The Tracking Project
Bringing the pieces together again.®
The Tracking Project was originally founded in 1986 to work with traditional Native elders and community educators from numerous cultures to design a series of teachings which connect individuals – especially young people – directly to the Natural World.
The Project’s programs of natural and cultural awareness include a wide range of skills – from traditional tracking and survival skills to music, storytelling, dance, peacemaking and martial arts training.
The name Arts of Life® was chosen to describe these programs, which emphasize indigenous knowledge, the lessons of Nature and the power of dreams and art.
We are happy to announce the recent release of a wonderful short film:
The Opening Address
This project has been several years in the making and for us began in October 2020 when a gifted film maker — Jess Lowe Chaverri— came to our office with the idea of creating a visual poem with the words of the Opening spoken, accompanied by inspired visuals from the Natural World. Over the next year we worked with Jess, guiding her to the Mohawk community at Akwesasne (New York), to elder Tom Sakokwenionkwas Porter, Alvera Konwanahktotha Sargent, the staff and students of the Akwesasne Freedom School.
“Ohén:ton Karihwatéhkwen (also known as The Thanksgiving Address or The Opening Address) is a message for the world, reminding us all to walk gently on the Earth and live in reciprocity with one another. Tom has translated “Ohén:ton Karihwatéhkwen” as “the words we say before we do anything important.”
“What we do to one part of the web of life, we do to ourselves.”
It can be accessed at the URL above and can also be viewed on the Friends of the Akwesasne Freedom School’s website (https://www.foafs.org/)
Directed by: Konwanahktotha Alvera Sargent and Jess Lowe Chaverri
Executive Producers: John Stokes and Dr. Kathleen Kelly
This film is presented by The Akwesasne Freedom School, a sovereign Mohawk immersion institution, which is dedicated to preserving and passing down the language and culture that colonization tried to erase. Through the wisdom of the elders, they are building a future where the Mohawk language and identity thrive, ensuring that generations to come will have a profound connection to their heritage.”
