Return to Foretop's Father

10/30/2024

The initiative focuses heavily on resource extraction of tribal lands but lacks detail on other key issues.

10/29/2024

Spent some time listening to this long overdue event, and wondering what it could mean for Wyoming. Seems like acknowledging the history of the State fighting against tribal water rights might be a good area to spend a year researching, and working to guarantee Wind River’s water sanctity for the warming decades ahead might be the right way to start.

The apology is set to start at 10:30 a.m. Pacific Time

09/26/2024

Dr. Tim McCleary is such a great scholar. Sorry that I missed this presentation and hope to keep more aware of his work in the region.

Community members gathered in Lovell Saturday morning for a special event – A Morning with Mustangs -- featuring live music, games, wild horses and a fascinating presentation by longtime Little Bighorn College professor Dr. Tim McCleary, who spoke on the importance of horses in Crow history. The e...

09/16/2024

Summer 2024 Youth Who Will Become Leaders gearing up for the Return to Foretop's Father journey.

08/18/2024

Tickled to see a Sunday morning meditation in Wyofile. Growing up with Rev Patterson Keller in your Sunday morning means that Sunday morning still always beckons as a time for having words with your community. Thanks Dad and Connie Keller for all you taught us about thinking things through, together.

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06/15/2024

This year’s Return to Foretop’s Father is going to be very different. We are turning toward the center this year to check the heart of the event. We are gathering with a few elders and the Youth Who Will Become Leaders. We won’t be hosting at the campground.

RFF won’t be sponsoring travelers to the event other than those we have already invited. If you would like to hike the mountain with the Youth Who Will Become Leaders, you are welcome to hike from the trailhead at 8 am on July 13–just as everyone is always welcome at the Nature Conservancy land trust—following the Nature Conservancy guidelines for safe and “no trace” travel. We will have a water station at the tree line kiosk to share and keep people safely hydrated.

To all those who have participated over the years:
We have experienced so much that is new and is brave by coming together to share education, food, and the hike. There has been laughter, songs, hikers who challenged themselves —including very young hikers in flip flops who made it to the top!, great old stories, new stories, and good, good relationships. We have built many good friendships over the years. We have watched the beauty and joy of dancing and singing helping to raise the energy of Heart Mountain. These are good memories.

To understand the change this year, please know that we are strengthening Indigenous leadership for this event, and that means finding the heart of the event for those who will be the future leaders of RFF.

This is a team building year, and we will explore our vision for what we want in the year’s ahead.

If you will miss making the trip this summer, please let us know. What did you like about the event? What are some of your good memories? What do you hope might happen in the future?

We want to elevate this event so that those who participate have a serious opportunity for transformative experience and healing. We want to design the event so that it is full of the pleasures that learning and sharing stories can bring when we connect with nature’s power on the mountain.

The earliest ambition of this event was great—that all people who saw the beauty and energy of the mountain would gather to help raise its energy in these times of ecological challenges.

We hope you’ll connect with us here and send prayers our way to help RFF develop a clear vision for Indigenous-led futures. Aho!

12/04/2023

https://www.uwyo.edu/news/2023/12/uw-professor-is-regional-lead-author-on-national-climate-assessment-report.html

A University of Wyoming associate professor contributed impactful information as the lead author of the Northern Great Plains chapter in the Fifth National Climate Assessment that was released last week.

07/10/2023

Have you and your kids got an interest in ecology, meeting people at a cross-cultural event, and taking a hike on Heart Mountain? We received a grant from the Park County rec district and have hydration day packs to award to twenty kids as part of this year's Return to Foretop's Father events on Heart Mountain this July 14-15. Kids who participate in Friday afternoon activities and begin the hike on Saturday morning are eligible for the packs, which will be awarded for curiosity and helpfulness during Friday afternoon's activities, to be used on Saturday's hike! Parents or other family members are welcome to hang out as the activities happen on Friday afternoon at the Big Quiet Farm Stay campground. We hope you'll join in on the traditional meal (and bring a potluck to share if you can!). We have the whole campground for Friday night if you want to stay there with a tent! Breakfast and sack lunch supplies provided for Sat. morning. We are asking that any kids hiking on Saturday have a designated hike supervisor who travels with them. Please plan for a Wyoming high altitude hike, which means have sun screen, sun glasses, water, sturdy shoes, bug spray, bear spray (if you have it--we have volunteer hiker helpers who will carry bear spray).

All events are no dogs and no alcohol--safety and good learning are our first concern.

To learn more about this alliance with Apsáalooke (Crow) tribal members, see this 26 min. documentary streaming on Wyoming PBS: https://www.montanapbs.org/programs/return-to-foretops-father/
or this recording of the first Return to Foretop's Father
https://nativememoryproject.org/story/heart-mountain-pipe-ceremony/

Please message me if you'd like to come, and feel free to contact me at [email protected] if you have any questions or would like to chat about the possibilities.

07/10/2023