An Action Day of Indigenous Solidarity: 2022 Sonic Bloom Permaculture Action Day report back
by Cass McLaughlin; edited by Ryan Rising
DAY OF ACTION
Last year SONIC BLOOM Festival and Permaculture Action Network held an Action Day on the indigenous land project, Aztlan Cultural Center, on the other side of the mountain from where the festival is held. This day of action was an invitation to all festival attendees to join the community in restoration and right practice. Being held the day before festivities began on so-called Spanish Peak Mountain, people from all walks of life were able to join forces on some powerful intentions and kick-off the weekend doing something meaningful and enlightening.
A congregation of eco-loving mountain dwellers gathered for an opening ceremony around the ceremony tree, a gorgeous Cottonwood. The caretakers of the land welcomed us with prayer, song, hugs, and an introduction to the land. The name “Aztlan” is an homage to the Mexicana peoples’ Aztec ancestors’ homeland. Anyone there that day was extended an invitation to their beloved SunDance ceremony to be held later that summer for eight days in July. It’s been happening since 2006, but only in recent years have they extended an invitation to non-indigenous friends to please come in peace.
From there everyone broke off into teams to tackle the different tasks of the day. Some helped build the new arbor structure that surrounds the Cottonwood ceremony tree, which is harvested anew every year during SunDance. Others headed down by the creek to clean up the paths, trim trees, and tidy up the gathering spaces. This was all in the name of and in preparation for SunDance! A few first stopped at the dome, serving as a welcome center where friends played music all day, to grab breakfast from the kitchen, a meal of warm fresh fruit and oats.
Through the activities of the day, history and personal stories were shared, a connection to nature was rooted deeper in all, and wisdom was spread from indigenous folks to open ears. It was an experience first hand of being in right relationship with the land and its people.
Among many new skills and knowledge acquired throughout the day, one of the most important was learning how to properly approach trimming a tree, which is to say by listening to it and knowing which tools to use. Michael Alcazar went more in depth on this in his workshop at Sonic Bloom. Another resident of the land project shared the history of the bull with us and its significance to the indigenous people. That day we re-built the shade structure around the ceremony tree with 28 posts representing the number of ribs in a buffalo. All lumber was purchase by Sonic Bloom with ticket revenue.
After all was said and done we shared a meal together in the welcome dome and caravanned over to the festival as a unit, where we would grow closer in friendship and expand further in knowledge throughout the weekend of festivities!
WORKSHOPS: PERMACULTURE 101
“Permaculture” is a continuously evolving term, far surpassing the idea of simply ‘sustainability,’ that encapsulates the pursuit of regenerative agriculture grounded in the ethics of people and earth care, fair share, and honoring the source of liberation as by connection to the land.
Last year the Permaculture department’s lineup of seminars and workshops at Sonic Bloom Music & Arts Festival were completely stacked. From 9am to 6pm every day the range of things covered was enthralling. From learning how to grow your own mushrooms, the power of mindfulness, practical ways you can mobilize ecological action, and of course lots of insight on indigenous agricultural practices that are essential to this concept; lots of pen to paper, needless to say.
The workshops and seminars were broken down into the two main foci of permaculture; obviously earth care, and then the social part of things, people care. Here’s a breakdown of the key points from the weekend:
EARTH CARE
The indigenous folx of the Aztlan community would thoroughly bless the Sonic Bloom attendees by facilitating some empathetic conversations around reparations and being in right relationship with the earth, as well as sharing indigenous knowledge and practices that we can then adopt on our own and share with our other networks of community to create more sovereignty.
Among these informational workshops were Indigenous Agroforestry and Traditional Ecological Knowledge led by Michael “Bigfoot “Alcazar. He discussed many traditional ways in which to steward over cherished patches of land, including what types of tools to use, ways to channel more rain water, feeding and expanding the ecosystems, connecting with nature by giving offerings, having ceremony, and breathing with and listening to the trees. The trees tell us what they need, and they help us better understand ourselves.
Water protection and seed saving are crucial now more than ever to be able to continue drinking fresh water and growing your own food. Frontline Farming, a BIPOC womxn-led food justice initiative, gave us the rundown on how food banks are being bombed and we need each other to preserve seed diversity and heirloom varieties (7 generations).
Healthy soil is the answer to almost all environmental issues, including weeds, harvest quality, biodiversity, photosynthesis, the list goes on. As Shelby Kaminski said in her Soul of the Soil: Compost Tea workshop, “Soil is the womb of the Earth. If she is fertile, she is giving us plants.” Composting is a sure way to bring back much-needed nutrients into the soil you’re working with.
The misunderstood dandelions will be a good sign of healthy soil, as they are some of the first foods for bees. Dandelion is also a superb herb (supherb superherb, if you will) to use for maintaining a healthy liver. After blending fresh leaves and pouring through a mesh cloth, you can make a healing green juice with the tea.
There is a whole world of herbs to utilize for food and medicine. Courtney Cosgriff walked us through some herbalism essentials, starting with the wonders of lemon balm. She said, “What the bees do for the land, lemon balm does for the soul.” It’s great for anxiety, and super versatile; it could revitalize every aspect of the body. You can grow it, drink it in a tea, or use it as a tincture. Bee balm, or motherwort – the plant that made Courtney an herbalist, is also great for anxiety as it stabilizes the heart pulse, and is beneficial to women in general.
Nettle leaf tea for the kidney, and rose herbs for the heart. Pine increases circulation and is a great winter medicine made with a honey tincture to break up mucus and a fever. Artemisia, a native local wild sage, is aromatic and can be used for cleansing and antiseptic purposes. There’s so many different ways in which you can utilize these medicinal plants, which exist everywhere, all around us! Once you know how to work with them sustainably, the world is your oyster.
Speaking of oysters… the workshops with some of the biggest turnouts were the mushroom talks, particularly Josh Voegler’s Oyster Mushroom Inoculation Demonstration. It was an overspilling audience, with members really engaged and asking lots of questions.
PEOPLE CARE
Eco-Social Design w Ryan Rising
Ryan Rising came forth with an approach to everything we design being eco-social-centric, going over several key definitions, methods, ethics, and principles of permaculture. If the source of liberation is by connection to the land, how do we approach food, water, shelter, fiber, and other necessities for everyday life in a way in which we are promoting regenerative ecosystems?
It’s all intrinsically connected. In the art of designing beneficial relations, the principles to consider are produce no waste, observe and interact, every element supports multiple functions, every function is supported by multiple elements, and relative location.
How do we restore what’s lost and create life-affirming systems, question what’s appropriate with current circumstances, and come together to make future change? By showing up, figuring out where you fit in and asking yourself, “How can I be more regenerative?”
Build Your Own Dreams w Mike Wird
Integral in “people care” is self care. Mike Wird facilitated a workshop on how to Build Your Own Dreams, leading attendees in exercises of mindfulness and learning how to wake up your mind, so to speak, to come Alive; be confident, create success, embody positive habits, and focus on intentions. By taking control of your thoughts, you can make smart goals and work on things that are developable: i.e. mindset, toolset, and skillset. Some golden nuggets of wisdom Mr. Wird left us with: There is Power is Ritual. Protect your Mind. Protect your Time. You are not promised Tomorrow. Establish your Non-Negotiables, Raise your Standards, and take Massive Action. Walking with Sensitivity results in having more Agency. Learn from the Past, Borrow from the Future, Focus on the Present. Where Intention Goes, Consciousness Grows.
Social Ecology for Collective Liberation w Ryan Rising
Social Ecology is a Design Process set within an ethical framework following a set of Design Principles learned from nature that observes the land through a process of site analysis and assessment moving through different Design methods to map and design integrated systems that provide us yields while regenerating ecosystems and increasing biodiversity (affirming life) implemented in phases and being mindful of succession.
The space for most productivity lies in the edge spaces.
Bio-Regional Organization + Mutual Aid w Erin Anderson
In the Bio-Regional Organization + Mutual Aid workshop with Erin Anderson, important questions were answered about how to responsibly organize mutual aid, especially in the heat of recent events the past few years. While the end goal is to abolish ICE and prisons altogether, until then it is crucial to know where you stand before entering a protest of any sort. Beforehand you should already have your roles established, and each person is responsible for knowing their rights and arrestability in any situation. It’s vital to be in solidarity; it’s known all too well that BIPOC are particularly vulnerable in these settings, with extreme results leading to murder and political imprisonment. A name you might have heard before, Leonard Peltier, is a political prisoner serving two life sentences for a supposed murder of which he did not commit, framed by the FBI. He has ties with Tomas, the main caretaker of the Aztlan Cultural Center land project; they helped organize “AIM,” the American Indian Movement together.
Mobilizing Ecological Action w Jame
One of the most interactive workshops was the conversation on Mobilizing Ecological Action, where we all discussed our points on the spectrum of earth care to people care, learning through each other’s testimonies where our individual passions and pursuits lay and how it all comes together as each of us doing our part to make positive impact on the greater whole. Prime reading materials were handed out, including the Farmer’s Almanacs written by Lobelia Commons, who works to establish things like front yard fruit, tree nurseries, and food/community hubs in New Orleans – @lobeliacommons on the socials.
“Some say there’s no ethical consumption under Capitalism. While voting with your dollar can feel like the only available option sometimes, it’s a valiant effort that only addresses the symptoms of Capitalism, which is destroying the planet with hopes of infinite growth. It’s not radical or attacking the system at its roots. This is where mobilizing ecological action comes into play; defending and protecting what we still have, as well as resisting, protesting, rioting, and attacking systems of power, extraction, and exploitation directly.”
– Jame
POST FEST COMPOST + plans for next bloom
Permaculture Action Network started with musical artists and their fans in full support of permaculture teaming up for an Action Tour to make a rainwater irrigation system, grow a food forest, and connect with each other. More than 100 Action Days later, and here we are. Permaculture at Sonic Bloom started up in 2015. Last year was our first time on the Aztlan land project; we did tree work, nourished the garden with compost tea, held ceremony, and shared meals and stories. This year we’re rebuilding the community kitchen to feed the people.
CALL FOR ACTION SB 2023
Wednesday, June 14th and Thursday, June 15th, 2023 @ 7102 CR 620 Gardner, CO 81040