We are happy to announce the recent release of a wonderful short film:
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.”
Film Festivals
Since Jess released the movie on Thanksgiving day 2024, the film has been accepted for showings at numerous film festivals with the Mohawk elders attending for Q & A sessions after the movie. In late May it was used to open the Telluride Mountain Film festival.
The Telluride Daily Planet wrote: The short, 10 minute film was followed by a powerful symposium on “A New Era of Conservation: How Indigenous
Leadership is Re-shaping What We Thought We Knew About Land Management”, featuring former Secretary of the Interior in the Biden administration Deb Haaland (Laguna Pueblo), Alvera Sargent and other ground-breaking indigenous leaders in the field.
The symposium had the stated goal to “re-indigenize conservation and the vital role of Indigenous voices, knowledge and history in conservation movements.”
Please support the work of The Tracking Project, of Jess Lowe, Tom Porter, Alvera, The Freedom School and other indigenous language immersion programs.
THANKSGIVING ADDRESS: Greetings to the Natural World
English by John Stokes and David Kanawahienton Benedict, Mohawk by Dan Rokwaho Thompson
Illustrations by John Kahionhes Fadden
US $8.00
We are pleased to offer the Thanksgiving Address: Greetings to the Natural World in a pocket-size (4” x 5”) edition. These traditional Native American words of thanksgiving come from the people of the Six Nations — the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca and Tuscarora — also known as the Iroquois or Haudenosaunee, who live in upstate New York, Wisconsin and Canada. Spoken as a spiritual address to the powers of the natural world, these words are used to open gatherings in order to bring the minds of the people together as one and align the gathered minds with Nature. The roots of these words reach back thousands of years to the very origins of the Haudenosaunee as a people.
We currently have eleven different language editions: English, German, Swedish, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, Visayan, French, Hawaiian, Italian and Hebrew. Each language edition presents the original Mohawk text beneath the featured language, showing the roots of our inspiration.
This publication was produced by The Tracking Project together with the Tree of Peace Society, the Six Nations Indian Museum and the Native Self-Sufficiency Center; proceeds are shared among these groups.
THANKSGIVING NOTECARDS
US $10.00
Each boxed set of our popular notecards contains eight different illustrations from the Thanksgiving Address. These 5” x 7” cards are blank on the inside with the accompanying words of thanks on the back, making them appropriate for every occasion.
SECRETS OF NATURAL MOVEMENT DVD
US $15.00
The Tracking project has taken thousands of people into the forests and deserts of four continents. This is the workout we rely on to keep our students and ourselves strong, flexible, and injury-free.
Whatever your fitness level, you will feel the power of this unique system, which draws on the traditions of Yoga, Taiji, Bagua, Qigong and much more, to develop a natural physique: lean and graceful, balanced and relaxed.
DVD:
ANIMAL TRACKS OF THE SOUTHWEST POSTER
Laminated — US $15.00
Non-Laminated — US $10.00
Prepare yourself for hard ground tracking in the Southwest with our 23” x 30” desert tone posters! They feature the tracks of 34 different mammals and birds of the Southwest region. Drawn and designed specially for this poster by noted Mohawk artist, John Kahionhes Fadden, each track is presented in its average adult size as a visual guide to the relative size of each animal. Tracks are grouped by family for ease of identification and comparison with related species. Great for home or classroom use.
ANIMAL TRACKS OF BRAZIL POSTER
Matte — US $15.00
Our Brazilian partner, Projeto Pegadas Brasil, has produced a beautiful 20” x 29” poster featuring the tracks of 34 different Brazilian animals, including the capybara, tapir, howler monkey, giant otter, kinkajou, and jaguar. This large poster in sand and earth tones presents a silhouette of each animal together with a front and rear track. Names of the animals are given in English, Portuguese, and the scientific Latin name. Purchase this great companion to our popular Southwest tracks poster and prepare yourself for tracking in South America!
TRACKING PROJECT DECALS
US $1.00
Our 4” circular decal that goes everywhere you go — sturdy polyester with adhesive backing. Comes in White on Black, White on Turquoise, White on Teal, or Black on Rasta (red, yellow, green).
