B U I L D I N G H E A L T H Y , S U S T A I N A B L E A M E R I C A N I N D I A N C O M M U N I T I E SInternational ConferenceBuilding Healthy, Sustainable

American Indian Communities

EDUCATION • HEALTH • ENERGYAGRICULTURE • CULTURAL PRESERVATION

Friday, September 25, to Sunday, September 27, 2009

Maharishi University of Management, Fairfield, Iowa At the forefront of building healthy, sustainable

American Indian communities

HOS T S A N D PA RT ICI PA N T SHocak Elders Council, Inc.

National Council of American Indians (NCAI)Indian Health Services (IHS)

National Indian Education Association (NIEA)Bureau of Indian Education (BIE)

Winnebago Tribal Health Services (WTHS)Winnebago Treaty Hospital – IHS

David Lynch Foundation

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5-Point Plan for Health and Sustainability

1 EDUCATION Improving academic achievement and reducing stress and violence among American Indian youth

2 HEALTH Preventing and treating diabetes, cardiovascular disease, substance abuse, and depression among American Indians

3 ENERGY Promoting energy and economic self-sufficiency for American Indians through wind and solar technologies

4 AGRICULTURE Creating food and economic self sufficiency for American Indians through organic farming

5 CULTURAL PRESERVATION AND RESTORATION Safeguarding the land, language, and spiritual traditions of American Indians

Developed by the Ho-Chunk Elders Advisory Council (HEAC) and Hocak Elders Council, Inc. (HECI)Warner Earth HECI/HEACBetty Earth HECI/HEACDonald “Bucky” Pilcher HECI/HEACNiki Solomon HECI/HEACEdward Logan HECI/HEACHarold Cleveland HEACMorgan Earth HECI/HEAC

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Your program initiatives for health, education, renewable energy and sustainable communities resonate with our mission.

“American Indians are the true custodians of our land.”

American Indians are the true custodians of our land. You’ve assembled a panel of prominent experts to examine and share your innovative and highly effective approaches; approaches which are in harmony with nature’s laws and with Native American cultural practices.

•Yourprogramsandmethodologyhavesignificantimpactfordramaticallyimprovingacademic performance, and reducing the stress and violence that permeate impoverished Indian and non-Indian communities.

•YourworkhaspreventedandactuallyreversedtheonslaughtofDiabetes,whichstrikesupto80 percent of Native Peoples.

•You’vegeneratedcleanenergyandeconomicself-sufficiencyforAmericanIndiansbyharnessing nature’s wind and solar resources.

•You’veprovidedhealthy,nutritiousfoodandeconomicself-sufficiencyforAmericanIndiansthrough the establishment of organic agricultural greenhouses.

•Andfinally,you’vesafeguardedthepreciousland,language,andcultureofAmericantribalcommunities, for they are truly the foundation for systemic change.

“Thankyou for all you do to bring change for healthy, sustainable, peaceful communities worldwide.”

IcongratulatetheHocakEldersCouncil,Inc.oftheWinnebagoTribeofNebraskafordevelopingandbringingforthacomprehensiveandtimelyplan.AndIcongratulatetheHocakEldersCouncil,Inc.foralreadytakingnecessarystepstoputtheplaninplace.Yourprogramsare replicable, and they’ll have a global impact.

Thankyouforallyoudotobringchangeforhealthy,sustainable,peacefulcommunitiesworldwide.It’snowmypleasuretohandtheconferencebacktoitsleader,ProsperWaukon.Thankyou.Ilookforwardtoworkingwithyouinthefuture.

ThankyoufortheopportunitytoaddresstheHocakElders’“International Conference on Building Sustainable American Indian Communities.”

WhenIlefttheWhiteHouse,IstartedtheClintonFoundationtoaddresstheglobalissuesIcaredmostaboutinareaswhereIknewIcouldstillmakeanimpact.We’renowworkingin40countries to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic, to stop global climate change, to promote economic development and opportunity worldwide, and to halt the childhood obesity epidemic in the United States.

PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON’S

OPENING ADDRESS A SPECIAL VIDEOTAPED ADDRESS TO THE CONFERENCE

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FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25Evening Session • Dalby Hall: 7:30 pm to 9:00 pmOPENING INVOCATION Warner Earth SpiritualElder,WinnebagoTribeofNebraska,memberoftheHocak

Elders Council, Inc.WELCOMINGREMARKSPresident Bill Clinton Special videotaped message for the ConferenceJoe A. Garcia President, National Congress of American IndiansProsper Waukon Ahereditaryleader–ThunderbirdClan,WinnebagoTribeofNebraskaJohn Hagelin, Ph.D. President, David Lynch Foundation

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26Morning Session • Dalby Hall: 9:30 am to 12:15 pmEDUCATIONImproving academic achievement and promoting health and reducing stressIssues Robert Cook President, National Indian Education Association Lucille Echohawk Strategic analyst, Casey Family ProgramKathy Campbell Education Specialist, Bureau of Indian EducationSolutions Patricia Dunn Co-director,QuietTimeProgram,WinnebagoPublicSchoolJohn Boncheff Co-director,QuietTimeProgram,WinnebagoPublicSchoolJohn Blackhawk Chairman,WinnebagoTribeofNebraska,SchoolBoardChairman

oftheWinnebagoTribeSandy Nidich, Ph.D. Education Project Researcher, MUM Research Institute BreakHEALTHPreventing and treating diabetes and cardiovascular disease Issues Marietta Martin Program Development of Health and Human Services, Tohono

O’odham NationLucille Echohawk Strategic analyst, Casey Family ProgramCathy Wilson Director, Healthy Heart Project, Tohono O’odham NationSheri Moore CEO,WinnebagoTreatyHospitalSolutions Sudah Shaheb, M.D. International specialist in endocrinology and metabolism; diabetes

educator with Indian Health Services in affiliation with the Tribal HealthServicesinWinnebago

Ahmed Mohammed, M.D. ChiefMedicalOfficer,WinnebagoIndianHospital,IndianHealthServices

Cathleen Wilson Director, Healthy Heart Project, Tohono O’odham NationPat Medina TribalHealthServicesDirector,WinnebagoTribeCarolyn King, Ph.D. Diabetes Project Researcher, Maharishi University of Management

Research InstituteAfternoon Session • Dalby Hall: 1:30 pm to 5:30 pmENERGYPromoting energy self-sufficiency Issues Donald “Bucky” Pilcher Coordinator,WindEnergyInitiative,WinnebagoReservation

Solutions Tom Factor President, GVP, Inc.; Director, American Indian Energy Initiatives,

David Lynch FoundationTed Weisman President, Beta Corporation AGRICULTURECreating food and economic self-sufficiencyIssues Carl Jorgensen CEO and President, Purely Organics Inc.Steve McLaskey Director, Maharishi University of Management Organic FarmSteve Nichols Executive Vice President, Soil Technologies Solutions Warner Earth SpiritualElder,WinnebagoTribeofNebraska;Coordinator,Organic

GreenhouseInitiative,WinnebagoReservationMorgan Earth Ho-ChunkEldersAdvisoryCouncilVern Smith TribalCouncilMember,WinnebagoTribeBreakCULTURE Promoting cultural preservation and restorationIssues Juanita Homer Director, Behavioral Services, Tohono O’odham NationJoe Garcia President, National Congress of American Indians Solutions Warner Earth SpiritualElder,WinnebagoTribeofNebraska;CoordinatorDonald “Bucky” Pilcher FormalTribalChair,SacandFoxNation,Kansas;Coordinator,

WindEnergyInitiative,WinnebagoReservationMorgan Earth Ho-ChunkEldersAdvisoryCouncilEd Logan Ho-ChunkEldersAdvisoryCouncilBetty Earth Ho-ChunkEldersAdvisoryCouncilTekahnawiiaks PolicyAnalyst,MohawkCouncilofAkwesasneEvening Session • Golden Dome: 8:00 pm to 10:00 pmDEGREEAWARDSMaharishi University of Management Awarding the Degree of Doctor of Natural Law Honoris Causa STOLCEL WASNECFirstNationStraitsSalishPeopleoftheSaanich

Peninsula, British Columbia, CanadaEVENING CELEBRATION “Cultural Preservation” Enjoy the traditional performances of song anddancebymembersoftheWinnebagoTribeofNebraska

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27Morning Session • Dalby Hall: 9:30 am to 11:30 amTAKINGACTIONImplementation and funding initiativesConferencespeakershostbreakoutworkshopsandfundingsessionsfortheEducation,Health,Energy,Agriculture, and Cultural Preservation and Restoration initiativesGREEN UNIVERSITY CAMPUS TOURTour the Center for Brain, Consciousness, and Cognition, Sustainable Living Center, NIH-funded Institute of Natural Medicine and Prevention, and the campus community where all new classrooms, administrative offices, and housing are being designed and built to be green, sustainable, and in harmony with natural lawCLOSING BLESSING WarnerEarthSpiritualElder,WinnebagoTribeofNebraska,memberoftheHocakEldersCouncil,Inc.Lunch and departure

PROGRAM SCHEDULE

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EDUCATIONChallenges: The American Indian population has drop-out rates that are the highest of any group in the United States. It is estimated that up to 50% ofAmericanIndianstudentsdonotfinishhighschool.Thesocialproblemsofalcoholism,familybreak-ups,povertyonreservations,discriminationinnon-reservation schools, and stress cause a high rate of absenteeism and eventual withdrawal from school. This perpetuates a cycle of hopelessness, despair and poverty among American Indians.

TheHocakEldersCouncil,Inc.arrangedfortheTranscendentalMediationprogramtobeintro-ducedintotheWinnebagoPublicSchoolsystemin2006.TheDavidLynchFoundationhasprovidedfunding for these projects for over three years. 259 students in grades six through twelve and 58 adults havelearnedthetechniquesincethen.Dataprovidedbytheschoolhasshownsignificantdifferencesbetween the students who learned to meditate and the control group of non-meditating students.

Whenthemeditatingstudentsfirstenrolledinthemeditationcourse,theyscoredmorepoorlyontheNebraskaStatetestsforreadingandmathematicsthancontrolgroup.Sincelearningtomeditatethe meditating group has shown dramatic increases in their reading and mathematics comprehension. The students have increased test scores on state standardized tests by 29%. In addition, the meditating students who performed poorer on these tests, now score higher than the control group on the standard-ized tests.

The meditating students also average 25% less absenteeism than the control group of non-meditators. TherehasalsobeenadramaticincreaseingraduationratesattheWinnebagoschool.Theschoolhashada30%increaseingraduationsincetheprogramhasbeenimplementedinWinnebago.Aneighbor-ing American Indian school has shown no increase in graduation during the same period.

In addition, projects with two other tribes have shown that meditating American Indian students have much better self-esteem and fewer negative incidents when they begin meditating. A high school on the Ogala Sioux reservation at Pine Ridge showed a 23% increase in self-esteem and positive be-havioroveratwo-yearperiod.Thestudentsalsoshowedamarkeddecreaseinanxietyanddepressionduring the study.

The Passamaquoddy Tribe of Maine reported a 28% decrease in disciplinary incidents during the firstyearthattheTranscendentalMeditationtechniquewasintroducedintotheirhighschool.

It has now been shown that this meditation can have a dramatic impact wherever it is introduced in Indian Country. Based on these results, there have been many inquiries from other tribes about the possibility of implementing the Quiet Time program that is sponsored by the David Lynch Foundation.Project Goal: To insure the future enlightenment of Indian Country by creating a new generation of American Indian youth who are graduates who are free of the debilitating effects of depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem.Project Needs: AtleastfivemilliondollarsayearisneededtobringthisprogramtotwentymoreschoolsinIndianCountry.Thiswouldresultinthousandsofstudentsgainingthesebenefitsandbeingproductive adults and parents.

AN INVITATION

The Hocak Elders Council, Inc., warmly invites leaders of American Indian tribes and First Nation people throughout the world;

custodians of land, language, cultural, and spiritu-al traditions; foundations and philanthropists; and health care specialists, organic farmers, and renew-able energy experts to partner together to implement this practical, proven five-point program to buildhealthy, sustainable American Indian communities. The following pages present, in brief, the fundamen-tal principles, programs, and initial achievements of this program in several tribes. For a more compre-hensive report, please write the American Indian Initiatives-David Lynch Foundation, Post Office Box738,Winnebago,NE68071,emailIntiatives@DavidLynchFoundation.org,orcall866-962-0108.

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HEALTHChallenges: Diabetes, heart disease, substance abuse, and alcoholism affect an extraordinary percentage of the American Indian population. American Indians have the highest rate of diabetes of any population in the U.S. They are250%morelikelytosufferfromdiabetesthananyothersubgroupintheU.S. Some tribes report that 70% of their population is either pre-diabetic or diabetic.

TheHocakEldersCouncil,Inc.invitedresearchersfromtheMaharishiUniversityofManagementResearchInstitutetoworkwiththemindesigningandconductingastudythatwillrecordchangesinhealthpatternsamongdiabeticsintheWinnebagoCommunity.TheCouncilrequestedtheresearchstudy after a number of the elders who began practicing the Transcendental Meditation technique noticedextraordinarybenefits.Theirbloodglucoselevelsenteredthetargetrangeandstabilized.Bothadults and children who began the technique noticed that their symptoms decreased. Those who were being treated with insulin noticed a drop in their need for it. The Elders also noticed normalization of their high blood pressure and found that their mental and physical well-being improved.

Research indicates that the elevated rate of diabetes and other chronic health disorders in the Ameri-can Indian population is due in part to excessive stress. Both chronic stress and extreme stress are com-mon in reservation communities. Because stress is such an important factor contributing to the high rates of diabetes and complications such as hypertension and cardiovascular disease, stress reduction with the Transcendental Meditation program is expected to improve physical and mental health in the American Indian community. In studies on other populations, this program has proven effective both at lowering the stress level and at reducing the negative effects of stress, including chronic diseases.

WearepleasedthattheDavidLynchFoundationhasprovidedthefundstoconductasmallpilotstudyoftheeffectsoftheTranscendentalMeditationtechniqueintheWinnebagotribe.Initially,wewill teach the technique to 20 diabetic patients. Other funding opportunities are being sought to in-crease the size of the study and to include family members of the diabetic patients. Our larger goal is firsttoenroll400WinnebagoTribalmembersinthestudyandthentoexpandtheprojecttoatleastfourAmericanIndianTribes.IftheresultsareasclearlybeneficialastheWinnebagoEldersobservedin their own lives, then this program will become a routine part of government-supported health care for American Indians.Project Goal: To improve overall health and reduce diabetes, heart disease, and substance abuse through prevention-based, natural medicine.Project descriPtioN: A family-based study of the Transcendental Meditation technique for reducing the symptoms and complications of diabetesProject BudGet: $2millionfortheWinnebagostudy.TheIndianHealthServices,throughtheWin-nebagoTreatyHospital,willcontribute$560,000.00ofin-kindservices.

RENEWABLEENERGYProject Goal: To create a large-scale commercially viable wind energy cen-terinIndiancountryandcreateamodelforwinddevelopmentamongthe556federally recognized and 253 state recognized tribes in the U.S. Project descriPtioN: In conjunction with resources provided by the David Lynch Foundation, The HocakEldersCouncil,Inc.planstoimplementacommunitywindturbinetoprovideenergyforthetownofWinnebagoanda200megawattwindfarmtoprovideeconomicself-sufficiencyfortheTribe.ThecommunityturbinewillprovideenergydirectlyintothedistributionsystemforthetownofWin-nebago.Thewindfarmwillsellwholesaleenergyandgreentagstolocalutilitiesandtothemarket.ProBlem/solutioNs: The residential cost of electricity in the remote rural areas of the Indian nations is a necessity and a hardship. The ability to earn income is limited in a rural community. However, the remote rural nature is an advantage for wind energy.oPPortuNity: Plentiful wind and solar energy resources are found on reservation locations. Indian Na-tionscanfulfilltheirlocalenergyneedsandearnsignificantannualincomethroughthedevelopmentofrenewableenergyresources.ThekeytounlockingtheirbenefitsfortheTribesisintheknowledgeofthe most economic and realizable means of implementation in the context of the unique requirements of reservation land.

Developmenttasksinclude:projectdesign,windanalysis,environmentalstudies,constructionstud-ies,electricalengineering,interconnectionagreements,financialmodeling,powerpurchaseagreements,land easement acquisition, and permitting to meet tribal county, state, and federal requirements.

Implementationtasksinclude:construction,operationandmaintenanceofacommunityturbineandutility-scale wind farm.

OntheWinnebagoReservation,theHocakEldersCouncilproposestocreateaunityofpurposeby managing the development and implementation of the project and determining tribal program al-locationsofprofitsincooperationwiththeHo-ChunkTribalCouncil.Theplanwillintegrateavailablefunding from foundations, federal government grants, loans, tax-credits, and partnerships with private industry.

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ORGANIC AGRICULTUREChallenges: IndianCountryfacessignificanthealthchallengesintheareasof diabetes, obesity, and hypertension. A major cause of these problems has beenthelackofpropernutrition.

For decades, with government agencies mandating their diets, American Indians have had to aban-don their traditional eating habits, eat foods unhealthy for their physiologies, and lose touch with the knowledgeoftheirindigenousandtraditionalfoods,whichwerebasedonlocalorganicagriculture.

In addition, today many tribes have incomes below the poverty level, and very few businesses are run by tribal members or bring income into the American Indian Communities.

Solutions:TheAmericanIndianTMOrganicAgricultureInitiativeseekstoimprovedietandnu-trition in American Indian Communities and to create a sustainable economic base that utilizes the nourishment found in the earth. The American Indian tradition is based on maintaining harmony with the elements of nature. Organic agriculture is, therefore, fundamental to the American Indian tradition.

ThefirstagriculturalinitiativeisnowunderwayonfiveacresoflandinWinnebago.Twoninety-six-foot by thirty-foot greenhouses have been erected, with plans for up to eight greenhouses on the property. These greenhouses will provide the basis for a proper diet for all members of the tribe. The organic vegetables grown there will also be helpful in conjunction with the related diabetes research project by improving the diet of those with health issues.

This agricultural initiative has three parts: 1. To provide fresh organic vegetables to the various institutions on reservations, such as the public

schools and shelters, the senior centers, and the health facilities. Most tribes have a policy to buy from their own businesses whenever possible. Thus there will be two outcomes from this part of the plan. First, fresh organic vegetables will be provided to the children of the tribe, to those who are undergo-inghealthtreatments,andtotheelderly.Second,thesaleofthesefoodswillcreateafirmfinancialbasis for the entire operation.

2. To distribute free produce to all members of the tribe who cannot or do not purchase produce at this time. This again will help provide fresh organic food to all tribe members, thereby improving the health and diet of everyone in the tribe.

3.TodevoteseveralgreenhousestotraditionalIndianvegetablesandherbs.Theknowledgeofthese traditional plants is still in the possession of elders throughout Indian Country. Under the direction of the elders of each tribe, the most traditional of the nourishing and healing plants will onceagainbeavailabletoeachtribe.Inaddition,therewillbeamarketthroughoutAmericaforsuchplants and herbal remedies. These will be distributed only through the elders of each tribe.Project Goal: To begin with organic greenhouses for every tribe and then to expand to large or-ganic agricultural businesses on large open acreage. Indian Country should become the provider of thecontinent’smostnaturalandmostancientvegetablesandherbsandshouldtaketheroleofpro-viding organic produce for all of the continent. The goal is that each tribe should have a large organic agriculture project.Project Needs: At least $5 million will be needed to invest in the purchase of land and construction of the greenhouses to begin the project. Each operation will be guided by the elders of each respec-tive tribe. A business plan will be tailored to each tribe that will create a model of self-sufficiency and repayment of any investment.

AMERICAN INDIAN CULTURAL PRESERVATION AND RESTORATION“In the history of Indian peoples, parenting was not left to chance. Throughwell-definedcustoms,values,andpractices,whichwerehandedfromgeneration to generation…children, were taught the rights way to do things, how to get along with others, and how to have self-control. Different tribes did this in different ways, but each tribe had very positive values about children thathelpedkeepthegroupstrong…Thespiritualbeliefsofmanytribeshelpedprotect children and are good indicators of just how important children were.

“Before the Europeans came to this country, parenting ways were handed down from generation to generation.Thesewaysweredefinedbytraditions,customs,beliefs,andteachingsthatgosofarbackweknowlittleoftheirorigins.…however,Europeaninfluenceschangedmuchofthat.Boardingschoolsinterrupted the normal cycle of the child learning…children learned institutional living and learned to be ashamed. These children missed the opportunity to learn Indian parenting, especially when sent to boardingschoolattheageofthreetofiveuntiltheywereeighteentotwentyandwithoutanycontactwith their extended families.

“Through relocation to urban areas and other government policies the extended family support was sometimes lost. Stories were lost and traditional training and Indian education were replaced by formal education…as Indian people suffered more and more defeat by state and government agencies. Parents were often left stripped of their life ways to pass on. Today, Indian parenting is made harder because of the historical experiences of our Indian nations.”

— “Positive Indian Parenting – Honoring Our Children by Honoring Our Traditions” AModelIndianParentTrainingManual,NationalIndianChildWelfareAssociation, PortlandOregon,1986–ParryCenterforChildren

Whattribalculturewehaveleftwemustpreserve.SomeofourIndiannationshavepreservedalotof their culture while other nations have only remnants of their tribal culture intact. By exploring what we have culturally preserved we began to culturally restore our tribal nation. American Indian Cultural Preservation and Cultural Restoration can be achieved simultaneously. The elders of our Indian nations are destined to be the unifying force that will be instrumental in achieving both.

Each year before elections on our reservations, boards of directors, Indian programs, and in our urban Indian communities our politicians promote the importance of our children and elders. “Our children are our future and our elders are the cultural teachers of our children. Both are held in the highest esteem.” Yet, year after year, we confront the same issues and problems in our communities and

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CONFERENCE CO-HOSTSProsPer WaukoNA hereditary leader—Thunderbird Clan, Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska

P rosperWaukonisanaccomplishedbusinessman,youthdevelopmentspecialist,andorganiza-tionalstrategistwhocomesfromalonglineofHocakhereditaryleadersfromtheThunderbirdClan.Asasinglefather,hesupportedhisfamilyandputhimselfthroughcollegewhileworking

three jobs and graduated with a degree in Business Administration from the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minnesota.

Prosper was hired by Honeywell, Inc., and with his considerable man-agementandnegotiatingskills,herosequicklythroughtherankstoassumetheroleofprincipaladvisor/negotiatorforHoneywellinaBlackHillslanddispute between the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, the Cowboy and Indian Alliance,Honeywell,andthestateofSouthDakota.Prosperwassuccessfulin negotiating a win-win situation for all parties concerned. He later returned totheUniversityofSt.ThomastoworkonhisMBAgraduatestudies.

After Honeywell, Prosper ran his own award-winning business in some of the most economically deprived and troubled neighborhoods of the inner city, where he trained and employed the hardest-to-hire neighborhood residents

and gang members.Prosper’sreturntoliveonthereservationwiththeWinnebagoTribeofNebraskawherehegrew

upconnectedhimmoredeeplywithhistribe’straditionalknowledgeandvalues—andwithhislife’scalling: to bring forward the indigenous perspectives of our multi-dimensional universe. Prosper serves as a guide through intersections of modern times and past generations, the empirical and the intuitive worlds, the seen and unseen worlds, and the Sacred and the Profane.

johN haGeliN, Ph.d.President, David Lynch Foundation for Consciousness-Based Education and World Peace

Dr. Hagelin is a world-renowned, Harvard-trained quantum physicist, educator, author, and science and public policy expert. As Director of the Institute of Science, Technology and PublicPolicy,Dr.Hagelinhassuccessfullyheadedanationwideefforttoidentify,scientifically

verifyandpromotecost-effectivesolutionstocriticalsocialproblemsinthefieldsofcrime,healthcare,education, economy, energy and the environment.

In addition, Dr. Hagelin has spent much of the past quarter century lead-inga scientific investigation into the foundationsofhumanconsciousness.Inhisseminalbook,ManualforaPerfectGovernment,Dr.Hagelinshowshow, through educational programs that develop human consciousness, and that bring individual and collective consciousness into harmony with Natural Law, it is possible to profoundly enhance governmental achievements and to solve intractable social problems.

As President of the Global Union of Scientists for Peace, Dr. Hagelin di-rects an organization of leading scientists dedicated to “reducing the threat of

nuclearproliferationandnuclearwar,andpromotingtheuseofsafe,scientificallyproventechnologiesto ensure national security and global peace.”

ouryouthmovefartherawayfromanunderstandingofourvalueculture.Whatprogramsandattemptsareinstituteddoesnottrulyaffectashiftbacktohealthyculturalvaluesthathistoricallyhavesustainedus and nourished us as a people.

So, what does Transcendental Meditation have to do with American Indian Cultural Preservation and Cultural Restoration? It is an opening that can help us remember and re-establish our own memory asaspiritualpeople,thekeytopreservationandrestoration.

AgroupofeldersfromtheWinnebagoIndianReservationinNebraskadecidedtotakemattersintotheirownhandswithoutanycommunitysupportorfinancialassistancefromthetribalcoffers.Theywanted to support a new program for our children at the public school called Transcendental Medita-tion ™. The school had recently received a scholarship from the David Lynch Foundation to teach the technique and the elders were supporting it in the community. The elders learned the TM technique anddiscoveredthatthedailypracticeofTMhadsignificantimpactontheirstresslevels.Thereduc-tionofstressbeganhavingapositiveimpactontheirhealth,specificallytheirdiabetes.Thechildren’sbehavior changes. Their grades improved and the absenteeism dropped.

OneofthefirstthingstheeldersdiscoveredaboutpracticingTranscendentalMeditationwasthatitwas not new to them. American Indians have been meditating for eons though their cultural traditions. Whatwasevenmoreamazingtothemwasthefactthattheystartedrememberingmoreandmoreofthe cultural traditions they thought they had forgotten.

Theyformallyorganizedunder theHocakEldersCouncil, Inc.andbegantalkingaboutHocakvaluesofthepastandpresent.TheyagreedthattheoneHocakvaluethatwasmostimportanttooper-ateunderwasGISAK.Membersmustadheretoandpracticeduediligencetothevalueof“GISAK.”GISAKisRespectforallthings,ourHocakCultureandTraditions,ourClanSystem,ourTribalCom-munity,andoneanother.ThepersonalandgrouppracticeofGISAKrequiresuncompromisingHon-esty, individual and tribal Integrity, individual and group Courtesy, Compassion, Humility, and respectful individual and community Leadership.BypracticingGISAK“thegoodofthewholetribeoutweighsthedesiresoftheindividual”becomesaprincipleforgroupdecision-making.

TheHocakEldersCouncil,Inc.beganrememberingthesignificantrolethattheeldercouncilsofthepast played in our tribal structure. They had no official or legal authority within the tribe itself but when theyspokeaboutanissuethataffectedthewholetribethegoverningbodylistened.Theeldercouncilswould listen to the issues that the clans and sub-clans brought before them and would decide if the is-sue was an individual clan issue or one that affected the entire tribe. The elder councils were comprised ofindividualsfromvariousbackgroundswhocontributedtothecommunitywithoutexpectationofpersonalgainorinfluence.

By re-establishing an Elder Council with a foundation of spiritual practice and incorporating these practices into the fabric of our community at all levels, with advisors and projects that focus on a re-surgenceofGISAK,everythingwedowillbringusbacktothebasicandsacredvaluesofourculture.The practice of meditation, the use of language, tradition, ceremony, and an understanding of our clan system of shared responsibility will restore a sense of personal and collective identity that will honor our history while it builds our future.

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KEYNOTESPEAKERSjoe GarciaPresident, National Congress of American Indians (NCAI)

The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) is the largest national Indian organization, representing over 250 member Tribal Nations from throughout the United States. Actively involved in NCAI since 1995, Joe Garcia served two two-year terms as the 1st Vice President

of NCAI prior to being elected President in November of 2005. Joe just completed his third term (Jan. 2005–Dec.2006)asGovernorofOhkayOwingeh(SanJuanPueblo),locatedin northern New Mexico. After his term as Governor, he was elected Chair-man of the All Indian Pueblo Council (AIPC), an organization formed in 1598 that serves the 19 Pueblos of New Mexico. He will serve as Chairman for four years (2007–2011).

Joewasbornandraised inOhkayOwingehandcontinues toservehiscommunity in traditional, educational, tribal government, and economic de-velopment efforts. Joe and his wife Oneva have three children, Melissa, Na-than,andMorningStar;fourgranddaughters,KaelynnGarcia,I-ReyGarcia,MarcelaGarcia,andImperiaBark;andonegrandson,EmilianoGarcia.

Joe is an electrical engineer by profession, with an Electrical Engineering degree from the University of New Mexico. In June 2003, he retired from Los Alamos National Laboratory after 25 years of ser-vice,atwhichtimehestartedhisownfirm,MistyLakeConsultingServices.Hehastaughtnumerouscourses on computers, electronics, lasers, and math at Northern New Mexico Community College since1979.HisprofessionaltrainingalsoincludesBlackBeltCertificationfortherenownedSixSigmaQuality Improvement process.

Joe has been recognized for his service to his tribe as well as to the State of New Mexico. In 1995 he was awarded the New Mexico Distinguished Public Service Award, and in 1998 he received the Lumi-naries Award from the New Mexico Community Foundation.

On January 1, 2007, Joe swore in Governor Bill Richardson as Governor of New Mexico.

roBert cookPresident of the National Indian Education Association (NIEA)

RobertCookisanenrolledmemberoftheOglalaSiouxTribe(OglalaLakota)andworksastheCultural Affairs/Education Outreach Specialist at Crazy Horse Memorial. Robert is married toDaphneRichards-Cook(Oglala),andtogethertheyhavetwosons,LamontandCaleb.Both

boysareIndianHeadStartgraduatesandattendpublicschoolinRapidCity,SouthDakota.Lamont,aninth grader, and Caleb, a fourth grader, both play violin and are active in the school orchestra program. Robert’s wife, Daphne, serves on the Rapid City SchoolDistrictSchoolBoardandisthefirstAmericanIndianeverelectedtoserve on the school board level in Rapid City.

Robert attendedBrighamYoungUniversity and graduated fromBlackHillsStateUniversityinSouthDakotawithadegreeinSecondaryEduca-tion. He is proud to be a tribal college graduate and received his master’s degreeinEducationAdministrationfromOglalaLakotaCollege.Roberthaseighteen years of teaching and administrative experience in American Indian education.

Roberthasbeen the recipientofmanyeducationawardsandhonors that includeLittleWoundSchool Educator of the Year in 1998 and 1999, Lower Brule Teacher of the Year 2000–2001, South Dakota’sMilkenNationalEducatorin2005,CrazyHorseMemorialFoundationTeacheroftheYear2006,andNIEA’sTeacheroftheYear2006.In2008hewasnamedoneofBlackHillsStateUniver-sity’s 125 Most Accomplished Alumni.

Robert is proud to serve on several organizations that include the Technical Review Panel of the Na-tionalIndianEducationStudy,theSouthDakotaIndianEducationAdvisoryCouncil,theRapidCitySchoolDistrictPAC,theSouthDakotaCharterSchoolAdvocacyGroup,andtheSternFoundationBoardofDirectors.HeisalsoaKiwanismemberandhisson’sLittleLeaguebaseballcoach.

Robert’seducationalandprofessionalgoalsincludeaDoctorateinEducationandtocontinuetoworkor serve professionally in some level of American Indian education and advocacy.

lucille echohaWkStrategic Advisor for Indian Child Welfare ProgramsCasey Family Programs

LucilleEchohawkisStrategicAdvisorforIndianChildWelfarePrograms,CaseyFamilyPro-grams, the nation’s largest operating foundation entirely focused on foster care. Lucille is a mem-ber of the Pawnee Tribe. She earned a B.A. degree at Brigham Young University and a M.Ed.

at Loyola University of Chicago. Lucille is a founder and former Board Chair of Native Americans in Philanthropy, an affinity group to the Council on Foundations. She is also a founder and former Board Chair of the Denver Indian Family Resource Center, where she and her family established the

JewelLittleSoldierEchoHawkMemorialEndowmentFundinremembranceof her daughter, whom Lucille adopted from the public child welfare sys-tem when Jewel was seven years old. Lucille currently serves on the executive committeefortheChildWelfareLeagueofAmerica’sBoardofDirectors.She also serves on the American Humane Association’s Board of Directors and its children’s advisory committee.

Lucille participated in theLeadershipDenverClass of 1986, served asPresident of the Leadership Denver Association in 1991–1992, and received the LDA Outstanding Alumnus Award in 1994. She has received numerous otherawards,includingthe1999MartinLutherKingSocialResponsibility

AwardinDenver,theAmbassadorAwardfromCaseyFamilyProgramsin2002,thePioneerWom-anofColorAwardin2004fromtheNationalOrganizationofBlackElectedLeaders,theLouisT.DelgadoDistinguishedGrantmakerAwardfromNativeAmericansinPhilanthropyin2007,andtheFoundersAlumniAwardfromEriksonInstituteforEarlyEducationin2007.

LucillewasanHonorsGraduateofFarmingtonHighSchool,Farmington,NewMexico,in1961.She received honorable mention in graduating from Brigham Young University’s College of Education in1965.In2009LucillewashonoredbyFarmingtonHighSchoolandhernameincludedonitsWallof Honor.

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katheriNe camPBell Education Specialist, Special Education Programs Division of Performance and Accountability, Bureau of Indian Education

KatherineCampbell(Waste’Winyan)worksasanEducationSpe-cialist for Special Education Programs in the Division of Perfor-mance and Accountability in the Bureau of Indian Education.

Katherine’scurrentdutiesincludecoordinatingBureau-widequarterlyre-ports for the U.S. Department of Education, overseeing Special Education parentsurveysandprovidingtechnicalassistancetothefield.SheisalsoaPh.D. candidate in Educational Leadership at the Pennsylvania State Uni-versity and plans to graduate in December 2009.

Asa former administrator at theWinnebagoPublicSchool,KatherineworkedtobringtheTranscendentalMeditationtechniquetoherstudentsas

anavenuetocounterbullyingandabatebehaviorsthatescalateintoviolence.SheisoftheWinnebago,PomoandMeskwakiTribesandenrolledintheWinnebagoTribeofNebraska.

tom FactorPresident, GVP, Inc.Director, American Indian Energy Initiatives, David Lynch Foundation

Tom Factor has authored 22 wind farms with 1,700 wind turbines currently in operation produc-ing 2,700 megawatts of wind energy sufficient to meet the needs of over 2 million people. Has sited10,000megawattsofwindenergyprojectsin15states,andsitedthefirstlargeutility-scale

wind farms constructed in 4 states.Tom performs siting, meteorological analysis, wind farm mapping, wind

farm design, and permitting services. He has published research on wind re-source assessment, wind resource mapping, wind grid integration and im-pacts, and wind hybrid technologies with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Iowa Department of Natural Resources, and Iowa Energy Cen-ter.

TomcurrentlyworksexclusivelyforNextEraEnergyResources,andservesas the Director of the David Lynch Foundation American Indian Energy Initiatives.

Note: NextEra Energy Resources, Inc., funds all phases of development, construction,operationandmaintenanceofwindfarms.Thefirmcurrentlyowns65windfarmswith8,200 wind turbines in operation. Next Era is a subsidiary of FPL Group (FPL), an A-rated utility publicly traded on the NYSE.

ted WeissmaNPresident of Beta Corporation

T edWeissmanisPresidentofBetaCorporation.Tedhasprovidedafull range of wind farm development and permitting from concep-tion through construction on 14 utility-scale wind farms to date in

NorthDakota,SouthDakota,Iowa,Colorado,Oklahoma,andKansasin-cluding land acquisition, township and county permitting, Federal Aviation Administration negotiations, and utility relations, along with coordination of environmental permit services and civil engineering

STOCELTribal Leader of the WSANEC First Nation of theSaanich Peninsula, British Columbia, Canada

STOLCEL is the traditional name given to John Elliott, a descendent of the hereditary ChiefsoftheWSANECFirstNationnearVictoria,BritishColumbia,onthewestcoastofCanada.ThirtyyearsagotheSaanichIndianSchoolBoardhired18fluentElderspeakersto

makewrittenandaudiorecordingsoftheSENCOTENlanguage.STOLCEL’sfather,PENAC,aWSANECElder,developedanalphabetfortheSENCOTENlanguage,whichhetaughttoSTOL-CEL and his sister COSINIYE and the newly hired resource people for the language program at the

LAU,WELNEWTribal School.Thiswas the beginning of STOLCEL’slife-long commitment to the revival and preservation of traditional languages.

Today, STOLCEL is Chair of the Sub-Committee on Language for the First Nations’ Education Council for British Columbia; Chair of the Saanich Native Heritage Society; and a Member of the Board of Governors for the First People’s Cultural Foundation.

STOLCELisalsoCo-Founderoftheworld’sfirstweb-basedAboriginallanguage archive, called FirstVoices. (www.FirstVoices.com)

This website records endangered languages and provides Indigenous peo-ple with easy access to their mother tongue over the Internet. The website’s

tools and services are designed to support Aboriginal people engaged in language archiving, teaching, andculturerevitalization.Morethan60traditionalcommunitiesareparticipatinginthisinitiative.

STOLCELholds FirstNations’LanguageCertification from theBritishColumbiaCollege ofTeachers.HehastaughtinallgradesandisnowteachingGrades7-10attheLAU,WELNEWTribalSchool as well as SENCOTEN for adults at the University of Victoria.

STOLCEL is being honored with of the degree of Doctor of Natural Law Honoris Causa by MaharishiUniversityofManagementforhisworkasco-founderofFirstVoices;forrevitalizingthemothertongueoftheWSANECFirstNation;andforhisworkinbringingouttheconnectionbetweentraditionallanguageandtheunderlyingfieldofNaturethatupholdseverycultureinpeaceandprogress.

In STOLCEL’s words: “There is never time enough time in the day for all the work that has to be done. Our languages are the key to ancient knowledge. Inside each language is the pattern of how to live in harmony with the earth and all the living things. More today, than ever, this knowledge is needed. Each time another language dies forever, our ancient connections to all life, our knowledge of the plants the animals, the trees and our mother earth is lost.”

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ABOUT THECONFERENCE SITEMaharishi University of Management is the only accredited university

in America offering Consciousness-Based education. It is located in Fairfield,Iowa, inthesoutheastcornerofthestate—60mileswestoftheMississippiRiverand60milessouthofIowaCityinthecenteroftheU.S.Thecampusisseton270acressurroundedbywoodedareas,fields,andtwosmalllakes.

ABOUT THE DAVID LYNCH FOUNDATIONThe David Lynch Foundation has funded Phase I of the Sustainable

AmericanIndianCommunityInitiativeontheWinnebagoReservationinNebraska.TheFoundationalsohasprovidedcloseto$10millioninschol-arship and researchgrants forover100,000at-riskyouth in theUS,LatinAmerica,theMiddleEast,andAfricatolearnthescientificallyproven,stress-reducing Transcendental Meditation technique.

I N T E R N A T I O N A L C O N F E R E N C E B U I L D I N G H E A L T H Y , S U S T A I N A B L E A M E R I C A N I N D I A N C O M M U N I T I E S

Sustainability questTribes to gather for conference of meditation and renewal

By Rob Capriccioso TODAY STAFF

FAIRFIELD, Iowa – Organizers are preparing for a unique gathering of tribal elders, leaders and members to focus on building sustainable communities through meditation, renewable energy, organic ag-riculture and cultural preservation.

The event, billed as the “International Conference on Building Healthy, Sustain-able American Indian Communities,” is largely being put together by the HocakElders Council, the Ho-Chunk EldersAdvisory Council, the David Lynch Foun-dation and members of the WinnebagoTribeofNebraska.

It will be held at the Maharishi Uni-versity ofManagement inFairfield, IowaSept. 25 – 27. Planners expect hundreds of participants to attend.

“Weareveryexcitedtobeabletohelpoffer this one-of-a-kind experience,”said Bob Roth, vice president of the Da-vid Lynch Foundation, which focuses on spreading scientifically-proven stress-re-duction transcendental meditation tech-niquestoat-riskyouth.

The meditation techniques focus on reg-ular,quietreflectiontimesaimedatreduc-ing stress and its harmful health impacts.

Studies have shown the methods to havehealthbenefits,suchascurbingbe-havioral disorders in youth and reducing the need for insulin in those with Type 2 diabetes.

Planners with the foundation are using the conference as a platform to highlight their commitment for the past three years to a project called the “Model American Indian Community Initiative” on the WinnebagoReservation.

Theprojectstrivestohelpat-riskyouthrelieve stress through meditation. It has achieved some promising results which conference organizers are eager to share.

John Boncheff, an event organizer who co-directs the Winnebago project, saidIndian youth in the program are not only doing better in school, they are absent less and have a better chance of graduating.

Esteemed Indian leaders have takennote. Joe A. Garcia, president of the Na-tional Congress of American Indians; RobertCook,presidentofNationalIndi-an Education Association; Lucille Echo-hawk,astrategicplannerforCaseyFamilyPrograms;andKevinSkenandore,actingdirector of the Bureau of Indian Educa-tion are scheduled to attend and present at the sustainability gathering.

The Pine Ridge Reservation in South

DakotaandthePassamaquoddyTribeofMaine have started similar projects, hop-ing for equally positive results. Planners said many more tribal leaders have re-quested information.

Roth said it has been an honor to see more tribes get involved and for Native Americans to teach each other the ben-efitsofhealthymeditationanditssimilar-ity to some traditional spiritual beliefs.

Prosper Waukon, a leader with theHocak Elders Council and a citizen oftheWinnebagoTribe,saidtheprojecthasalsoattractedkeeninterestfromhistribe’selders.

In 2007, Waukon said several oldertribalmembers tooka trip toMaharishiUniversity to learn about transcendental meditation, which the institution strong-ly promotes. Many were suffering from debilitating side effects of diabetes and wanted to understand ways to meditate to improve their well-being.

Some of the elders have since been able to dramatically better their health out-comes, and some rely much less on diabe-tesmedications,Waukonsaid.

“Many elders found there was some-thing missing with medication alone. Using meditation to relieve stress ended up helping them connect with traditional ways. It has been a win-win situation.”

Information about the elder diabetes program will also be highlighted at the conference.

Waukon said the event won’t just beabout promoting sustainability through meditation. It will also feature sessions on organic farming, wind and solar energy development and cultural preservation.

“These are areas of sustainability that all connect to each other,” he said, adding thatexpertsinthevariousfieldswillbeinattendance.

Boncheffwouldliketheconferencetoraise awareness of the Winnebago proj-ect’s success and to see what can be done totakeittothenextlevel.Heishopefulthat at least seven more tribes launch sim-ilar sustainability projects by next year.

For people who can’t afford to attend theconference,itwillbeWebcastonline.Registration information and more details are also available online.

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I N T E R N A T I O N A L C O N F E R E N C E

C O N TA C T U SAmerican Indian Initiatives

David Lynch FoundationPost Office Box 738,

Winnebago,NE68071AmericanIndianSustainableConference.orgIntiatives@DavidLynchFoundation.org

866-962-0108