Mongolian Shaman Zagdaa at the Council Gathering

Read the latest Foundation news in the March 2012 issue of the FSS E-News. Read about the January 2012 Council Gathering with Brother David Steindl-Rast and Michael Harner, reports from Mongolia, and a visit and healing demonstration by a Mongolian shaman. Announcing a new workshop, Shamanism Practicum: Guidelines for a Healthy Shamanic Practice; articles and news about shamanism, healing words, and more. Subscribe to the FSS email list (go the the HOME page and scroll down to the “FREE E-NEWS” box in the right-hand column) and get the next issue as soon as it is released or become a member of the Circle of the Foundation and receive both the E-news and special benefits that support your interest in shamanism.

with Susan Mokelke
July 28 – 29, 2012
San Francisco Bay Area

This two-day advanced workshop, based in Michael Harner’s core shamanism and developed by Susan Mokelke, provides participants with guidelines for the development of a healthy shamanic practice. Subjects to be covered include the ethical practice of shamanic healing and divination; legal considerations; what to say to potential clients; the screening process; payment issues; useful forms to have; organization of your practice; and other pragmatic matters related to practicing shamanism in an ethical, professional, and effective way. The workshop will be a combination of lecture, discussion, and experiential exercises, including journeying.

Prerequisite: The Basic Workshop, The Way of the Shaman(R): Shamanic Journeying, Power, and Healing.

INFORMATION & ONLINE REGISTRATION…

From the December 2011 Shamanism Annual.

The gathering begins Friday, January 27, 2012 with a special evening presentation with FSS Field Associate Leslie Conton, Ph.D. All members of the Circle of the Foundation are invited, as guests of the FSS Council membership.

Leslie will share with us her work over many years with nine remarkable Tibetan shamans in exile in Nepal, including three FSS Living Treasures. There will be a screening of her inspiring video Tibetan Shamans: Protectors of All Living Beings.

On Saturday, January 28, Council members will gather for an all-day session of presentations and activities, including lunch. Presenters include audio-visual reports by two FSS Field Associates who this year made separate expeditions to Mongolia to discover the state of shamanism there. Special guest Brother David Steindl-Rast will join Michael Harner for a dialogue about Christianity and shamanism, followed by discussion with Council members.

For all members of the Circle of the Foundation,
as guests of the Council:
Friday, January 27, 2012, 7:00 – 9:00 pm

For Council members:
Saturday, January 28, 2012, 9:30 am – 5:00 pm
7:30 – 9:00 pm – Gabe Harris and Rhythm Village players

Not a member? Join or renew now as a regular or sponsoring member and attend the Friday evening presentation and video on the Tibetan shamans.

To attend the Saturday gathering, join or renew as a Council member by December 19, 2011 (join/renewal date extended) and receive an invitation to both the 2012 and the January 2013 Council sessions.

More details and invitations will be sent out in December.

Join us for the festivities – we hope to see you there!

Photos: Top, center, Brother David Steindl-Rast (by Verena Kessler); Top, right, Michael Harner with Sami-made drum – (c)2011 France Viana; Bottom, right, Kevin Turner at Mongolian conference; Bottom, left, FSS Living Treasure Tibetan shaman Pau Dhondup (by Sarah Sifers); Left, Mongolian shaman ceremony (by Kevin Turner).

In early October, the Foundation learned of the reported murder of 14 Peruvian shamans in the northeastern jungle region of Loreto. The Foundation called for action (see thread below) from its constituents to contact officials to demand that these atrocities be addressed. Your response was tremendous. The Peruvian government sent a team to investigate–still in progress. A December 12th article in Truthout interviewing Alberto Pizango, Peru’s top indigenous leader and president of the country’s most powerful indigenous organization, the Interethnic Development Association of the Peruvian Rainforest (known by its Spanish acronym, AIDESEP), places the killings in a complex context of politics, territorial disputes, and poaching of the natural resources of indigenous peoples, including timber, oil, and illegal drugs. The article also contains an analysis of the situation by anthropologist Jeremy Narby (author, The Cosmic Serpent and Shamans Through Time), who talks about the history of persecution of shamans and the cultural loss. The Foundation is seeking “on the ground” information from local sources and will keep you advised if further information is forthcoming. In the meantime, we are advised that continued public pressure on authorities is important to keep this tragedy in the spotlight and to prevent more killings. Please see the entries below for a list of authorities to contact. Thanks to Timothy Flynn (California), Dolly Lizarraga (Peru), and numerous others.

Editor’s note: This situation is not, unfortunately, an isolated incident. We also received word that Brazilian shaman Nisio Gomes, a Guarani leader, was recently murdered in a territorial dispute (submitted by Kevin Turner, Kyoto, Japan). In addition, a battle for sacred land, “the birthplace of the sun,” is taking place between the native Wixarika of Mexico, better known as the Huichol, and a pair of Canadian mining companies interested in its resources of precious metals. (Submitted by Meg Beeler, California.) On the positive side, there are many human rights organizations, local and international, working on behalf of indigenous rights in South America. The Foundation will continue to help preserve shamanic knowledge through its Living Treasures program and indigenous assistance projects, such as the Baniwa shamanic revitalization.

October 19, 2011 UPDATE

Response to the initial email sent on October 7 about the 14 shamans murdered in Peru’s northeastern jungle region of Loreto has been tremendous. We have been informed by a Peruvian citizen of an additional important government body to contact, the Peruvian Ministry of Culture (see below). To view the original email, including contact lists, please click here.

According to The Guardian, the Peruvian government has sent a team to the remote Amazon region to investigate the killings.

We will keep you informed when we learn of further developments.

Take Action

We have been advised by Ms. Dolly Lizarraga, a Peruvian national who is very concerned about the shamanic traditions in her country, that there is an investigation being carried out. However, she states, pressure is still necessary.

According to Ms. Lizarraga, the Ministry of Culture should be addressed on the subject, as this situation falls directly under its mandate. In fact, the Vice Minister of Interculturality, Mr. Vicente Otta, recently travelled to the area.

Contact the Ministry of Culture:

Ministra de Cultura
Sra. Susana Esther Baca de la Colina
Phone: (511) 6189393 Anexo (2502)

Vice Ministro de Interculturalidad
Sr. Clemente Vicente Otta Rivera
Phone: (511) 224 2495
(Secretary Ms. Jazmine Soria)

Address:

Ministerio de Cultura
Av. Javier Prado Este 2465
San Borja, Lima 14 – Peru
www.mcultura.gob.pe
Contact form on website (Google translate tools can be used to view in your language)

Please let your voice be heard.

Thank you.

Susan Mokelke
Executive Director

October 7, 2011

We have just learned that over the last 20 months 14 shamans have been murdered in Peru’s northeastern jungle region of Loreto.

According to the newspaper La Republica: The provincial prosecutor’s office said that the murders were allegedly ordered by the mayor of Balsa Puerto, Alfredo Torres, and carried out by his brother, Augusto, locally known as “the witch hunter.” Only seven bodies have been found, however – either shot, stabbed or hacked with machetes. The seven other shamans have been reported missing. Roger Rumrrill, a leading researcher on Amazonian issues, said the murders are related to “protestant sects” that Torres and his brother belong to, the daily said. “For these protestant sects, the shamans are people possessed by demons, so they have to be killed,” Rumrrill said. More details from the Peruvian Times.

Take Action

Please ask authorities to immediately address these atrocities and prevent further murders. Contact one or more of the following:

Office of the President of Peru
President Ollanta Humala
Secretary General Luis Chuquihuara Chil
Minister of Justice Francisco Eguiguren Praeli
Email: secretariageneral@presidencia.gob.pe
http://www.presidencia.gob.pe

The US ambassador to Peru in Lima
Her Excellency Rose M. Likins
Embassy of the United States
Avenida La Encalada cdra. 17 s/n
Surco, Lima 33, Peru
Phone: (51-1) 618-2000
Fax: (51-1) 618-2397
General email: LimaACS@state.gov

The Peruvian ambassador to the US
His Excellency Harold W. Forsyth
Embassy of Peru
1700 Massachusetts Ave., N.W
Washington D.C. 20036
Phone: (202) 833-9860 to 9869
Fax: (202) 659-8124
http://www.peruvianembassy.us/en.html
Email: webadmin@embassyofperu.us

Assistant to the Ambassador
Ms. Sara Barboza
Phone: (202) 833-9860
Fax: (202) 659-8124
sbarboza@embassyofperu.us

Political Department
Head of Department
Mr. Pedro Bravo
Telephone: (202) 261-0269
Fax: (202) 659-8124
pbravo@embassyofperu.us

The Peruvian ambassador to the United Nations
His Excellency Gonzalo Gutierrez Reinel
820 Second Avenue, Suite 1600
New York, N.Y. 10017
Phone: 212-687-3336
Fax: 212-972-6975
Email: onuper@unperu.org

United Nations Human Rights
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
High Commissioner Ms. Navanethem Pillay
Palais des Nations
CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Email: infoDesk@ohchr.org

Amnesty International
Secretary General Salil Shetty
Phone: +44-20-74135500
Fax: +44-20-79561157
1 Easton Street
London WC1X 0DW, UK
http://www.amnesty.org/en/contact (contact form on their website)

Please let your voice be heard.

Thank you.

Susan Mokelke
Executive Director

On behalf of the Foundation for Shamanic Studies

Mongolian (Darkhad) shaman and Kevin Turner

FSS Faculty Kevin Turner spent July 2011 on field assignment in Mongolia where he represented FSS at the Ataa Tenger Conference of International Shamanic Studies. Kevin spoke on core shamanism in Asia, and met a number of researchers involved in central Asian shamanism. Kevin also personally interviewed 6 remarkable shamans for research purposes. He gave a one-hour talk on core shamanism at the largest bookstore in the capital city of Ulaanbaatar in honor of the new Mongolian translation of The Way of the Shaman, as well as a 5-minute Mongolian television interview. There is significant interest in our work in Mongolia, and Kevin may be returning to offer the first FSS courses there next year. We look forward to further collaboration with Mongolian shamans and Mongolian shamanic researchers in the future. Members of the Circle of the Foundation, look for more about FSS in Mongolia in this year’s issue of the Shamanism Annual, coming out in December.

Michael Harner at SAND conference

Michael Harner recently gave a keynote address at the annual Science and Nonduality (SAND) Conference “On the Edge of Time” on Friday, October 21, in San Rafael, California. Michael spoke about “The Transcendence of Time in Shamanic Practice” to an enthusiastic audience. He discussed the ways that shamans go outside of time in the shamanic journey, including into the past and the future. The session included a brief demo of shamanic drumming.

At the Science and Nonduality Conference 2011, over 100 preeminent scientists, philosophers, and spiritual teachers gathered to to explore the question of time from the point of view of their area of study.

Annual Science and Nonduality Conference:
On the Edge of Time
October 19 – 23, 2011
Embassy Suites Hotel, San Rafael, CA 94903

More info, visit: www.scienceandnonduality.com

Cowrie Shell Mask, circa 2002. Photo by Jeffrey David Ehrenreich.

Once a year, the Foundation issues its scholarly journal the Shamanism Annual. For more than 30 years, the Foundation has been offering authentic writings on the contemporary and indigenous practices of shamanism around the globe, first with Shamanism and now with the Shamanism Annual. The most recent issue of the journal contains articles on shamanism and African identity in New Orleans, contemporary shamanism in China, psychopomp practices of the Foundation’s Living Treasure Tibetan shamans, shamanic journeying and the immune response, and shamanism and ecstatic union. The Shamanism Annual also provides a voluntary directory of individuals and drumming circles to help develop a worldwide community for healing and mutual help. The journal is one of the exclusive benefits of membership in the Circle of the Foundation.