Projects

Prologue: It All Begins with Water. Beginning Summer 2013, a one year listening journey with Larry Littlebird, chronicles a Pueblo Indian man's story legacy on his beloved Southwest homelands during a time of great climate change.

LARRY LITTLEBIRD, a Pueblo Indian storyteller/artist and hunter-farmer shares stories, songs and prophecies from his rich tribal American oral tradition. Stories which still flow unbroken through a remnant oral culture lineage. Stories about climate change and how the People started over. Stories of our kinship to water and our relationships to land, air, fire, the plants, bees and all other creatures. Stories of building resilient communities and ways of blessing during times of drought.

As we come alongside Littlebird on this one year listening journey, we enter a listening portal and gain a rare glimpse into simple living rooted in indigenous land wisdom and spiritual blessing. Join Larry Littlebird, as he:

Walks the boundary of the 320 acre HAMAATSA sanctuary. What are boundaries?
Makes pilgrimages to sacred springs and other sacred places in the Southwest region.
Visits Pueblo kin and elders and shares story dialogues.
Discovers ways to support one another, our families and communities during this time of drought and profound climate change.

FIRST RECORDINGS ...
Tewa Song Translation
Audio Recording: Larry Littlebird
This song and translation was given to Larry Littlebird by
Dewey Healing and his nephew. Hopi, Arizona, 1982

Story about Tewa Song
Audio Recording: Larry Littlebird
Larry Littlebird tells us about his visit with Dewey Healing
at Hopi.

LISTENING GROUND PROJECT LAUNCH
August 1, 2013
First Year Core Funding Goal: $27,600
<> Collection of Indigenous Stories (Audio)
The audio collection will include:

Ways of Blessing: Stories that prepare people for rituals and give them the strength for ceremonies.
First Things: Stories told about concerning being new, first things and starting over. Stories about being born and coming into this world. Creation myths, legends of traveling from the second world to this world, the birth of First Man and of Changing Woman. Stories about how the rivers came to be, what drove mountains up and valley down and how corn arrived on this earth.
Explaining Why: Stories given to explain why Coyote has a bushy tail, why animals cannot talk with people anymore, why skunks and owls are to be avoided. Questions that cannot be answered are discussed.
Saying What Cannot Be Said: Stories of death and how to prepare for dying. Ancient prophecies of the world dying, ready to be reborn, to move on into the fourth world. These stories can be very clear and explicit telling exactly what to do to prepare. Or they can point to what cannot be said directly and leave the important things to silence.

1. STORY BLOG
Funding Need: $4,200
Over the course of one year and through four seasons, Larry Littlebird will keep a written journal recording occurrences on the land, weather patterns, his relationships and encounters with the plant and animal people, the bee people and his human kin. Select journal entries, audios and videos will be posted on Larry's Story Blog. We also want to set up a webcam (pending funding) in various locations on the land to record climate change observations and provide a way for Littlebird to share real time spoken word transmissions.

2. AUDIO AND VIDEO
Funding Need: $9,500
Listening Ground addresses the endangered orality of tribal American people in this digital age. Great care is being given to keep the integrity of the oral tradition transmissions as we archive and preserve these timeless stories and ancient wisdom for future generations. First year recordings include:

Record 10-12 short audio-visual pieces (with photographs and art) featuring the ancient stories from Littlebird's oral legacy.
Record 5-7 short audio-visual pieces with guest storytellers from other tribes (Salish-Kootnai, Tlingit, Kiowa, Cherokee, Dine).
Produce four short videos featuring story dialogues with Larry Littlebird and guest tribal elders/storytellers.
Produce a longer feature video (pending additional funding) to tell the arcing story of land, people and culture during a time of great climate change.

3. TRIBAL ELDERS AND STORYTELLERS
Honorariums and Travel: $4,500
We have been blessed over the years to work with and know many consecrated tribal American storytellers. Several of these precious ones have already crossed over. Many are on our endangered radar. We feel an urgent prompting to capture these story dialogues as Larry Littlebird visits with tribal elders and kin.

4. INTERACTIVE WEBSITE
Funding Need: $5,000
The Listening Ground interactive website will feature recorded Native stories as well as become an online resource for educating people about tribal American people, history, culture and place. The website design will be visually evocative with layers of material leading the "listener" through a personal experience in a spiraling motion much like the listening process unfolds between storyteller and story listener.

5. BOOK AND STUDY GUIDE
Funding Need: $4,000
Weaving together Larry Littlebird's work as a master storyteller, gifted artist/painter and writer, the Listening Ground book will draw from the breadth of Littlebird's storywork spanning the past five decades. This exclusive compilation of story, art and poetry with a study guide will be used for developing an approach to storytelling based upon tribal American oral traditions and educational concepts. This exceptional book will be a treasure trove for all ages and generations to come.