On April 10, 2022, the memorial feast and giveaway for Waylon Red Elk and family was held in the town of Wanblee, South Dakota. Purchasing the food and giveaway items was greatly supported by the Helpers Mentoring Society global community. All your contributions made this event possible in such an impactful way.

The Red Elk family voiced their gratitude for all the support to make this memorial happen. I was approached by several elders and family members who wanted to share their thanks for all the help.

There was over $4,000 in donations given by the community of Helpers Mentoring Society. These donations were applied to $1,143 to provide all the food for the feast and $3,487 in giveaway items. An additional $240 was used to purchase heating fuel for surviving Red Elk family.

Beyond the contribution of money, many people contributed time and energy to make this event happen. Special thanks to Erica Thompson and Anthony...

In this podcast Pat Divilly and I speak about a variety of topics including nature connection, finding purpose, indigenous teachings and training, and dream analysis. It was great talking to Pat and getting to know him better. Check out the links to learn more about Pat and his work, mission and Vision.  

Links to Pat Divilly:

The Pat Divilly Podcast: #240- The Helpers Journey with Sal Gencarelle (libsyn.com)

The Pat Divilly Podcast (libsyn.com)

On April 10, 2022, Helpers Mentoring Society will be sponsoring a memorial feast and giveaway to honor the life of Waylon Red Elk in the town of Wanblee, South Dakota.

Waylon Red Elk was a close friend and brother to Helpers Mentoring Society founder Salvatore Gencarelle. Waylon was a dedicated Helper who supported the ceremonies of the Woptura Lineage for decades. He was born and raised in Wanblee, South Dakota attending Crazy Horse School. He began helping with ceremonies at the age of 17. Waylon was a brother and uncle to many and is missed greatly by all who knew him. Waylon, his pregnant wife, and young son were killed by a drunk driver in November 2017. 

Helper Mentoring Society will be supporting the memorial dinner and supplying gratitude gifts (Wopila) to be distributed to the Native American community of Wanblee. This is a traditional event which is both an opportunity to celebrate life and remember our deceased loved ones. 

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EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode, I have my second discussion for the Connection Matters podcast with one of my long-term teachers Sal Gencarelle of the Helpers Mentoring Society. In another vibrant conversation, we talk about creating and understanding meaning in these challenging times and what 'responsibility' really means. We also discuss how the young of today are responding to this. Sal shares more about the progress of the Bison Project, rewilding and reconnecting us to the ancient ways in modern times. We also talk about a helpful understanding of consciousness and the multiple parts of this that make up the whole healthy, balanced and happy human being.

EPISODE NOTES

 www.livewild.org.uk/connectionmatterspodcast

 https://www.instagram.com/connection.matters.leona/

 https://www.patreon.com/connectionmatterspodcast

 https://www.instagram.com/livewilduk/

Helpers Mentoring Society Links

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Our small herd of bison is doing well this winter. In response to the falling temperatures, bison grows a winter coat of woolly underfur with coarse guard hairs that protect them from the elements. It’s critical for surviving extremely low temperatures in areas swept by strong winds.

This year, the Black Hills of South Dakota temperatures have been relatively mild. Our bison can often be seen lounging in the warm sun and even at times finding shade in the pine and aspen trees. They usually go for walks in the wooded area of our property, grazing on what they can along the way. 

Before private land ownership and fencing divided the land and prevented free movement, bison herds would travel vast distances grazing all the while. Historically, bison did not migrate far south as the weather turned cold in the winter, but they traveled to lower elevations where snow was not so deep.

Cold doesn’t seem to bother bison even...

Human beings have an incredible recorded history of their relationship with the bison. The earliest records of human beings expressing their relationship with bison are in European cave paintings dating 36,000 years ago. The history of people's relationship to bison is most often focused on the Native American nations who resided in the Great Plains of North America – but people's relationship with bison extends across land, continents, and time far greater. 

According to modern science, the general assumption is that bison's genus has its origin in southern Asia. During the late Pliocene and early Pleistocene, bison spread throughout the temperate zones of Asia and Europe. Eventually spreading from Asia to Eastern Europe - from England to Manchuria. They also migrated to North America across the Bering Strait.

In historical times the range of European bison covered western, central, and south-eastern Europe, extending up to the Volga River...

We’ve now transitioned into the New Year – 2022 according to the Gregorian Calendar. For many of you I’m sure the transition into the New Year is felt biologically, and perhaps even celebrated during the Winter Solstice. For me, there is a palatable sense of pause and then renewal during the Winter Solstice – and by this time, now over a week later – the lengthening days can already be ever so slightly perceived.

It is important to honor the rhythmic cycles of nature, not just in words or in a day of celebration, but by allowing the great natural rhythm to guide our inner rhythm. In this day and age of artificial light and human controlled environments, we can become more easily disconnected from the ancient and natural rhythms that have guided and shaped humanity for millennia. It is now necessary for most people living with modern conveniences to consciously recognize the natural flow of life and to align to it through mindfulness and...

November 25, 2021 is a holiday in the USA called Thanksgiving. On this day people in the US celebrate what is taught in elementary schools around the country as peaceful and caring relationship between the newly arrived colonist from England (Pilgrims) and the local Native American tribes. Children learn that the arrivals to the “New World” were struggling to adapt to the environment and Native Americans showed them how to grow gardens and harvest from the land. The abundance gained from this relationship was celebrated with a feast – which is why a feast is still the focus of this holiday.

But, as positive as the basis of this holiday is presented to children – the true history is much more complex and controversial. The mainstream education on the history of the United States is continually being revealed to be “whitewash”. The conflicts, betrayals, abuses, extractive practices, and outright genocide are not acknowledged – which...

This is the final message that I can share from my Vision Quest this year.

Each Vision Quest for many years, I’ve been visited by a spiritual entity that I call the collective consciousness of the animal nations. This spiritual energy reveals itself in the quest as a shimmering mist that takes on shapes of various animals and delivers a message to be shared with the people.

This year’s message revealed future changes coming to the natural world and provided guidance to the people

The first part of the message revealed that many people around the world need to continue to take responsibility for tending the region they reside in. People working with the Sacred Tools should continue to pray for the environment and all the natural beings who live there – creating “safe spaces” for both the local and migratory animals. Through prayer, attentiveness and deep connection – people will be guided as to how to tend the natural (and...

We have some exciting news regarding our base of operations in South Dakota USA. An additional 31.6 acres of land that is directly adjacent to our current property has come available to purchase. Before the 1970s this land was originally part of the location that currently supports the Bison Project and the in-person camps provided by HMS in the Black Hills. It has been held in a family trust and has never been available until now. Due to several factors including the opportunity to expand our bison herd, the possibility to hold larger teaching camps and ceremonies, and the protection of the ecology in a bigger way, we have decided to purchase this land!

After a few weeks of going back and forth with the current landowners, we have settled on a price which is reasonable – especially considering the current market in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The land needs tending, fencing and water access to make it viable for the bison herd and the camps which was...