Wisdom of the Elders

Wisdom of the Elders Wisdom of the Elders, Inc. Teresa Montana was elected as Wisdom's new Executive Director in 2018.

was founded by the late Martin High Bear (Lakota medicine man and spiritual leader) and Rose High Bear, Deg Hit'an Dine (Alaskan Athabascan) in 1993. Since incorporating in 1993, Wisdom has successfully produced three series of public radio programs, Wisdom of the Elders Radio. We produced educational curriculum for Oregon’s schools, including social studies, language arts, environmental science a

nd arts (storytelling, traditional arts and music) lesson plans which are aligned to Oregon’s Educational Standards. In 2004, we launched Turtle Island Storytellers Network, the web-based speakers bureau which provides speaking and consulting opportunities for 80 gifted tribal historians, storytellers, artists, and song carriers. We formed the Northwest Indian Storytellers Association in 2005 and hold an annual Northwest Indian Storytellers Festival and tribal storytelling workshops in Portland, along with apprenticeship projects for emerging tribal storytellers. We have recorded and preserved 250+ native elders and storytellers and other cultural artists to share their messages and rich cultural values with younger generations. Our newest project, Discovering Our Story, has been a part of the Wisdom Board of Directors’ Strategic Plan since 2004. Working with seven local partners, we are producing multimedia Native American curriculum for mental health, addictions, domestic violence protection and Type Two Diabetes learning modules for Portland area service providers and their clients. We have also hosted 15 multicultural celebrations since 1999, including An Afternoon with Wisdom of the Elders, Native American Day, and celebrations launching our radio and television series.

We spent an afternoon harvesting plums from Wisdom's garden at Zenger Farm, our partner and home to our garden space. Al...
09/04/2026

We spent an afternoon harvesting plums from Wisdom's garden at Zenger Farm, our partner and home to our garden space. Along the way we had great conversations about reciprocity, the land, and where these resources will go and who they'll serve in the community. We shared the abundance with our awesome friends at NAYA Community Garden NAYA's community garden.

Zenger Farm has been growing food and building community in outer SE Portland since 1999, combining organic farmland with a wetland to support sustainable agriculture, food access, and farmer training.

Wapas Nah Née Shaku is NAYA's community garden, grown around Indigenous Food Sovereignty and First Foods. They steward heritage crops like the Makah Ozette potato and Inchelium Red garlic, one of the oldest known garlic strains in North America, alongside the three sisters, camas, and other native plants.

The plums we harvested are being processed into jams, dried fruit, and other goods for community members.

Grateful for partners doing this kind of work. Check out Zenger Farm and NAYA Social media to learn more or get involved & connect with your land, food & medicine.

And if you want to be part of work like this, keep an eye out. Wisdom of the Elders' ITEK internship is coming up soon. Sign up on Wisdom’s website!

08/29/2026

For more than 40 years, Patsy Whitefoot has worked to ensure Native students are seen, supported and able to learn in ways that honor who they are.
Her leadership has reached from classrooms on the Yakama Reservation to Congress and the White House. It lives in the educators she has mentored, the families she has stood beside and her decades of advocacy for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and People.
On Sept. 19, we are proud to honor Patsy at the 2026 Legacy Maker Gathering. Join us at Pearson Air Museum’s historic hangar for an evening of storytelling, food and community celebrating the remarkable legacy she continues to build.

https://givebutter.com/c/LMG2026





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08/29/2026

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moo ams ni stinta saamaks ♥️ 🪶 (I love my relatives)This weekend marked the 40th annual Klamath Tribes Restoration Powwo...
08/29/2026

moo ams ni stinta saamaks ♥️ 🪶 (I love my relatives)

This weekend marked the 40th annual Klamath Tribes Restoration Powwow.

Before contact, the Klamath, Modoc, and Yahooskin Band of Snake Indians held aboriginal title to roughly 22 million acres, stretching from the Cascade Mountains in southern Oregon down toward Mount Shasta in northern California. In the 1864 treaty, the tribes ceded that land to the U.S. and retained about 1.9 million acres as a reservation. Crater Lake, sacred to the Klamath people, fell just outside the reservation boundary and was later made a national park in 1902, permanently separating it from tribal land.

In 1954, the Klamath Termination Act ended federal recognition of the tribe, despite tribal leadership voting against it twice. The remaining reservation, about 1.8 million acres, was taken through condemnation and sold off. The tribal government was dissolved, and federal health, education, and housing services ended.

It took over 30 years of organizing before the Klamath Indian Tribe Restoration Act passed on August 27, 1986, restoring federal recognition.

Assimilation efforts hit the language and culture hardest. Boarding schools punished Klamath children for speaking their language, and many parents stopped passing it down out of fear for their kids' safety. Now the Tribes' language program is changing that.
That's what makes it stand out to see more tribal people speaking the language at this celebration than ever before. The tribal people have shown extreme resilience and we are proud of them!

Personally, as a Klamath tribal member, it was great to use assimilated technology to continue reclaiming our place as the first storytellers of this land, filming our tribal people on the upswing. This is a timeline I keep in mind, one I use to build my own context for what our people have been through. I was really proud of the celebration. The powers that be would want you to forget this, or use "right of conquest" as an argument. All Indigenous people have been here since time immemorial. The land remembers, and rejects homogenized ideologies about our world.
Check out this timeline below

moo ams ni stinta saamaks 🪶 ❤️ (I love my relatives)This weekend marked the 40th annual Klamath Tribes Restoration Powwo...
08/28/2026

moo ams ni stinta saamaks 🪶 ❤️ (I love my relatives)
This weekend marked the 40th annual Klamath Tribes Restoration Powwow.
Before contact, the Klamath, Modoc, and Yahooskin Band of Snake Indians held aboriginal title to roughly 22 million acres, stretching from the Cascade Mountains in southern Oregon down toward Mount Shasta in northern California. In the 1864 treaty, the tribes ceded that land to the U.S. and retained about 1.9 million acres as a reservation. Crater Lake, sacred to the Klamath people, fell just outside the reservation boundary and was later made a national park in 1902, permanently separating it from tribal land.
In 1954, the Klamath Termination Act ended federal recognition of the tribe, despite tribal leadership voting against it twice. The remaining reservation, about 1.8 million acres, was taken through condemnation and sold off. The tribal government was dissolved, and federal health, education, and housing services ended.
It took over 30 years of organizing before the Klamath Indian Tribe Restoration Act passed on August 27, 1986, restoring federal recognition.
Assimilation efforts hit the language and culture hardest. Boarding schools punished Klamath children for speaking their language, and many parents stopped passing it down out of fear for their kids' safety. Now the Tribes' language program is changing that.
That's what makes it stand out to see more tribal people speaking the language at this celebration than ever before. The tribal people have shown extreme resilience and we are proud of them!
Personally, as a Klamath tribal member, it was great to use assimilated technology to continue reclaiming our place as the first storytellers of this land, filming our tribal people on the upswing. Below is a timeline I keep in mind, one I use to build my own context for what our people have been through. I was really proud of the celebration. The powers that be would want you to forget this, or use "right of conquest" as an argument. All Indigenous people have been here since time immemorial. The land remembers, and rejects homogenized ideologies about our world.
The timeline is below.

Partnerships in the wild aren't rare. They're everywhere, if you know how to look. A coyote and a badger who hunt as one...
08/26/2026

Partnerships in the wild aren't rare. They're everywhere, if you know how to look. A coyote and a badger who hunt as one. A deer and a turkey who watch each other's backs. A wolf and a raven who never show up without the other.

Simple, not simplistic. A living circle where every piece plays its part, and it deserves our deepest respect. That kind of understanding shouldn't belong to just one people. It should be at the heart of every culture.

Did you know about these partnerships? Tag your partner in crime and tell them what animal they'd be. And if we missed a pairing, tell us below, we'd love to know.

Our ITEK internship is opening up soon. Head to the link in our bio, get on the newsletter, and find the details on our website.

08/24/2026

Our WWD crew harvested chokecherries from our Native Garden at Zenger Farm .  Chokecherry juice is a laborious process, which took our crew multiple days to make.  The harvested native berries are rinsed, then boiled, strained, cooled, and mixed with water and fresh lemon juice.  Carmelina Jackson brought the juice to Elders in the community to support their health and bring them a fresh, all-natural treat.  Have you ever had chokecherry juice?  Let us know in the comments! 

Our ITEK internship applications are live. Follow our linktree to our website. Sign up for the newsletter & fill out an application. You can DM for more information as well
moo sep'kecc'a 🪶 (Thank you very much)

08/18/2026

Wisdom of the Elders sat down with James Edmund Greeley, Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, Wasco, Nez Perce, and Hopi, son of Hamilton Greeley.

He started playing the flute at a funeral. Today he's a Native American Music Award winner for his album Before America, an accomplished powwow videographer who recently donated footage to Wisdom of the Elders to be digitized and archived for future generations, and was featured on Esperanza Spalding's Grammy-winning album Songwrights Apothecary Lab.

He talks about breathing life into every note, carrying his Indian name and song like his father did before him, and the responsibility of taking care of your own health.

Wisdom was very fortunate to sit with him and hear him pass along his indigenous sonic wisdom. Follow our linktree to our website & our YouTube. Stay in touch with our newsletter as well. moo sep'keec'a 🪶 (Thank you very much) James!

James is a truly amazing and inspiring artist. Follow him James Edmund Greeley , and buy and support his work.

08/15/2026

We're raising funds for our tiny home village at Barbie's Village! Bethany Yellowtail will be our featured guest speaker! We'll have stew and frybread for the meal, an amazing silent auction and our young people will be showcased in a fashion show and musical performances!

The FGC knows that we have a lot of community support and we want to welcome everyone to attend that would like to attend. Therefore, if you can pay the $100 ticket price, great! If not, grab a friend and pay the 2 for 1 deal! If that is out of your budget, make a donation of any amount, and come enjoy yourself at this fundraiser!

Please share within your circles and we hope to see you there!

ITEK interns learn to plant, maintain, harvest, and process culturally significant Native plants and medicines at our Fi...
08/10/2026

ITEK interns learn to plant, maintain, harvest, and process culturally significant Native plants and medicines at our First Foods Garden and Orchard, in partnership with Zenger Farm. Field days take place at farms, parks, nature areas, and community spaces throughout the Portland Metro area.

Our mission is more than gardening. It's about reclamation, healing communities, and honoring the sacred relationships between people, animals, water, plants, and the land.

Comment below if you'd like to know more or visit our website from the linktree.

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3917 NE Shaver Street
Portland, OR
97266

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