Buffalo Weavers: Dakota Thought to Connect Land and People for Climate Rescue

* collective pledge statement that embodies the changed narrative of a reciprocal relationship with the environment.

Early in this project year, the four key players who make up our creative and strategic team lifted up a 2017 poem by Strong Buffalo as our creed and to give vision and direction to all who we meet in this journey.

The poem is titled Society of Mother Earth (S.O.M.E). It reads:

Some can, some don't, some can't, Some could, some do sometimes, some never will, In this land of the United States, all is never, always is some, but in spite of the simple majority or privilege rule, Not of the alt right or radical left, but some in the middle of it all or some excluded all together, but some are dreamers, some are doers, some take action, some just don't care about anything at all! Some do care, and for those some, I propose the sum of some, to make a society not organized or a structure, by any means at all, for those some who love the Mother Earth enough to act, speak, advocate and work to stop the devastating pollution and destruction of Mother Earth and all life, some of the me! Some of the you! I call it the SOCIETY OF MOTHER EARTH, the S.O.M.E.

We now call our collective efforts S.O.M.E. See attached Press Release. In our public engagements (the Change Narrative segments at the five 2022 Buffalo Shows at Bryant Lake Bowl; the monthly Wilder Buffalo Rides, and the first healing circle hosted Fall 2022) we frame and bring context to the climate crisis, including a bringing community storytellers who invite tangible opportunities for solutions. During all our offerings we make the experience a two-way conversation with an invitation for people to reflect on their own experiences of climate change and talk to each other about it, building a sense of community. Through this engagement, we have begun to collect responses and commitments for action and change.

The poem S.O.M.E and these public responses are helping inform a collective pledge statement that embodies a changed narrative of a reciprocal relationship with the environment and a positive reorientation to the climate crisis that allows for our collective healing.

strong recorded statements from participants, advisors and audience who chose to join us and allow us to share testimonials of this hope, transformation and planned work.

A filmmaker has begun recording community storytellers as their stories formulate and strengthen through our coaching, as well as recording healing circle participant responses and reflections on their experience. These clips we are gathering will be part of the full documentary film, and also included as testimonials for a shorter trailer for healing circle programming.

expand numbers of people engaged to over 10,000 as workshop participants and live and/or online audience members.

In addition to in person participants at events such as flower power (170), and healing circle numbers (12), the Wilder Buffalo Ride has a growing email list (212); and our December event at Bryant Lake Bowl sold out (72). The Change Narrative blog by intern Grace Generous on healing circles was shared via the Mississippi Park Connection newsletter and reached 9,000 community members. Wiping the Tears video has already had 509 views since it was released last month. We are noticing good exposure and engagement on Change Narrative and Oyate Hotanin Instagram and FB posts as well, and will look for a meaningful way to quantify this data for our final report.

a portfolio of relevant and impactful finished works (songs, videos, CD's, short films, workshops, and concerts) that can remain live on our website, on social media platforms and in our live performances for future impact beyond the grant-funded period.

We released our first music video from this project, "Wiping the Tears", December 2022. It is available on YouTube.Our second video, the spoken word piece "Us, The Trees and Leaves" is close to completion and release. 4 more short videos, "S.O.M.E a documentary short"; "Wilder Buffalo Rides"; "Considering Leaves"; and a trailer for climate healing circles are in production. A music video we released in 2021 connected to our environmental work titled "Hidden Falls" likely contributed to the Buffalo Weavers winning a 2022 Native American Music Award for best new duo. This spring, journalists and commissioned writers will be invited to experience workshops, and concerts for earned media to share about the S.O.M.E project and finished work; We followed a steady approach to achieve our goals. Monthly meetings of the leadership team gave us the center we needed to follow the path we had laid out for ourselves with this project. In many ways we exceeded our goals in ways that are hard to quantify, but we were moved by the quality of the intentions and people who rose up to join us all along the way. Highlights and examples of project outcomes:

Outcome 1: Crafted Pledge:

We, The Society of Mother Earth pledge to?Seek the council of the youngest of us, and seek the council of the oldest. Advocate to move schoolrooms outside. Work to establish guidelines for creating communities that keep the most vulnerable of us safe - including our plant and animal family. Work to end our dependency on fossil fuels; Create more solar, hydro and wind power, eco-friendly buildings and communities. Create more community gardens. Focus on those who have been marginalized, ignored and excluded; Honoring traditional ecological knowledge and practices. Do something special for rural communities and small towns. Something community building. Advocate to give communities who rely on coal a self-sustaining solution in solar, wind, and battery storage. Work to Stop all chemical production in cleaners, fabric softeners, pesticides. Teach where our food comes from. Stand Tall for Mother Earth. Protect the Earth now until the end of time.

Outcome 2: Strong Captured Statements (Sample and Highlights):

Do creative, healing communities exist only in our dreams, or can they be realized? an answer revealed itself to me at the Buffalo Show. I was reminded that no dream can be deferred if one's motivation to dream is also fueled by a desire to heal, inspire, and connect with others through art...Inside of those metaphors and similes I realized I was no longer alone. As the dream was being realized, a creative, healing community presented itself.~Basanti Miller, an Excerpt from: CREATIVE, HEALING COMMUNITIES: AN ANSWER REVEALED AT THE BUFFALO SHOW, Posted Southwest Connector Friday, July 21, 2023

As an environmental studies student, I am constantly surrounded by people who understand the severity of the climate crisis. We discuss the causes, impacts, and solutions of this crisis in every class, from the introductory ones all the way to our senior seminars. For most classes, we tend to avoid discussing our anxieties? Denying myself the time and grace to recognize and acknowledge my own anxiety, however, created further problems, preventing me from managing the rising pressure in my own chest? Now, sitting in the circle, I let that pressure push out the thoughts and worries I never talk about, even with my peers, friends, and family. I felt tears well up behind my eyes. Tears of sadness, of course, but also, surprisingly, tears of relief.~Grace Generous, an excerpt from Cracking Open the Possibility of Joy: Collective Power Is Needed for Climate Healing: Reflections on Climate Grief to Joy, Healing Circle Programming at Crosby Farm Park, Mississippi Park Connection, Winter/Spring 2023 newsletter.

'A lot of Fringe shows are big and boisterous, funny or dramatic, but this is a show that transcends entertainment into something more meaningful. Based on the premise that stories will move people more than facts and figures, this powerful and moving show presents the human side of climate change. Three women from local organizations working for climate justice (Whitney Terrill of Minnesota Interfaith Power and Light, Nicole Ektnitphong of Climate Advocacy Lab, and Leslee Guti'rrez Carrillo of COPAL) tell their very personal stories about what drew them to the work of environmental activism, touching on the relation between migration and climate change, environmental racism, sustainable farming, and reducing our dependence on fossil fuels. Between their stories we hear poems and music from the duo Buffalo Weavers, drawing on indigenous traditions and advocating a greater connection with Nature ("don't personify the river, riverfy yourself"). Rather than a depressing lecture on how our way of life is unsustainable, this is an inspiring and engaging show that provides a ray of hope that if we're thoughtful and work together, we can create a better world for all of us.' ~Cherry and Spoon's review of Changing the Narrative: Climate Stories for Justice at the Fringe Festival

Outcome 3: Expand Number of people engaged:

Healing Circle Participants - 60
Wilder Buffalo Rides - 360
Buffalo Show Audience - 433
Large Annual Event - 225
Online Audience - We launched our Oyate Hotanin Newsletter - we have 77 new subscribers
Grace Generous blog on our Healing Circles published in the Mississippi Park Connection Newsletter - Blog on our healing circles - 10,000

Basanti Miller's write-up of our May 9th Buffalo Show was published in the July 20th issue of Southwest Connector (top of page 6) - reach 73,000 households.
Online Videos Posted connected to this project - 2,107 views
Change Narrative Instagram - 1313 engaged posts on S.O.M.E Project
Oyate Hotanin Facebook Page - Total page followers now 2,069 - 141 new likes during project period
Total Audience Engagement: +90,000

Outcome 4: Portfolio of Finished Work - 5 completed short films uploaded below.