Grandmothers Counsel the World: Women Elders Offer Their Vision for Our Planet

We are thirteen indigenous grandmothers. . . . We are deeply concerned with the unprecedented destruction of our mother earth, the atrocities of war, the global scourge of poverty, the prevailing culture of materialism, the epidemics that threaten the health of the earth's peoples, and with the destruction of indigenous ways of life. We, the international council of thirteen indigenous grandmothers, believe that our ancestral ways of prayer, peacemaking, and healing are vitally needed today. . . . We believe that the teachings of our ancestors will light our way through an uncertain future. In some native american societies, tribal leaders consulted a council of grandmothers before making any major decisions that would affect the whole community. What if we consulted our wise women elders about the problems facing our global community today? This book presents the insights and guidance of thirteen indigenous grandmothers from five continents, many of whom are living legends among their own peoples. The grandmothers offer wisdom on such timely issues as nurturing our families; cultivating physical and mental health; and confronting violence, war, and poverty. Also included are the reflections of western women elders, including alice walker, gloria steinem, helena norberg-hodge, and carol moseley brown. --publisher's website. Documents a gathering of 13 grandmothers (older female indigenous spiritual leaders) from around the world in 2004, along with other women elders, with biographical portraits of each grandmother and elder, and presentations of their guidance, wisdom, and prophecies for the modern world. Statement of the international council of the thirteen indigenous grandmothers. -- introduction. Part one: the grandmothers. Agnes baker pilgrim (oregon) -- bernadette rebienot (gabon, africa) -- flordemayo (nicaragua/new mexico) -- margaret behan (montana) -- rita pikta blumenstein (alaska) -- tsering dolma gyalthong (tibet) -- mona polacca (arizona) -- rita long-visitor holy dance and beatrice long-visitor holy dance (south dakota) -- maria alice campos freire (brazil) -- clara shinobu iura (brazil) -- aama bombo (buddhi maya lama) (nepal) -- julieta casimiro (mexico) -- other women elders. Part two: guidance for our times. Prophesies -- women's wisdom -- sacred relations -- our mother earth -- oppression -- nature's pharmacy -- prayer. Carol schaefer ; foreword by winona laduke.

Publisher: Trumpeter