Skeletons of cypress and oak trees and eroding marsh are a common sign of land loss in the coastal communities. Raymond Courteaux shares the story of his people at the 2006 International Treaty Conference in Florida.

Projects

Louisiana Coastal Tribes Traditional Culture The Situation With successful relief operations among the coastal tribes complete, we turn our attention to supporting the preservation and reclaimation of traditional culture. Louisiana's coastal tribes have faced hundreds of years of colonialization at the hands of the Spanish, French, German, and now by state/federal governments and multi-national corporations. The efforts by outsiders to separate the small number of remaining coastal natives from their traditions and land has been relentless, especially in the last 70 years with the exploitation of oil and gas resources. The number of people with knowledge and traditional access to the Old Ways is small, and shrinking. The poverty rate is over 80%, while alcohol and drug abuse is pervasive. Worse, more than one football field of land is lost every hour, with the highest rate of loss surrounding the coastal tribal communities. At the current rate of loss, scientists warn these communities will be uninhabitable within 15 years. The need to restore culture, pride and cohesion to these communities is critical to ensure their short and long term existence. Our Support Four Directions is working with Raymond Courteaux and a small number of elders to support the restoration of traditional culture, ceremony, language, songs and pride. Our actions include facilitating knowledge exchange between Raymond and passionate traditionals of other nations, native leadership development, and other support as requested. We continue to seek out additional persons who are interested in restoring the traditional knowledge of the area. With determination and assistance, a small number of traditional leaders can begin the process of healing, teaching and uniting their people in the face of community dissolution.

Winter is a particularly hard time for elders, who may live in remote areas and have health or other concerns that lack immediate attention. Our elder support work began in Lousiana as a part of our Free Store services. Chante prepares boxes of food and necessities that were distributed to elders.

Projects

Elders Support The Situation Elders - our Grandmothers and Grandfathers - are the foundation for cultural pride and preservation. But as traditional culture disappears in the face of modern materialism, long-standing cultural norms that keep the community healthy and ensure the respect and support of elders erodes. The result are elders who are isolated, and may lack basic necessities that keep them healthy and strong. This continues a negative downward spiral of eroding traditional knowledge and values. Substantial health disparities exist between Indigenous Americans and other ethnicities for a large number of reasons. Indigenous Americans are at greater risk for heart disease, diabetes, turberculosis, stress, hypertension, depression, and injuries resulting from accidents. Some elders live in remote locations using traditional means which can create hardship as they grow closer to the Great Spirit. Therefore, elders who live in isolated conditions may feel lonely, hopeless, and lack the support needed when health problems occur. Winter heating is also a serious concern in the snowbelt. Every year, elders die from lack of winter heat. Some elders still use wood stoves and require a reliable supply of wood, or lack the financial resources to ensure heating oil or gas throughout the long winter. Others may lack the ability to communicate by phone, or travel by car. This makes them vulnerable should a need arise. Exploitation of traditional lands by governments and corporations also negatively affects the health of elders through displacement, harassment, and pollution of our sacred Earth. Our Support We believe that elder care is the most basic form of respect. Strong elders are the source of healthy communities by ensuring that oral traditions, stories, language, and ceremonies are passed down to younger generations. They provide wisdom and guidance from the experience of their lives. In order to support this critical need, Four Directions is working with our Network members to compile a list of elders to support beginning in the Spring of 2007. We currently have more than half a dozen elders identified for potential support in the upper Midwest and Southwest part of Turtle Island. We also are working to network with other groups to support their elder programs. If you know of an elder in need of support contact us at 828.230.1404 or fourdirection (at) riseup.net for a Support Form. A second part of our Elders Support is providing tools to communities that enable youth and other tribal members to record audio and visual oral histories from their elders so that their experiences and knowledge may be available for further generations or to tribal members outside the community circle who do not have direct access to this knowledge and wish to reclaim this aspect of their lives. Engaging youth in oral history preservation has the dual benefit of creating opportunities for young people to spend time sharing and learning with their traditional teachers.

Pine Ridge has become the symbol for broken treaties, government neglect, and the fight for traditional culture. Duane Martin Sr. sharing traditional Lakota songs and story with Raymond Courteaux in Pointe-au-Chien, Louisiana. Duane Martin Sr. negotiates with the tribal police captain during the White Clay Blockade.

Projects

Strongheart Civil Rights Support (Oglala, Lakota) The Situation Despite being the smallest segment of the population, Native Americans have the second largest state prison incarceration rate in the nation. In South Dakota, a 2001 review of prison statistics found that 21 percent of state prisoners were Native, compared to just 8 percent of the total population. Native youth in South Dakota juvenile corrections are incarcerated at a number roughly 40% higher than the white population. Incarcerated natives are at risk of isolation from community and culture making their transition from prison to the outside world more difficult. At the local level, the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation of the Oglala Lakota is home to approximately 46,000 persons, 50% under the age of 18. It has been among the three most impoverished counties for 30 straight years. The Federal Poverty rate runs more than 97% while unemployment hovers around 80%. An average of 3-5 families live in each home. Just over the border in White Clay, Nebraska, about 11,000 cans of beer are sold each day and the rate of alcohol related death on the rez is 3x the national average. Suicide rates run 72% higher than the national average. Pine Ridge represents in extreme, reservation life on Turtle Island, and the treatment of indigenous peoples worldwide. This crisis needs urgent response by the active and purposeful restoration of traditional culture and community that can provide hope and alternatives to the destructive lurings of so-called 'modern life.' Our Support Four Directions supports the work of the Strongheart Civil Rights Movement. We provide funds to ensure that the Strongheart Civil Rights powwows occur on Pine Ridge Reservation. These special events provide prisoner support, connection to traditional culture, and a process for integration within the community for those released. Strongheart powwows empower community participation, pride and action, providing an alternative to modern reservation life. The Stronghearts also take care of elders, serve as warrior-activists and address issues related to sacred sites, corporate resource exploitation, traditional representation in tribal government, and ending the sale of alcohol on Treaty Lands such as in White Clay, Nebraska. Duane Martin Sr., head of the Stronghearts movement, is a member of Four Directions and works with us to share traditional knowledge and culture within our other projects. His knowledge of warrior tactics and fearless courage are a great asset to our work.

In Alaska, thawing permafrost is threatening the lifeways of indigenous peoples and the animals and plants on which they depend. Four Directions provides native seeds, gardening information, and other sustainable resources for communities.

Projects

Sustainable Communities The Situation January 2007 has become the warmest month in the history of modern weather records. Polar ice-sheets and mountain glacier are melting at an unprecedented rate. Coastal peoples are being displaced by rising water and severe storms. Climate change is upon us. One of the results of the loss of traditional culture and community is the reliance on modern consumptive forms of food, shelter, energy and living. This way of life is destroying our world and is not sustainable. The traditional knowledge of living with the land that is held by indigenous people world-wide is needed to restore the sacred balance that once existed with our Mother, and our relations. Our Support In the course of our emergency and elder support work, Four Directions provides technical resources, training, or support that empowers communities to return to traditional forms of living which are sustainable for the land and their people. We also have the capacity to introduce alternative energy resources for home heating/cooling, cooking, and transportation. Through the use of our broad network, we also have organic, locally-specific heirloom seeds for use in organic and traditional gardens. For those communities who have lost their gardening traditions, Four Directions can provide community or individual gardening resources that facilitates food security and independence. We are also looking at hosting a conference to share strategies for proactive climate change preparation. Our goal is to bring indigenous teachers, scientists, and eco-knowledgeable people together to develop models that communities can adopt now, before paralytic crisis forces dependence upon government or military supplies to survive.