Spring council updates (guest post)

Today's guest post comes from "sibling."  Enjoy!

There is so much being said about the happenings at spring council from people who are not there, and this is usual. Please remember, if you are not there you, well, you are not there! It is difficult to watch it from afar; especially difficult is sifting out the truth out of what we hear.

I got involved on the phone with those that are opposed to the way that the spring council and the gathering have been evolving. These people are passionate about their cause for good, very good reasons. There is so much here that we do not understand because so many of us come from a place of whiteness and/or privilege. We come from – our values, our reactions, our expectations – the dominator culture. The concepts of domination and privilege are so deep in our psyche we have a difficult time seeing it. Know that it is there, be gentle on yourself and others as we explore and discover these deep issues. Every person can learn something new about this.

I bring this up because I have spoken to a few participants in the Strong Heart Solidarity Project and respect the work that they do. There are some very important messages that I have taken away from those conversations with these passionate and engaged activists.

One of them mentioned that they are interested in doing some skill-­‐shares on the land. One of the skill-­‐shares they do is called Decolonization & Unsettling White Privilege. They describe this event as one that “may be provocative to the euro-­‐ centric mind.” Imagine that! YES! These concepts are provocative – they will irritate your inner peace, they will create a strong reaction—they are designed to shake us up. Up and out of our shells of complacency. We need to move further, yes further so we can become better allies to all of those oppressed by the dominator culture. I do hope that the Strong Heart Lakota Solidarity Project can come and do some skill-­‐ shares on the land, wherever we gather. We need this – who is the “we”? The human species is the “we”! I do hope that this and other skill-­‐shares can happen.

The self-­‐governed volunteer body that we call and do each spring before the gathering, our council, is a rare thing in this country. This practice that the rainbow gathering experience has shaped is only one of the alternatives to the dominator culture. We have no rules; we have traditions and very few, at that. We pass an object most likely to the left, and we strive to listen to the one with the object that has been selected for the purpose of focusing and taking turns. This process, our process, is undisciplined, time consuming, and radical because it allows for freedom of expression. Know that it has always worked out for the purpose of the gatherings, and know that when one engages the heart and the mind, the best will come through.

Let the process work. Be patient. Let the all the voices be heard. We all want respect. But what does that look like? Here are some suggestions on how to be respectful: practice tolerance and patience; be concise; be on topic; speak from your heart and mind – do not speak for others or about others; wait your turn, if you need to bring a – do it; and something to write with so you will be prepared to present your ideas when it is your turn; be watchful for new people entering the circle – if there is no established method for new folks entering the circle, be mindful of other who may not know how it works; no name calling; and use “I” statements versus “we” or “you” – own your feelings, thoughts and ideas.

So please, it is often difficult, please remain calm, and know that within and throughout spirit(s) is walking with us and let us remain open to our highest purpose.

In solidarity and peace.

Just another sibling

An FYI to Folks New to Gathering Processes

I know there is a firestorm on the Internet over the proposal to hold the annual rainbow gathering in the Black Hills National Forest due to Lakota Treaty rights.  Click here for background information if you are not familiar with the issues.

There are a number of very challenging issues at play here, not least of which is the fact that the rainbow gathering is a leaderless society and there is no one person to address concerns to. Couple that with a more hierarchical nature of many native traditions and confusion is bound to reign.

While we don't have people in charge of decision making, we do have processes.  The current process is spring council/counsel/circle that happens on the land. All peaceful people are welcome to attend and participate in the council. All peaceful people are welcome to state their fears, hopes, concerns, problems, issues, and potential resolutions. Not only are all people welcome, but we always encourage people with home conflicts exist to participate.

Making pleas on the Internet for the gathering to move to a less controversial location is not always effective. Making pleas on the land by talking to individuals and participating in the council/counsel/circle process is much more effective and I strongly encourage people with concerns to participate. I especially invite all members of the Lakota nation to come share your perspectives on the land.  Please trust me that this is the best way to sort things out with the gathering.

To everyone, please understand that just because potential solutions are not posted on the Internet, does not indicate that people on the land are not working on solutions. In this Internet fueled, instant media world, the gathering happens in an embodied place.  For those who are addicted to information, this can be frustrating. I sincerely request that everyone not on the land or actively working on potential solutions spend some time praying, meditating, creating blessings, or other positive energy in an embodied form to help heal this situation.

Please as we work through these issues, let us all do so with peace in our hearts, gentle and well-thought out words, and love for everyone, especially those with whom we disagree.

As a blogger, I do not control what happens, I merely try to provide the best information I can on gathering related issues.  I appreciate very much all the heartfelt pleas for a peaceful resolution to some very real issues this quagmire will be solved by human being talking to each other in person.

The Process Unfolding

This year the process is unfolding as it always does. We will meet at spring council on June 17 to discuss all the issues that those participating in council/counsel bring up. Your voice will be heard if you attend the council/counsel. As with all things rainbow, the process is open to all peaceful people.

My heart is breaking this year. There are tough and complex issues on the table with years of mistrust, oppression, and violence that brought us to this point. Wishing them away won't solve the problems, but then again neither will being mean to other human beings or this planet.  It's easy when attacked to want to attack back, but that just perpetuates the problems and does not work towards a solution. We all carry baggage with us. Can we try to acknowledge our baggage and set it aside as best we can when we try to communicate with each other?

If you are not familiar with the practice of active listening, please help us communicate more effectively by learning how to practice active listening.

If you are not familiar with our process, read the Council Mini Manual.

Please be patient as we work through the process. There are over five hundred years of problems on the table and some of the hurt and pain we are carrying may go back further than that. This is hard work folks.  Let us practice compassion with ourselves and each other as the process unfolds. Be the change you wish to see in this world.

Meeting with Tribal Representatives on Monday, June 15

Hi all,

There will be a meeting with representatives of the Northern Cheyenne to Pine Ridge and the Rosebud reservations on Monday at the Hill City Information Center on
Monday, June 15 @ 10:00 a.m.

Many years sensitive natural resources guide our behavior. Please show respect for the people who consider the Black Hills sacred land and for their culture. We are asking people to treat spring council as a ceremony, treat our hosts with the utmost respect, and bend our traditions to accommodate theirs as best we can. If you have been drinking, please stay away as we are being welcomed to council here and we do not want to offend our First Nation brothers and sisters.  Please wear appropriate clothing as some tribal members may take offense at nudity. This year, I hope that sensitive cultural intersections will guide our actions. Council in respect for all people in attendance and the beautiful land that is welcoming us. 

Hill City Information Center
23935 Hwy 385,
Hill City, South Dakota SD 57745
Hill City Info Center Website

Please plan on attending if you are in the area.  Please be on your best behavior and raise any questions or concerns you may have with the people in attendance in a respectful manner. As with all things rainbow related, no experience is necessary.

Black Hills, Rainbow Gathering, and the Lakota

I know there are a lot of people who do not want to gather in South Dakota out of respect for the Oceti Sakowin (The Great Sioux Nation) for whom the Black Hills are sacred.  In United States v. Sioux Nation of Indians (1980), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Black Hills had been illegally taken and the US Government tried to pay for the land. However, the Sioux refused to take the money and are trying to get their land back: an effort that is on-going at present. Read more at Indian Country Today. While I do not have any details on where these efforts are at as of today, I think we need to understand the situation in order to make informed decisions. (as an FYI, the Lakota are just one clan of the Sioux Nation).

One perspective is that holding the rainbow gathering in the Black Hills would be one more dominant culture crash landing on the cultures of the people who were here first and would be disrespectful to the tribes who hold Kȟe Sapa sacred and consider it a place for prayer. I understand that many people believe family should go to the tribal elders and ask for permission to gather and I honor and respect that perspective and it is happening. I also agree that a sensitivity to tribal cultures and the issues faced by the local people are critically important.

This won't be the first time we have gathered on land sacred to first nation tribes. Think about it. Every place we gather has some tribal connection. I live in a neighborhood that was once a Kumeyaay village and many other people probably could say the same thing about one tribe or another. I don't say this because I disregard the genocide of the first nation people, I say this because dealing with what has happened in the United States is not easy to do and we can't do it if we do not talk to one another in a respectful manner.

Telling people not to go to the Black Hills is one very valid opinion. However, the other perspective is that too many of us are ignorant of what is happening to the people who live in South Dakota. Maybe if we gather there, we can become educated on the issues and how we can help: while we are in South Dakota,  after we go back to our communities, or even if we are unable to come home this year.

I have been to the Black Hills before (not for a gathering) and learned a bit. When we avoid meeting the people and the land who have been negatively impacted by the practices of the United States and which each and every one of us are implicated in, we can more easily ignore what is going on outside of our neighborhoods and communities. This ignorance is harmful to everyone. I think a better way is to learn deeply about the issues, dialog deeply with the people who live there, and see how we as a family and as individuals can help support the local communities in what ever manner they wish.  I do believe it's important that we support the efforts of the local tribes and not try to tell them how to do things. However, one doesn't need to go to the gathering to do this.

As I explore the possibility of gathering in the Black Hills, I do not feel there is a one size fits all answer. Please think about this: when you see someone being beaten on a street corner, you have choices to make.  Of course you can walk away and not participate, but is this really the most conscious option?  Maybe another option is to get involved if you can do so from the right space. From that perspective, here are links to just some of the issues facing tribal communities in South Dakota.

Living Conditions on Pine Ridge Reservation

Sovereignty and the right to grow hemp

Protecting Black Hills water from uranium mines - The South Dakota Clean Water Alliance

Lakota Peoples Law Project 
Sing Our Rivers Red 
An Indigenous People's History of the US (book)

Perhaps in going to south Dakota, we can get involved with the issues identified by the tribes, educate ourselves, take that information back to our communities, and find out what issues our local tribes are facing. Perhaps we can even hold workshops on these issues at the gathering so that we can become more aware of how our actions are negatively impacting tribal people, not only in South Dakota, but in every state of the union. If you are able to stay after the gathering and offer assistance where and if it is needed, this is the true rainbow spirit in action. After all, every square inch of this country was tribal lands at one point, probably including where you live.

Based on the information I have from people who have been gathering for many years, family in the area having been meeting with tribal members on the reservation for a few weeks now. I am confident that more detailed information will be shared with those at spring council on the land. However, there have been meetings and family was invited to a wake for a deceased member of the tribe. Family in the area have been on Kili Radio, which is run by tribal members. According to my friends, 95% of the tribal members they have spoken with are receptive and open to this gathering taking place in the Black Hills (Kȟe Sapa).  Many members of the tribe have indicated that they will visit the gathering. Grandmothers have been interacting with our family to learn more about who we are and what we will be doing as well as allowing their children to interact with family in the area. We've even been invited to hold our council on 20 acres of land on the Pine Ridge Reservation. I've spoken with three people today who are in South Dakota and all say that while some tribal people are not 100% clear as to exactly what a gathering is, most of them are very supportive or have no opinion on the matter.

While it's true we have not had a formal invitation, it's also true that many people are welcoming us.

Perhaps what's relevant is not where we gather but how gather.  If we gather with respect to the local tribes, work on a deep healing of ourselves, and focus our energy on walking our talk, I believe that this gathering will be a positive experience for those who travel to South Dakota from out of state and those who live there.

Finally, there are less than two handfuls of folks in South Dakota now working with the local communities and others to create a safe and sane gathering. If you are an excellent communicator who has the ability to reach out to people living different lives than you are, help is needed to set up town hall meetings, meet with the local tribes, and share information in a positive and constructive manner. If you feel you are such a person, please email me and I will connect you up. However, if you're just looking to make it home early, that ain't gonna happen.

All this being said, I would love to hear what you think.

PS from Monday morning 

Thanks to all the different perspectives on this issue that are being shared. I value all of your perspectives very much. I wrote this as an attempt to lay out complex issues.  I hope you take action in the manner that your heart believes is the right path for you, the family, the Sioux Nation, and this beautiful planet we call home. 

Spring Council Info

Updated June 16 @ 7:30 a.m. California Time

Spring council is when gathering participants come together and figure out where home is and create the energy that puts the gathering into motion. As with all things gathering related, no experience is necessary. All you need is a desire to be of service to your family.



Spring council is the planting of the seed that unfolds during seed camp (when we build the gathering), and blossoms on the 4th of July.

This year spring council starts on June 17.  Many  year's spring council happens in the general area where the gathering will end up, but not always. Please be prepared for what ever unfolds. 


Once spring council reaches a decision by consensus or by foot, people who are involved with spring council usually make the information freely available. Word of warning:  Sometimes the first set of directions and/or other information is incomplete, so check your sources  before you head out to make sure you have the "updated directions." Please triple check where you are headed.

If you have not already connected up with the scouting process, but have sites, please email me so I can hook you up with others who are scouting.

If you plan on coming to spring council, be prepared for cold and/or wet weather and rough conditions. Have your own methods to boil or filter water. Bring food. This is not a gathering so all the support systems normally in place won't be up until sometime during seed camp.

That being said, people generally help each other out, seeing the gathering start from nothing and turn into a small town is an amazing experience, and the friendships you make with other people can be long lasting.

Many years sensitive natural resources guide our behavior. This year spring council is happening on land sacred to the Sioux Nation and many tribes. At least some tribal members will participate. Please show respect for the people who consider the Black Hills sacred land and for their culture. We are asking people to treat spring council as a ceremony, treat our hosts with the utmost respect, and bend our traditions to accommodate theirs as best we can. If you have been drinking, please stay away as we are being welcomed to council here and we do not want to offend our First Nation brothers and sisters.  Please wear appropriate clothing as some tribal members may take offense at nudity. This year, I hope that sensitive cultural intersections will guide our actions. Council in respect for all people in attendance and the beautiful land that is welcoming us. 

Spring council will take place in the state of South Dakota near Hill City South Dakota about 35 miles southwest of Rapid City, South Dakota. Rumor has it that a taxi ride from Rapid City to Hill City costs about $40. Directions to the spring council location will be available here and the usual places on June 15. If you plan on going, please know that the National Forest in South Dakota may have a fire ban. You must have a permit to build an open fire. Click here for details. Depending on how you read the regulation, it either expired on May 28 or is on-going. Consult with family already on the land before you build a campfire.

DIRECTIONS:

From Rapid City, SD, take Hwy 16 south west to Hill City, South Dakota (about 30 miles)

From Hill City, South Dakota go west 20 miles on Hwy 17 (Deerfield Road). Continue past Deerfield Lake 3 miles to the Intersection of 110 & 17.  Go 12 miles up Castle Creek to the intersection  of 117 & Castle Creek.  You have found the spring council site.

Topo Map of intersection of 110 & 117

If you need more information, stop at the Hill City, SD Visitor Center. Click here for more info.

Please stay off Hwy 85 until further notice!

Please note this is not the gathering site. The situation is in flux. If you're not planning on being on site by June 17 or 18, please check back on this blog for updated information.

Wisconsin Family Potluck

Every year the folks in Wisconsin hold a potluck around this time of year. This year, they want family who are scouting in the region to join them.  Please see the comment someone made to this post. I'm not sure what is or isn't true.  This is NOT spring council which starts June 17.

Scout rendezvous (or not)

If you've read the blog post on how the site is selected, then you know that Thanksgiving Council normally picks the dates for one (or multiple) scout rendezvous. For a long time the time and place was a location in an area central to that areas being scouted but also where people could only hang for the afternoon. 

Thanksgiving council called for a three day scout rendezvous from April 18 to April 20. However, just because Thankgiving Council called it doesn't mean anyone has felt motivated to do it. Since no one who plugs into a gathering has a job that requires them to implement a consensus, looks like no one was inspired to focalize a rendezvous in the physical realm.

Snow is still on the ground in most parts of the consensus areas. Given that our consensus area is half the United States, some people I know will be having a technology enhanced get together on Sunday, April 19 at 9pm ET/ 6 PM PT (and the rest of you can figure out the time from there).

If you are out scouting and don't know how to plug into this effort, please email me (k z i r k a t e a r t h l i n k d o t n e t )and I'll hook you up.

Scouting 101

The first Scout Rendezvous, called by Thanksgiving Council, is happening April 18 at a location to be announced shortly before hand on this blog and all the other usual places. Scout Rendezvous is generally a one day get together for people who want to go out and scout and is not generally held at a place where you could camp. 

As with all things Rainbow, no experience is necessary to participate and new blood is always needed provided you can be self sufficient, have a dependable car or gas money to donate to someone who does, and want to do the hard work.  The more people who come prepared with potential sites to the Rendezvous the better.  Do your homework before you come. I realize that weather conditions may preclude actual walking (Step 7 below), but map work should be done ahead of time and if you come to the Rendezvous with sites in mind, bring the topo maps and all the research you've done on the area: endangered species, first nation (tribal) land issues, grazing permits, etc. For all you know, someone else scouted that site already and found some reason why it was unworkable. It's hard to find sites for the Annual Gathering and it's important we use our collective wisdom in site selection.

If you've never been scouting, here's my short list of how to scout (based on the collective wisdom that has been shared with me and my own hands on experience).  We generally gather on lands managed by the United States Forest Service (USFS) but some areas of the country do have good land managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). We don't gather in federally designated wilderness areas, national park, or national monuments as these areas are not compatible with our needs due to one of the following reasons:  no cars, focus on protecting wild life and land, need to preserve sensitive ecosystems, and entrance fees to name but a few.

Step 1) Pick a gathering or gatherings that you personally attended.
Step 2) Find those gathering sites on a topo map. I was taught to use 7 minute maps. Many university libraries have good collections of topo maps. Or visit topo zone maps online.
Step 3) Once you find the topo map, correlate the parking lots, kitchens, main circle, and various camps you remember with spots on the topo map so that in your head you can see a gathering on a map.
Step 4) Pick a national forest or area under BLM management that you feel would be appropriate for a gathering - if you're planning on  scouting for the annual gathering in 2014, we're looking in  Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana, Illinois, and South Dakota.
Step 5) Look at the topos for that area trying to find a site that has the qualities you liked about the previous gatherings you've attended. Some of my personal favorite features are a good hike in -- at least 1 mile, closer to 2 if it's an easy hike because I feel that the harder it is to get into a site, the more committed people are to staying and creating gathering reality. For a large gathering, having a main meadow and a couple of separate smaller meadows is a good thing, water is of course necessary. Places to hike away from the main part of the gathering for people wanting to get away. Two roads in and out to the gathering site (Front Gate/Back Gate). No roads into the gathering site proper or the cops will drive into the heart of our gathering.
Step 6) Make sure the site is far away from civilization to minimize gatherer/non-gatherer conflicts and runs into town for booze.
Step 7) Go out and walk the site and see if it has what the maps showed and the above mentioned features, if it's workable and if it has the magic. In my experience, if you have done you're home work on five sites, maybe one is workable as there are always issues that don't reveal themselves until you are on the land.
Step 8) If you found a site in Step 7, research environmentally sensitive habitat in the area, endangered species, private property and water rights. Check for ranchers who may have permits for grazing during the gathering. If nothing turns up, we may have a winner. If something turns up, you'll want to bring all your info to the Scout Rendevouz and discuss further with experienced scouts.

Thanks to all my family who are spending time and money scouting for this gathering! We Love You!

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)

Scouting 101

As with all things Rainbow, no experience is necessary to participate and new blood is always needed--especially this year when we have such a wide range of states to scout.

Summer is the perfect time to go check out those spots in the consented to areas and see what they look like on the ground. It's hard to find sites for the Annual Gathering and it's important we use our collective wisdom in site selection.  If you Facebook and want to get plugged into technical discussions on using on-line mapping tools or ask other people who have scouted if a particular site has been looked at, email me and I'll get you plugged into the FB page for scouting discussions.

If you've never been scouting, here's my short list of how to scout (based on the collective wisdom that has been shared with me and my own hands on experience).  We generally gather on lands managed by the United States Forest Service (USFS) but some areas of the country do have good land managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

We don't gather in federally designated wilderness areas, national park, or national monuments as these areas are not compatible with our needs due to one of the following reasons:  no cars, focus on protecting wild life and land, need to preserve sensitive ecosystems, and entrance fees to name but a few. If you are looking at state or county owned land, then you will also have to research regulations,  laws, and permit requirements regarding gatherings on these lands.

Here's are the basic steps:

Step 1) Pick a gathering or gatherings that you personally attended.
Step 2) Find those gathering sites on a topo map. I was taught to use 7 minute maps. Many university libraries have good collections of topo maps. Or visit topo zone maps online. There are many on-line mapping tools these days so feel free to use what works best for you.
Step 3) Once you find the topo map, correlate the parking lots, kitchens, main circle, and various camps you remember with spots on the topo map so that in your head you can see a gathering on a map.
Step 4) Pick a national forest or area under BLM management that you feel would be appropriate for a gathering - if you're planning on  scouting for the annual gathering in 2015, we're looking in New England, Lake Michigan Area, or South Dakota." (The consensed areas include Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana, Illinois, and South Dakota.)
Step 5) Look at the topos for that area. Try to find a site that has the qualities you liked about the previous gatherings you've attended. Some of my personal favorite features are a good hike in at least 1 mile, closer to 2 if it's an easy hike because I feel that the harder it is to get into a site, the more committed people are to staying and creating gathering reality. For a large gathering, having a main meadow and a couple of separate smaller meadows is a good thing, water is of course necessary. Places to hike away from the main part of the gathering for people wanting to get away. Two roads in and out to the gathering site (Front Gate/Back Gate). No roads into the gathering site proper or the cops will drive into the heart of our gathering. Places to park cars where the plants can handle it.
Step 6) Make sure the site is far away from civilization to minimize gatherer/non-gatherer conflicts and frequent runs into town.
Step 7) Go out and walk the site and see if it has what the maps showed and the above mentioned features, if it's workable and if it has the magic. In my experience, if you have done you're home work on five sites, maybe one is workable as there are always issues that don't reveal themselves until you are on the land.
Step 8) If you found a site in Step 7, research environmentally sensitive habitat in the area, endangered species, private property and water rights. Check for ranchers who may have permits for grazing during the gathering. If nothing turns up, we may have a winner. If something turns up, you'll want to bring all your info to discuss further with experienced scouts.

Thanks to all my family who are spending time and money scouting for this gathering! We Love You!