I attended the 2023 Parliament of the World’s Religions last August. As a member of the press corps, I interviewed presenters and people representing their organizations. I was particularly interested in Indigenous Peoples and Climate Action. One focus of Climate Action is Disaster Response Services. I have served with the American Red Cross Disaster Services and have responded to flooding, wildfires, tornadoes, and the September 11 attacks. My contributions are miniscule compared to my colleagues. They do however give me an appreciation for all those volunteers and first responders who do respond to disasters.
 
Climate change has been associated with an increase in natural disasters and an increase in severity of those disasters. Climate change is also associated with increased international conflicts. Struggles for water, arable land, and crops are all increasing stress in populations and setting the stage for wars over resources and land. Starvation, drought, and conflict are also contributing to increased refugee and internally displaced peoples. I have served with Internally Displaced Peoples camps in Kurdistan with ADRA, I have also served with Syrian American Medical Society in Jordan at refugee camps and clinics.  This work is dangerous, demanding, and necessary. So, I was pleased to see the many faith communities responding to disasters. The interviews in the video are simply a sampling of the efforts being made.
 
I am familiar with several Disaster Response Organizations. They include the American Red Cross and the International Red Cross and Red Crescent, The Salvation Army, Southern Baptist Relief Services, Mennonite Disaster Service, and Sikh Aid and Khalsa Aid. I know there are relief organizations representing most religions of the world.
 
The 2023 PoWR was opened by United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres. His support for the Amazon Summit reflected the urgency of responding to the existential threat of climate change. Dr. Jane Goodall  
virtually addressed the Parliament. Her message was one of hope. She told us, we humans have made this mess and if we choose, we can fix it.
 
The Parliament had a designated space referred to as The Green Village. This was a place for environmentalists, activists, and agencies to meet and informally share information. This included an informal presentation by religious delegates to the previous United Nation's Conference of Parties or COPS.
 
The first person I interviewed set the stage for the rest of the day. Doctor Raj Devasigamani talked about The Global Ethic. The Global Ethic is a declaration of the Parliament of the World’s Religions stating the universal values and principles shared by the world’s religious, spiritual, and cultural traditions. The 1948 United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights appeared inadequate to address faith and individuals in their interactions with one another. The Parliament of the World’s Religions created the Global Ethics, under the supervision of theologian Hans Kung and presented it to the Parliament assembly in 1993. Doctor Raj Devasigamani introduced us to the document and the impact it has had on interfaith cooperation.
 
Members of both the Islamic Relief USA and the New York Interfaith Disaster Services spoke on the importance of inclusion and cooperation to address disaster needs. The Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation, an international Buddhist organization headquartered in Taiwan was very active. They had a presentation table that educated youth on the importance of vegetables and veganism to the environment. They also had a booth that spotlighted recycled plastics that provided housing and clothing for victims of disasters. Finally, they invited us to a meditation service which highlighted the need for balance in our lives.
 
The video ends with a song at the Sacred Music Night. It is Dennis Werner and children of many faiths singing We are All Beads on One String. The song addressed why we need to support one another in these challenging times.

​The Parliament of the World’s Religions has been convened nine times since 1893. The most recent Parliament was in Chicago. The Parliament took place from August 14-18, 2023. There were over 8000 attendees from 95 countries. I had attended the 2015 Parliament in Salt Lake City, helped plan the 2018 Parliament in Toronto, attended the virtual Parliament in 2020, and was overjoyed to be attending one of my favorite events in Chicago. I have served as an ambassador, served on the Ambassador Advisory Board, and served as a member of the Press Corps. I presented on Franciscan Nature-focused Meditation at the 2015 Parliament. NatureWhile religious leaders and organizations addressed a variety of pressing needs my focus has been on Climate Action and Indigenous Peoples. The two foci are separate but intertwined.
 
My first impression of the importance of Indigenous Peoples to the functioning of the Parliament was in 2015 in Salt Lake City. Outside of the Salt Palace, the convention center, Indigenous People from around the world gathered to greet the rising sun and to welcome the Parliament through the Sacred Fire. The Procession to convene the Parliament of the World’s Religions started with the drums, dance and song of the First Nations of Utah followed by First Nations from all over Turtle Island and South America. They were joined by Indigenous People of Northern Europe, Asia, The Pacific, and Africa.
 
The Parliament had plenary sessions addressing Indigenous People. There were Indigenous Peoples assemblies and workshops. There was song and dance, and there was an Indigenous People reception. They addressed spirituality, human rights, ceremony, and caring for creation.
 
This is where I first met many of the leaders who would change the course of my life. I first saw Māori Elder, Dr. Rangimārie Te Turuki Arikirangi Rose Pere from New Zealand. I first saw her at the Sacred Fire, then at the Procession. She spoke at the Indigenous Peoples Assembly and the Women’s Assembly. She taught me the breathing greeting, the hongi. She led all of us, 10,000 attendees, in singing of joy and of our unity. Rose died in December 2020, and I still miss her.
 
Closely associated with Rose Pere was fellow Great Grandmother Mary Lyons. Mary was prominent at the initiation of the Sacred Fire. She was center stage at the convening of the Parliament. She spoke at the assemblies, and she nurtured us. I have since met Mary at the 2023 Parliament and at the 2024 Protecting Mother Earth Conference.  She is one of the original 13 Great Grandmothers, a group of Indigenous Knowledge Holders and Sharers of Wisdom from around the world. It is a profound privilege to know Great Grandmother Mary Lyons.
 
In 2015 there were a number of leaders who inspired me. This included Chief Arvol Looking Horse. He is the 19th Keeper of the White Buffalo Calf Pipe and Bundle. He inherited his role as The Keeper at age 12. He is the ceremonial leader of the Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota People. His respect for Mother Earth and our connectedness impressed me.
 
Chief Oren Lyons is a Haudenosaunee Faithkeeper of the Wolf Clan of both the Onondaga Nation and the Seneca Nation of the Six Nations of the Grand River. He has served 14 years as a member of the Indigenous Peoples of the Human Rights Commission of the United Nations. He addressed the Parliament giving a passionate plea to care for Mother Earth and to act quickly.
 
Not all the leaders that impressed me were elders. I sat having coffee with a 14-year-old woman having no idea she was internationally know for her environmental advocacy. Ta’Kaiya Blaney is a member of the Tla A’min Nation of British Columbia Canada. She is an Ambassador of Native Children’s Survival Indigenous Children Fund. She is an award-winning singer, songwriter and actress. Her advocacy began at age 10. When I saw her speak in front of 10,000 people, eloquently urging us to act for the earth and then saw her move the same people with song, I knew I was witnessing something special.
 
Uncle Angaangaq Angakkorsuaq is a shaman and spiritual leader and healer from Greenland. When he addressed the Parliament, he was clear, Mother Earth does not need humanity, she will survive. We, however, need Mother Earth. He said, if we are to heal Mother it will take all of us and all our ancestors. Then, using his Windrums, in a hall holding 10,000 souls he cupped his face with the drums and called out, summoning our ancestors to join us in this task. Uncle’s sincerity impressed me. I have since joined his lectures. Tomorrow, I join him, virtually, in a Shamanic Walk. This includes a day of preparation, a day of walking, listening, reflecting, in silence, and a day of processing with Uncle.
 
Arnold W. Thomas is of the Shoshone-Paiute Tribal Nation of the Great Basin. He is the first of the First Nation Chaplains. He spoke of the pain of the Mother Earth and the generosity of Mother Earth. Then he had us all stand up and as a chaplain he commissioned us all to be missionaries spreading the word of the love of Mother Earth.
 
In 2023 I met Major Moggy Sumner, a cultural ambassador from Australia. He spoke at assemblies, he led Sacred Fire ceremonies, he hosted workshops, and he impressed the heck out of me. The video clip I have is of his performance at the Sacred Music Night at the 2023 PoWR,
 
Throughout all of this there was one man who coordinated the meetings, the missions, and the gatherings of all these Indigenous People. That was Lewis Cardinal.  Mary Lyons and I would sit and talk about Lewis (all good) because his efforts were for the benefit of others. He is member of the Woodland Cree from the Sucker Cree First Nation in northern Alberta Canada. He is a communicator and educator. He organized the Amazon Summit at the 2023 Parliament. He is also the recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Medal for Public Service.
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The video I took of the 2023 PoWR captures some of this vitality and connectedness. There is an interview with Lewis Cardinal. There is a performance by Moggy Sumner. There are photos of the Amazon Summit and a clip of the 2015 Indigenous Peoples Reception. There are photos that speak to the enduring impact the Parliament and the Indigenous Peoples track has had on me.  If we are to have a chance at healing Mother Earth it must include the leadership of Indigenous Peoples.

​From August 14 through 18, 2023 the Parliament of the World’s Religions convened in Chicago. Chicago is the birthplace of the Parliament. The Parliament is the premier interfaith gathering one the planet. It focusses on interfaith dialog, peace-making, poverty, gender, Indigenous Peoples, and climate change and action. As a member of the press corps, I focused on the last two foci.
 
One of the striking aspects of the Parliaments is its multimodal approach. It is not just programs, reports, worship and fellowship. It is also art. That includes song and dance. It also includes art that reflects cultures, histories, and theologies. The Parliament was held at the McCormick Place Convention Center on the shores of Lake Michigan. The convention center is huge and art permeated the halls, the stages, and the patios.
 
There was Sacred Music Night. There was a display on the outdoor plaza focused on the child victims of gun violence. There was a film festival. There was dance in all the halls and on all the floors. And there was drawings and painting.
 
In the Great Hall there was a gallery dedicated to the art of various faith traditions. I found myself drawn to the Zorastrain art. However, for me, the art that integrated art, spirituality, and climate and social justice action was the Hawaiian Two-sided Mural or installation.  The artist who presented the art and the project was Marianne Mayer. She worked with five other artists to create this Anine Aloha mural. As you watch her presentation you will see how the process moved her. When you learn how this mural has been traveling the world you will get a sense of how it has touched so many people.
 
You will also learn a little about Hawaiian spirituality and kinship, the love of the land, and the reciprocal relation the people have with the land and with Mother Earth. This presentation is truly multicultural. The artists were all Hawaiian. Marianne also has Settle or Colonial ancestry. She is rooted in Hawaiian religious cosmos. She is also a member of the Bahai faith, and many members of the audience were Baha’is from around the world. This exhibit integrates Indigenous Peoples, Climate Action, and interfaith dialogue. Aloha.

Little River Wetlands Project hosts a monthly community forum that focuses on the environment. The forum, Breakfast on the Marsh is usually held at the Indiana Wesleyan University Fort Wayne building by the boundary of Eagle Marsh. One August 08, 2024, the presenter was Assistant Director for the DNR’s Division of Entomology and Plant Pathology, Vincent Burkle. He spoke on the current status of the Spotted Lanternfly in Indiana.
 
The Spotted Lanternfly is a fairly recent invasive species. It is a true bug, with sucking mouth parts that can devastate plant life. It is originally from Southeast Asia and was first detected in Pennsylvania in 2014.   In the last eight years it has spread to New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Delaware, Virginia, Ohio, North Carolina, Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois.
 
The invasive insect appears to be spreading by inadvertently being transported via trains. Its favorite food source is another invasive species, the Tree of Heaven. The Tree of Heaven is often found along railway lines.  
 
If the Spotted Lanternfly only consumed Tree of Heaven it would be a solution, not a problem. However, that is not the case. This mobile, prolific insect also eats 70 different trees and shrubs.
This includes Black Walnut, maples, roses, sumac, birch, cucumber, and grape.
 
The presentation focused on identification throughout the insect’s lifespan, finding populations and discovering the spread of the Lanternfly. It focused on finding, killing, and reporting the invasive insect. Finding, containing, and eradication is critically important. This is an invasive that can cause a great deal of destruction.  

​On June 29, 2024 Ricky Kemery was a guest speaker at Resurrection Lutheran Church. The hosts were the church group, The Garden Keepers. The topic was Sensible Sustainability.
 
Ricky was a Purdue University Horticulture Extension Educator for 23 years. He is a Master Gardner. He has written numerous newspaper articles on gardening as well as speaking on television and radio, He is also an author of Sensible Sustainability: A Lighthearted Approach to Develop Sustainable Landscapes and Gardens.
 
Ricky has a way of engaging his audience, so they are not simply attentive ears but rather, active participants. He is funny, engaging, and provides history, theory, and hands on practicality.
 
His presentation covered local geology, pests and invasives, and permaculture, food forests, lasagna gardening, and raised bed gardening. When the talk concluded he joined a large circle and with cake and coffee the discussion carried on. The enthusiasm was earned, Ricky Kemery is recognized as the Gardner’s Gardner.

​From August 14-18, 2023, The Parliament of the World's Religions convened in Chicago. There were 8,254 participants from 95 countries representing 210 religious traditions. Eugene Gussenhoven and I were credentialed members of the Press Corps. We interviewed presenters, agency representatives, and faith leaders who worked to counter climate change.
 
I spoke with Indigenous leaders. I interviewed faith leaders responding to climate change. I attended religious services and cultural events. However, before the opening of the Parliament and after the Parliament, I immersed myself in place. Place is important in healing a hurting planet, in focusing ritual, and in anchoring oneself. That place, for me, was downtown Chicago. It was a place of unceded land of the Council of the Three Fires, a confederacy of Indigenous Nations. It was a city founded by a Haitian immigrant Jean Baptiste Point du Sable. It was the site of the first Parliament of the World’s Religions in 1893 during the Columbian Exposition.
 
The Chicago Cultural Center, Millennium Park, Buckingham Fountain, Navy Pier, The Windy, the Field Museum of Natural History, and the Chicago Riverwalk all speak to the importance of place. The Chicago River, Lake Michigan, and the water of life speak to the importance of healthy ecosystems. After the Parliament my continued journey became a reminder that the rebirth of ecosystems and of the spirit are possible. This is the introductory video that will be followed by several videos connecting faith, climate change, Indigenous Peoples, and the 2023 Parliament of the World's Religions. This first video speaks of my love for this place, Chicago.
 

On July 14 and 15, 2024 local historian Nelson Ross-Miller, of Olive Branch Media, presented on the Native American NorthWestern Confederacy and the Waterways. The presentation was at the main library of the Allen County Public Library. 

This blog focuses on the environment, climate change, and approaches to becoming greener. However, it also has a focus on Indigenous Peoples. That is because, before the colonists, the indigenous people had a long history of effective land management. The focus of this blog has included recording and writing about  historical fiction author Pickett writing on the clash of cultures in Northeast Indiana, Indiana Master Naturalist Greta Sirois presenting on Miami culture, a presentation on Algonquin history, and a post on Learning from Indigenous Peoples. 
 
So, while Nelson Ross-Miller’s presentation did not focus on environmental issues it was foundational to understanding the evolution of a land of wetlands, forests, elk, and bison becoming a drained land of monoculture farming.
 
Ross-Miller described the make-up of the Confederacy. These included the Cherokee, Iroquois, Delaware, Miami, Odawa, Ojibwas, Potawatomi, Shawnee, Wabash Confederacy, and the Wyandot. He touched on some of the leaders of the Confederacy. Northeast Indiana and the upper Midwest is rich in famous Indigenous leaders. These include Little Turtle, Blue Jacket, Metea, Tecumseh, and the Prophet.
 
As Nelson Ross-Miller pointed out, the European/American leaders were initially ineffective and arrogant. Ross-Miller described how this arrogance contributed to some of the worst defeats of colonist/early Americans by Native Americans. These battles included the battles of Kekionga, LaBalme’s defeat, and the Harmar campaign.
 
Finally, Nelson Ross-Miller presented on the riverways. His documentaries are local and specific. His presentation focused on the Spring Creek and the Eel River. He introduced the audience to a person important to the area and the waterways, George Crogan. The impact of the changing cultures in the area could not have been more profound. Northeast Indiana went from a land of woods and wetlands (The Great Swamp) to a drained and deforested land of farms, industry, and towns and cities.
 
Nelson was open to questions. He was enthusiastic about the importance of local, objective history, and he let the facts, historical logs, and artifacts speak for themselves. I look forward to hearing Nelson present in the future, about the past. 

​The three species of invasive Asian Carp in our waterways and fisheries are within 30 miles of Chicago. Yet, after years, they have not made it into the Great Lakes. This is good news because would they over-populate the Great Lakes, they would destroy a multibillion-dollar sports fishing industry, and they would devastate the ecosystems of the Great Lakes.
 
On July 11th, 2024, at Indiana Wesleyan University Fort Wayne, Little River Wetlands Project hosted the public forum, Breakfast on the Marsh. The speaker was LRWP board member John Goss. He answered so many questions such as:

• Why haven’t the carp made it into the Great lakes?
• What is a berm?
• Why was the continental divide at Eagle Marsh separated?
• Where is the most vulnerable area around the Great Lakes for the invasive carp to enter the Great Lakes?
• What is a Carp Czar?
• To be sure John Goss was the perfect person to make this presentation. The talk was in a classroom near the shores of Eagle Marsh, the berm, and the continental divide. John served as a White House Taskforce chair coordinating the efforts of eight states and three Canadian provinces addressing the invasive species.

 
John talked about the problems regionally and internationally (the U.S., and Canada), but he also addressed the important work LRWP is doing to protect the Great Lakes. He described the barrier system just outside of Chicago. He shared a video of the edible solutions that could help offset the damage the species have done to riverways and lakes.
 
The presentation was captivating. The work of our very own Carp Czar was inspiring. To be sure, the leadership at LRWP is pretty impressive.

​The Hoosier Riverwatch program is part of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM). The program was established in 1996.  One of its many services is to provide Volunteer Stream Monitoring training to the public. This is both an opportunity to participate in citizen science and to be part of a watchdog service. The program has the unattended purpose of making me feel more connected to my colleague Giiwedin, an Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) water protector.
 
The program is designed to increase public awareness about water quality issues by training volunteers to monitor flowing water quality. This is a daunting task. Indiana has over 100,000 miles of rivers, streams, and ditches. Additionally, there are over 35,000 miles of surface waterways that measure more than a mile in length. Training volunteers to objectively assess the quality of these waterways is critical.
 
The Hoosier Riverwatch program defines its mission as, To involve the citizens of Indiana in becoming active stewards of Indiana’s water resources through watershed education, water monitoring, and clean-up activities.  
 
A group of volunteers from northeast Indiana participated in Stream Monitoring Training this past spring. The formal part of the course took place at the Nature Center of Metea County Park. Besides the classroom training there is a fieldwork component. That could not occur on the day of the classroom training. The Ceder Creek was running too high and too fast to safely navigate for training. The following month the group completed the field work component at Eagle Marsh, one of the sites of Little River Wetlands Project.
 
The classroom training focused on the history of the program, the materials needed, and: Habitat Assessment, Chemical Monitoring, Assessment of Macroinvertebrates, Aquatic Invasive Species, and Hoosier Riverwatch Database.
 
Training was provided by Jacquelyn Buck, Executive Director of St. Jospeh River Watershed Initiative and Deanne Jensen, Education Director of the Maumee Watershed Alliance. The first video focuses on the formal classroom training with emphasis on Habitat Assessment and Chemical Monitoring. This included lectures and hands-on training. The second video continues with the hands-on training and then focuses on the biological assessment component of the program.
 
After the training has been successfully completed volunteers complete their applications to become certified Hoosier Riverwatch monitors. I am looking forward to being part of the LRWP monitoring team. Eagle Marsh is on a continental divide. This means we will be monitoring the water quality of watersheds for the Great Lakes and the Mississippi/Gulf of Mexico watershed.  If you are interested in citizen science, protecting water, or being part of a watchdog agency then consider signing up to participate in future training.

​On April 22, Earth Day 2024 there was a public forum at the main library of the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne. The Pilgrim’s Baptist Church Green Team sponsored the event, Plant vs. Plastics: Reduce, Replace, Renewable Energy, The forum was coordinated by Sheila Curry Campbell. Sheila has a long history of activism and environmental advocacy in the community.
 
The forum had several vendors, both for profit, non-for-profit, and governmental agencies that handed out useful information. There were several keynote speakers, and afterwards there was food.
 
The forum had a special guest. Mayor-elect Sharon Tucker greeted the gathering. This was special because she was in a whirlwind of activity, within 24 hours when would be sworn in as the Mayor of Fort Wayne. She especially acknowledged the continual environmental advocacy contributions of Sheila Curry Campbell.
 
The video highlighted a sampling of some of the speakers. They include the City of Fort Wayne’s Office of Sustainability. This was a review of the Climate Action and Adaptation Plan. Brian Flory presented on Solar United Neighbors. The forum ended with Jalisha Mauldin presenting on the work of Faith and Place as it works to assist houses of faith become greener in Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin.
 
This was a morning of learning, energizing, and of camaraderie. Sheil can be proud of her efforts. This was a memorable Earth Day.