FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Pamela Rickenbach
Christina Hansen
Blue Star Equiculture, Inc.
PO Box 7
Bondsville, MA 01009
(413) 289-9787 (Equiculture)
(267) 909-5844 (Christina Hansen’s cell)
www.equiculture.org
info@equiculture.org
Blue Star Equiculture Hosts World Peace and Prayer Day, June 19-21, 2010
Special guest Chief Arvol Looking Horse to honor horses and the environment
PALMER, MA. – The summer solstice will bring together all nations, all faiths and all species in one prayer for peace at Blue Star Equiculture Draft Horse Sanctuary and Organic Farm.
Monday, June 21, 2010, will see people of all faiths gather on Burgundy Brook Farm on Rt. 181 to celebrate our sacred connection with the Horse and with Mother Earth. Diverse spiritual and religious groups are invited to participate alongside Chief Arvol Looking Horse , who will be praying for the future of all horses, of all humans, and of the Earth. All are welcome.
“We are the watchers. We are the witnesses,” says Looking Horse. “We see what has gone before. We see what happens now, at this dangerous moment in human history. We see what’s going to happen, what will surely happen unless we come together — we, the Peoples of all Nations — to restore peace, harmony and balance to the Earth, our Mother…”
Chief Arvol Looking Horse is the 19th Generation Keeper of the Sacred White Buffalo Pipe of the Lakota Sioux. He began World Peace and Prayer Day in the Black Hills of South Dakota in 1996 as a means to reconnect all people of all faiths with Mother Earth. This year, Chief Looking Horse, a board member of the International Society of the Protection of Mustangs and Burros, is coming to Blue Star Equiculture to honor the Horse Nation and its contribution to our common history.
Blue Star Equiculture executive director Pamela Rickenbach says that World Peace and Prayer Day is a unique opportunity to raise awareness about both facets of Blue Star’s focus: working horses and the environment. “Horses are crucial to our connection with our own history and with the Earth. Yet horses across the country are facing an uncertain future, through neglect, homelessness and the ever-present specter of horse slaughter. At the same time, the environment is in crisis. We want to show people that horses, especially working horses, can help us restore balance in the environment and in our society.”
Equiculture co-founder and historian, Christina Hansen, agrees. “We like to say around here that draft horses are a national treasure, just like wild mustangs. Horses–whether draft horses, other working horses, riding horses, or mustangs–built our nation. We are all a horse people.” This event is a time to celebrate our connection with the horse and with the earth, and to honor horses’ contribution to our lives.
The weekend’s activities begin on Saturday, June 19, with a benefit concert, Music for the Horse Nation. Music begins at 3 PM, and will feature several popular local bands, including: Jubilee Garden, The Pencils, Gaia Roots, Rhythmic Circus, and Josh Noone and the Federal Crime.
On Sunday, visitors will be entertained and educated by a native historical reenactment by Ken Hamilton, featuring the customs and practices of the Nipmuc people who settled the area before European settlement.
A program introducing the public to the history and life stories of several of the equine residents at Blue Star Equiculture will also be presented. Sunday’s activities will conclude with a drum circle in the evening.
Wagon rides and informational displays about Blue Star Equiculture, horses and horsepower, and the history of the land at Burgundy Brook Farm will be available all weekend. Limited camping is available on site by reservation only, $10 per site per night.
Author Harvey Arden will also be on hand all weekend, and will speak and participate in Monday’s events. Mr. Arden was a National Geographic staff writer for over 23 years. He has continued to pursue his desire to collaborate with extraordinary people to share their stories, life lessons, and messages as an author and editor. He is the author or editor of numerous books including, Wisdomkeepers: Meetings w/ Native American Spiritual Elders, Dreamkeepers: A Spirit-Journey into Aboriginal Australia, and Noble Red Man: Lakota Wisdomkeeper Mathew King.
The International Society of the Protection of Mustangs and Burros will have an informational booth to educate the public about the plight of wild mustangs and burros. The ISPMB is the nation’s oldest wild horse advocacy organization, founded in 1960 by “Wild Horse Annie,” Velma Johnston.
Approximately 30 vendors of crafts, jewelry, food and more will be on site on Saturday and Sunday. Admission to Saturday and Sunday events is $10 per day, $5 for children aged 5-12. All events are family friendly, and a kids’ craft and face-painting booth will be available in the vendor area. Vendors and sponsors are still being sought. “We also need volunteers, lots of them,” says Rickenbach. “This is an opportunity for all of us to come together for the benefit of horses and the Earth.” For more information about vendor, sponsorship, or volunteer opportunities at World Peace and Prayer Day, visit www.worldpeaceandprayerday.org.
All proceeds from the weekend benefit Blue Star Equiculture and Wolakota Foundation’s S’unka Wakan program. Blue Star Equiculture Draft Horse Sanctuary and Organic Farm is a 501c3 non-profit organization specializing in draft horse rescue and retirement, organic farming, environmental education, and horse-drawn history tours. Its mission is to provide homeless working horses a sanctuary and the opportunity to be useful and positively improve their lives, while bringing education, equine awareness, skills and healing to the community and the environment. For more information about Blue Star Equiculture, its mission and its horses, visit them on the web at www.equiculture.org.
Wolakota Foundation is a grassroots non-profit organization emerging from the needs of traditional Lakota (Dakota/Nakota) people to maintain their cultural and spiritual lifeways for the sake of future generations. Since its inception, the organization has sought to promote and protect as well as educate others about the traditional values and wisdom of Indigenous People. For more information, visit www.wolakota.org.
For more information about World Peace and Prayer Day, a schedule of events, information about how to participate, or to download sponsor or vendor forms, please visit www.worldpeaceandprayerday.org. World Peace and Prayer Day is an alcohol-free, drug-free and weapon-free event.
This is going to be a great event! Really looking forward to all of it!
Barbara Ellen Ries says:
Travel on a Eco- Spiritual Vacation: Times of Walking with the Wild Horses
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JDcQE0a0uw ~ You tube
Karen Sussman is charming as well as educated about 400 hundreds of horses. She is the only women in the world with 4 wild horse herds. Karen has navigated a talk in front of Congress and has met with the most resistant to mediate the lives of wild burro’s after a blood bath near Oatman, AZ. The battle was settled by Karen’s guidance to end the slaughter.
She raised her children in Scottsdale, AZ. But was invited by a calling to help USA’s horse herds. Nothing is impossible for Karen she has help organized the freedom for the Apache Sitgrave horses with Dr Pat Haigh.
the only free herd to moving buffalos to Catalina Island.
Karen feels comfortable on her rural South Dakota farm and conservation and mothering nutures acres on a grazing prairie. The Lakota believe they would have a person come to them to re-unit the horses with their horse culture. They believe the horse woman is “Karen.”
Return of Sungnuni glugluka (mustang)
The Lakota people once relied on and lived with the wild horse. The horse was used in ceremonies, games, hunting, and war and in everyday life. The horse was a symbol of freedom, strength, pride and courage. The Indian people believe that they had the horse long before the Spanish arrived. The horse was bred for specific purposes. Similar to the Arabian it was bred for endurance and speed. It was necessary to travel many miles sometimes non-stop for days. The speed was required for hunting, war and games. A fast pony was a highly cherished animal with the Indian people. Today we have the privilege of having the wild horse in our midst again. As the Indian people search for their roots and regain their ceremonies, language and culture it becomes evident that the return of the wild horse is part of becoming whole again.
Returning us to nature, Karen Sussman makes the magic real again.
Princeton University is coming this summer and its Founder is going to be Hollywood movie, Wild Horse Annie, her spirit still smiles down on Karen and her horses.
Pictures:
http://www.wildhorsefoundation.org/images/karen%20sussman.JPG
Chief Arvol Looking Horse is the 19th Generation Keeper of the Sacred White Buffalo Pipe of the Lakota Sioux. He began World Peace and Prayer Day in the Black Hills of South Dakota in 1996 as a means to reconnect all people of all faiths with Mother Earth. This year, Chief Looking Horse, a board member of the International Society of the Protection of Mustangs and Burros, is coming to Blue Star Equiculture to honor the Horse Nation and its contribution to our common history. THIS SOUNDS INCREDIBLE!!
Sandy howell Reply:
June 15th, 2010 at 8:21 am
I am pleased to be working at a booth on Sunday. I have just published “Spirit Of A Rare Breed”. It is a novel about two women and their desire to bring the American Curly horse to the attention of the horse world and those who love horses. The Curly horses are not well known and ran free on the western plains for many years. Many still run with the wild herds.
The American Curly horses were the revered breed of the Lakota and Crow warriors and many Curly horses are depicted in drawings by Black Hawk.
Dr. Mitch Wilkinson Reply:
October 10th, 2010 at 11:34 pm
Sandy,
Your book has come to my attention. It would be a honor to communicate with you. How can our members recieve a copy of your book?
Dr. Mitch Wilkinson – Chairman of the Curly Mustang Association
Hay for Wild Horse Research Assistance Needed
Written by ISPMB newsletter
BAIL US OUT WITH A BALE!
ISPMB’s Conservation program gives refuge to four wild horse herds. In the past 10 years, the horses have provided invaluable knowledge helping us to understand their evolved wild nature.
ON BEHALF OF THE HORSES, WE ARE ASKING FOR YOUR HELP TO BUY MUCH NEEDED HAY.
How You Can Help
The slumping economy has greatly affected our ability to purchase hay for the upcoming winter. It is critical to the future of America’s wild horses that our conservation efforts continue. We cannot fail now with so much data at hand and much more to be learned.
You can Bail Us Out ~ by donating ~ Bales of Hay!
a. A contribution of $40 will buy one large bale of hay (1200#) feeding 7 horses for 1 week. Our herds consume 68 bales per week and more in the winter.
b. Spend a weekend at our wild horse ranch when you purchase hay for 1 herd for 1 week for $650.
c. Spend a fantastic week at our ranch interacting with our herds when you purchase hay for 4 herds for 1 week for $2500.
Your donation is tax-deductible and will help us save America’s wild horses by keeping our conservation program alive and well.
http://www.ispmb.org
ISPMB is a 501(c)(3) organization and all your contributions are tax deductible.
THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THE WILD HORSES!
I am going to volunteer, at WPPD at Burgandy Brook.
I am very pleased with the thought of addressing, the
need for all people to go back to a more permaculture
approach to horse/human relationships.
My interest, in horses has led me to, seek answers, into the history of Horse/Human,
in, Pre Late Planters, Pre, Industrial Age, in Coastal towns of North Boston.
Many, times I was struck, by the utter, and complete change human/horse nation’s relationships.
My interest in Permaculture, has led me to be aware of horse fed, pasture systems, special to this region. My special affinity for a particular sprout of Horse nation, born of this region, has led me to a deeper understanding, or the developement of horse nation, in this whole land.
The need for another approach to relationships with Horse Nation(post peak oil), is the cause of the current
tragic horse nation developements. This tradity, has to be addressed, in a perma-culture, or organic approach, (going after the cause).
The direct needs of horses, need to be addressed first,of course. But,this event, World Peace and Pray Days,
for me, is a chance to address, the true cause, of the current, horse nation threat. Horse Nation, of this Massachusetts, has to go back to the cultural systems, of horse/human/lamd, relationships, that where available Pre Industrial, pre Second Planters, Back pre. United States Nation, before colonialism(completely took hold).
My search, into horse nation, has led me to un earth, some facts. Most of English “Founding fathers”,
shared horse/or team, with distant poorer, relative, or poorer, other, in the country side(of City). The old pictures of stylized, horses isn’t stylized. This, is the horse, of the nation. All peoples male and female, had access to horse relationship systems, all through, this horse nation’s developement. Horse nation was responsible, for deep, human to human, relationships, and trade systems, which have to be brought back, if humanity is going to stay on this earth.
Horse nation, has feed the soil of millions of acres of this land. Horse nation, and other is going
to be needed very soon, in this, close to city, country side, near water course and on ridge. The brief inerlude of cheap energy/fertilizer is over. Much, Olde farm, and trading, pricipals, using low energy imput, have to be brought back. The soil of this land, has to begin feeding horse, and human nation again. Ancient farm, river systems/courses, ridges, seaways, etc…, need to be made sacret again. All people.
of this land, now, need to have access, to Horse nation.
green algae
http://www.realitysandwich.com/oil_vigil
Sent: Fri, Jun 11, 2010 6:25 pm
In the ongoing wake of the Deepwater Horizon oil drilling catastrophe the world is dismayed by the destructive tendencies of modern human beings. With what seems to be a never-ending nightmare secreted into our oceans, communities are grouping together to help solve this crisis and grieve its disastrous impact.
A country-wide vigil is scheduled by MoveOn.org for tomorrow night, June 8th. Please click here to find the vigil nearest you. For those in the NYC area, there is one being held in Brooklyn, NY at Garfield Place and Prospect Park West. This is a call to everyone to band together our collective hearts and minds to help heal the wound we have inflicted upon our planet.
Chief Arvol Looking Horse has spoken out against the these destructive tendencies and the mistakes that we have made, and asks for the spiritual leaders and all of humanity to unite together in prayer for the sake of our Grandmother Earth so that we do not continue in making mistakes out of our addictive behavior in the destruction of our ecosystem. He asks us to remember and use June 21st, World Peace and Prayer Day/Honoring Sacred Sites day, to unite together as human beings intimately connected to all life and pray for the Earth, ecosystems, and all life we have afflicted.
So on June 8th and June 21st, let us collectively merge our consciousness towards evolving our behavior away from these destructive tendencies and step forward to a new level of responsibility and with the understanding of the interconnectedness of all life.