Keynote Speakers
(click on individual photos to view more information about each speaker)
Click on Dr. Shiva's photo below to watch a special video-taped message made specifically for the Traditional Agriculture & Sustainable Living Conference
Dr. Vandana Shiva, PhD, a world-renowned environmental thinker, activist, physicist, feminist, philosopher of science, writer and science policy advocate, is the Director of The Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Natural Resource Policy. She serves as an ecology advisor to several organizations including the Third World Network and the Asia Pacific People's Environment Network. A contributing editor to People-Centered Development Forum, she has also written several works including, "Biopiracy: The Plunder of Nature and Knowledge," Shiva participated in the nonviolent Chipko movement during the 1970s, whose main participants were women. She is one of the leaders of the International Forum on Globalization, and a figure of the global solidarity movement known as the anti-globalization movement. Shiva has fought for changes in the practice and paradigms of agriculture and food. Intellectual property rights, biodiversity, biotechnology, bioethics, genetic engineering are among the fields where Shiva has contributed intellectually and through activist campaigns.
Due to a sudden illness we will air a video-taped message from Dr. Shiva to our audience, followed by a documentary film of her work.
Percy Schmeiser, has felt the sting of Monsanto's long legal arm the company took the 68-year-old farmer to court, claiming he illegally planted the firm's canola without paying a $37-per-hectare fee for the privilege. Unlike scores of similarly accused North American farmers who have reached out-of-court settlements with Monsanto, Schmeiser fought back. The landmark case that went before the Federal Court of Canada, has attracted international attention because it could help determine how much control a handful of powerful biotech companies can exert over farmers. (Excerpt from Macleans Magazine, May 17, 1999, article by Mark Nichols)
Galen D. Knight, PhD, Integrating the holistic Indigenous world view to avoid disease. The negative effect of Nutrient Deficient foods on health compounded by the use of GMO's, pesticides, insecticides, herbicides, fungicides and toxic metals in their processing. The action of the natural vitalethine modulators in our bodies and their relationship to health.
Gary Paul Nabhan builds teams which bring a wealth of experience, talent, energy, and passion to the projects of the Center for Sustainable Environments at Northern Arizona University. Among his many accomplishments during his years of studying and living in the Southwest, Nabhan co-founded the non-profit conservation group Native Seeds/SEARCH, spearheaded the Ironwood Alliance (responsible for research and public support that led to a 120,000 acre Ironwoods Forest National Monument), and initiated the Traditional Native American Farmers' Association. For such cross-cultural collaborations, he has been awarded a MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society for Conservation Biology. Nabhan crosses disciplinary, linguistic and ethnic boundaries with apparent ease, an essential skill for someone who lives and works among many different communities in the Southwest.
Conference Panel Topics
1) Community & Culture; Porter Swentzel, Santa Clara Pueblo, Luis Garcia, Piro Mansu Tiwa, Marcus Grignon, Menominee Nation
Various perspectives on indigenous communities and their respective cultures.
2) Women in Agriculture; Lorraine Kahneratokwas Gray,Mohawk, Paula Garcia, NM Acequia Association, Pilar Trujillo, NM Acequia Association
A discussion with women involved in traditional agriculture practices, and the challenges they face in modern society.
3) Spirituality in Agriculture; Emigdio Ballon, Quechua, Bolivia, Jose Lucero, Santa Clara Pueblo
Spiritual leaders discuss the connection that we all have to mother earth through our agriculture practices.
4) Innovations in Sustainable Living, Don Bustos, Santa Cruz Organic Farm, Randy Moquino, Tesuque Farms, Joe Ortiz, Cochiti Environment Department
Speakers will discuss innovative projects being developed to obtain and maintain sustainable communities.
5) Youth Panel; Santa Fe Indian School, Santa Fe High School, Camino de Paz Montessori School & Farm
Youth from area schools will discuss the projects that they are working on relative to agriculture and sustainable living.
6) The Value of Seed Preservation; Clayton Brascoupe, TNAFA, Gailey Morgan, Tesuque Farms, Bill McDorman, Native Seeds Search
Local farmers will talk about seed saving methods and the importance of community seed banks.
Conference Workshops
Workshop – Goat Cheese Making & Goat Management.
Coonridge Organic Goat Cheese Dairy roughs it in the high country of Pie Town, adhering to strict organic requirements that pale in comparison to the environmental principles brought on by location and philosophy. Their goats enjoy a type of free-range life that few other captive animals do. Meanwhile, the humans catch rain water and solar energy to meet their most basic survival needs. “Gee, how many catch phrases can I use?," Nancy Coonridge wonders. "Sustainable, humane, predator friendly. But really, we are [a farmstead dairy] because we want a natural life for our goats and their guardian dogs, plus an authentic life for ourselves.” High-quality organic goat cheese is the mortar that holds those ideals together.
Workshop – Bio-diesel Concepts & Applications.
Guillermo Vasquez is Director of Ingidenous Permaculture, a non-profit organization based in Oakland, CA Indigenous Permaculture, or Cosmovision, is a way of thinking and living by following the original instructions we were given to live in balance with the world. These teachings assist people in achieving a symbiotic sustainable life within their environment by utilizing indigenous agricultural practices. Permaculture reconnects human beings and the natural world in an effort to restore balance and natural law that will heal the earth and its people. Indigenous Permaculture is not new, it is wisdom from the past that tells us how to follow our original instructions from the Creator. By doing this we ensure our existence and a future for generations.
Performers
Tesuque Buffalo Dancers will perform during the afternoon break.
Tito Rios, Tito Rios was born in La Paz, Bolivia. He began playing the guitar, charango, quena, and zampoñas at 8 years old. He has recorded many albums in the genres of classical guitar and music from the Andes. Today he lives in Santa Fe, NM, and performs locally as a soloist, as part of Sol y Luna Guitar Duo, and with the Qorichaska.
Qorichaska formed in the summer of 2010 after the three members met and found like interests in spirituality and the composition of original music. The trio consists of Tito Rios on guitar, vocals and andean instruments, Joseph Salack on upright bass and vocals, and Brian Nelson on drums, percussion and vocals. With a focus on vocal harmonies as well as instrumental pieces, Qorichaska Trio performs all original material. This combined with the incorporation of traditional instruments from the Andes and West Africa ensures a unique musical experience for the listener.
Sustainability Showcase
A film festival of documentaries on traditional agriculture, global warming, and sustainility. Film titles and times will be listed in the conference program.
Feature Film: The Ghosts of Machu Picchu
Perched atop a mountain crest, mysteriously abandoned more than four centuries ago, Machu Picchu is the most famous archeological ruin in the Western Hemisphere and an iconic symbol of the power and engineering prowess of the Inca. In the years since Machu Picchu was discovered by Hiram Bingham in 1911, there have been countless theories about this "Lost City of the Incas," yet it remains an enigma. Why did the Incas build it on such an inaccessible site? Who lived among its stone buildings, farmed its emerald green terraces, and drank from its sophisticated aqueduct system? NOVA joins a new generation of archeologists as they probe areas of Machu Picchu that haven't been touched since the time of the Incas. See what they discover when they unearth burials of the people who built the sacred site.