Winter Solstice Edition, 2007

Updates on the Voice of the Horse Project

The Voice of the Horse Project's '08Gathering fell victim to  the challenges associated with Tapestry's relocation this fall. We've rescheduled it for early summer of 2009.  This means, however, that there's a good chance we'll be able to hold the meeting on and with our new land partner, BearLodge. Although the 2007 meeting was wonderful, we know from previous experience how much more powerful it would have been if we'd been able to hold it on sacred land.  After all, we went to Sowbelly Canyon to begin with so we'd have a permanent place for gatherings of all kinds where the Land could be an active partner in the process.  But the wildfire made holding a meeting at Sowbelly last year impossible, so we moved it to the Iowa State University campus.  Their Extension people were fantastic -- Conference Services, and especially the IT folks who webcast the entire meeting live -- but being indoors and in a formal setting really changes what happens.  We're eager to explore ways we can invite the power of the Land, through BearLodge, back into The Voice of the Horse for its second and final gathering.

This meeting will also be different in format compared to the one in '07.  The emphasis will be on sharing ideas and experiences, and then brainstorming creatively, using the powerful collaborative methods of Indigenous community engagement, to construct new meaning and understanding about the ways horses and humans relate to each other, and its significance to the relationship between people and the Land.  Because of this, onsite meeting attendance will be limited, and an application may be required from people wanting to participate.  We'll provide more information about it later this spring.

Meanwhile, analysis of The Horse-Human Relationship Survey of  the ways people learn about that relationship and what to expect from it continues.  Preliminary results that were published in the '07 conference proceedings are also online now. The  final survey results, still in process, will be an important part of the creative brainstorming at the '09 meeting.

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