rewrapped with each keeper adding perhaps another layer until five years later in 1977 it was brought to the New Mexico Rainbow Gathering along side the Gila River.

That year Grandfather David came to the Gathering. I remember him riding down the Gila Valley on a burro pack baskets loaded on behind him. One day, while the council was taking place, Jimmer took out the tablet and opened it on top of the blankets and cloths it had been wrapped in. Then Grandfather David came to speak in the council. He had someone draw out the symbols of the prophecy, rock the Hopi's prophecy rock, and slowly in the center of the tipi village under the midday sun, he retold the story of the Hopi people and the four worlds, full of detail and spoken slowly and carefully as from log memory. Then he was done and he returned to his lodge and the council continued. Later that same day, after dinner and dark, the drums started up, the fire threw sparks into the desert sky, and in one of those quiet places amid the drumming someone's voice said David would like to speak to the circle. So he came out from his lodge and lit by the evening Relight spoke to us again.

"It's not by accident that the words 'Hopi' and 'hippie' should alike. We are all people of peace, we are all working for the same Great Spirit. You cannot rely on the banks, or the corporations or the government. They will never respect you unless you hold territory. You must take back the Earth, peacefully, one piece at a time. Plant seeds, and water them, and make the Earth beautiful again."

From there the tablet was brought back to the farm in Oregon where it was first found. We kept it under wraps except for full moon celebrations or when someone came who expressed a desire to see it.

In 1978 we took it to the Gathering in Oregon, and there, on the sixth of July Harold and Jeannie suggested we bring it out and share its story. As each blanket and cloth was unfolded, revealing its own hidden shells or feathers or deadwork, people began to gather 'round, straight to get a view of this rock. At the outside of the crowd people were trying to tell people what was going on and to relay the parts of the story being told. It was almost too much, everyone wanting to a chance to se and a little pushing of the circle's outside meant people were stumbling on top of each other pressing in closer at the circle's center. Freedom said, y'all finish this story up fast before someone gets hurt." And finish it up we did, and the stone was re wrapped in all the stuff, and that was the last time I have seen it.

It went from the Oregon Gathering up and down the coast, and to Mexico where it was taken at the full moon to the top of the Jaguar pyramid it passed as we pass things among ourselves with love and delight and it went with Birdie to a bluegrass festival outside, I believe, of Lincoln, Nebraska, where the car and people she had a ride with left unannounced without knowing anything the wrapped bundle in their cars trunk.

That was 19 years ago. But this was no rock in a bag. This was an elaborate bundle, tied and containing something carved and beautiful and mysterious I do not believe that it has been "thrown away." I believe that it is something waiting to be refound.

Is there a Tablet that is somehow Our Tablet? Or, are we just trying to mimic other tribes who have a tablet, or several tablets or a lost tablet? And does this tablet have some meaning more than its mysterious carvings?

I can tell you what we do have. We have a social program that cares for our young, our weak, our sick, our old, and as best as we can for ourselves and each other. We have an evolving culture that cares about the Earth and all its inhabitants. We have a growing community that respects the land, the water, the sky.

And I know that when we live in conscious awareness of doing good for each other and the earth, that the signs are everywhere along the way, that omens spring up at each turn; that there are natural wonders and mythical symbols that appears as makers, as if too guide us, every day of our lives … but usually our eyes are closed to such things and our minds occupied with just getting by.

And the Hopi, corn from the clan in the big purple truck? Corn from the seed of that seed is alive and still being grown today.

Is the Lost Tablet of the Hippies ever going to be found? Does whoever has it know what it is? Perhaps someone reading this or hearing this story will come upon it and recognize it for what it is. Could it be brought back to the Gathering? And … what would we do then?

Garrick Beck/ Aqua Fria, New Mexico

Hipstories (aka stories of the rainbow gathering)

Every year around dusk on the evening of July 5, we gather to story ourselves.  By story ourselves, I mean we tell each other our stories of gatherings past.  The last few years, the format has been that we start with 1972 and allow anyone in the crowd to share their story of the first gathering in 1972. Then we move on to 1973 and so forth.  As you can imagine the number of folks who were at the gathering in 1972 are growing fewer in numbers and, for many of our earlies, health issues preclude their attendance.

Stories are critical to our identity as a family, help us learn about our history so we can influence our future, and help create a rolling and every evolving hipstory.

We story our past to create our future.  I hope to see you on the land in 2015 and be part of this amazing tradition.  However, to help you get in the mood for learning our hipstory, here are links to some stories of 1972.

Jody Bateman's, Wherever Two Are Gathered and Further Letters on Rainbow's Origins

Tim Cahill's article in Rolling Stone Magazine, Armageddon Postponed.

Phil Coyote's memories of the first gathering.

Woodstock Museum's Videos:

Shanti Sena Hipstories Barry 'Plunker' Adams

This is a great video of a hipstory featuring one of the "earlies"  (family who were at the 1972 gathering in Granby, CO).  Enjoy!