International Council Of Elders And Spiritual Guides

The Council was launched April 27, 2009 around a sacred fire that had burned  continuously  and respectfully for 9 days in Page Springs Arizona, at the Return of the Ancestors Gathering, held from April 18^th to the 28^th.

This is a Council without borders and time constraints.  Here the sacred fire never goes out; rather it is maintained by all of us with our dialog and messages. The secretariat of the council will share all messages sent to it in two languages, English and Spanish, acting as a traditional talking feather for this council.

The council is based on the idea that not one of our peoples should face a threat from a government or multi-national corporation alone, that by showing a united front we can make real changes in the way we are treated in all aspects of our lives.

The Council considers all discussions and comments in the following areas:

 TERRITORY AND ENVIRONMENT

1. Treaties and rights made by governments to the Peoples.
2. Government recognition of native peoples’ right to ownership of territories ancestrally occupied by them.
3. Government recognition of the native peoples’ right to independent management of resources on traditional native lands.
4. Destructive use of the medicinal and ritual flora that is the basis of our spirituality, and the foundation of our existence.
5. Intellectual property and the respect of native wisdom in regards to conservation of natural resources that our Mother Earth possesses.
6. Pollution and exploitation of Mother Earth through education of the rest of humanity.

SPIRITUALITY

1. Reversing the effects of the invasion by western religions and  concepts with indigenous peoples, through recognition of the legitimacy of native peoples’ own religions.
2. Recognition of native languages, and the imposition of names foreign to our cultures.
3. Restoration of the right to use our traditional sacred places by governmental organizations.
4. The right to use our sacred plants without legal injunctions. For us, they are not hallucinogenic, or destructive, but rather they are medicinal, nutritive practices.
5. The honoring of our commitment to transmitting our values and cultural patrimony to our youth, inherited from generation to generation since ancient times, because in this is our identity as a people.

HUMAN RIGHTS

1. Human rights for indigenous peoples based on constitutional laws.The invasions by government military and paramilitary into territories occupied by native groups, who have inherited their lands from their millinery ancestors.
2. The request that government projects and programs to be implemented in native regions first be presented to the native groups, taking into account their cultural characteristics, such as:  In health projects, to receive economic support for the formation of Botanical Centers with the aim of preserving medicinal plants, and that they be directed by Traditional Doctors, as they are the ones who have the sacred knowledge of their use. Their knowledge comes from their experience on the long journey of the University of Life. Also, to receive recognition of the right to practice their activities as traditional doctors working for the benefit of their ethnic group and of society in general.
3. Recognition of indigenous women known as midwives, these women who are dedicated to attending pregnant women according to their cultural knowledge, and their desire for respect, recognition, and support for their work, without rejection by professional doctors. The development of an identification document in the countries where indigenous people live that allows them to move freely within their ethnic nations, and that their travel not be impeded by borders created after the conquest.

 EDUCATION AND HEALTH

1. Bilingual educational programs for native peoples with respect for the cultural elements that are the foundation of their existence.
2. Governmental economic support to ethnic groups for the development of free educational materials and construction of adequate facilities to ensure a hospitable environment for academic activities.
3. Recognition in institutions of higher education in each country for the recognition, promotion, and dissemination of indigenous languages and cultures, cultures that still maintain a philosophy of the relationship between Nature-Humanity and Humanity-Nature.
4. Natural non-toxic ways of agriculture, food and medicine to the rest of humanity.

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

1. Members of the council shall be recognized by the secretariat of the council upon registering their intention to be members of the council in a formal letter, and will be accepted if it is determined that there is no other representative of that particular group already represented in the council.
2. The secretariat shall be an individual or group of individuals from the council chosen by the majority of the council as the need arises.
3. Additional organizational structure, goal and projects shall be established by the council through its secretariat organization.

More info to come soon any Questions please let us know.