Giving Mother Earth a Rest
On this episode of Native Pulse, we are honored to be joined by Seventh Generation Fund for Indigenous Peoples Board Chair, Dr. Henrietta Mann (Cheyenne), & President, Christopher Peters (Puhlik-lah/Karuk), as they discuss the impact of Giving Mother Earth a Rest during COVID-19 and the implications of doing so within our communities, grassroots efforts, spirituality, and daily lives.
Dr. Henrietta Mann (Cheyenne) is the founding President of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribal College and the first individual to occupy the Endowed Chair in Native American Studies at Montana State University, Bozeman. For the greater part of twenty-eight years, she was employed at the University of Montana, Missoula, where she was Director/Professor of Native American Studies. Education has been the focal point of her work for more than 50 years. In 1991, Rolling Stone Magazine named her as one of the ten leading professors in the nation. In 2016 Dr. Mann became one of the first two Native American educational scholars ever to be elected to membership in the National Academy of Education. At 16 she enrolled at Southwestern Oklahoma State University in Weatherford and earned her Bachelor of Arts in Education degree, later earning a Master of Arts degree from Oklahoma State University, and a Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University of New Mexico.
Christopher Peters (Puhlik-lah/Karuk) has more than 50 years of experience in grassroots community organizing. He was first employed with Seventh Generation Fund in 1989 as a Senior Program Officer. He later became the Executive Director in 1990, and subsequently, in 1999, he was appointed as SGF’s President and CEO. For over 31 years he has served the organization, and remains its President. His work is especially focused on climate change, sacred sites protection, and the renaissance of sacred knowledge and Earth Renewal ceremonies of Northern California Tribal Peoples. Chris serves as the Indigenous Peoples’ Task Force Chair, and as a Board member of the Parliament for the World’s Religions. He has also earned a BS degree from the University of California at Davis in Native American Studies, and a MA degree in Counseling Psychology from Stanford University.
