Indigenous Wisdom & Modern Science

One-Day Telesummit, June 2, 2012, 9am - 4pm

PANELS: Opening Ritual All My Relations: Reclaiming Our Place in a Larger Order - In this panel, Indigenous wisdomkeepers and modern scientists discuss what it means to be interconnected, how we know it and its practical implications for sustainability. Greening the Body-Heart-Mind - This session will cover wisdom and practices for greening our body, mind and heart and making us more alive, healthy and aligned within the larger social, spiritual and ecological contexts of our cultures and our world. Greening our Organizations & Communities - We'll explore best practices for greening our organizations and communities - making them more organic, fluid and adaptable, and resonant with the larger communities of which they are a part. Honoring the Earth - This panel will discuss how we honor the Earth. How can we blend the Earthhonoring traditions of Indigenous peoples with emerging science and technology to catalyze ecological defense, restoration and stewardship? Sustaining Indigenous Initiatives - International Funders for Indigenous Peoples Acknowledgments and Closing Ritual The Shaman's Apprentice - Introduction by co-producer Abigail Wright - Replay of the documentary movie available at http://springofsustainability.com/video

PRESENTERS: Evelyn Arce, Director, International Funders for Indigenous Peoples Sharon Brown, Publisher, Sacred Fire Magazine Apela Colorado, Founder, Worldwide Indigenous Science Network Mbali Creazzo, Traditional Healer, Diviner & Medicine Woman Lawrence Ellis, complexity-science organizational consultant & spiritual activist Karla Galdamez, physicist, bridge-builder between culture & science Tom Goldtooth, Executive Director, Indigenous Environmental Network Louis Herman, evolutionary cosmologist & political philosopher Karen John, Indigenous & modern organizational development Gabor Mat, physician & author of four best-selling books Larry Merculieff, Alaskan indigenous representative and environmental advocate Kahu Lyons Naone, Hawaiian spirituality, ancient warrior arts, and rituals David Perlmutter, neurologist, author, radio & TV personality Chief Evon Peter, culturally-based leadership and sustainability Mark Plotkin, ethnobotanist, Time Magazine's "Environmental Hero" Belvie Rooks, educator; weaver of spirituality, feminism, environmental justice Namonyah Soipan, Yoruba initiate, Maasai initiate, clinical psychologist Hardin Tibbs, thought leader, strategy consultant and futures researcher Abigail Wright, award-winning documentary film writer and producer

Opening Ritual Recorded on June 2, 2012

Apela Colorado: PhD. Oneida, Gaul Elder, Director of the Worldwide Indigenous Science Network, Director of The Indigenous Mind Program Mbali Creazzo : Integrative Medicine Practioner, Traditional Healer, Diviner Lawrence Ellis: Bridging Ancient Wisdom and Contemporary Complexity Science Kahu Kapi'ioho'okalani Lyons Naone : Healing Practitioner, Hawaiian elder Hardin Tibbs: A co-developer of the industrial ecology concept, strategist and futures thinker.

Apela Colorado, Ph.D. is a member of the Oneida tribe and is a traditional cultural practitioner. She received her Bachelor of Arts & Master of Science degrees from the University of Wisconsin. As a Ford Fellow, Apela studied for her Doctorate at both Harvard & Brandeis Universities, and received her Ph.D. from Brandeis in Social Policy in 1982. She created the first doctoral program in traditional knowledge at the California Institute of Integral Studies. In 1989, Dr. Colorado founded the Worldwide Indigenous Science Network (WISN). WISN initially brought together Indigenous practitioners of traditional knowledge and western scientists in a series of international workshops, conferences, and overseas projects. The work created a forum and established a process to promote consensus, collaboration and cooperation between experts of Indigenous and western knowledge in conservation and education programs, and alternative resource development. WISN is currently undergoing a redesign, and will relaunch with a new direction and new programs in the next few months. In 1997, Dr. Colorado was one of twelve women chosen from 52 countries by the State of the World Forum to be honored for her role as a woman leader. She is Director of Wisdom University's Indigenous Mind Program, which offers Masters and Ph.D. degrees. http://www.wisn.org

Mbali Creazzo is a native of South Africa and as a descendant of a Khoi Khoi female healer, closely related to the Bushmen. She was raised in London where she was educated to Post Graduate level in Therapeutic Bodywork from the University of Westminster. This led her to the exploration of traditional and ancient practices as remedies for healing the ailments of the modern world. She has a solid foundation in Integrative Medicine and continues to work in the Healing Arts for the last 30 years. She is a Traditional Healer, Diviner and medicine woman in the Dagara tradition of West Africa. As a voice for the ancestors she brings us home through Divination, Ritual and Sacred Journeys to South Africa. She is dedicated to the preservation of Indigenous wisdom. www.ourdivinemedicine.com

Lawrence Ellis comes from peoples of Africa and Turtle Island (North America). He is a mix of African (several Southern and Western African peoples), African American and Tsalagi (Cherokee) peoples. Raised away from his ancestral homelands and from many (though not all) of his ancestral traditions, much of his life has focused on returning to those traditions, and on bridging the best of ancient wisdom and contemporary innovations in support of creating a sustainable world. He is a complexity-science organizational consultant (one who applies insights from the study of

complex systems in nature, science & society to human organizations), and a spiritual activist. He received early training in both fields at Oxford University on a Rhodes Scholarship, with interdisciplinary studies on the application of Gandhian nonviolence to individual and large-scale change. His life work focuses on applying concepts of & practices for embodying the interconnectedness of life drawn from contemporary complexity-science, and select ancient wisdom traditions to todays foremost crises. Perhaps the greatest revolution of our time is in the way that we see and live in the world as holistic, ecological and deeply interconnected a reemphasis for many ancient cultures, and a shift for many modern cultures. He has worked extensively in community, corporate, movement-building and spiritual settings for many years. At the invitation of Mahatma Gandhi's grandson, he represented the U.S. in a yatra (journey) in India commemorating Gandhi and Martin Luther King. www.LawrenceEllis.org, www.PathsToChange.net

Kapi'ioho'okalani Lyons Naone is a noted Hawaiian practitioner, born and raised in the most isolated place (Hawaii) in the world, and in the most secluded place on the island of Maui. He was trained from a very early age to be a "Kahu" (keeper of ancient knowledge) by his Kahu grandmother and one of her teachers who was then 102 years old. He has spent his entire life as a Hawaiian practitioner, first in secret, but more openly in the last 30 years. Kahu Naone is known for his vast knowledge in Hawaiian hands-on spiritual healing (Iluna A'e), Hawaiian herbal medicine (La'alapa'au), conflict resolution (Ho'oponopono), Hawaiian spiritual warrior arts (Lua), among others. He travels extensively especially in Europe where he works with museums, lectures, and conducts workshops and retreats. His work with women and men groups in helping them understand their sexuality and purpose in life has made him one of the most sort after practitioners and lecturer in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. More importantly Kahu is regarded as being extremely knowledgeable in ancient indigenous calendars, celestial rhythms, rituals of passage, interconnectedness, and the role it plays in the survival and movement of humanity. www.hawaiian-spiritual-healing-academy.com

Hardin Tibbs is a futurist and strategist. Now based in England, he used to work for Global Business Network (GBN), the scenario planning firm in California, playing a role in its early development in the 1990s. Trained as an industrial designer, he is a fellow of the RSA in London, teaches at various business schools in the UK, and helped create the Oxford Scenarios Programme. His writing about industrial ecology while a consultant at Arthur D. Little Inc. in the late 1980s helped to define a new way of looking at environment and technology, and his ongoing research focuses on charting the future path of transmodern society. His website is www.hardintibbs.com.

All My Relations: Reclaiming Our Place in a Larger Order Recorded on June 2, 2012
Mbali Creazzo : Integrative Medicine Practitioner, Traditional Healer, Diviner Kahu Kapi'ioho'okalani Lyons Naone : Healing Practitioner, Hawaiian elder Gabor Mat: Physician, Psychotherapist, Author, Speaker Hosted by Sharon Brown

Sharon Brown is publisher of Sacred Fire magazine and an executive director of Sacred Fire Foundation. She has 30 years experience in media development, beginning in University of Virginia where she was editor of the weekly newsmagazine. She spent several years in television production and studio management before crossing into advertising sales management for cable industry leader TCI. Later she joined TCI programming asset Liberty Media where she served as VP Programming & Strategic Marketing for cable channel and digital media development. She's been a consultant since 2001. www.sacredfiremagazine.com

Mbali Creazzo is a native of South Africa and as a descendant of a Khoi Khoi female healer, closely related to the Bushmen. She was raised in London where she was educated to Post Graduate level in Therapeutic Bodywork from the University of Westminster. This led her to the exploration of traditional and ancient practices as remedies for healing the ailments of the modern world. She has a solid foundation in Integrative Medicine and continues to work in the Healing Arts for the last 30 years. She is a Traditional Healer, Diviner and medicine woman in the Dagara tradition of West Africa. As a voice for the ancestors she brings us home through Divination, Ritual and Sacred Journeys to South Africa. She is dedicated to the preservation of Indigenous wisdom. www.ourdivinemedicine.com

Kahu Kapi'ioho'okalani Lyons Naone is a noted Hawaiian practitioner, born and raised in the most isolated place (Hawaii) in the world, and in the most secluded place on the island of Maui. He was trained from a very early age to be a "Kahu" (keeper of ancient knowledge) by his Kahu grandmother and one of her teachers who was then 102 years old. He has spent his entire life as a Hawaiian practitioner, first in secret, but more openly in the last 30 years. Kahu Naone is known for his vast knowledge in Hawaiian hands-on spiritual healing (Iluna A'e),

Hawaiian herbal medicine (La'alapa'au), conflict resolution (Ho'oponopono), Hawaiian spiritual warrior arts (Lua), among others. He travels extensively especially in Europe where he works with museums, lectures, and conducts workshops and retreats. His work with women and men groups in helping them understand their sexuality and purpose in life has made him one of the most sort after practitioners and lecturer in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. More importantly Kahu is regarded as being extremely knowledgeable in ancient indigenous calendars, celestial rhythms, rituals of passage, interconnectedness, and the role it plays in the survival and movement of humanity. www.hawaiian-spiritual-healing-academy.com

Gabor Mat M.D. was for many years a family practitioner. Former Medical Coordinator of the Palliative Care Unit at Vancouver Hospital, he also worked for twelve years in Vancouver s Downtown Eastside, including at Insite, North Americas only supervised injection site. He is the author of four Canadian bestselling books, published in nearly twenty languages internationally, including, most recently, the award-winning In The Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters With Addiction. He is a speaker in great demand, addressing professional and lay audiences on issues of stress and health, child development, ADHD, and addictions. His next book is entitled Toxic Culture: How Materialistic Society Makes Us Sick. He is also Adjunct Professor of Criminology, Simon Fraser University. http://drgabormate.com/

Greening the Body-Heart-Mind Recorded on June 2, 2012

Karla M. Galdamez: Doctorate in Theoretical Physics, research consultant at Institute of Noetic Sciences David Perlmutter: Neurologist, Author Namonyah Soipan: Founding Director of Source Systems Training, Inc., Psychologist, Shaman Hosted by Belvie Rooks

Belvie Rooks work and vision weaves the worlds of spirituality, feminism, environmental and social justice--with a passion for engaged dialogue--as her way of bridging the various socially constructed divides. She is co-founder (with Dedan Gills) of Growing a Global Heart, a project to plant a million trees along the Trans-Atlantic Slave Route in West African and the Underground Railroad in the United States as a way honoring the millions of lives lost during the slave trade while focusing on global warming and catastrophic climate change. She is also one of 20 scientists, educators, environmentalists and visionaries featured in the Journey of the Universe Educational DVD Series. She is the Creator and Host of ConverZations That Matter, an important conversations series rooted in an exploration cosmology, consciousness and social justice. She has featured such thought leaders as: Brian Swimme, Riane Eisler, astronaut Edgar Mitchell, Matthew

Fox, Carl Anthony, Barbara Holmes, Cornell West, Joy DeGruy, Mary Evelyn Tucker, Tom DeWolf and Drew Dellinger. As a producer, in 2001, she worked with Danny Glover on the television series Courage, which was selected by TV Guide as one of the top ten inspirational shows. Her published works have appeared in a number of books and anthologies including Sacred Poems and Prayers in Praise of Life, edited by Mary-Ford Grabowsky (Doubleday). She has taught at the University of the District of Columbia, the State University of New York at Old Westbury and the University of California, Santa Cruz. She has also lectured and presented workshops at a number of colleges and Universities. She has also served on the boards of the Urban Habitat Program, the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, Positive Futures Network/Yes Magazine, Bioneers and is a current board member of the Institute of Noetic Science and the Jessie Smith Noyes Foundation. www.growingaglobalheart.com http://www.journeyoftheuniverse.org/ed-series-previews/ http://www.facebook.com/growingaglobalheart http://www.ciis.edu/About_CIIS/Publications/CIIS_Today_Spring_2011/ ConverZations_that_Matter_Series.html http://growingaglobalheart.weebly.com/selma-tree-planting.html

Karla Galdamez has worked in several scientific institutions varying from NASA Ames, to the Neutrino Laboratory at Tufts University culminating in a doctorate degree in theoretical physics during which she studied the interlace between classical and quantum theory from a mathematical representation perspective. Currently, she studies quantum effects in superfluid Helium 4 as a visiting scholar at the University of California and works as a research consultant at the Institute of Noetic Sciences concentrating in foundations of quantum mechanics and interpretations of the measurement problem in the double slit experiment. Karla Galdamez was born and raised in El Salvador during the time of the war and has experienced the effects of conflict and resolution. Originating from a humble family whose roots emanated from the small town of San Francisco, she was taught love and compassion by her grandfather, a plant healer, an herbalist and a farmer. She also holds a deep practice of meditation and yoga-asana as well as Aikido. She finds her grounding and peace in these disciplines as well as her inner strength and guidance that lead her, through the mountains and valleys of life experience. Dr. Galdamez believes strongly that current science is in need of integrating back to its source of wholeness through the inclusion of the inherent relation between heart and mind. She stands firmly on the idea that subjective and objective knowledge are necessary for a new transformation through which a new science will emerge. This new science, a further matured version of our current science, will be characterized by the inclusion of emotional and mental states . Following such belief, she collaborates in several consciousness related fields upholding a view, emanated from one of the foundation fathers of quantum theory, John Von-Neumann, and more currently Henry Stapp. In such view, the observer has an important influence on that which is observed. In other words, conscious observation plays a role in the dynamics and results of our experiments; and, as such, consciousness is intertwined with the world as we know it. As a meditator, and a scientist, walking the path of awakening, Karla Galdamez, enjoys taking part in cross-discipline conversations with the goal in mind of focusing on what brings us together rather than apart. She believes that in doing so, apparently distinct traditions could discover

together a new paradigm of being and living in which the wisdom of various traditions is integrated while yet remaining distinct and true to their source.

David Perlmutter, MD, FACN, ABIHM is a Board-Certified Neurologist and Fellow of the American College of Nutrition who received his M.D. degree from the University of Miami School of Medicine where he was awarded the Leonard G. Rowntree Research Award. After completing residency training in Neurology, also at the University of Miami, Dr. Perlmutter entered private practice in Naples, Florida. Dr. Perlmutter is a frequent lecturer at symposia sponsored by such medical institutions as Columbia University, the University of Arizona, Scripps Institute, New York University, and Harvard University. He has contributed extensively to the world medical literature with publications appearing in The Journal of Neurosurgery, The Southern Medical Journal, Journal of Applied Nutrition, and Archives of Neurology. He is the author of: The Better Brain Book and Raise a Smarter Child By Kindergarten, and is recognized internationally as a leader in the field of nutritional influences in neurological disorders. http://drperlmutter.com/

Namonyah Soipan, Ph.D., trained in western psychology and alternative healing, is a shamanistic psychologist, who has facilitated workshops in Japan,the United Kingdom, Amsterdam, Belgium, Africa, India, Thailand, Virgin Islands and the United States. Namonyah began her shamanic journey over twenty five years ago when she was afforded an opportunity to live with, research and ultimately become initiated into the Maasai peoples spiritual medicine practices. She lived with the Maasai for a year in Narok's deep interior on the border of Kenya and Tanzania; her rite of passage was an exciting, painful, transformative and amazing reach into the innermost realms of her soul. She utilizes sacred ceremony and holistic therapy to assist people healing from the aftermath of trauma, and other imbalances relating to mind, body and soul. Integrating the ancient shamanic traditions of the Maasai, Taslagi people, Ifa tradition of the Yoruba and Peruvian shamanism, Namonyah's eclectic modalities have assisted men and women in their search for deep alignment to the soul of Earth. This blend of depth psychology in conjunction with African and Native American medicine wisdom teachings is what she refers to as "Namshamanism." Namonyah is presently studying acupuncture and Chinese medicine in San Francisco. After completion she will return to paradise:the Virgin Islands, and realize her healing center, one that will integrate all her vast and incredible modalities.

Greening our Organizations and Communities Recorded on June 2, 2012

Herbert John Benally: Founder of The Hozhogo Iina Institute, Professor in Dine Studies

Karen John: Navajo Community Facilitator & Trainer Evon Peter: Gwich'in Leader, Speaker, Writer, Tribal Counselor at Gwanzhii and Tundra Dialogues Hardin Tibbs: A co-developer of the industrial ecology concept, strategist and futures thinker. Hosted by Lawrence Ellis

Dr. Herbert Benally, Ph.D was raised on the Navajo Nation amidst poverty, welfare and a deep cultural chasm between his Din culture and western society education. After graduating from Tuba City High School, Benally entered with honors admission to Arizona State University, but dropped out to complete a USMC tour of duty in 1968. After his tour of duty, Benally returned to school and graduated within three years with a BA in psychology, completed his MA in guidance and counseling and then completed his Ph.D. in school finance and education administration from the University of Arizona. Benally has also served as a visiting scholar to various noted academic institutions such as UC Berkeley, and was named 2003 Gifted Educator of the Year in the state of Arizona, and has presented published materials to Beijing Institute in China, Oxford University in Manchester, England, Hawaiian Immersion Schools and Washington State Annual Gifted Leadership Symposium. Dr. Benally's publications include his dissertation: Hzhoogo naash doo: Toward a Construct of Balance in Navajo Cosmology as well as The Pollen Path, Navajo Way of Knowing, The Spiritual Side of Writing, Beauty Way Curriculum: Navajo Nation Alcohol and Substance Abuse Prevention Curriculum Project. His areas of instruction include Navajo culture, philosophy, oral tradition and styles, Navajo History, Navajo Tribal Government and Indian of North America. dinecollege.edu

Karen John is Navajo/Din; she is Kinyaaanii (Towering House People), born for Naastzh Dine (Zuni People), her maternal grandparents are Ashiih (Salt People), and her paternal grandparents are Tlshchii (Red Cheek People). Karen lives in Shiprock, New Mexico, with her husband, Randy, and their youngest children, Octaviano and Sophie; their oldest children, Randy, Jr. and Marissa are both in college. Karen has worked with Shiprock Health Promotion for 14 years as a Health Promotion/Disease Prevention Program Specialist. She has a Bachelor s Degree in Zoology from Colorado State University, and 18 years experience in group facilitation and planning. Karen worked for a national Tribal non-profit organization and a private consulting group where she learned skills and processes in higher education, group facilitation and strategic planning. Since returning to the Navajo Nation, she has gained many valuable insights about historical and cultural teachings as they relate to community wellness planning. She currently collaborates with various projects including Restoring & Celebrating Family Wellness Committee, Healthy Native Community Partnership, and Navajo Area Community Advocacy Team. Karen is grateful to be able to share group facilitation and planning methods support, training and resources with local Navajo community groups and organizations working toward community wellness.

Evon Peter is from a small mountain village in Northeast Alaska called Vashraii Koo (Arctic Village). He and his wife Enei Begaye Peter, a Navajo from Shonto, Arizona, support culturally based leadership and sustainability projects in Alaska and the Southwest through the Indigenous Leadership Institute and the Black Mesa Water Coalition. Evon is an owner of two family businesses, the Alaska based consulting firm Gwanzhii and an eco-friendly T-shirt screen printing company, Nomadic Stars. He also serves as the host of Tundra Dialogues. From a young age, Evon chose to follow a path that has challenged him to look within himself and into history in order to build something healthier for future generations. He has served as a Chief for his tribe, founder of several non-profit service organizations, and facilitated gatherings around the world. He resides in Fairbanks, Alaska with his wife and four children. http://www.evonpeter.com www.tundradialogues.com www.gwanzhii.com

Hardin Tibbs is a futurist and strategist. Now based in England, he used to work for Global Business Network (GBN), the scenario planning firm in California, playing a role in its early development in the 1990s. Trained as an industrial designer, he is a fellow of the RSA in London, teaches at various business schools in the UK, and helped create the Oxford Scenarios Programme. His writing about industrial ecology while a consultant at Arthur D. Little Inc. in the late 1980s helped to define a new way of looking at environment and technology, and his ongoing research focuses on charting the future path of transmodern society. His website is www.hardintibbs.com. www.hardintibbs.com

Honoring the Earth Recorded on June 2, 2012

Tom Goldtooth: Executive Director of the Indigenous Environmental Network Louis Herman: Political Philosopher, Head of Political Science Department at the University of Hawai`i-West O`ahu Larry Merculieff: Co-Founder of Alaska Indigenous Council on Marine Mammals Mark Plotkin: Co-Founder of The Amazon Conservation Team, Ethnobotanist Hosted by Sharon Brown

Sharon Brown is publisher of Sacred Fire magazine and an executive director of Sacred Fire Foundation. She has 30 years experience in media development, beginning in University of Virginia where she was editor of the weekly newsmagazine. She spent several years in television production and studio management before crossing into advertising sales management for cable industry leader TCI. Later she joined TCI programming asset Liberty Media where she served as VP Programming & Strategic Marketing for cable channel and digital media development. She's been a consultant since 2001. www.sacredfiremagazine.com

Tom B.K. Goldtooth is the executive director of the Indigenous Environmental Network based at Bemidji, Minnesota. He has been awarded with recognition of his achievements throughout the past 35 years as an activist for social change within the Native American community. From a U.S. Army veteran in the early 70s in Fort Lewis, Washington, he went to college with a emphasis in social work getting active in the development of social and family counseling and support services in the Native communities of Tacoma, Washington, on the Navajo Nation, at the Lower Sioux community in Morton, Minnesota and later becoming the Executive Director of the St. Paul American Indian Center in the early 1980s. From his participation and leadership as a coordinator of the Environmental Program of Red Lake Nation at the First National People of Color Environmental Justice Leadership Summit in 1991 in Washington D.C. to the 2010 World Peoples Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth in Cochabamba, Bolivia and the recent United Nations Convention on Climate Change in Cancun, Mexico, he has become an environmental justice leader, both locally, regionally, nationally and internationally. In 2000, he coproduced an award winning documentary film, Drumbeat for Mother Earth, which addresses the affects of bio-accumulative chemicals on Native people. From the strength of his community organizing experience he has brought the local issues of environmental and economic justice and the rights of Indigenous peoples to the national and international level on issues of persistent organic pollutants, climate change, mineral extraction, protection of biodiversity, globalization, and water. Tom is a Sun Dance leader and active in his ceremonial responsibilities. He is known for implementing innovative approaches for inspiring Native young people and students to take leadership in building healthy and sustainable Native communities. http://www.ienearth.org/

Louis Herman is a political philosopher at the University of Hawai`i-West O`ahu. He was born in an Orthodox Jewish community in Apartheid South Africa, educated at Cambridge, England and initiated into visionary politics through the Israeli Kibbutz movement. He came to Hawaii many years ago to get some philosophical distance from his roots and a more planetary perspective on politics. He has just completed a book, Future Primal: How our Wilderness Origins Show Us the Way Forward (New World Library, forthcoming, Fall 2012). The work takes its inspiration from the wisdom of the San Bushman hunter-gatherers of the Kalahari and other earth-based societies. It offers a model of a planetary politics based on a convergence of the oldest and the newest, shamanism and science.

Larry Merculieff has almost four decades of experience serving the Aleuts of the Pribilof Islands and other Alaska Native peoples in a number of capacities in positions including City Manager of St. Paul Island, Commissioner of the Alaska Department of Commerce and Economic Development, President and CEO of Tanadgusix Corporation, Chairman of the Board of The Aleut Corporation, and General Manager of the Central Bering Sea Fishermen's Association. Merculieff received the Environmental Excellence Award from the Alaska Forum on the Environment for his lifetime achievements on environmental issues, as well as the Buffet Finalist Award for Indigenous Leadership. He is featured in a book published by Second Story Press entitled "Native Men of Courage." Merculieff also co-authored a book published by Les Intouchables in October 2009, called Aleut Wisdom: Words of an Aleut Messenger.

Mark J. Plotkin, Ph.D., L.H.D. is a renowned ethnobotanist who has spent almost three decades studying traditional plant use with elder Shamans (traditional healers) of tropical America. He is the president and co-founder of The Amazon Conservation Team, a non-profit organization that works in partnership with indigenous people of tropical America to conserve the biodiversity of the Amazon Rainforest as well as the culture and land of its people. Time magazine has called Dr. Plotkin an "Environmental Hero for the Planet", and Smithsonian magazine hailed him as one of "35 Who Made a Difference" in 2005. Dr. Plotkin has written several influential books: Tales of a Shaman's Apprentice; Medicine Quest: In Search of Nature's Healing Secrets; and Discover Magazine's 2002 book of the year, The Killers Within: The Deadly Rise of Drug-Resistant Bacteria. He was featured in the Academy Awardnominated IMAX film Amazon and in the award winning documentary The Shaman's Apprentice by acclaimed filmmaker Miranda Smith. Dr. Plotkin's work has been covered by PBS, Fox TV, NBC Nightly News, Today Show, CBS' 48 Hours, National Public Radio, and in Life, Newsweek, Smithsonian, People, and The New York Times. His awards include the Roy Chapman Andrews

Distinguished Explorer Award (2004), the "International Conservation Leadership" award (2010), and he was among the Skoll Foundation's "Social Entrepreneurs of the Year" (2008). Educated at Harvard, Yale, and Tufts University, Dr. Plotkin has served as World Wildlife Fund Director of Plant Conservation; Conservation International Vice President, and as Research Associate at Harvards Botanical Museum and the Smithsonian. www.amazonteam.org/ www.theshamansapprentice.com

Sustaining Indigenous Initiatives Recorded on June 2, 2012

Evelyn Arce: Executive Director, International Funders for Indigenous Peoples

Evelyn Arce of Chibcha descent (Colombian-American) has been leading International Funders for Indigenous Peoples since 2002 as Executive Director. She obtained her Masters of Art in Teaching degree at Cornell University with a concentration in Agriculture and Adult Education, and was a high-school teacher of Science, Horticulture, and Independent Living for seven years. Evelyn was chosen to participate in the Donella Meadows Fellowship Leadership program, a systems think tank on creating sustainable ways to effectively make long term changes through leadership. Evelyn was a communications consultant for the Iewirokwas Program, a Native American Midwifery Program and coordinated the American Indian Millennium Conference held at Cornell University in 2001. She has also been a diversity consultant for Cornells Empowering Family Development Program. Evelyn serves on the board of United Way for Franklin County in New York State. As IFIPs Executive Director, Evelyn brings a vision of philanthropy that is in accord with Indigenous culture, values, and spiritual sensibilities. She leads IFIP into its second decade of educating funders about critical Indigenous issues and supporting the philanthropic community in its efforts to increase funding to Indigenous communities and causes around the world. A tireless networker, Evelyn has brought together culturally diverse individuals and organizations through IFIPs programs and events, helping to leverage vast reserves of resources. www.internationalfunders.org/

Acknowledgments and Closing Ritual Recorded on June 2, 2012

Lawrence Ellis: Bridging Ancient Wisdom and Contemporary Complexity Science

Lawrence Ellis comes from peoples of Africa and Turtle Island (North America). He is a mix of African (several Southern and Western African peoples), African American and Tsalagi (Cherokee) peoples. Raised away from his ancestral homelands and from many (though not all) of his ancestral traditions, much of his life has focused on returning to those traditions, and on bridging the best of ancient wisdom and contemporary innovations in support of creating a sustainable world. He is a complexity-science organizational consultant (one who applies insights from the study of complex systems in nature, science & society to human organizations), and a spiritual activist. He received early training in both fields at Oxford University on a Rhodes Scholarship, with interdisciplinary studies on the application of Gandhian nonviolence to individual and large-scale change. His life work focuses on applying concepts of & practices for embodying the interconnectedness of life drawn from contemporary complexity-science, and select ancient wisdom traditions to todays foremost crises. Perhaps the greatest revolution of our time is in the way that we see and live in the world as holistic, ecological and deeply interconnected a reemphasis for many ancient cultures, and a shift for many modern cultures. He has worked extensively in community, corporate, movement-building and spiritual settings for many years. At the invitation of Mahatma Gandhi's grandson, he represented the U.S. in a yatra (journey) in India commemorating Gandhi and Martin Luther King. www.LawrenceEllis.org, www.PathsToChange.net

The Shaman's Apprentice - Introduction by co-producer Abigail Wright - Replay of the documentary movie available at http://springofsustainability.com/video Recorded on June 2, 2012
Abigail Wright: Producer, Writer, Media Consultant The Shaman's Apprentice: Feature documentary by Miranda Productions, narrated by Susan Sarandon

Abigail Wright produces and writes documentaries for the independent film company, Miranda Productions, Inc., illuminating complex subjects such as farming, forests, and traditional shamanism. These films have accumulated over eighty major awards and have been broadcast all over the world. She is currently developing an online series for kids on the wonders of food and cooking. Abigail has acted, written, and directed for theatres in the USA and Canada. She also works as a media consultant for emerging technology companies and teaches documentary production at Boulder Digital Arts. She serves on the boards of two cultural organizations, both of which strive to preserve the wisdom of traditional elders. www.mirandaproductions.com www.theshamansapprentice.com

Interspersed with mythical, dream-like folktales narrated by actress Susan Sarandon, The Shaman's Apprentice blends the mystique and the reality of Dr. Mark Plotkin's captivating journey into the heart of the Amazon in pursuit of the Shaman's secrets of medicinal plants. The award-winning film by Miranda Productions illustrates a success story about a man who recognized the importance of his quest not only for the benefit of those from whom he studied but ultimately for the world at large. With dazzling visuals, cutting edge science and a compelling story, The Shaman's Apprentice merges the shamanic and the scientific in a feast for the eyes, the heart, and the mind. http://www.theshamansapprentice.com/, www.mirandaproductions.com, www.amazonteam.org

The Indigenous Wisdom & Modern Science Summit is a program of the Spring of Sustainability virtual series.