GRANDMOTHER RITA LONG VISITOR HOLY DANCE
Grandmother/Unci Rita Long Visitor Holy Dance is a Native American elder from the Oglala Lakota Band of the Great Sioux Nation. Unci (grandmother in Lakota) Rita was born in the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. She currently lives on the land that was allotted to her great grandparents more than 100 years ago. Unci Rita’s paternal great-grandfather Long Visitor was a member of the Crazy Horse Band and is listed in the Oglala War Chief Crazy Horse' surrender ledger at Fort Robinson, 1877. Unci Rita is an advocate, she is committed to preserving the Lakota ways of life and most importantly the preservation of the Lakota language, which she speaks fluently. She encourages Lakota parents and grandparents to teach their families the traditions in order to keep connection. Unci Rita is a survivalist skilled in drying and preserving food, and making traditional clothing Lakota style or contemporary wear.
Unci Rita is empathetic to single parents and their struggles to raise their children, because she herself was a single parent raising her children and five grandchildren on her own. Today Unci Rita is a grandmother, great grandmother, and a great great grandmother. Unci Rita holds closely to her heart the hope that the work and influence of the International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers will give a voice to the Lakota People and bring good things to the children and the generations to come.
Unci Rita is the oldest living member of the International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers.
Flordemayo is a Curandera Espiritu, or a healer of divine spirit. As a seer, she has the ability to see other realms of color, light, and sound. In addition, she has the ability to see the effects of existing imbalances on the physical, emotional and spiritual realms within a person’s energy system. She was born in the highlands of Central America, specifically Nicaragua and was the youngest of 15 children. In the Mayan astrology she has the seed sign.
As a world traveler she has offered ceremonies and has spoken on a wide range of topics from healing with the use of herbs to her more recent project, The Seed Temple, located in Estancia, New Mexico. Flordemayo travels the globe to share her healings, prayers, and to foster a more spiritual understanding among humanity. She is a founding member of the Confederation of Indigenous Elders of the Americas, the Institute of Natural and Traditional Knowledge, the Church of the Spiritual Path, and of the International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers.
In addition, she is the founder and member of The Path. Born under the sign of Q’anil (seed), Flordemayo sees her role as cosmic germinator through teaching, community, manifestation and development. In recent years, she began to explore in-depth the wisdom of the seeds. As a caretaker of seeds, she prays for their well-being and survival.
In 2012, Flordemayo received a vision during dialogue with the Beloved Mother. In this vision, Flordemayo finds herself sitting in a rocking chair, rocking back and forth while being lovingly guided to prepare seed bundles with prayer. The Beloved Mother had shown a cosmic inspiration for Flordemayo to birth, The Path, an organization dedicated to the conservation and preservation of heirloom and heritage seeds. Now, The Path, prepares seed bundles to be given to the parents of babies being born today and those to be born in the future in the dream of honoring and protecting light beings of all forms in this new era of the Divine Feminine.
GRANDMOTHER FLORDEMAYO
Grandmother Mona Polacca is a Havasupai/Hopi/Tewa elder from Arizona. She is the Chair of the International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers.
Mona is a representative of the Indigenous World Forum on Water and Peace, a coalition of Indigenous leaders and organizations and others who wish to protect water for future generations. This is a vision from the elders and has the support of 60 organizations globally at the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.
She is the President/CEO of the Turtle Island Project, a non-profit program founded in 1986 by Western practitioners and Native American healers to blend the science of psychoneuroimmunology (mind/body/spirit medicine) with indigenous wisdom and practices.
Mona also serves as a member of the World Council of Religious and Spiritual Leaders due to her international justice work.
Mona works at various administrative and direct service levels with tribal governments.
She has supervised research projects related to the impact of alcohol and substance abuse on Native American populations, assessment of alcohol and substance abuse treatment services funded by Indian Health Services, domestic violence and elder abuse community readiness assessments with various tribes.
Her international work includes working with First Nations of Canada in addressing access to clean safe drinking water. She is nationally known for her knowledge and skills in working with tribal governments and community organizing in the development of programs.
GRANDMOTHER MONA POLACCA
A community and academic leader and cultural bearer. Loretta has taught throughout the world, sharing her knowledge through ceremony, Indigenous studies and youth programs. She's the Co-Founder and Spiritual Advisor of the Afraid of Bear – American Horse Tiospaye 501(c)(3), with the mission to ensure that the knowledge of the Lakota people will benefit generations to come, and serve as a model and inspiration for Indigenous people throughout the world, seeking to preserve and share their ancestral knowledge with family, community and the world.
DR. LORETTA AFRAID OF BEAR COOK
Native American academic, educational leader and teacher. Henrietta was one of the designers of the University of California, Berkeley, the University of Montana and Haskell Indian Nations University’s Native American studies programs. In 2000 she became the first American Indian to hold the endowed chair of Native American studies at Montana State University and was honored with the Montana Governor's Humanities Award. Henrietta Mann served for many years on the board of the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C. Mann has brilliantly and energetically bridged Western educational settings with traditional, spiritual ways of being.
Dr. Henrietta Mann was recently presented with the National Humanities Medal by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and President Joe Biden during the Arts and Humanities Award Ceremony at the White House on March 21, 2023.
DR. HENRIETTA MANN
Clara Shinobu Iura was born and raised in São Paulo, Brazil. She is the daughter of Japanese immigrants whose religious lineage was traditional Buddhism. Clara’s family followed rigid Japanese social customs that were very repressive, especially towards women. From an early age she had concerns about these injustices, and about the importance of living authentically.
She studied philosophy and joined others who fought against the status quo. The doors of her perception were gradually opened, then she began communicating with different orders of spirits. They informed her that she would meet like-minded people who were searching for spiritual consciousness and ways to save the planet.
Years later, Clara learned about the Santo Daime doctrine and met its leader Sebastião Mota de Melo. Santo Daime is a syncretic spiritual practice that incorporates elements of several spiritual traditions; including Christianity, Spiritism, African animism and South American shamanism.
From then on the path opened, Clara was led to Mapia, a community Padrinho Sebastião had founded in the heart of the Brazilian Amazon. Today, nearly forty years later, Grandmother Clara remains in the Amazon rainforest, inhabiting one of the Earth's greatest biological storehouses. Through her capacity as an experienced medium and shaman, she functions as one of the main healers of the community. Clara is one of the founders of the Santa Casa de Cura (Holy House of Healing), a women operated healing center that serves hundreds of people in the local village, region and international visitors.
GRANDMOTHER CLARA SHINOBU IURA
Dr. Vandana Shiva is trained as a Physicist and did her Ph.D. on the subject “Hidden Variables and Non-locality in Quantum Theory” from the University of Western Ontario in Canada. She later shifted to interdisciplinary research in science, technology and environmental policy, which she carried out at the Indian Institute of Science and the Indian Institute of Management in Bangalore. In 1982, she founded an independent institute, the Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology in Dehra Dun dedicated to high quality and independent research to address the most significant ecological and social issues of our times, in close partnership with local communities and social movements. In 1991, she founded Navdanya, a national movement to protect the diversity and integrity of living resources, especially native seeds, the promotion of organic farming and fair trade. In 2004 she started Bija Vidyapeeth, an international college for sustainable living in Doon Valley in collaboration with Schumacher College, U.K. Dr. Shiva combines the sharp intellectual enquiry with courageous activism.Time Magazine identified Dr. Shiva as an environmental “hero” in 2003 and Asia Week has called her one of the five most powerful communicators of Asia. Forbes magazine in November 2010 has identified Dr. Vandana Shiva as one of the top Seven most Powerful Women on the Globe. Dr. Shiva has received honorary Doctorates from University of Paris, University of Western Ontario, University of Oslo and Connecticut College, University of Guelph. Among her many awards are the Alternative Nobel Prize (Right Livelihood Award, 1993), Order of the Golden Ark, Global 500 Award of UN and Earth Day International Award. Lennon ONO grant for peace award by Yoko Ono in 2009, Sydney Peace Prize in 2010, Doshi Bridgebuilder Award, Calgary Peace Prize and Thomas Merton Award in the year 2011, the Fukuoka Award and The Prism of Reason Award in 2012, the Grifone d’Argento prize 2016 and The MIDORI Prize for Biodiversity 2016, Veerangana Award 2018, The Sanctuary Wildlife Award 2018, International Environment Summit Award 2018, Amrita Devi Award 2021, EL Gold Nautilus winner 2023 Illustrious Alumni Award, Physics Department Punjab University 2023, Feisty Awards 2024 and The Doctor Honoris Causa Degree from University of Pompeu Fabra 2024.
DR. VANDANA SHIVA
Tracee Stanley is the author of the bestselling books Radiant Rest: Yoga Nidra for Deep Relaxation and Awakened Clarity and The Luminous Self: Sacred Yogic Practices & Rituals to Remember Who You Are - (Shambhala Publications). Tracee's ancestral lineage is rooted in Bermuda, Barbados, and West Africa. She is the founder of Empowered Life Circle, a sacred community and portal of practices, rituals, and teachings inspired by more than 28 years of studentship in Sri Vidya Tantra and the teachings of the Himalayan Masters. As a post-lineage teacher, Tracee is devoted to sharing the wisdom of yoga nidra, intentional rest, meditation, self-inquiry, nature as a teacher, ancestor reverence, and ritual. Tracee holds certificates from Pacifica Graduate Institute in Advanced Eco-Therapy, New Thinking, Best Practices, and Emerging Modalities and a certificate in Advanced Ecopsychology. Tracee is gifted at illuminating the magic and power of liminal space and weaving devotion and practice into daily life.
TRACEE STANLEY
Emigdio Ballon, is a member of the Quechua Indian culture and was born in Cochabamba, Bolivia. He earned his Bachelors degree in agriculture at Major Bolivian University of Saint Simon in Cochabamba, Bolivia and his Masters degree in plant genetics in Colombia. He studied for his Doctorate at Colorado State University. As a plant geneticist he has specialized in research on quinoa and amaranth grains and has published many articles about them in both South and North America.
Emigdio has served as an organic certification inspector in the United States and has made many presentations at major conferences on agriculture. He has studied principles of bio-dynamic farming at the Josephine Porter Institute of Applied Bio-Dynamics and continues to study and make presentations at various seminars.
In his little free time, Emigdio pursues research into germination techniques for a wide variety of crops, including traditional Chinese and Ayurvedic herbs and herbs indigenous to Northern New Mexico. His other interests include seed saving and sharing, bio-dynamic and organic farming and sustainable agricultural practices. He is also involved with Native American organizations which stress the importance of seed saving and promote the revival and continuation of traditional crops, both nutritional and medicinal. He employs traditional Quechua techniques and rituals which he learned at his grandfather's side as a boy in Bolivia. He currently is the director of the farm program at the Pueblo of Tesuque in New Mexico.
EMIGDIO BALLON
Lee-Ann Hill is a passionate seed steward who found a calling to seeds through her studies in Cultural Ecology in Northern New Mexico where she met traditional seed keepers who informed and inspired her journey. Through her role at Rocky Mountain Seed Alliance as Program Director, she worked closely with insightful Seed Stewards who further helped her gain a deeper understanding of the spirit of seeds.
Lee-Ann is fascinated by the way seeds connect us to one another and to all ancestors beyond time and space. She delights in growing heritage and ancient grains and seeds, and is honored to share this journey with The Path as Seedkeeper to share seeds that sustain us spiritually and physically. She is currently managing a farm in her homeland in Northwest Colorado.
LEE-ANN HILL