December 2013 Green Fire Times

News & Views

from the

Sustainable Southwest

2013 Luminaria Awards

Celebrating the Best of New Mexico Intercultural Collaborative Leadership Strengthening Communities Youth Building the Future

December 2013

New Mexico’s Third Largest Circulation Newspaper

Vol. 5 No. 12

2

Green Fire Times • December 2013

www.GreenFireTimes.com

www.GreenFireTimes.com

Green Fire Times • December 2013

3

4

Green Fire Times • December 2013

www.GreenFireTimes.com

Vol. 5, No. 12 • December 2013 Issue No. 56 Publisher Green Fire Publishing, LLC

Skip Whitson

Associate Publisher

Barbara E. Brown

Managing Editor Seth Roffman Art Director Anna C. Hansen, Dakini Design Copy Editor Stephen Klinger Webmaster: Karen Shepherd Contributing Writers

Juan Estévan Arellano, Joan Brooks Baker, Laura Bonar, Jane Clarke, Shebana Coelho, Sarah Ghiorse, Denise Gonzales, Deborah Harris, Cheryl James, Lisa Jennings, Sandy Kiser, Juliana Ko, Alejandro López, Priscilla Manuelito, Tom McDonald, Valerie Martínez, Terry Mulert, Betul Ozmat, Jenny Parks, Seth Roffman, Renee Villarreal, Tamara Watkins

Contributing Photographers

Anna C. Hansen, Alejandro López, Seth Roffman, Don Usner

PUBLISHER’S ASSISTANTs Lisa Allocco, Cisco Whitson-Brown, Susan Claire

Office Assistants

Camille Franchette, Claire Ayraud

Advertising Sales

Skip Whitson 505.471.5177 Anna C. Hansen 505.982.0155 Earl James 505.603.1668 Cynthia Canyon 505.470.6442 Tim Vaughn (Albq.) 505.750.7234 Monica Maes (Española) 505.603.6899 Joe Fatton (Taos) 575.758.3202

Distribution

Lisa Allocco, Barbara Brown, Susan Clair, Co-op Dist. Services, Joe Fatton, Nick García, Andy Otterstrom (Creative Couriers), Tony Rapatz, Wuilmer Rivera, Skip Whitson, John Woodie

Circulation 25,000 copies

Printed locally with 100% soy ink on 100% recycled, chlorine-free paper

News & Views

from the

Sustainable Southwest

Winner of the Sustainable Santa Fe Award for Outstanding Educational Project

Contents

New Mexico Community Foundation • 30 Years. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . . 7 Philanthropic First Responder. .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. 9 2013 Luminaria Awards: Celebrating the Best of New Mexico. . .. . .. . .. . .. 10 Luminarias: Fire and the Fire Within . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. 11 Collaborative Leadership Program Initiative. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. 13 NMCF’s Intercultural Collaborative Leadership Program Understanding NM’s Complex Cultural History . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . 16 Youth Building the Future (with a Push from Artist-Social Organizer Lily Yeh) . . 18 Challenges Facing Rural Villages in New Mexico. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. 20 Strengthening Communities through Humane Approaches . . .. . .. . .. . .. 22 The Community Involvement Fund . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . 23 Follow Me . . .. . .. . .. . .. . . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . 23 Native American Programs and Funds at NMCF. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . 26 The SPARK Program: Joining Hands at the Pueblo of Jémez . . .. . .. . .. . .. . 26 A Teacher’s Perspective on a Small Navajo Town . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. 28 The Thoreau Community Center . . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . 29 New Mexico Community Foundation Donor Profiles . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. 31 CHISPA Awards . . .. . .. . .. .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . 32 NewMexicoWomen.Org . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . 36 Safety for Girls and Women . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . 37 Breast Wishes Fund. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . 37 The New Mexico Infant Team Program . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . 39 Iman Aoun Leads Theater of the Oppressed Workshop . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. 40 Public Allies New Mexico . . .. .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . 40 The New Mexico Community News Exchange . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. 41 Newsbites . . .. . .. . .. . .. . ... . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . . 43, 45 What’s Going On. . .. . .. . .. .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . 46

Green Fire Times

Green Fire Times provides useful information for anyone—community members, business people, students, visitors—interested in discovering the wealth of opportunities and resources available in our region. Knowledgeable writers provide articles on subjects ranging from green businesses, products, services, entrepreneurship, jobs, design, building, energy and investing—to sustainable agriculture, arts & culture, ecotourism, education, regional food, water, the healing arts, local heroes, native perspectives, natural resources, recycling and more.

Sun Companies publications seek to provide our readers with informative articles that support a more sustainable planet. To our publisher this means maximizing personal as well as environmental health by minimizing consumption of meat and alcohol.

GFT is widely distributed throughout northcentral NM. Feedback, announcements, event listings, advertising and article submissions to be considered for publication are welcome.

www.GreenFireTimes.com

© Don Usner

c/o The Sun Companies PO Box 5588 Santa Fe, NM 87502-5588 505.471.5177 • info@sunbooks.com © 2013 Green Fire Publishing, LLC

Petroglyph at La Bajada, Santa Fe County, New Mexico

COVER: delfin quintana with granddaughter jasmine and dog •

photo by don usner

Green Fire Times is not to be confused with the Green Fire Report, an in-house quarterly publication of the New Mexico Environmental Law Center. The NMELC can be accessed online at: www.nmelc.org

Green Fire Times • December 2013

5

6

Green Fire Times • December 2013

www.GreenFireTimes.com

New Mexico Community Foundation • 30 Years

© Anna C. Hansen

Jenny Parks and Sandy Kiser

I

t is a special opportunity to be with New Mexico Community Foundation in our 30th year. Reflecting on our rich history, we are especially proud that we have remained steadfast and true to our mission serving the most rural and the most forgotten in our state. We are proud to serve Chaparral, Thoreau, Silver City, Jémez Pueblo, Magdalena and many more places and individuals. We are here to give hope and to fill gaps, and we plan to be here for many years to come.

This month in Santa Fe, we celebrate 30 years of statewide philanthropy at our 30th Anniversary and 2013 Luminaria Gala.

NMCF’s Luminaria tradition dates back to the mid-1990s and includes many leaders, visionaries and organizations, including Denise Chávez (1995), Tewa Women United (1997), Owen López (1999), Las Cumbres Learning Center (2000), María Benítez (2001), Jerry Ortiz y Pino (2002) and Ali McGraw (2007). We are happy to be partnering with Green Fire Times for this month’s focus issue that highlights these extraordinary individuals and brings attention to the impact NMCF has had throughout the state for three decades.

In 1983, we started with boots on the ground and zero dollars for endowment, and we now manage nearly $30 million in various funds and assets, but we are most gratified by the impact we have making grants of a much larger foundation: $7.5 million in the last two years alone and $60 million overall. We do this with immeasurable support from donors, staff, board members and the many new and old friends of NMCF. We foster relationships with local, statewide and national partners in philanthropy, and together we make New Mexico a better place to live. We help New Mexico thrive.

Entering our next 30 years, we are particularly excited about • The return of our Luminaria awards • Our new women and girls’ fund and initiative, NewMexicoWomen.Org • Our 2nd Annual Chispa awards • Nearly 50 active fiscal sponsorships • The newly signed Chimpanzee Sanctuary Fund with the Humane Society of the United States and Animal Protection New Mexico • The Community News Exchange funded by NMCF with a Knight Foundation matching grant

NMCF Programs, Projects & People Contacts

For more information or to contact any of the programs, projects or organizations featured in this edition of Green Fire Times, call or email New Mexico Community Foundation: 505.820.6860, info@nmcf.org, www.nmcf.org.

www.GreenFireTimes.com

Los Brazos embrace the pastoral village of Los Ojos in the Chama River Valley

• Give Grande New Mexico, a statewide giving day scheduled for May 6, 2014 and sponsored by The Community Foundation Coalition of New Mexico • Philanthropic First Responder: our commitment to granting approximately $250K per year in emergency funds

Through the support of our donors and partners, New Mexico Community Foundation serves all 33 counties in our state, and this issue of Green Fire Times tells some of the story of our leadership in equity, community development and philanthropy. We hope you enjoy this issue!

Sandy Kiser Board Chair

Jenny Parks President and CEO

What Does NM Community Foundation Do?

New Mexico Community Foundation (NMCF), established in 1983, supports community projects and underserved communities by pooling resources to support New Mexico’s people, strengthen the state’s nonprofits, and grow philanthropy and endowments, especially in rural parts of the state. The foundation serves both donors and beneficiaries—connecting philanthropists (large and small) to the needs and aspirations of cities, towns, pueblos and villages across all of New Mexico. NMCF pulls together people, ideas and resources, and serves as a champion of rural communities.

NMCF has served all 33 counties in the state by identifying community needs, designing and leading broad-based initiatives to meet those needs, and supporting local and regional nonprofits whose missions complement the Community Foundation’s mission.

By partnering with donors, NMCF helps them achieve their charitable goals— whether that means starting a fund, creating an endowment, leaving a legacy, or just making a gift. By partnering with charitable entities and tribes, the foundation builds and distributes resources for the underserved, vulnerable and unlucky.

NMCF also supports nonprofits doing excellent work by investing in their leadership. Through a vibrant Fiscal Sponsorship Program that provides programmatic support and financial oversight, NMCF allows charitable projects to receive tax-deductible donations and foundation grants. The foundation also holds nonprofit endowments that build nonprofit resources for an organization’s future so its directors can focus fully on their mission.

Green Fire Times • December 2013

7

New Mexico community Foundation Timeline

1983 NMCF Founded 1987 40K NEA grant for “Churches, Symbols of Community: Cornerstones” 1996 First Luminarias event, attended by 500 people

Ford grants $500K 2001 Kellogg early childhood program at 6 sites throughout NM 2004 $5.2M Kellogg Youth Initiative 2008 Women Building Community program initiated 2009 $5M Kellogg Collaborative Leadership & Endowment Building grant 2011 Community Involvement Fund begins with $1M DOE grant 2012 NewMexicoWomen.Org and Native American Preparatory Scholars 2013 Chispa Awards and 30th Year Celebration

Give Grande New Mexico!

Get ready. May 6, 2014

In celebration of the 100th Anniversary of community foundations, the Community Foundation Coalition of New Mexico, made up of the Albuquerque, Taos, Southern New Mexico, Northern New Mexico and Santa Fe Community Foundations, will be taking part in a national day of community giving. This event, called Give Grande New Mexico, will be part of a larger nationwide initiative, Give Local America, where over 100 communities across the US, with the help of their own community foundations, will host local giving events to support local causes and organizations.

Giving Days are powerful 24-hour online fundraising competitions that unite communities around local causes.

They are usually hosted by the area’s community foundation, and the Giving Day raises money through a single online donation platform. Past events like this have raised millions of dollars, generated considerable buzz throughout communities, while connecting new donors with nonprofits that address the causes they care about. In the past year, Texas raised $25 million, Colorado $15.4 million and Arizona over $1 million.

Each gift to nonprofits next year will be amplified with dollars from a national incentive pool of funds, plus New Mexico will also have its own additional incentive prizes that will add to the amount of money raised that day. Eligible nonprofits, which must have their 501(c)(3) exemptions, are encouraged to participate. The event will include some webinars and capacity-building training for nonprofits on donor development and creative ways for nonprofits to communicate to their communities and donors the impact they are having in their areas.

© Anna C. Hansen

Early-bird registration for nonprofits is happening now at http://www. kimbiamatchday.com/?f=newmexico. The event’s website will be live on Jan. 1, 2014 at www.givegrandenm.org. For more information, contact Denise Gonzales, Give Grande NM Coordinator: 505.699.2493, info@givegrandenm.org.

New Mexico Community Foundation staff – Front row (l-r): Renee Villarreal, Director of Programs and Community Outreach; Sarah Ghiorse, NewMexicoWomen.Org Director; Betul Ozmat, Director of Community Philanthropy; Paula Doane, Grants and Programs Assistant; Lynda Rouse, Accounts Payable Coordinator; Denise Gonzales, Special Projects; Nancy Spei, Advancement Associate; Back row: Mike Santistevan, Chief Financial Officer; Vicki Everhart, Volunteer; Terry Mulert, Director of Advancement and Donor Relations; Carl Beal, Controller; Not pictured: Jenny Parks, President and CEO; Grace Martínez, Executive Assistant and Office Manager; Tamara Watkins, Program Coordinator

8

Green Fire Times • December 2013

www.GreenFireTimes.com

Philanthropic First Responder New Mexico Community Foundation Emergency Grants Betul Ozmat

hen a grandmother in northern New Mexico learned that she had been given custody of her four young grandchildren, she welcomed the opportunity with an open heart.

But on her limited income, she was unable to purchase a bed for each child, as is required by state law.

Elsewhere, a young family was thriving until the father was paralyzed in a car accident. He could no longer work, and his wife reduced her work time to care for him, further jeopardizing the family’s financial stability.

A good neighbor in times of crisis And in another tragic twist of fate, a talented potter fell and broke both wrists.

Though she had always supported herself through her art, she now struggled to pay her utilities and mortgage.

All are true stories of New Mexicans who found themselves in need of a good neighbor in times of crisis.

Fortunately, they found one in New Mexico Community Foundation’s Vecino Neighbor Helping Neighbor Fund.

Thanks to the emergency funds at NMCF, these and hundreds of other lives were changed as each emergency crisis was averted. NMCF has made these kinds of emergency grants since 2001, and in 2012 alone made $270,264 in grants to help New Mexicans avoid dire circumstances and return to selfsufficiency.

For example, the Vecino Fund gives to New Mexico communities by quickly rallying community organizations and agencies statewide to help people in need.

In the winter of 2011, when natural gas was shut off in northern New Mexico, threatening thousands of lives amid sub-zero temperatures, the Vecino Fund provided $17,000 in emergency aid— blankets, food and other necessities—to seniors, children and families. And when the 2011 Las Conchas Fire, the largest wildfire in New Mexico history, impacted the watershed at Santa Clara Pueblo, the Vecino Fund provided food for firefighters, as well as sandbags and other supplies needed for flood mitigation.

www.GreenFireTimes.com

While NMCF does not give money directly to individuals, it does provide financial assistance to nonprofit agencies to purchase needed supplies and services that help the individual or families in need. In addition to the Vecino Fund, an anonymous donor has created a fund that allows NMCF to rapidly respond to crisis situations from partnering agencies that work directly with individuals and families who are in dire need of emergency assistance.

Lastly, the Land of Enchantment Fund provides another way in which donors can contribute to NMCF and channel their philanthropic dollars to help New Mexico individuals and families avoid the crisis situations that can often lead to devastating consequences.

The Bodhi Fund, hosted at NMCF, is a fund dedicated to families who find themselves in a very special circumstance.

Created by the Robinson Family, the Bodhi Fund is a collaborative partnership between the Robinson Family, Children’s Cancer Fund of New Mexico and the Pediatric Oncology Center of UNM Children’s Hospital. In 2003, four yearold Bodhi was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia. After successful treatment at UNM Children’s Hospital, Bodhi was referred to out-of-state medical centers for bone marrow transplants, a difficult medical procedure unavailable in New Mexico. Today, Bodhi is an adventurous, irrepressible 12 year-old enjoying life.

Bodhi’s grandparents, Steve and Connie Robinson, recognized the severe financial and emotional impact for a family when having a child treated out of state. Because

Top: Ralph Montoya and grandchildren; Jardin de Los Niños, Las Cruces

of this, they decided to create a fund to support New Mexico families whose children are in desperate need of distance cancer treatment. Since 2003, the Bodhi Fund has helped pay for the out-of-state travel expenses of many New Mexico families who would have had severe hardship just getting their child to cancer treatment.

One core value of NMCF is the belief that people and communities have a right to have a voice in their own outcomes, and in making the change needed to address systematic problems. Through its emergency grants, NMCF is able to help

© Don Usner

W

Grabiela Ortega (seated) with Debbie Ortega, Chimayó; Patricia Oviedo

provide options to people experiencing a crisis so that they can control their own lives, do what is best for them and their families to weather an emergency, and emerge intact. i Betul Ozmat is Director of Community Philanthropy at NMCF.

Green Fire Times • December 2013

9

Luminaria Awards • A Brief History

Ttradition that pays tribute to outstanding individuals throughout the state I Jaune Evans, NMCF’s executive director at that time, initiated the first he Luminaria Awards are a proud New Mexico Community Foundation

n 1996, the NMCF Board of Directors conceived of the Luminaria awards.

who make a profound difference in their communities. Luminarias motivate, inspire, protect and support the dreams of others, promote diversity and equity and build community strength through their leadership and vision. Alongside these Luminarias, the NMCF shares a commitment to help build community, grow charitable assets and help those most in need.

Luminaria event, which was celebrated in December of that year. Close to 500 people attended, an indication of support, love and gratitude for the vision and leadership demonstrated by the honorees. In its 30th year, the Foundation is proud to once again not only honor the outstanding individuals that embody the mission and values of NMCF, but also to honor the commitment of the Foundation’s partners, donors, grantees, past and present board members, community leaders and friends.

• 2013 Luminarias • “Celebrating the Best of New Mexico” Juan Estévan Arellano, Embudo

Estévan Arellano is a journalist, writer, researcher, mayordomo and a Fellow of the Washington Journalism Center. He is author of numerous books and articles including La Acequia de Juan del Oso, John the Bear and the Water of Life (UNM Press), a bilingual children’s book written with Dr. Enrique Lamadrid, with royalties going to the New Mexico Acequia Association. In 2011 he was recognized by the New Mexico Acequia Association for his literary contributions to the “moviemiento en defense del agua.” His forthcoming book, The Wisdom of the Land; The Knowledge of Water (UNM Press) explores community irrigation systems.

He lives on land that he farms with water from the acequia in Embudo, NM.

Mary Carter, Anthony

Mary Carter recently celebrated her fifth-year anniversary as the executive director of Women’s Intercultural Center in Anthony, NM. Through her leadership, the center—“a place for women to learn and work together to develop their personal, spiritual, economic and political potential”— has increased the number of participants it serves throughout southern NM and west Texas from 700 to over 3,400 and has launched successful initiatives with emphasis on increasing economic self-sufficiency and the creation of future entrepreneurs. During her tenure, the center has received numerous national awards and recognition for work in educating, empowering and engaging women, with the most recent being a 2013 “Top-Rated Nonprofit” Award presented by GreatNonprofits.org

Carnell Chosa, Jémez Pueblo

After four years as a planner for the New Mexico Office of Indian Affairs, Carnell Chosa, of Jémez Pueblo, assisted a friend with a business to create educational programs for Indian elders across the country. He co-founded and codirects The Leadership Institute, housed at the Santa Fe Indian School. Created to serve as a convener think tank, the LI’s projects include the Summer Policy Academy, Brave Girls, Community Institutes, and the Pueblo Ph.D. Cohort.

Chosa was a founding board member of the Walatowa Charter High School in Jémez Pueblo. He currently serves on the board of the Santa Fe International Folk Art Market, Chamiza Foundation, and as an advisory member on the Native American Advised Fund at the Santa Fe Community Foundation. Through the Pueblo Ph.D. Cohort project, he is currently in his second year of doctoral work in Justice Studies at Arizona State University’s School of Social Transformation.

Matt & Jeanette deKay and the Four Corners Foundation, Farmington

Matt and Jeanette deKay grew up in the small community of Ignacio, Colo.

Compelled by the words of Matt deKay’s father’s evening prayer, “Let us not forget

10

Green Fire Times • December 2013

those less fortunate than ourselves,” the deKays established the Four Corners Foundation in 2010 to effectively address critical social issues in Farmington, NM. The Four Corners Foundation serves as a unique not-for-profit organization that receives and administers community resources and improves facilities and services to meet the physical and emotional needs of people who desire to achieve self-reliant productive lifestyles and contribute to society. A Path Home is a $3.3 million capital improvement campaign, which has garnered impressive community-wide support through the Four Corners Foundation. The Foundation stands ready to assist other organizations and programs that will change their community for good.

Lisa Jennings, Albuquerque

Lisa Jennings is executive director of Animal Protection of New Mexico (APNM) and Animal Protection Voters (APV), statewide animal advocacy organizations working to change historic and widespread animal cruelty in New Mexico for 34 years. APNM/APV has helped introduce animal protection issues into broader discussions about overall social welfare. Recognizing that animal cruelty and neglect are inextricably linked to other forms of family violence, the group offers holistic, solutions-oriented approaches that aim to benefit entire communities. Their approach has been to forge broad-based coalitions and build a critical mass for change.

Through Ms. Jennings’ leadership, New Mexico has become a land where cruelty to animals is taken seriously, and where positive initiatives for animals and the people who care about them are embraced and supported. The most recent program, the Equine Protection Fund, is a partnership between APNM and the NMCF, offering affordable, statewide humane options for horses in need.

Fran Levine, Santa Fe

Dr. Frances Levine, director of the New Mexico History Museum since 2002, oversaw the development and construction of that museum, the newest in the Museum of New Mexico system. The museum’s campus now includes the Palace of the Governors, the oldest museum in the Museum of New Mexico system, the Fray Angélico Chavéz History Library and Photo Archives, The Palace Print Shop, and the Native American Portal Artisans Program.

Dr. Levine attended the prestigious Getty Museum Leadership Institute, and she is a member of the American Association of Museums, the Mountain-Plains Museum Association and the New Mexico Association of Museums, as well as the American Society for Ethno-history, and the Santa Fe Trail Association. She is the author, co-editor or contributor to several award-winning books, including Our Prayers Are in This Place: Pecos Pueblo Identity over the Centuries (1999, UNM Press) and Telling New Mexico: A New History (2009 UNM Press, with Marta Weigle and Louise Stiver). A new publication, Frontier Battles and Massacres: Historical and Archaeological Perspective (with Dr. Ronald Wetherington), will be published in early 2014 by the University of Oklahoma Press.

www.GreenFireTimes.com

Hayes Lewis, Zuni

Hayes Lewis, a member of the Zuni Tribe, is of the Corn and Coyote clans. He is the superintendent of the Zuni Public School District and formerly served as the director for the Center for Lifelong Education at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe. Lewis has a strong education and community development background that includes co-developing a tribally controlled secondary school and leading the Zuni tribal planning process that created the tribally governed Zuni Public School District (K-12). He participates in his traditional Kiva society and has served the Zuni people in a variety of high-level positions that include: tribal administrator, special assistant to the Tribal Council, director of planning & development and Zuni team leader on the Ft. Wingate Base Closure Project.

Lynda Taylor and Robert Haspel, Santa Fe

Lynda Taylor and Robert Haspel are known for their work in environmental justice, education and statewide philanthropy. In addition to their environmental support, for the last four years, they have responded to the needs of students with learning differences such as dyslexia, putting in motion a comprehensive initiative based on multisensory methods perfected at The Shelton School in Dallas, the largest school for students with language-based learning differences in the world. Taylor and Haspel have invested in teacher training in Santa Fe, where one in seven students have a learning difference. Their funding led to multi-sensory language programs at Desert Montessori School and Los Alamos High School.

Their funding has also helped create the May Center for Learning, a school and outreach center in Santa Fe dedicated exclusively to students with language-based learning differences. The May Center continues to offer the Shelton training to teachers from the northern New Mexico community and beyond, in addition to community seminars, tutoring programs, and summer programs designed to foster academic and social-emotional skills for students who learn differently.

Jill Cooper Udall, Santa Fe

Jill Cooper Udall is an educator, lawyer, former deputy attorney general for the state of New Mexico, long-time arts advocate, and former officer of Cultural Affairs for the state of New Mexico. She was appointed by President Obama to the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities. Ms. Udall also sits on the board of visitors and governors for St. John’s College and the boards of directors for the Washington National Opera, Ford’s Theatre, Santa Fe Conservation Trust, SITE Santa Fe, Southwest Care Center and the Meridian International Center. She has been engaged as a consultant on museum issues for the President’s Commission on Holocaust Assets in the United States and for the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian, where, among other things, she worked with the State Department’s Arts in Embassies Program to commission work by Native American artists to hang in diplomatic residences around the world. She is a graduate of Wellesley College and Columbia University Law School and is currently finishing her first novel.

Don Usner, Chimayó

Born in Embudo, New Mexico, Don Usner spent his youth in Los Alamos and Chimayó. Growing up in these places fostered in him a love for the natural landscape and a deep appreciation of his cultural roots in the Río Grande Valley— subjects that have remained a focus of his work throughout his life. His book credits include The Natural History of Big Sur (University of California Press), Sabino’s Map: Life in Chimayó’s Old Plaza (Museum of New Mexico Press) and Valles Caldera: A Vision for New Mexico’s National Preserve. Usner’s distinctive style emphasizes clearly stated, evocative writing combined with striking black-andwhite portraits and color landscapes. Ongoing work includes documentation of the Lannan Foundation’s Readings and Conversations series, teaching at the Santa Fe University of Art and Design, and writing and photography projects focusing primarily on northern New Mexico’s natural and cultural history.

www.GreenFireTimes.com

Luminarias: Fire and the Fire Within Alejandro López

W

inter is the time for fires in New Mexico. Before gas lanterns and electricity, people customarily built luminarias or bonfires to illuminate the plazas during winter processions, as they still do at Ohkay Owingeh or Taos Pueblo on Christmas Eve. Luminaria, therefore, is indeed an apt name for designating and celebrating those individuals in our communities who, through their devotion and service to others, light the way for many people as they make their way through an oftentimes difficult and bewildering world.

Frequently confused are the two terms, luminarias and farolitos, which translates as lanterns, or in northern New Mexico, a grocery bag with a lit candle inside used to illuminate the “pathways for each of the proverbial three wise men” outside of people’s homes. Much of the confusion comes from the fact that the Spanish speakers of the north and south of New Mexico use the two terms in exactly the opposite way, and thus, there can never be any agreement in how the terms should be used. What is agreed upon by all, however, is that fire and the light and warmth that it gives off are essential to our lives, for without fire most of our cultural attainments, including delectable cuisines, pottery and metallurgy would not exist. Part mystery and partly explained by science as an ongoing chemical reaction fed by fuel, fire has fascinated human beings since the beginning of time, not only because of its heat and light, but because fire transforms all that it touches.

Luminarias burn with the f ire of love for their communities.

In fact, in many cultures it was believed that human beings had something akin to fire burning within their bodies and that when that fire burned out, the person expired. Other cultures have equated fire to passion or depth of feeling, such as the “fires of love” or the “fires of devotion” that humans may feel for another person or a particular cause.

What seems to be certain in our case here in New Mexico is that those selected as Luminarias by the New Mexico Community Foundation for their exemplary work on behalf of others burn with the fire of love for their communities and for this extraordinary and deeply enchanting place that we call New Mexico.

Green Fire Times • December 2013

11

Efficient and resourceful.

Wayne Steen ChFC CLU, Agent 3005 S St Francis, Suite 1E Santa Fe, NM 87505 Bus: 505-820-7926 wayne.steen.ssnr@statefarm.com

I'm eco-friendly too.

Whether it's local or global, every little bit we do makes a difference. That's just part of being there.

Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.ÂŽ CALL ME TODAY.

statefarm.com/green 0901002.1

12

State Farm, Bloomington, IL

Green Fire Times • December 2013

www.GreenFireTimes.com

Collaborative Leadership Program Initiative

Renee Villarreal

O

ver a six-year period, through the Collaborative Leadership Program initiative, the New Mexico Community Foundation has granted more than $773,000 to New Mexico nonprofits and organizations in support of programs and initiatives that promote positive development, health and well-being among marginalized children, families and communities of color.

The program, which began in 2007 and is generously funded through the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, emphasizes building the collaborative capacity of diverse community efforts. The development of strong, effective and sustainable networks across boundaries of race, class and culture in diverse communities addresses challenges and inequities in our state.

This year’s Collaborative Leadership grants focus on supporting existing programs and efforts of organizations that bring together community partners to enhance intercultural leadership and collaborative capacity. The work, grounded in social and economic justice, includes the following areas of focus:

• Native American Leadership and Education • Food Security, Hunger, and Health • Immigrant Leadership • Women and Girls Leadership • Positive Youth Development

2013 Collaborative Leadership Grants

Casa de Salud (Bernalillo County, South Valley)

The Familia project provides support for immigrant and youth leadership and for the prevention and self-care of chronic diseases, particularly diabetes and depression. It assists individuals and their families who are being served by Casa de Salud and Centro Sávila. The project facilitates the development of healthy eating, active living and stress reduction among immigrant families in the South Valley area of Bernalillo County through informal, monthly, family-centered meetings.

Encuentro (Bernalillo County)

The Collaborative to Advance Opportunities for Immigrant Families shares organizational strengths with Enlace Comunitario, the Ne w Mexico Immigrant Law Center, and El Centro de Igualdad y Derechos, in the areas of violence prevention, immigrant legal services, adult education and Encuentro staff rights organizing. These partners are building their own and the Collaborative’s organizational capacity to engage with Latino immigrants, including adults and youth in leadership development and activities that assist immigrant families in our state and across the country.

Enlace Comunitario (Bernalillo County)

Engaging Immigrant Men as Leaders is a grass-roots community-based project that engages Latino immigrant men in proactive domestic violence prevention.

Enlace is building on the project’s success by continuing classes that build leadership and recognize the role that men can play in ending violence against women.

www.GreenFireTimes.com

Leadership Institute at Santa Fe Indian School (Tribal Communities Statewide)

The Brave Girls Program promotes positive change in high-school-age young women. Based on the framework of the Leadership Institute (LI), the young women follow a similar model in their development as leaders. Through this program, the LI is convening a second Women’s Institute Series to bring together an intergenerational group of Pueblo women to have open and honest discussions on the roles of Pueblo women in their communities.

Littleglobe (Cíbola County—Ramah Navajo)

Dovetailing with the culmination of Ramah Navajo Continuing Education’s three-year Oral History Project and the first year of formalized classes within the Pine Hill School’s Language and Culture Program, the Ramah Navajo Student Cultural Leadership Filmmaking Program is exploring personal and family histories and the power of the Ramah Navajo language in the lives of each student and their family members. In a large-scale community event, students will share their resulting short film and co-lead a “community conversation” exploring issues of identity and culture. The Cultural Leadership Filmmaking Program is a collaboration with the Ramah Navajo School Board, Ramah Navajo Continuing Education Department, Ramah Navajo Oral History Project, Pine Hill School’s Grandma Katie Henio Parent Involvement Advisory Committee, Littleglobe, and the Center for Creative Community Engagement (3CE).

OLÉ Education Fund (Bernalillo County)

The Urban Conservation Project campaign uses a series of storytelling workshops called the River Writers to help the predominantly Latino membership engage with tangible, urban conser vation issues that are visibly impacting their communities. Members gather, tell their stories, voice their concerns and connections Victoria Gómez and Katia Pérez building to the Río Grande, the Bosque, arduinos to do data collection in the Bosque and New Mexico’s drought, and develop plans to impact local conservation policy. OLÉ is expanding the young River Writers to reach more youth and provide paid internships to select graduates of the program. These interns then sow the seeds of a more diverse conservation community, launching professional careers or lifelong interests in volunteering to protect Albuquerque’s land and water.

Somos Un Pueblo Unido (Santa Fe, Río Arriba, McKinley, San Juan, Taos, Chávez, Curry, Lea, Valencia, and Socorro counties) The Statewide Immigrant Leadership Network initiative is expanding and strengthening the capacity of a network of church, student and community groups and allies that are working together for immigrant rights and racial justice. Somos improves communication with and between several Somos-affiliated community continued on page 15

Green Fire Times • December 2013

13

Advertise in GREEN FIRE TIMES

Call Skip at 505.471.5177 or Anna at 505.982.0155

14

Green Fire Times • December 2013

www.GreenFireTimes.com

Collaborative Programs continued from pg. 13 groups in 10 New Mexico counties, providing leadershipdevelopment training and opportunities for Latino immigrant leaders in rural and semi-rural communities and building their organizational capacity to engage in local, state and national campaigns.

Thoreau Community Center (McKinley County)

The Íína naas noseel or “Progressing in Life” project fosters local leadership, particularly of Navajo women, to continue their collaborative work at the Center to support positive youth development in Thoreau and surrounding rural communities including Navajo Nation chapters. This project focuses on Food Security and Hunger by expanding their community garden, incorporating more youth leadership and management, and increasing resiliency factors by extending after school snacks and meals. There is also an emphasis on Women’s Leadership by building and developing capacity to collaborate and respond to community needs.

The Wellness Coalition (Catron, Grant, Hidalgo, Luna, and Sierra counties}

The Southwest New Mexico Young Leaders Program connects young people ages 18 to 25 with activities, resources and training designed to empower them to work with younger teens and adolescents, ages 11 to 17, in a positive youth-development framework that celebrates youth as community and cultural assets.

The Wellness Coalition utilizes its existing collaborative network of AmeriCorps Members and Service Sites to create a regional cadre of young leaders. Members serve in a variety of rural settings, from community gardens to health care to early childhood programs and conservation crews.

WESST (Mora, Taos and Río Arriba counties)

The Rural Women/Global Marketplace project builds upon existing collaborative relationships in several northern New Mexico rural communities, including Peñasco, Truchas, Chamisal, Mora, Villanueva and Ribera, to promote and develop entrepreneurial talent among both youth and women as a means to sustainable economic livelihoods. This project trains participants to use new skill sets to generate quality products, provides business skills training and helps Recycled handmade items participants generate earned income by pricing and selling their products at a profit.

This project also provides seed money combined with zerointerest loans to sustain growth and development in these economically challenged communities. i Renee Villarreal, a native Santafesina, is NMCF’s Director of Programs and Community Outreach. She is deeply committed to supporting equity, social and environmental justice and self-determination for communities of color in New Mexico.

www.GreenFireTimes.com

Green Fire Times • December 2013

15

NMCF’s Intercultural Collaborative Leadership Program Understanding NM’s Complex Cultural History Alejandro López

Powerful forces dramatically disrupted the traditional lives of New Mexico’s original inhabitants.

So locked into each other’s cultures were they, that in New Mexico, the heart of this vast region, prior to 1846 many of the Pueblo Indian people and the Mejicanos/Hispanos enjoyed the intimate ties of compadrazgo or the “godfathering” of one another’s children. Additionally, the Navajo developed a Mexican (Nakai) clan from their Mejicano/Hispano ancestors, while many (Nuevo) Mejicanos/ Hispanos claim descent from former native captives of various tribes.

Subsequently, in the age of discovery, conquest and colonization (15981823), the Southwest, and New Mexico in particular, represented Spain’s northernmost holding in her world empire. By 1823, the region had slipped into the hands of the newly formed Republic of México, which was then the world’s third-largest country.

Although the people kept a trade route going with México and later with the United States, they were mainly self-sufficient farmers, ranchers and pastoralists whose lives were built more around cooperation than competition, and they tended to be guided by deep religious/spiritual and community values over any others.

16

With the entry of the Americans and their powerful institutions, beginning in 1846 to the present, New Mexico underwent a complete makeover. The changes this culture wrought included the quelling of unsubdued tribes, the division of the peoples into separate ethnic groups, each with disparate federal policies governing them, appropriation of vast communal lands, clear-cutting of forests, wholesale extraction of minerals, laying of railroads, damming of rivers, imposition of a cash economy, of the English language, of compulsory schooling and Protestant evangelization.

These were but a few of the more powerful forces that dramatically disrupted the traditional lives of New Mexico’s original inhabitants, whose descendants now comprise about half of the state’s total population.

Not only did many of these changes cause many native New Mexicans to abandon their homes and relocate to other areas of the Southwest (particularly to urban centers in search of work), but more importantly, they broke the communalism and strong ties to the earth that had been their greatest strength and source of spiritual and economic sustainment for as long as they could remember.

In the 20th and 21st centuries, other analogous and even more powerful forces were unleashed upon the land.

Among them have been numerous global conflicts in which native New Mexicans were heavily represented, such as the installation of a nuclear research laboratory in Los Alamos.

Along with automobiles, television and the digital and cyber-revolution has come unbridled tourism and the relocation of hundreds of thousands of Americans into the state, most of whom had economic ties to more prosperous areas of the country and substantially higher education levels, thus giving rise to distinct social classes. Finally there has been rapid urbanization and the sprouting up of endless national franchises, which now provide people with things they once provided for themselves.

Green Fire Times • December 2013

© Seth Roffman

G

lobal culture, which American culture, politics, economics and technology have helped spawn, is a vast raging river that is pouring voluminously into the remote, expansive, rugged, ancient and (until recently) sparsely populated southwestern United States. This region has been the traditional homeland of Indigenous peoples for millennia and Mejicano/Hispano peoples for centuries.

As a result of this longevity, an intricate mosaic of both sedentary and nomadic tribes, and later, primarily genízaro people (mixed Spanish and Indian) coexisted when they were not at odds with each other over land and resources. Life then, as now, was hard.

Top: Santa Fe Fiesta procession with La Conquistadora; Buffalo Dancer from the Pueblo of Jémez at the Museum of Indian Arts & Culture; historic guns at the Mountain Man Trade Fair, New Mexico History Museum; historic reenactment on the Santa Fe Plaza

www.GreenFireTimes.com

Collaborative Leadership

© Seth Roffman

poor nutrition, poor health, poor school attendance and poor educational attainment of too large a segment of the state’s youth population. Factor in the high incidence of teenage pregnancy, the high incidence of suicide and drug abuse/addiction, and it becomes all too clear that a large number of New Mexico’s youth are suffering through no fault of their own.

Toward a Solution

The net result of distancing people f rom their cultural and historical roots, while imposing too much externally determined change in too little time, has had the effect of either strengthening the original New Mexicans or of pulverizing them so thoroughly that many who have suffered land, cultural, linguistic, community and familial loss are in a state that could best be described as despondent. In many families (or what is left of them), social, cultural and economic confusion reign supreme as they do in cultural groups around the world that have undergone a similar process of colonization.

Add to this already exceedingly complex collage yet another voluminous stream of peoples that have come in recent decades from Mexico and Central America especially, many of whom face comparable challenges, joined by individuals from every known corner of the world. The end result of so many migrations by so many diverse peoples is a highly diverse contemporary New Mexico embedded in a country where it alone is a minority majority state.

The Challenge

Perhaps one of contemporary New Mexico’s most salient characteristics is that it harbors worlds within worlds that are still getting to know each other as they attempt to come together to solve the state’s most intractable problems.

These include an incommensurate dependency on government funding, high levels of poverty, and generally poor levels of health—again, particularly among, but not exclusive to, the ethnic populations. When it comes to New Mexico’s youth, these conundrums are further compounded because youth generally lack the resources to address the ills that afflict them.

Recognizing the seriousness of the situation, in 2007 the New Mexico Community Foundation launched an intercultural Collaborative Leadership Program to assist diverse communities in building strong, effective and sustainable networks as well as supportive community infrastructure to improve the lives and outcomes of the state’s most marginalized children and youth.

As part of the program the NMCF has facilitated collaborative leadership development among grantees and helped enhance the capacity of nonprofit organizations and community group networks that have a programmatic focus on improving the lives of children and youth in diverse communities.

Key to the success of this program was the identification of and support for the development of emerging local community leaders of color. To this end, the NMCF has provided capacity and community building and the development of assets to support this work. Because skilled practitioners with cultural competence are often lacking in New Mexico, especially in the areas of community process facilitation, planning, community organization and advocacy, NMCF made provisions for bringing in seasoned community leaders who have been particularly successful in identifying and supporting marginalized youth in their communities. i Painter/photographer/ far me r A lejandr o López, a writer in both English and Spanish, studied with Lily Yeh at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia and assisted her a t t h e V i l l a ge o f Arts and Humanities in predominantly African-American and Puerto Rican North Philadelphia.

New Mexico harbors worlds within worlds that are still getting to know each other.

If one were to examine New Mexico closely one might almost conclude that the state resembles a puzzle in the process of being put together, sometimes with pieces of many different puzzles and sometimes without the pieces that should be there. Among the most persistent, perplexing and troubling of the misfit or missing pieces is the general lack of solutions for the state of crisis in which our youth disproportionately find themselves.

© Alejandro López

A national study published in 2013 called Kids Count, produced by Voices for Children and funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, concluded that the quality of life, based on nearly a dozen key indicators for New Mexican children and youth, ranked the state of New Mexico 50th in the nation.

Among the most serious issues listed are the corrosive climate of poverty,

www.GreenFireTimes.com

Green Fire Times • December 2013

17

Youth Building the Future

(with a Push from Artist-Social Organizer Lily Yeh) Story and Photos by Alejandro López

A

mong the people the NMCF invited to work with its grantees and partner organization was Lily Yeh, founder of the nonprofit Barefoot Artists, Inc., in Philadelphia. This 70-something petite Chinese-American woman has received accolades from the Ford Foundation and many others for her ability to work a kind of transformative magic on distressed communities through the restorative power of grassroots, collectively built, large-scale community art and culture projects of overwhelming beauty. Yeh has organized youth programs, schools, gardens, parks, plazas and sanctuaries in any number of places—from Rwanda to the Palestinian Territory to inner-cities in the United States—places that in many ways resemble parts of New Mexico in their brokenness.

Aside from her boldness of vision and highly developed artistic skills and sensibilities, a key to Yeh’s success has been her fearlessness in executing these projects and her deep love for people, especially children. Yeh also has the ability seemingly to create something out of nothing, or very little. Invariably, this results in the coalescence of highly dynamic and effective relationships and partnerships, a hallmark of the very essence of intercultural collaborative leadership.

During her weeklong stay in New Mexico, Yeh implemented a two-day mural-painting project with adjudicated youth, in partnership with La Plazita Institute in the South Valley of Albuquerque. La Plazita’s founders believe that the reclamation of traditional cultural practices and understandings are vital to the healing of broken youth. With the precision of a surgeon, Yeh was able to cut through the resistance of many of the youths’ jaded façades. To achieve this, she used her irrepressible sense of joy and enthusiasm, together

with a sincere desire to see the youth bloom like flowers before her eyes, which they did. Yeh subtly bored an energetic hole right to the core of their beings and therein ignited a fire of passion for living in the world.

Yeh has launched a movement in New Mexico.

Perhaps Yeh’s most lasting legacy in New Mexico is the formation of a deeply committed coalition comprised of those who attended her workshop entitled “Community Building through Creative Envisioning and Action” at the Gutiérrez-Hubbell House in the South Valley.

Beginning with her ver y first gesture, which was to lead a simultaneous dance/meditation, to her final one of joining and soldering tightly the strengths a n d re s o u rc e s o f e ve r yon e p re s e n t (read intercultural collaborative leadership), this transformative workshop using artistic creation effectively launched a movement in New Mexico that is still alive, well and growing. The movement is now being led by some of the same partner organizations, grantees and individuals who participated in the workshop. They are moving forward on community-driven arts and cultural projects that will incorporate Yeh’s inspiration.

Through this initiative, youth of New Mexico will experience a renewed sense of their power and will be the ones to rekindle hope in every area of their lives as well as in their communities. i Alejandro López and Renee Villarreal, Director of Programs and Community Outreach at NMCF, helped organize Lily Yeh’s working visit to New Mexico at the end of April in 2013.

Community-building at Creative Envisioning and Action workshop

18

Green Fire Times • December 2013

www.GreenFireTimes.com

Dr. AnDy CAmeron AssoCiAte VeterinAriAn, Dr. Allison otis

AT

www.GreenFireTimes.com

Green Fire Times • December 2013

19

del are llano / From the Arid Land

Challenges Facing Rural Villages in New Mexico

Juan Estévan Arellano

1) Availability of water 2) Lack of traditional seeds, both corn and chile, that are not genetically modified (GMO), in order to prevent the hunger low-income families are facing today 3) Involving more youth in agriculture This is where community foundations such as the New Mexico Community Foundation can be instrumental in helping communities battle the hunger crisis: by helping to set up seed libraries, assist communities in continuing their acequia systems to protect the water, and to get the youth involved in growing food.

Not only is there not enough native chile seed; there is also a lack of maíz Concho seed, what has been traditionally used for making chicos.

Though today people are making chicos out of sweet corn and almost any type of corn, it does not have the same taste as hornomade maíz Concho chicos, and connoisseurs can immediately tell the difference.

Both native New Mexico landrace chile and maíz Concho chicos are money crops.

Today not enough are grown to satisfy the local market, much less to export to the diaspora of nuevomexicanos living in Denver, Phoenix, Los Angeles and other places they call home.

New Mexico is last among states when it comes to food security. A community cannot be self-reliant and sustainable if it cannot feed itself due to the lack of open-pollinated seeds, a steady supply of water and young people to do the work.

But even if we have plenty of seed, we also need water, and at present many of the acequias are not functioning the way they should, with most having a myriad of problems with their infrastructure, governance, and possibly most important, the fact that very few youth are involved or participate in the acequia culture of their communities.

One cannot prosper without the other.

In 2009, Loretta Sandoval, a farmer from Cañoncito, and I met with some people from Santa Fe interested in helping local communities get more of their produce to the farmers’ markets. In the course of our conversation it became apparent that before more people would be coaxed into abandoning the couch for the farm, we need more seed, especially if we want people to plant native northern New Mexico landrace chile. Some of this chile goes for up to $50 a bushel, which weighs about 20 pounds. The community simply does not have enough seed if someone is interested in planting 10 or 20 acres of local chile.

In terms of promoting the local landraces of chile, we have to change the marketing strategy we see in New Mexico today of Hatch versus Chimayó chile. At the recent F UZE food conference in Santa Fe, I participated on a panel about the north-south chile wars, which made it seem like only two areas grow chile: the commercial varieties developed by New Mexico State University grown in Hatch and the landrace Chimayó chile. Yet chile is grown throughout the state, not only along the Río Grande Corridor, but also along the Pecos River and in the Gila. And since the local landrace chiles sell for more and are preferred by more people, according to a recent survey conducted by the Santa Fe New Mexican, everyone is trying to capitalize on the allure of Chimayó chile. Today even chile grown elsewhere is sold as Chimayó chile to the unsuspected consumer.

The lifeblood of the small rural areas are their acequia systems.

20

Green Fire Times • December 2013

© Seth Roffman

I

n comparison to other states, New Mexico, due to its vastness and diversity, does not have the resources or a big foundation to support the work that needs to be done in the rural villages. Three big challenges face the rural villages in New Mexico:

Embudo, in northern New Mexico

This summer when I was in Phoenix there was a big promotion for Hatch chile, and the same happens in Los Angeles and other big cities, even though the chile might come from the state of Chihuahua in México.

What I propose is that the landrace chiles from northern New Mexico be marketed as Chile del Río Arriba; and the chile grown in the Middle Río Grande from Cochiti to Socorro as Chile del Río Abajo. At the conference, this area, which produces a lot of chile, was left completely out of the “chile wars” debate. Meanwhile, chile grown from Elephant Butte to El Paso should be known Mesilla Valley Chile (this would include Hatch chile). There is no cultivar known as Hatch chile, which is the name of the town where chile developed at NMSU is grown.

Though David DeWitt, founder of Fiery Food Show, denied NMSU is attempting to develop a genetically engineered chile, he did admit that the university is trying to develop a pod that can be harvested by machine, is uniform in size, and has the same taste and texture, unlike the real chile we find in the north.

But seeds cannot grow if there is not enough water, and the lifeblood of the small rural areas are their acequia systems, which, like chile, date back to 1598 and even earlier, as there was irrigation practiced by the Native Americans in pre-colonial times.

What foundations such as NMCF and others in New Mexico should do is work together with the New Mexico Acequia Association (www.lasacequias. org) and set up a separate funding source to help acequias with shortand long-term planning. This includes doing GPS mapping of all acequias, such as was done in the Embudo Valley with the help of the Arid Land Institute of Woodbury University from Burbank, Calif. Before doing any acequia infrastructure work, it is of utmost importance to have the acequias mapped so that it is known where the problems lie and what needs to be done.

Then the Acequia Association can go to the Legislature and seek funds from Capital Outlay.

But for these lofty goals to become a reality we need more youth to take up the mantle of working the land and taking care of the seeds and water. Only then will hunger be a thing of the past.

It can be done if we all focus our energy on seeds, water and youth, who need to capture the traditional knowledge from their elders before it is lost. i Author and community leader Juan Estévan Arellano has devoted most of his life to documenting the t raditional knowledge of the Indo-Hispano in northern New Mexico, especially as it relates to land and water. estevan_2002@yahoo.com

www.GreenFireTimes.com

“KICK ASS” GLUTEN FREE CRUST DELIVERY

UPPERCRUSTPIZZA.COM

ON LINE ORDERING DELIVERY • 982-0000

www.GreenFireTimes.com

Green Fire Times • December 2013

21

Strengthening Communities through Humane Approaches

Laura Bonar and Lisa Jennings

A

nimal Protection of New Mexico (APNM) came to the New Mexico Community Foundation (NMCF) in 2009 with a problem: horses and other equines were suffering in every corner of the state, and there were very few resources for relief.

Despite a hardworking group of New Mexico horse rescue organizations that collectively shelter from 250-350 equines at any given time, these groups were struggling because they rely only on private contributions to care for every abandoned, abused and neglected horse they take in. Horses that go to shelters typically come from individuals and families who had cared for their horses for years but had no help to weather a temporary loss of income, even as hay prices climbed.

Though it was somewhat unusual to set up a fund in the community foundation specifically to serve animals, NMCF knew the deep connection between the health and safety of animals and the health of our communities. NMCF enthusiastically agreed to partner with APNM to create the Equine Protection Fund to provide help for horses, donkeys, and mules.

(Please visit www.helpourhorses.org to make a gift and see photos and video of our clients.)

Now, thanks to the partnership between NMCF and APNM, the Equine Fund’s programs offer a whole set of services previously unavailable anywhere in New Mexico: Emergency Feed Assistance, providing up to two months of hay and other feed in cases of temporary financial difficulty

G elding A ssistance , curtailing irresponsible breeding of horses through vouchers and clinics for sterilization of stallions and colts Trail’s End (humane euthanasia support ), providing support and removing obstacles for humane end-oflife care for suffering horses Veterinary Care Support, ensuring immediate veterinary attention for equines seized by or relinquished to law enforcement agencies in cruelty investigations To date, APNM and NMCF have helped over 450 horses through the Equine Protection Fund, providing support to families in need as well as individuals and organizations on the frontlines of helping horses in our state. The fund is poised to grow in response to the hard times facing horses.

The humane treatment of animals is inextricably linked to the overall health and wellness of our communities.

Of course, horses are not the only kind of animal whose welfare is on the minds of New Mexicans.The public is increasingly and rightfully concerned about the humane treatment of all animals, both because of our growing understanding of their needs and unique qualities and because of our responsibility to be merciful stewards of all those who rely on

Appointments in the comfort of your own home.

Dr. Audrey Shannon, DVM, has training in both Western veterinary medicine and in traditional Chinese veterinary medicine.

Her integrated holistic approach focuses on acupuncture and acupressure, with nutritional and herbal therapy to ensure your animal’s optimal health and well-being.

Treatment is available for dogs, cats, and horses.

www.animalacupuncturevet.com

22

Green Fire Times • December 2013

505.820.2617

us for their well-being. We are becoming increasingly aware of how the humane treatment of animals is inextricably linked to the overall health and wellness of our communities. A stark example of this illumination is the story of chimpanzees in biomedical research labs in the United States. New Mexico has been involved in numerous chapters of this dark saga.

Many New Mexicans have personal accounts of chimpanzees on Holloman Air Force Base in Alamogordo, from the days when chimps were used for testing prior to manned space flight, to the largest captive colony of chimpanzees in the world held by the infamous Dr. Frederick Coulston, to the public outcry to end cruel, ineffective invasive tests on chimps.

Passionate volunteers, community leaders, Attorney General Gary King, many current members of Congress and in particular Sen. Tom Udall have worked for years to protect from any further testing the nearly 200 mostly elderly, sick chimpanzees still in Alamogordo.

Finally, we are witnessing the end of the use of chimpanzees in research across the United States and the promise of hope for these long-suffering individuals.

Just a few final barriers remain before chimpanzees like 56-year-old Flo, a survivor of long, difficult years in invasive biomedical research, can experience the peace and dignity of sanctuary. Significant private funds will be required to ensure federal support to care for these chimps in sanctuary, where they can have a chance at healing from the many physical and psychological traumas they experienced as lab subjects.

Once again APNM has reached out to the NMCF to create a national Chimpanzee Sanctuary Fund that will help secure sanctuary for hundreds of chimpanzees—the last ones who will ever be born, bred, and sold into invasive research labs.

APNM is enormously proud to announce this new partnership that further strengthens New Mexico’s commitment to compassionate solutions. The public believes the chimps deserve it, they believe our horses deserve it; indeed, all animals deserve it.

Animal Protection of NM ads

Throughout its history the NMCF has demonstrated its focus on effective solutions that are informed by the caring communities they serve. APNM shares this guiding principle and is honored to work with the NMCF as we both invest in strengthening our communities through the power of collaboration, leadership, compassion and philanthropy. i Laura Bonar is program director and Lisa Jennings is executive director of Animal Protection of New Mexico, which has been working to ensure animals matter in every New Mexican community since 1979.

www.GreenFireTimes.com

Denise Gonzales

Y

ou don’t often hear of a federal government agency providing money to communities to help them make decisions on how the agencies operate, but in 2010 that is exactly what the Department of Energy (DOE) did. The DOE’s Office of Environmental Management has provided the New Mexico Community Foundation $1.5 million over three years to provide grants to communities across the nation who have federal facilities as neighbors.

The NMCF’s Community Involvement Fund was set up to give nonprofit organizations around nuclear facilities resources to inform and involve the public regarding operations and clean-up activities at these sites. NMCF has always firmly believed that informed public input can improve clean-up decisions by ensuring that local conditions and community values are understood and incorporated into clean-up strategies.

For the DOE, the idea of using a community foundation was to ensure that the funds were given in an objective unbiased way. The fund’s advisors consist of a team of national committee members, all of whom have a specialty in dealing with federal facilities, either as a regulators, activists, past employees of a facility, nonprofit employees or even scientists who have studied the effects of the contaminates that exist at the facilities.

Training the next generation of informed citizens

© Anna C. Hansen

During three years of grant making, the funds have gone to support communities like the Savannah River Site, Hanford, the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory, the Santa Susana Field Laboratory and all three of New Mexico’s nuclear facilities: the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and Sandia National Laboratory.

In 2013, organizations that focused on training the “next generation of informed citizens” were given funding pr ior it y.

Communities across the nation are facing Area G, an active 63-acre Los Alamos National Laboratory low-level radioactive waste dump, is located about five miles from the Rio Grande, having an aging population of which supplies some of Santa Fe’s drinking water. citiz ens who traditionally have been involved in activism and know the history and legacy of these sites. The criteria for this year’s grants challenged nonprofits to come up with unique ways to involve a younger generation in the issues surrounding clean-up of these sites and to inform them of the potential risks of ongoing operations.

Amigos Bravos, focusing on Los Alamos National Laboratory, and Citizen Action, focusing on Sandia National Laboratory, were both awarded a grant to get youth and college-age stakeholders involved.

Both organizations will also be focusing on engaging outreach to disenfranchised communities. Citizen Action has made it a priority to provide materials in Spanish to neighborhoods in Albuquerque which might otherwise not hear about meetings and provide information in Spanish to those who wish to learn about the clean-up efforts and potential risks from historical and ongoing operations at Sandia National Laboratory. i Denise Gonzales is special projects manager at the NMCF.

www.GreenFireTimes.com

Follow Me

A prose poem by Valerie Martínez

W

ho hasn’t driven north, up and over La Bajada Hill in dark December, to see the lights of Santa Fe unfurl: colcha, snowflake, electric mosaic?

And who hasn’t walked the evening streets just to trace the silhouettes of walkways, houses and hotels, counting farolitos?

Hasn’t driven past the Christmas tree lot on Rodeo Road just to get a whiff of fir, pine and spruce through the dashboard heating ducts? Hasn’t heard the downtown sound of cathedral bells muffled in snow, wafting like wafers onto wrought iron and woolen elbows? Has not looked up from St. Michael’s Drive to the Sangres to search for the snow-covered horse’s head? Hasn’t found a kitchen off San Ildefonso Road just to get out of the cold, down a half-dozen biscochitos, or knead the dough for sufganiyot? Hasn’t sipped a free cup of homemade cocoa on Christmas Eve, a gift from residents who live along Canyon Road? Has not walked the ice-milked sidewalks of Water Street and found themselves flat on their back then pulled up by some stranger saying, “Whoa—you went down like a ton of adobe bricks!” And who hasn’t left town for the heart-bending dances at Santo Domingo then driven back to mark the little pines on the I-25 median, tinseled by some group of anonymous daredevils? Has not seen a kiva fireplace adorned with advent calendar, Menorah, bear fetish and ceramic Santa Claus? Hasn’t feasted on turkey with piñon and green-chile stuffing, red-chile mashed potatoes, tortillas on the side? And who hasn’t followed their grandmother lugging a wooden crèche from house to house during las posadas, the holy family looking for a place to stay, setting it down on someone’s porch then driving away? And the dry colds so cold you want to drench them, and the stars so close you want to lick them? He who hasn’t; she who has not, they who never have but are looking for a place to stay on some bone-cold Santa Fe night—follow me; this is the place; this way is the way. i Valerie Martínez is a poet, educator, playwright and librettist.

She was the Poet Laureate of Santa Fe for 2008-2010. She is currently executive director and a core artist with the interdisciplinary art collaborative Littleglobe.

Green Fire Times • December 2013

23

© Seth Roffman (2)

The Community Involvement Fund

New Mexico Photographs by Don Usner

24

Green Fire Times • December 2013

www.GreenFireTimes.com

Native New Mexican Don Usner, one of the 2013 Luminaria awardees, is an extraordinary photographer and historian. For over two decades he has captured the spirit of New Mexico’s people, land and cultures for NMCF’s media publications.

www.GreenFireTimes.com

Green Fire Times • December 2013

25

Renee Villarreal

T

he New Mexico Community Foundation has a long history of working with Native communities, and has partnered on various programs and initiatives, with generous funding support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Ford Foundation, Tides Foundation and other national and local funders.

In 2013, NMCF has completed two multi-year programs that have supported Native American education and leadership. The SPARK program, led by the Pueblo of Jémez, focused on early childhood development, with special emphasis on home language retention and family and community engagement. The other program, Collaborative Leadership, began in 2007. It has supported collaboration and capacity building amongst diverse communities.

The Foundation currently holds nine endowments for Native entities. These include: Earth Circle/Wings of America, Institute of American Indian Arts, Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, Pueblo of Jémez Endowment, Laguna Pueblo Rainbow Fund and Laguna Education Foundation.

Another initiative supporting Native education is through NMCF’s Native American Preparatory Scholars Fund, which was created to increase the number of New Mexico Native American students who aspire to, are prepared for and graduate from the nation’s colleges and universities. Funding targets include Native

© Seth Roffman

Native American Programs and Funds at NMCF student support programs at the secondary, pre-collegiate level, as well as programs to support students during college years. The Foundation is also seeking greater impact in this area by growing an endowment, building capacity within Native communities and working with tribes to come up with solutions to increase the number of students who graduate from college.

NMCF’s non-permanent funds that support a variety of initiatives in Native communities include: The Laguna Rainbow Non-Permanent Fund, the Santa Clara Pueblo Tree Fund, the Santa Clara Pueblo Fund, the New Mexico Native American Scholars Athlete Fund and Laguna Community Foundation.

NMCF also acts as the fiscal sponsor for the Native American Community Academy in Albuquerque, Keres Children’s Learning Center at Cochiti Pueblo, Laguna Community Foundation at Laguna Pueblo, and the Community Learning Exchange, a 3-year program that emphasizes reclaiming cultural wisdom and collective leadership as a source of community well-being to better address critical social issues.

NMCF’s NewMexicoWomen.Org program has also provided grants to various nonprofits serving Native women and girls.

The SPARK Program: Joining Hands at the Pueblo of Jémez SPARK-Supporting Partnerships to Assure Ready Kids was an earlychildhood program at the Pueblo of Jémez designed to increase family engagement and ease the transition from Head Start into kindergarten, with a focus on language and earlychildhood development. The SPARK program, an initiative of New Mexico Community Foundation, began in 2009 and was part of a nationwide early-childhood program funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Special emphasis was made by the Pueblo of Jémez SPARK staff to sustain their Towa language with support from their Jémez Language Team and other community partners.

26

The Pueblo of Jémez is one of the 19 Pueblos of New Mexico and is situated approximately 50 miles northwest of Albuquerque. The population consists of 3,600 people with 2,500 residing on the reservation. Jémez people are rich in culture and tradition with a high rate of homeland Towa language speakers. The Pueblo houses four schools: Walatowa Headstart, Jémez BIA Elementary, San Diego Riverside Charter School and Walatowa High Charter School. There is also Jémez Valley Public School, situated eight miles off the reservation.

The goal of the program was to increase parents’ understanding of

Green Fire Times • December 2013

early-childhood development, i n c l u d i n g health, language and social development. The goal also included increasing professional development trainings for teachers in all the schools. Director of Education for the Pueblo of Jémez, Kevin Shendo, had an idea in mind when approached to see if Jémez would like to house the SPARK program. His idea was to conduct the program in Towa, the homeland

© Don Usner

Rhiannon Toya

language, so the program could be more culturally oriented. That meant bringing in the Pueblo’s resources to support the program. It also meant that, in order to conduct the program smoothly and have the Towa language

www.GreenFireTimes.com

Two young Towa speakers were hired to oversee the program and work closely with the director of education, the community and the local schools.

Our Towa Language makes us who we are as Jémez people.

They did networking and outreach with the schools and tribal programs so the program could be known and supported.

Once the coordinators were able to get the support of the schools, they started implementing key components of the program and sustainable key elements were established. The intention was

children would most benefit from.

In order to have a high le vel of parental involvement, the coordinators knew activities would need to be conducted on a Figurines of Walatowa (Jémez) elders by Kathleen Wall, Indian Pueblo Cultural Center (www.indianpueblo.org) monthly basis.

Hawai ’ i L anguage and reinforces the importance of They were able to establish partnerships Immersion Training and grounding the children in their with the principals, all of whom offered Site Visit—A delegation of 16 home language. For Jémez, the Tribal their facilities to host events and people representing the SPARK Council Resolution will also impact trainings. These included: Program, school teachers, tribal elders, the transitions, curriculum, vertical Transition Fairs—which gave parents an opportunity to meet with the kindergarten teachers to see which school would better suit their child

Kinder Camp—a weeklong camp before school commenced to allow incoming kindergarteners to get a feel of what their kindergarten environment would be like

Jémez students at SPARK field day

to bring all schools together so the teachers had the same goal in mind. A Joining Hands team was established, consisting of a kindergarten teacher from each school, including eight Jémez Language Team members. The formation of this team was vital in order to have input from each school to share ideas about what monthly activities, events and engagement the

Professional Development T raining for Teachers—around the topics of Social/Emotional Development, Brain-based Learning for parents and teachers, and Facilitation Training Walatowa L anguage S ymposium — o r g a n i z e d t o educate the public and specific tribal communities about the importance of home languages and the significance of teaching them to ensure their survival. Presenters came from different tribal communities, institutions of higher education and the island of Hawai’i to share their work and strategies.

Jémez Language Team, Jémez Tribal Council, Jémez Education Department and 1st Lt. Governor Juan Toya spent a week in Hawai’i learning about the language revitalization and retention programs in place there in schools.

P ee W ee B asketball Tournaments—110 preschool and kindergarten kids participated Field Days—gatherings for the children during school, which included traditional games, dances, storytelling and food The SPARK program clearly impacted the collaborative efforts of all teachers regarding the effects of early-childhood development and partnerships in this arena.

Professional development and training that honors local language and culture

What has been most impactful for the Pueblo of Jémez has been the efforts made by SPARK staff, community partners and tribal leaders to promote a Tribal Council Resolution that would transition the tribal Head Start programs to full language immersion programs this fall. Because of the passage of a resolution in December of 2012 by Tribal Council, the Towa language will now be the medium of instruction, and the schools have official authority to conduct all business in the Jémez language.

© Don Usner

This policy outcome supports the goals and objectives of SPARK in implementing programs with schools in the home language of the children,

www.GreenFireTimes.com

alignment and practices of all the schools. This will lead to a more focused professional development

Lynette Jordan, SPARK Program Coordinator; Kevin Shendo, Jémez Department of Education Director

and training effort on the effective implementation of the Common Core State Standards in a way that actually honors local language and culture.

This policy implementation sets a strong precedent, as it will be one of the first federally funded Head Start programs to move its instruction from English to the home language of the community.

This will set the stage for other tribal, minority and migrant communities to do the same and to develop the home languages of their children through the education provided at their local Head Start programs.

Because of the great partnerships established with the schools, SPARK lives on and will continue to be a cornerstone of Jémez Education Department’s success. To this end, the Department will be awarded a small grant from NMCF in 2014 to go towards implementation of the immersion programming, providing continued on page 29

Green Fire Times • December 2013

27

© Seth Roffman

at the forefront, the people in charge would have to be fluent Towa speakers.

A Teacher’s Perspective on a Small Navajo Town

Juliana Ko

I

came out to New Mexico in 2008 in search of an adventure. I had never been to New Mexico before, and as I drove west from Albuquerque towards Gallup I was in awe of the natural beauty that shone through the red rocks and the way the sun danced off the faces of the mesas, lighting up the different colors of orange and red and setting the sky on fire.

I didn’t know what to expect, but I was eager to find out more about the people and youth I would serve as a pre-algebra teacher at Thoreau Middle School.

Within six months, 14 other teenagers had taken their lives.

As a corps member with Teach For America, I was able to help my students grow tremendously in their math skills, and by the middle of my second year,

seemed like almost every day my students were asking, “Ms. Ko, what’s the point?

Why should I live?”

This experience turned my life upside down. I was grief-stricken and in shock. This was not the adventure I was expecting.

As a new teacher with little experience in the region or with Native people, I didn’t know that completed suicide was 72 percent more common among North American Indigenous people than among the general US population. I didn’t know that there were already resources dedicated to my community and students for suicide prevention. I didn’t know that what I thought was an anomaly was actually part of a horrific trend studied and targeted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration of the federal government.

talked with and listened to other veteran teachers and to staff workers at the school.

I talked with and listened to parents and to people I met at the corner store.

Through all of those conversations, it seemed like everyone was saying the same thing.

I saw an average of 30 percent growth in my students’ skills. But just as I was beginning to see this growth and really feeling comfortable with classroom management, one of my students ended his life. It was so tragic to lose him, but even worse to find that he was not the only one. Within six months, 14 other teenagers had taken their lives, and it

Due to the crisis, resources poured in from the state, federal and tribal levels, providing programs to help in the short-term, but it seemed like very little was being done to prevent youth suicide in the long-term. For me, this was unacceptable. In the classroom, I listened to my students talk about what they wanted in their community. I

In Thoreau, there were no libraries or computer labs outside of school. There were no safe public places for kids to gather and socialize with positive adult supervision. No homework help outside of school tutoring, no enrichment activities or community gardens. There were no gyms or fitness opportunities. As everyone said, there just wasn’t a lot to do.

While we’re still working on expanding our programs, the Thoreau Community Center has now been operating for over three years, providing many positive activities for youth and families, including after-school tutoring and enrichment activities, access to counseling and a variety of programs relating to health, well-being, education and recreation. We have hosted skateboarding competitions to engage with youth, provided GED classes and hosted summer reading programs.

As a community effort, our organization is sustained by a variety of partnerships

28

Green Fire Times • December 2013

with other organizations, the county government and foundations. New Mexico Community Foundation was one of the first foundations to support our work, and it continues to support our work today. As none of our community board of directors or staff had much experience with nonprofits, NMCF helped us think about how we could sustain our organization and learn how to reach resources we didn’t know existed.

In addition to their technical support, we received the NMCF’s Chispa Award in 2012 for our accomplishments with few resources. We also are currently partnering with the foundation for an anti-hunger project that incorporates a greenhouse and community garden into our after-school and community programs and helps to build capacity within our staff.

Without the help of NMCF, it is doubtful that we would be where we are today.

We have reached over 5,000 community members through our programs and continue to think about how we can reach more people and further our mission to inspire hope, joy and progress. i Juliana Ko is the founder and former executive director of the Thoreau Community Center.

www.GreenFireTimes.com

The Thoreau Community Center

Priscilla Manuelito

I

have been blessed to be able to work in a place where I am helping my children. In the Navajo-Diné culture we have a clan system that ties us together, and we use our clan to see how we are related. My grandparents and great-grandparents have lived in this area for generations, so I have many relatives in Thoreau, and many of their children are related to me.

When our community was going through the traumatic event of 15 youth suicides, it was very overwhelming for families, friends and our whole community. We couldn’t even grieve properly for the last child that passed away because we had to make more funeral arrangements or attend family

gatherings to give our condolences.

We (the community) had to make a change. We needed to step in and help our children.

And so we created the Thoreau Community Center. It has been a home away from home for many children, a place for them to better themselves and a place to just get away. We have been a resource for support, encouragement and guidance for our youth and community members. We have literally saved youths’ lives and intervened when other youth were contemplating suicide.

The staff here at TCC is encouraged daily to interact and socialize with the youth to help inspire them, truly get to know them and let them know they are cared for.

We have at times struggled financially to keep our doors open, but with wonderful support f rom the New Mexico Community Foundation grants, we have continued our mission

to inspire hope, joy and progress within the surrounding areas by providing resources and special programs focused on health, well-being, education and recreation.

One of the many programs we are currently planning is our anti-hunger p r o j e c t . We a r e implementing a greenhouse to provide fresh foods. Our youth will be encouraged to participate in the construction and maintenance of the greenhouse, and to attend healthy cooking demonstrations when the produce can be harvested. These efforts will help decrease the high percentages of obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes in our community.

We are very thankful for the funding to help our youth and community members. i Priscilla Manuelito is executive d i r e c to r o f t h e T h o r e au Community Center.

SPARK rogram continued from page 27 professional development sessions for teachers to integrate the Towa language and culture curriculum in the school, and to continue Kinder Camp.

A Former SPARK Coordinator’s Perspective

My name is Rhiannon Toya, a member of Jémez Pueblo and SPARK coordinator for the first year and a half of the program.

SPARK has been an instrumental component of getting me to where I am today. It has guided me in a direction that I had never dreamed of; I call it a blessing in disguise. As I started working for the program, I was very nervous about building everything from the ground up—being in charge of a massive budget, networking with the principals and getting out in the community to promote the importance of early-childhood learning. It was a lot of work, and I am very thankful that I had very supportive people to work with who guided me along the way. As the program took off, the former program officer of

www.GreenFireTimes.com

New Mexico Community Foundation, Gilbert Sánchez, helped me structure the program in a way that would be positive, fun, welcoming and full of learning. He helped the assistant coordinator, Lynette Jordan, and me in so many instrumental ways. I remember him telling me, “You are a parent. What types of events would you have liked to see happen in your community when your children were in preschool? What would you want your children to learn? As a parent, what would you like to learn?”

Those questions were all I needed to hear to kick-start and develop the SPARK program. Of course I wanted the very best for my two beautiful children, Kai Toya, eight years old, and Ailana Toya, 11. As a parent I tried my best to expose them to different activities to promote their learning, starting at a young age. I thought it would be very beneficial for our community children to have the same opportunities as my own children. That is how we came up with most of our list of events. I had a blast working for SPARK; I learned so much, and I made lasting friendships and partnerships with different organizations in and outside of my community.

Our Jémez tradition and culture is very important to me. That is what makes us unique among people around the world. I am proud of where I come from, and that is what I teach my kids at home and in the classroom. Our Towa Language is so important; it is

what makes us who we are as Jémez people. Therefore, I am always stressing to students that they need to continue speaking our native language. I tell them, “If we lose our language, we can’t get it back.”

SPARK inspired me to become a teacher.

SPARK also inspired me to become a teacher. Never in my wildest dreams did I think of becoming a teacher! I loved working with the students so much that I was hired as a teacher technician at Jémez Day School, and I am now in school to become a teacher. I am currently enrolled in the Elementary Education Program at New Mexico Highlands University pursuing my bachelor’s degree. I will be graduating in the spring of 2015. My plan is to work at Jémez Day School and continue my education. i

Green Fire Times • December 2013

29

30

Green Fire Times • December 2013

www.GreenFireTimes.com

NM Community Foundation Donor Profiles

Wise Words on Personal Wealth: Live and enjoy what you need. Be generous with the rest.

Bruce Rolstad

It was a windy summer day in Dusty, New Mexico, where Bruce Rolstad, a key founding member of NMCF in 1983, learned to play “cowchip poker.” “Well, you see, there were very few people and a lot of cattle in much of NM 30 years ago,” he says. “And so I guess it made sense to spend time placing wagers on just where a cow would place her next ‘chip’!” Rolstad also attributed that disproportionate ratio of livestock to citizens as a chief barrier to fundraising for charitable aims.

“Back in those days, the concept of private philanthropy was not even conceived yet in NM, so we had a real hard time finding money. But the needs in rural NM were so great. All these little places—Hillsboro, Tierra Amarilla, Thoreau—no one was looking out for them. We wanted to provide resources from the private sector because government and business would not do it.”

Rolstad eventually became part of a cadre of likeminded, forward-thinking social activists who formed NM’s first statewide community foundation to fill a gap in the education, economic, health and human services sectors with a special rural focus. “We crisscrossed the state; we were out on the road finding out what the needs were and trying to find resources to meet those needs.” Rolstad is especially proud that NMCF made a humble grant as seed money for Ganados Del Valle (Shepherds of the Valley), a now thriving grass-roots organization in the Chama Valley centered around a dying sheep industry where sustenance and spirituality go hand in hand.

Harlan Flint

In 1990, Harlan Flint, retired Director of External Affairs for British PetroleumUS operations, returned to NM, where his experience and influence in corporate philanthropy on a national scale inspired him to survey the social landscape of his new home. What he saw both concerned and energized him. Flint witnessed an expansive, awe-inspiring rural NM that was in dire need of basic services in health, economics, education and agriculture.

Flint was deeply impressed by NMCF’s commitment to rural and small town concerns, and in less than one year he became Board Chair. “I was the Chair of the Foundation when we struck the deal with the Ford Foundation,” he recalls with pride. Over the course of two decades, the Ford Foundation along with other national funders like the W.K. Kellogg Foundation has contributed tens of millions of dollars to NM with NMCF as the steward of many of those grants.

“It was always my hope for NMCF that we would become less dependent on external funding sources so we could grow according to our vision and pursue the Foundation’s own personality. Unfortunately, we were ineffective in generating large gifts from within the state,” Flint wistfully lamented. “But that has changed in a significant way!” Flint is impressed by the strides made to build NMCF’s endowment and by the resources that have been allocated since his time on the board. “That is the Foundation’s biggest success,” he says.

Terry Brewer

As a young college student, philanthropist and retired restaurateur Terry Brewer got his start in the business world selling homemade sandwiches door-to-door in late night dormitories to hungry undergrads. “I learned at a young age that successful businesses are like a horse and rider: you need a really good idea, which is the horse. But you have to have the right management team—the right rider– to turn the idea into something. Today, NMCF has exactly that right combination!”

www.GreenFireTimes.com

Brewer moved to Santa Fe in 1993. “After I had become successful and made some money, I realized that some of my profits belong to my community. I knew it was right to give back. Originally, I invested about $200,000 in NMCF early childhood development programs. Diane Denish would attend the big summer soirees I hosted at my home to raise funds for the foundation, and she became very interested in our work.” Eventually, the Lt. Governor worked with NMCF to create a statewide early childhood education program modeled after the Brewerfunded program.

Brewer has proudly supported NMCF for 20 years. “Everyone who is down on their luck or who has met hard times needs a champion. That’s what the NMCF does. It’s the champion for so many people and causes that just need a little lift, a little support, a little money to do miraculous things. I have seen it happen, and it brings tears to my eyes!”

Peggy Driscoll

NMCF ’s first steps as a statewide community foundation were both inspired and tragic. In 1983, Peggy Driscoll, actress and heiress of the Weyehauser Family, and Bruce Rolstad, plotted with another friend to start a foundation to “pool resources and serve NM’s most vulnerable communities.”

Driscoll planned to endow the foundation with a $20 million gift. Tragically, she died in a car crash soon after the idea was hatched. Rolstad and his friend took a leap of faith and decided to proceed with the foundation without an endowment, though the Weyerhauser family donated some of the initial funds.

For the first five years, all NMCF staff were volunteers, and the only significant funding received was a $40K NEA grant to start a church restoration project that would later transform to Cornerstones, a signature program in the earliest years of NMCF, partially funded by Faith Meem.

Due to the vision, persistence and faith of Driscoll, Rolstad and NMCF’s other founders, NMCF has survived 30 years, and is now managing almost $25 million in assets, still pooling resources to support NM’s most underserved populations.

Four Ways to Give to New Mexico Community Foundation Start a fund: The NMCF is home to more than 250 charitable funds and foundations created by generous individuals, families, business, and organizations to support the causes they care about in New Mexico and beyond.

Give to the New Mexico Matters Fund: This fund supports the NMCF’s innovative programs, publications and services that help philanthropists, nonprofits and others learn more about and address community needs.

Plan ahead: If you are not able to make a substantial gift to charity now but want to leave something for New Mexico, consider including NMCF in your will or living trust. You can leave a stated dollar amount, a property, a percentage of your estate, or the remainder after distributions to other beneficiaries.

Give to an existing program or fund at NMCF: Learn more about the issue areas where NMCF and its partners are currently focusing philanthropic resources. You can make a donation to any of these funds right now and make a difference.

Green Fire Times • December 2013

31

New Mexico Community Foundation’s Chispa Awards

C

hispa means “spark,” and the Chispa Awards are given annually to nonprofits that shine a light in the communities they serve. Through this award, the NMCF recognizes nonprofits across the state that accomplish a lot with very little, helping to improve New Mexico communities. Ten organizations each receive a $7,000 unrestricted grant to use for their general operations.

There is no process for organizations to apply or for the general public to make nominations. Nominations are made by community leaders and final decisions by a volunteer selection committee. None of the recipients knows their organization has been selected until the day they are presented with the award and grant. Half of the organizations selected specifically support issues directly relating to women and girls, aligning with NewMexicoWomen.Org, NMCF’s initiative to advance opportunities for women and girls. It is especially fitting that the NMCF makes these grants during National Philanthropy Week and Community Foundation Week, a national celebrations of philanthropy and philanthropic partnerships that community foundations make all across the country.

2013 Chispa Awardees

Breath of My Heart Birthplace (Española)

This community-based clinic provides midwifery in a culturally traditional and relevant way. The organization celebrates pregnancy and birth as a sacred rite of passage, serving women in Española, Pueblo communities, and the many northern rural and frontier communities that rely on the Española Breath of My Heart staff and board members with Sarah Valley for health services.

Ghiorse (r), director of NMW.O

Casa de Peregrinos (Las Cruces/Doña Ana County)

This nondenominational emergency food program serves as a safety link for those unable to purchase nutritious food due to an emergency or unforeseen personal crisis. Free supplemental groceries are provided to individuals and families at risk of hunger.

Casa de Peregrinos board members

El Refugio (Silver City/Lordsburg/Grant County) This agency operates the Casa Carmel Shelter for battered women and their children. In addition to safe temporary housing, El Refugio (the refuge) provides individual, group, child and adolescent counseling, parenting classes, domestic violence education, domestic violence offenders’ treatment and intervention, plus victim advocacy.Because the area served is vast and the need is great, El Refugio has opened a second location in Lordsburg.

Farmington Municipal School District Parents as Teachers Program (Farmington/San Juan County)

This initiative helps parents learn to become the primary teacher in their c hildren’s lives through researchbased programs, home visitations and group meetings. Early screenings to identify developmental and health problems are also offered. Sixty percent Parents as Teachers staff in Farmington, NM of the families served have two or more high-need characteristics such as low income, low educational attainment, domestic violence or unstable housing. Over a third of the participating parents are Native American. San Juan County, due to parental meth use, has the highest number of children in protective custody in New Mexico.

What Would U Give dba Heroes Walk Among Us (Statewide)

Heroes Walk Among Us was created to serve veterans, their families and the families of the fallen. Founded in Albuquerque in 2004 by US Navy veteran Shane D’Onofrio, today the organization operates the Veterans Community Resource Center, which is equipped with a computer lab, gym and recreation room. Services include therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury, a support group for families of deployed and fallen service Shane D’Onofrio, executive director members, and Pets 4 Vets, which has reached (center), with two other veterans who volunteer at the Veterans Community 4,000 New Mexico veterans. With the Resource Center acquisition of a motel and a storefront, the agency is able to provide housing, job education and training, whole-body healthcare, veterans’ assistance and other benefits, and greater community involvement.

Impact Personal Safety (Northern and Central NM/Pueblos)

L-R: Jaclyn Gerleve, Angela Arroyos, Angela Mend, Amy Wagner, Silvia Madrid. Seated: Renee Villarreal of the NMCF, and Selah Lee Bencomo. Not pictured: executive director Maria Morales-Loebl

El Valle Community Center (San Miguel County)

L oc ated in the former V illanue va Elementary School, this community center

El Valle Community Center volunteer Lana Gallegos (l) celebrates the news of the facility receiving a $7,000 unrestricted grant from the NMCF. With Lana (l-r) are volunteers Becky Sálazar, Jim Ballard, Betul Ozmat of the NMCF, and volunteer Patricia Gallegos.

32

provides a wide range of opportunities for rural residents to access integrated health, education, career and cultural preservation services. The center also serves as a site for family-related activities for communities along the Pecos River and nearby towns.

Green Fire Times • December 2013

This agency empowers children and adults by teaching them to prevent and defend themselves against verbal, physical and sexual violence through experiential classes that teach hands-on interpersonal skills, thus helping prevent domestic and sexual violence towards women and girls. Through partnerships with schools and other nonprofits, community groups and pueblos, as well as classes for the public, the agency is able to reach a wide and diverse group.

Alena Schaim, executive director of IMPACT

Keres Children’s Learning Center (Cochiti Pueblo)

This school opened in 2012 after a few years of developing resources and fine-tuning its plan to be a model for early childhood education with a focus on language retention. The center is steeped in the Montessori approach, while also incorporating the Whole Pueblo Child, which supports the natural use of the Keres language. L-R: NMCF’s Renee Villarreal with Keres executive director By promoting the role of parents as teachers with Trish Moquino and Olivia Coriz

www.GreenFireTimes.com

bilingualism and biculturalism, parents are provided tools to be an advocate for their children’s lifelong learning.

La Plazita Institute (Bernalillo County)

This grassroots organization serves incarcerated and adjudicated youth by engaging the youth, elders and wider communities in a comprehensive holistic and cultural approach designed around the philosophy that “La Cultura Cura,” or culture heals.

La Plazita’s programs draw from an individual’s roots and histories to express core traditional values of respect, honor, love and family. The organization’s Making a

Jardín de los Niños (Doña Ana County)

This organization’s mission is to create new possibilities for homeless and nearhomeless children and their families through loving childcare, education and effective use of community resources.

Masada House (San Juan County and surrounding areas)

Masada House establishes transitional housing to serve people who have achieved sobriety through approved substance-abuse treatment.

Permaculture Guild (Statewide)

This organization supports the permaculture community and encourages the spread of more conscious ways of growing and distributing healthy, nourishing foods, while promoting the use of renewable sources of energy.

Boys & Girls Club of Roswell

Since 1965, this organization has been committed to enabling and inspiring children to realize their full potential to become productive, responsible and caring citizens.

Spirit of Hidalgo (Lordsburg and surrounding areas) L-R: Sarah Ghiorse, NMCF; Andrew Lucero, Community Outreach for La Plazita; Russell Urban, Youth Ourtreach/Ceramics; Albino García, Executive Director of La Plazita, Christian Bass, Youth Outreach for La Plazita; Renee Villarreal, NMCF

Spirit of Hidalgo provides support and inspiration for women and youth to make positive differences in their own lives, for their families and within their communities.

Change Program encourages the development of nontraditional leaders. People who have been incarcerated or are familiar with life on the street or in a gang have chosen a life of service to the community as a result of this initiative.

TCEDC supports the food, land, water and cultures of the people of northern New Mexico, helping to maintain equity and land ownership, overcome poverty, and to provide access to education and business opportunities.

Silver Regional Sexual Assault Support Services (Grant County/Hidalgo County)

This agency provides survivors of sexual violence in Grant and Hidalgo counties with much-needed support including medical accompaniment, legal advocacy, individual and group therapy, advocacy and community education. SRSASS is developing expanded services in the isolated areas of Cliff, Hahira and San Lorenzo in Grant County and Animas, Playas and Rodeo in Hidalgo County. The agency also serves as a coordinating group for L- R : K r i s t y R o g e r s , S R S A S S executive director Collen Boyd other service providers. and Villarreal

2012 Chispa Awardees

Bootheel Youth Association (Hidalgo County)

This group comprises individuals of all ages and backgrounds who have united in the interest of creating and implementing youth-development programs.

Cochiti Youth Experience (Cochiti Pueblo)

This program is dedicated to encouraging young people to make healthy life choices.

Coming Home Connection (Santa Fe area)

This program trains and coordinates volunteers to provide personal support and in-home care for adults, children and their immediate families.

Southeastern New Mexico Down Syndrome Foundation

The mission of this foundation is to provide support and education to individuals with Down Syndrome and their families.

Enlace Comunitario (Central New Mexico)

This is a social justice organization led by Latino immigrants. Its mission is to eliminate domestic violence in Latino immigrant communities and to promote healthy families.

www.GreenFireTimes.com

Taos County Economic Development Corporation

Thoreau Community Center

This community center is dedicated to bringing resources related to health and wellbeing, education, and recreation to this rural community, welcoming all but supporting the 96 percent Native American population in Thoreau and surrounding areas. i

The Agnes Williams Delgado Street Compound Bequest

After graduating from Cornell University in 1945, New Mexico Community Foundation donor Agnes Williams traveled west to northern New Mexico to work on the Manhattan Project in Los Alamos. As a single woman, she purchased a home in the foothills of the Sangre de Cristos in pastoral Nambé.

Soon thereafter, she purchased the Santa Fe Business College, then located behind the Scottish Rite Center, and operated the school until 1986. In 1986, Agnes purchased a complex of buildings located at 110 Delgado Street near historic Canyon Road in Santa Fe, where she moved the college operations until 1990 when the school closed permanently.

Agnes had a clear vision: to provide commercial property at reasonable prices to small businesses that needed opportunity to grow and excel. Later in her life, she decided to look for a worthy partner as beneficiary of her philanthropic wishes.

Her prerequisite was to find an organization that would put the assets to good use and carry on her legacy of entrepreneurialism in the spirit of hard work, integrity and generosity.

The Agnes Williams Delgado Street Compound is comprised of four separate, historic adobe buildings on a half-acre with heirloom fruit trees, a walled courtyard, grassy lawns and ample parking.

Agnes has bequeathed this property to NMCF. NMCF plans to move the foundation offices to the compound one day in the future.

Green Fire Times • December 2013

33

2014 Is Here!

Get your CUSTOM CALENDARS for Business or Friends for New Years! Order by Dec. 20-- Mail by Dec. 28

Hundreds of Possibilities-- Use Your Photos/Logo FREE DESIGN-- NM Printers with Soy/Recycled CALL 505-236-8349 or email ABBXnet@gmail.com for your quote. Union printed at FOCUS Ink of NM www.FocusInk.com - -335 Jefferson SE, Albq 87108

34

Green Fire Times • December 2013

www.GreenFireTimes.com

www.GreenFireTimes.com

Green Fire Times • December 2013

35

NewMexicoWomen.Org Advancing Opportunities for Women and Girls Sarah Ghiorse

W

omen and girls in the United States have made great strides since the first and second waves of the feminist movement, yet they continue to face complex issues that require dedicated funding. In 1972, the Ms. Foundation was the first fund created to serve the needs of women and girls. Since then, 160 funds have sprouted up around the globe with a combined total of $535 million in assets1. In spite of this progress, only 7 cents of each philanthropic dollar in the US is directed toward women and girls issues. The Women’s Funding Network1, a national network of women’s foundations, has set a goal of reaching $1.5 billion in combined assets for women and girls by 2018, and NewMexicoWomen.Org (NMW.O) wants to do our part to get there.

Indicator’s Report gathers statewide data related to the current health and well-being of New Mexico’s women and girls. The purpose of this report is to stimulate conversation and to build a case for why to invest in women and girls.

For communities, the data can help substantiate a call to action; for policy makers, donors and other funders it offers information to guide decisions. For others it serves as an educational tool. Ultimately, we hope that the Indicator’s Report will provide a baseline for discussion and a trusted source for unbiased information about the status of women and girls in our state.

When women and girls thrive, families and communities thrive.

© Seth Roffman

NMW.O also facilitates alliances among nonprofits, funders and other sectors in order to concentrate resources and foster collaboration. In February 2013, NMW.O hosted a group of grantees at the Legislature, connecting the delegates with their representatives and advocating on behalf of women and girls. NMW.O encouraged our constituents to support a range of topics from sexual assault prevention to substance abuse treatment for pregnant women to Title IX monitoring to pay equity and family-friendly work places. The legislative day was a huge success, and the planning for the upcoming 2014 session is currently in the works.

More than 1,000 women, men and children, including Felice González (center), former director of NewMexicoWomen.Org, gathered outside the Roundhouse in Feb. 2013 to protest violence against women.

Women comprise over half of our country’s population, 16 percent of whom live in poverty2. Of the top wealthiest people in the US, 43 percent are women3.

Meanwhile, the population in New Mexico consists of 51 percent women, 24 percent of whom live in poverty. Our teen pregnancy rate is second in the nation.

Even in 2012, a woman in New Mexico is paid only 77 cents for every dollar paid to her male colleagues. Shockingly, 1 in 4 of our New Mexico women will experience sexual assault during her lifetime. In other words, many women in New Mexico face huge challenges with limited access to resources. At the same time, there is a passionate cadre of women and men who are committed to supporting female empowerment.

New Mexico Community Foundation’s initiative, NewMexicoWomen.Org, the first women’s fund of its kind in the state, seeks to define issues affecting women and girls, to increase the amount of philanthropic dollars that are directed towards gender issues, and improve outcomes for women and girls. Evolving over several years out of our Women Building Community program, the mission of NMW.O is to advance opportunities for women and girls statewide, so they can lead selfsufficient, healthy and empowered lives. Our three strategic goals are to strengthen women’s capacity across the state by supporting cross-issue organizing and collaboration; serve as a hub and a statewide educational resource around pressing issues that impact women and girls; and increase philanthropic understanding and investment in women and girls issues.

NMW.O’s three-pronged strategy of “educate, lead and invest” guides all of our work. Under our educate strategy we seek to influence philanthropy and policy through our research and communications efforts. Our soon to be released

1 2 3

36

Women’s Fund Network website www.wfn.org.

NMW.O Indicators Report 2013.

Belkin, Lisa. The Power of the Purse. New York Times, August 18th, 2009.

Green Fire Times • December 2013

Under our investment strategy NMW.O helps to build resources and leverage investments through our donor education and grant-making efforts. Over the past two years NMW.O has awarded $285,709 to groups all over New Mexico who are advancing opportunities for women and girls. Our most recent grantees received a Chispa award. Many of the Chispa recipients are smaller organizations that can do a lot with a little. They are nominated by committee and receive a surprise $7,000 award (See story, page 32-33). Breath of My Heart Birthplace in Española, a 2013 Chispa grantee, provides prenatal care and birthing services to women in the Española Valley who are seeking an out-of-hospital birth. Their target population is mostly Chicano-Hispanic, the six Tewa pueblos and the Spanish-speaking immigrant community. Breath of My Heart’s powerful work includes a birth model that is culturally relevant and in keeping with traditional ways of knowing.

La Plazita Institute, another 2013 Chispa awardee, located in the South Valley of Albuquerque, is designed around the philosophy of “La Cultura Cura” or culture heals. La Plazita’s program encourages community participants to draw from their own roots and histories as they transition out of a life of violence and create their own pathways to healing. Sisters Making Change, a program at La Plazita for young women who are incarcerated, offers health programs, talking circles, dance workshops and other educational opportunities for girls who would otherwise have little or no access to spaces of empowerment.

NMW.O is about improving the lives of all women in New Mexico. We invest in women and girls who are in underresourced communities. We also serve donors and funders who support women and girls through our donor education series.

In 2013, New Mexico Community Foundation hosted several Philanthropy Dialogues. In 2014, NMW.O will run a series geared specifically for those interested in supporting women and girls.

We believe that when women and girls thrive, families and communities thrive.

From all vantage points, the work being done on behalf of women and girls in New Mexico is potent, creative and impactful. Yet much of it is underfunded. In these tight times when resources are shrinking in the face of rising community needs, efforts to increase awareness about and to expand the amount of funding directed toward women and girls is paramount. i Sarah Ghiorse is director of NewMexicoWomen.Org, a program of the NMCF.

www.GreenFireTimes.com

Breast Wishes Fund Cheryl James

Safety for Girls and Women Joan Brooks Baker

A

s a photographer all of my life, I have often photographed women, including a project on The Black Madonna. Celebration of feminine energy has been an important focus for me. But it is an energy that must be encouraged.

Voice is a key issue. How does one find her voice when faced with poverty, lack of education, lack of food and bad health? Cultural beliefs that keep women and girls down lead to problems, not the least of which is low self-esteem.

O

n Oct. 24, a Santa Fe boutique, Cupcake Clothing, and Breast Wishes Fund sponsored “An Evening of Wellness,” dedicated to providing information on integrated, alternative care for cancer treatment and prevention in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Over 40 loyal patrons and friends gathered to participate in a dialogue. Cupcake owner Kate Kruger said, “There are so many simple everyday things we can do to stay healthy in today’s hectic world. When someone is diagnosed with cancer there isn’t one right treatment, but many that can be blended to create what feels right for an individual. In my experience most oncologists look at treatment as one size fits all, and it becomes more about standard protocol and less about the individual. I support Breast Wishes because I believe in their mission of helping women find their path through cancer with information and a sense of empowerment and choice.”

Finding a path through cancer with a sense of empowerment and choice

It was gratifying for me to join NewMexicoWomen.Org and be part of its mission to advance opportunities for women and girls, so they can lead self-sufficient, healthy and empowered lives. It was particularly exciting and rewarding to join a team delivering Chispa Awards. Chispa Awards are surprise grants given to nonprofits that accomplish a lot with a little.

One of the recipients of the 2013 Chispa was IMPACT Personal Safety, a group that teaches children and adults to prevent and defend themselves against verbal, physical and sexual violence. We walked into their offices having said we were coming for a tour—as they did not know they were to receive the award. Executive Director Alena Schaim explained with great clarity how they teach participants to find their voice by standing up and defending themselves.

As one girl graduate said: “I knew I should value myself, but I didn’t know how to go about it. This class has helped me find my value and know that I can and should defend myself.”

It was an exciting moment when we presented IMPACT with the award (which included a $7,000 check). It was totally unexpected by the small staff, but I could feel the wheels turning about ways the money could be spent.

That was a great moment for IMPACT Personal Safety and a proud day for NewMexicoWomen.Org.

L-R: Joan Baker, NMCF partner; Alena Achaim, IMPACT executive Joan Brooks Baker is a Santa Fe–based writer and director; Renee Villareal of NMCF; photographer who is committed to supporting the Nicole Lovato, program coordinator, health and well-being of women and girls.

IMPACT

www.GreenFireTimes.com

The evening opened with guests mingling over a cup of antioxidant-rich green tea provided by Karen Gardiner, owner of Artful Tea. When the tea cups were put away, the boutique transformed into a space of learning as Breast Wishes Fund founder and executive director Lexie Shabel showed an eight-minute trailer of her selfproduced “the ME film,” depicting her personal journey.

Shabel began filming the day of her diagnosis of stage four breast cancer, and the film follows her through chemotherapy, to a radical decision to not have surgery, radiation or more chemotherapy, despite the opinions of her doctor. Instead, Shabel decided to live with her cancer, and change her life through diet and alternative therapies.

She said that this decision has given her eight years of Karen Gardiner quality life, compared to the prognosis, after surgery, of only five years. The film excerpt had a powerful impact on all.

The film screening was followed by a presentation by Dr. Heidi Lucas, ND, FABNO, RYT, a Seattle-based naturopathic physician specializing in Integrative Oncology. Dr. Lucas provided information on simple, naturopathic approaches to improve overall wellbeing and increase optimal health for cancer care, post-treatment recovery and prevention. She also discussed the benefits of healthy lifestyle changes, stress management techniques, nutrition, herbs, yoga Dr. Heidi Lucas and meditative breathing techniques.

Breast Wishes Fund helps women and their families help themselves with breast cancer treatment and prevention. Breast Wishes offers alternatives to invasive-only cancer treatment modalities by providing information on viable holistic therapies before, during and after a diagnosis. We are dedicated to cancer prevention and health education, which we share through special events, workshops, informational articles and films. i Cheryl James is the program director for the New Mexico Acequia Association and communications director of the Breast Wishes Fund.

Green Fire Times • December 2013

37

Ask us about Zirconium Implants for people with metal allergies!

38

Green Fire Times • December 2013

www.GreenFireTimes.com

The New Mexico Infant Team Program A New Fiscal Sponsorship Under the NMCF Jane Clarke and Deborah Harris

T

© Don Usner

he New Mexico Community Foundation has a long history of supporting families and vulnerable young children. Starting in 2002 with Strengthening New Mexico Families, then with the Kellogg-funded SPARKS program and now by providing a home for the New Mexico Infant Team, the NMCF continues its critical attention to the needs of the state’s most vulnerable population.

The New Mexico Infant Team serves infants in the custody of the Children, Youth and Families Protective Services.

Zero to Three, the national center for infants, toddlers and families, clearly characterizes this population: “Every seven minutes a baby or toddler in America is removed from his parents’ care because of alleged abuse or neglect. At a time when these children are first exploring the world, when their lives as learners are just beginning, they are learning that the world is a dangerous and frightening place. Their brains are assaulted by stress hormones that can diminish their IQs and social interactions. Their need to find safe, trusting relationships overrides their curiosity. Their future and the future of their communities are compromised. These young children, a disproportionate percentage of whom are children of color, are often overlooked in their communities’ efforts to improve the early learning environments for poor children. What ensues is a developmental disaster for babies.”

The Zero to Three literature goes on to point out that, despite these grim circumstances, research confirms that it is possible to effectively intervene with very young victims of maltreatment during their early years, but it is a very timelimited window of opportunity. Informed decision-making, combined with developmentally appropriate services, can change the odds for these babies and toddlers. This is the kind of intervention that the NM Infant Team provides, in order to avoid the alternative, which is a developmental disaster. And clearly, whatever is a developmental disaster for babies is a disaster for the family, community, state

New Mexico Community AIDS Partnership

and country. The health of our future is literally the health of our children…or their demise.

A developmental disaster for babies is a disaster for the family, community, state and country.

Because of the explosion in developmental psychology and brain research, we now have important information about human infancy and early-childhood development that bears on the critical matters the family court addresses. The court needs a greater understanding of the needs of all developing infants, as well as an appreciation of the unique relational context of each case. The developing baby is not a cognitive machine but an emotional being with a developing mind. There is a wide range of variation in infant temperaments, so there is no “one-model-fits-all” solution. The NM Infant Team offers a highly individualized approach to each baby’s temperament, experiences and current situation. Assessment and interventions are focused on the primary caregiving relationships and developmental support that will provide the optimal opportunities for infants at risk.

We direct the NM Infant Team Program and are also statewide consultants for infant teams in the Sixth Judicial District, Doña Ana County and Bernalillo County. The Infant Teams are funded by CYFD to bring appropriate services that address the needs of babies and young children in protective custody and to develop collaborative partnerships with Protective Services, Part C (FIT) and the judiciary.

We have extensive clinical and teaching experience that focuses on infants, toddlers and pre-school-age children who have been exposed to trauma, display regulatory differences and who are experiencing multiple risk factors that require specialized developmental and dyadic mental health treatment protocols. We provide a unique and comprehensive approach to assessment, intervention and treatment of the most vulnerable babies and their caregivers. i Jane Clarke, PhD, SLP/SpEd, IMH-IV, and Deborah Harris, LISW, IMH-E®IV, co-direct the First Judicial District Infant Team. Harris has worked with the NMCF on Strengthening NM Children since 2002.

Established as a fund of NMCF in 1993 and now a fiscal sponsorship, the New Mexico Community AIDS Partnership collaborates with a variety of organizations and programs to support the health and well-being of people living with HIV/AIDS in New Mexico, including those that provide emergency financial support and information to help community members keep up to date on legislative and political developments that affect the care and services they need.

NMCAP supports high-quality, culturally appropriate, community-based HIV/AIDS programs that target New Mexico’s most underserved and vulnerable populations.

Through its annual Challenge Grant cycle, NMCAP has awarded more than $1.4 million to community-based projects and organizations across New Mexico, making NMCAP the state’s largest private funder of HIV/AIDS programs and services. i

www.GreenFireTimes.com

Jane Clarke

Deborah Harris

New Mexico Community Foundation Fiscal Sponsorship Program By providing fiscal and administrative support, the NMCF offers a unique partnership that helps new community charitable projects without nonprofit status get off the ground. To assist these unincorporated groups in incubating their ideas, programs and services, the Foundation’s Fiscal Sponsorship Program serves as an umbrella tax-exempt agent, so they can receive donations from individuals, foundations and governments.

NMCF currently has nearly 50 fiscal sponsorship clients for whom the foundation provides the “back office” function of banking, bill paying, and financial oversight. NMCF includes these groups in the Foundation’s own audit, so that there is transparency, accountability and legal responsibility for the groups’ work. This allows them to grow their resources, so they can one day meet their longer-term mission of incorporating as New Mexico–based organizations making a difference in the state.

Green Fire Times • December 2013

39

Iman Aoun Leads Theater of the Oppressed Workshop Shebana Coelho

N

orthern New Mexico CEC Artslink Fellow Iman Aoun, a Palestinian and director of Ashtar Theatre in Ramallah, led participants in a two-day Theatre of the Oppressed workshop in Santa Fe last month to trigger self- and group awareness about critical issues, ways to combat oppression and bring about social transformation. Brazilian director and educator Augusto Boal, who believed “theatre is a language and so it can be used to speak about all human concerns, not to be limited to theatre itself,” established the Theatre in the 1970s. Aoun’s Ashtar Theatre (www.ashtar-theatre.org) uses Theatre of the Oppressed methodologies to create plays that promote interactive dialogue about change within Palestinian society.

Co-sponsored by New Mexico Community Foundation, the workshop opened with a series of sensory and physical games that had participants walking, running, creating “human knots” and disentangling them, following sounds with eyes closed, arranging bodies in the form of tableaus and machines—all “to get us deeper into ourselves,” said Aoun, “because in playing you open up without realizing that you are opening up. It works on the subconscious.”

On the second day, participants were divided into groups that matched the type of oppression each had encountered, including cultural oppression/racism, peer oppression, parental oppression and workplace oppression. “Each participant wrote their individual stories,” Aoun explained, “shared them with their group and created a ‘story of the stories’ collective story. Each group performed its story, which featured a moment of oppression between the oppressor and oppressed.

This piece of the workshop is called The Forum, one of Theatre of the Oppressed’s core events. After the performance, we opened the floor for the audience to interact with the scene and become spect-actors. As a spect-actor presented an alternate solution to the scene of oppression, he/she was invited onstage to replace the protagonist in order to help overcome the oppressive moment and create a strength.”

“This is like food, like nourishment,” exclaimed Rosalia Triana, director of Española’s newly opened Main Street Theatre. “It is exactly what we need here.

It’s like plugging us in to be recharged.”

“It gives me sense of the voice inside each of us that is coming out,” said Candelario Vásquez, who works on radio/media projects for Encuentro, an immigrantserving organization. “I think that hope is coming alive through these performances.”

“These are such valuable tools,” said Aoun, “they can be used across the board for all kinds of issues— political, social, psychological. They can be tools for working with community and youth and to learn how to help groups look at their problems or challenges differently, to create open discussions and debates about critical issues between participants and to learn that discussion might bring transformation; that’s what it’s all about— transformation.”

“For me,”said Renee Villarreal, director of programs and community outreach at the NMCF, “this workshop is also a wonderful example of intercultural collaboration because various partners came together to make it happen. Some hadn’t worked together and some had. Thinking about all the moving parts to put an event like this together is pretty amazing. It is a good example of what collaborative leadership is about.”

The Theatre of the Oppressed workshop was sponsored by New Mexico Community Foundation, DNAWORKS, Moving Arts Española, New Mexico School for the Arts, Santa Fe Art Institute, Littleglobe and Performing Arts Conservatory of the Southwest. i Shebana Coelho is a Santa Fe-based writer and filmmaker.

Public Allies New Mexico

Tamara Watkins

I

came on board with New Mexico Community Foundation as a program coordinator this past September. I’ve been doing work on both the Collaborative Leadership and NewMexicoWomen.Org programs.

I was recruited through a government program called Public Allies. This subsidiary of AmeriCorps started 21 years ago and has been operating in New Mexico for the past seven years. Public Allies is a national organization that partners with various nonprofits throughout the country for a 10-month internship. Through these partnerships, Public Allies directly focuses on transforming communities through leadership development, youth empowerment and in assisting underserved populations in their work towards self-determination. I felt this program would be beneficial to my personal growth and understanding of New Mexico’s complexities.

As an Ally working with the NMCF, I have a unique opportunity to use my skills in program development, fundraising, community outreach and organizing marginalized people. Recently I helped organize the Theatre of The Oppressed workshop, facilitated by Iman Aoun, a Palestinian and director of Ashtar Theatre in Ramallah. During two days, participants were taken through a series of group exercises identifying oppressive behaviors and various counter-reactions to deal

40

Green Fire Times • December 2013

with the status quo and change the paradigm. This was a great opportunity for the participants, from a variety of ethnic and cultural backgrounds, to put themselves in each other’s shoes and transform the way we address oppression and trauma through community involvement and awareness.

In the spirit of supporting and honoring communities, NMCF went around the state giving out Chispa Awards. Being a part of the delivery of these surprise grants inspired me. It was great to know that the organizations receiving the awards had their feet on the ground, working in communities that are often forgotten. It was quite an experience witnessing the recipients’ expressions when they were given the grants, knowing that they will use the money to further their missions.

The benefits can be great when groups collectively work together for the advancement of our state and society in general. I would like to thank Public Allies and NMCF for their dedication in ensuring that all voices are recognized and heard. i Tamara Watkins is a program coordinator at the NMCF.

www.GreenFireTimes.com

The New Mexico Community News Exchange

Tom McDonald

I

love my chosen profession. I believe in what I’m doing. Newspapers— written into the US Constitution as “a free press”—are cornerstones for democracy, and on our better days, we serve our democratic republic well. I’m proud to be a part of such an industry.

struggle just to stay afloat. But they’re run by people with a vested interest in their communities, by publishers who see their newspaper as more than a business. They’re a voice for their communities, and for their readers, and they’re proud of that.

I’ve become increasingly concerned, however, with the direction my chosen profession has taken in recent years.

More and more newspapers are now owned by far-off corporations instead of local people. And when an outside corporation owns a newspaper, a certain amount of autonomy goes with it. And autonomy is an essential ingredient for keeping newspapers free.

Of course, corporations take pride in their products too, but when it comes to running a newspaper, it’s sort of like the difference between renting and buying.

Independent newspapers are a voice for their communities.

By “free” I mean independent. An independent newspaper is, for the most part, one that ’s owned and controlled locally. Sometimes, several nearby newspapers have the same local owner, which I’ll call a “cluster” of independents. At an independent newspaper, business and editorial decisions are made locally, for the good of the newspaper and the community it serves. I’m not saying a corporateowned newspaper can’t operate that way too—in fact, some do—but a lot of newspapers have lost their independence to a corporate takeover.

I write this with the insight of someone who has done his time in the corporate world. I ran, but didn’t own, the Las Vegas Optic for eight years, before starting my own media services business earlier this year. When I left the Optic, I left that corporate structure, but I’m happy to report that I haven’t strayed too far from the profession I love.

There are more than 50 newspapers in New Mexico, and about half of them are what I call independents.

These newspapers, mostly weeklies, run the gamut in both quality and viability—some are among the best and most successful weeklies in the nation, and they’re thriving, but others

www.GreenFireTimes.com

Last May, I launched—with the support of 11 locally owned newspapers—the Community News Exchange, or CNEx, as a news-sharing service for small-town papers around the state.

Now there are 14 newspapers, mostly weeklies, participating.

Here’s how it works: With permission from the newspaper owners, every week I go through the week’s newspapers in search of stories of interest to a broader readership. I then edit those stories into news briefs and “stand-alone” stories, throw in some original content of my own, and distribute it back to the participating newspapers and other CNEx subscribers.

So, every Monday, I transmit around 20 news briefs, four to eight full-length news stories and features, a Dispatch New Mexico column I write about issues of importance to rural New Mexicans, and anything else on that week’s news budget.

The service has been well received, but it hasn’t generated much revenue. And as my revenue needs grew, so did my concern that I didn’t have the resources to build it into a long-term news service for small towns.

• In 2014, we plan to be create additional revenue streams, specifically through advertising and subscription services, to help participating newspapers and build CNEx into a self-sustaining service.

• We’re also going to expand with a legislative service during the upcoming New Mexico session. It’ll be unique in its emphasis on rural issues.

• And we will generate more original content, using freelance reporters to write about issues of importance to small towns in New Mexico.

CNEx already has the support from several community newspapers around the state, because their owners see its value. Heck, they didn’t even have to ask a corporate higher-up for permission to join. Now, that’s what I call a free press. i Tom McDonald is editor of the New Mexico Community News Exchange and ownermanager of Gazette Media Services LLC. He m a y be r e a ch e d at 505.454.9131 or tmcdonald@ gazettemediaservices.com

Advertise in GREEN FIRE TIMES Support our work for a more sustainable world.

Call Skip at 505.471.5177 or Anna at 505.982.0155

Supporting Local Business in Southern New Mexico 221 N. Main Street, Las Cruces. 575-­‐323-­‐1575

Enter the New Mexico Community Foundation, which helped me secure a grant through the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation by matching the one-year grant with some of its own funds. Their financial backing has given me what I needed most—time (specifically, one year). CNEx needs time, and a good development strategy, to get to the point when it can stand on its own two feet.

Now it’s a basic news-sharing service, but over the next year we’re going to turn it into more:

Green Fire Times • December 2013

41

* Foreclosure defense

42

Green Fire Times • December 2013

www.GreenFireTimes.com

NEWSBITEs Senators Propose National Renewable Energy Standard

US Senators Tom Udall (D-NM) and Mark Udall (D-CO) have introduced a bill to establish a national Renewable Energy Standard, the first national threshold. The bill would require utilities to generate 25 percent of their power from wind, solar, biomass and other RE sources by 2025. Six percent would be required by 2014, followed by gradual increases thereafter. Municipal and other publicly owned power plants and rural co-ops would be exempted from the requirements.

The bill is intended to help make the US more energy independent, hold down utility rates and boost private investments in state economies. The senators, who are first cousins, introduced a similar initiative in 2002 while members of the US House of Representatives. They built a coalition in the House and won passage of an RES amendment in 2007.

“The global clean energy race is increasingly competitive, and our bill is the best way to help America take the lead and build a thriving clean-energy economy,” Tom Udall said. “A national RES will get America running on homegrown clean energy, create almost 300,000 jobs and help revitalize our rural communities—all while fighting global warming.”

PRC Deals Blow to NM’s Renewable Energy commission reduces renewable portfolio standard and undercuts state’s solar industry On Nov. 20, with a vote of 3-2, the Public Utility Commission adopted amendments to its renewable energy rule that essentially cut in half the amount of solar energy that New Mexico utilities are required to produce and also reduce the amount of RE the utilities are required to add in the future.

Commissioners Becenti-Aguilar, Lyons and Hall voted to allow utilities to receive two Renewable Energy Credits (RECS) per kilowatt-hour for solar and three RECs for energy such as biomass and geothermal. Commissioners Espinoza and Montoya voted no, citing concerns about lack of public comment on the proposal and overall reduction of RE production.

The rule passed in December 2012 requires that 20 percent of a utility’s renewable resource portfolio be from solar power and 5 percent from renewable resources other than wind or solar. The new rule change will effectively reduce the required amount of solar energy generated to 10 percent and other resources to 1.5 percent.

The Renewable Energy Act requires utilities to provide 15 percent of renewables in 2015 and 20 percent by 2020. But the 2-for-1 credit for solar would reduce the total percentage by giving solar and other resources credit for generation that was not actually produced. The effective reduction would be approximately 3.5 percent to the required amount of renewables. The Commission had this multiplier method in place once before, prior to the Legislature implementing percentage requirements.

It did not result in any non-wind resource acquisitions.

State Energy Policy To Be Revised

At a gathering at Santa Fe Community College last month, one of five “listening sessions” around the state being hosted by David Martin, New Mexico’s secretary of Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources, experts in renewable energy, finance, land management and education offered advice on revising the state’s energy policy.

The policy, which can impact legislation, tax incentives and regulations, hasn’t been appreciably changed since the early 1990s.

Barriers to boosting renewable energy and energy efficiency mentioned included financing, inconsistent long-term policies and lack of streamlined regulations.

An example cited was New Mexico’s green building tax credit, which provides a boost for builders and buyers of energy- and water-efficient homes. The cap on this tax credit will be reached in 2014. Utility-scale RE projects were also discussed as more attractive for financiers than smaller distributed generation projects, and RE production tax credits were advocated to help make this possible. Robb Hirsch of Energy, Sustainable Development and Leadership Consulting suggested having the number of jobs created be a factor in expanding the production tax credit.

Other meetings will take place in Albuquerque regarding general energy issues, Hobbs regarding oil and gas and Las Cruces to discuss biofuels. Contact the Department at emnrd@ofs.pio@state.nm.us for details.

NM Solar Facilities Completed

A solar power plant has been completed in Los Lunas. PNM’s Manzano Solar Energy Center consists of 108,000 panels spanning 60 acres. According to a news

www.GreenFireTimes.com

release, the Valencia County facility is capable of producing enough electricity for about 2,600 homes.

As part of the utility’s obligation to comply with New Mexico’s renewable-energy portfolio standards, PNM brought five utility-scale solar power plants online between 2011 and 2012. Another array is planned near Tularosa, and a wind farm is coming to the base of Mt. Taylor in western New Mexico.

ReneSola Ltd., a photovoltaic-module manufacturer, recently completed three months of construction on a 2.5-megawatt solar farm. The array, which will provide power to the Roswell area, has 7,000 250-watt PV modules.

Arizona Approves Solar Grid-Connection Fee

In what may be the start of a national assault on net metering policies by the utility industry, which is seeking to maintain its dominance as distributed generation erodes its traditional business monopoly, last month the Arizona Corporate Commission, in a 3-2 vote, agreed to charge ratepayers a precedent-setting monthly fee of 70 cents per kilowatt of solar energy installed on their roofs.

Arizona is one of 43 states required to buy solar power from customers with rooftop panels. The Commission agreed with Arizona Public Service Company that the policy unfairly shifts some of the utility’s costs to people without panels. The investorowned utility, which generates most of its electricity from coal, nuclear, gas and oil, spent $3.7 million to promote its argument, compared with about $335,000 by the solar industry. An estimated 1,000 people were at the Commission’s meeting, almost universally opposing the fee. Solar advocates say that rooftop solar can reduce strain on the system and in the long-term avoid the cost of building new power plants.

Imposing a fee to address this issue will likely prompt power companies in other states to follow suit, threatening the surging residential solar market. “It’s totally unfair to put any charge on customers that are simply reducing demand,” said Court Rich, an attorney with the Rose Law Group in Scottsdale, Ariz., which represents solar companies. The companies allege that APS, which was seeking a much higher rate, was attempting to “tax the sun and erase the financial incentive for using solar.”

Innovate ABQ Receives Grants

The University of New Mexico has received a $1.5 million grant from the US Economic Development Administration to help the school build its Innovate ABQ high-tech research and development center in downtown Albuquerque. The initiative is a collaboration of businesses, government leaders and educators. UNM has received $6.5 million in support of the effort, a combination of public and private funds, including $3 million over three years from the NM Educators Federal Credit Union and about $2 million from a recent city bond issue. On Dec. 6, the university’s Board of Regents will review proposals to invest $13 million in the project.

The plan is to establish a center where researchers, students and entrepreneurs, together with Albuquerque’s business community, will grow existing companies, shorten the cycle of business development and job creation, and attract out-of-state business. The center will also house the school’s technology transfer office and will be a one-stop shop for investors to acquire intellectual property to commercialize new technologies.

Santa Fe Innovation Park Receives Funding

Three projects of the Santa Fe Innovation Park, a nonprofit web-based business model, have received startup funding, according to economist David Breecker, SFIP’s president. The projects include the Microgrid Systems Laboratory, a venture capital project focused on impact investing, and a social media project that links institutions.

The Microgrid Systems Lab received $30,000 from Los Alamos National Security to develop its initial technology. Breecker says that the lab, which has about a dozen partners, is very close to positioning New Mexico as a world leader in that technology.

The SFIP will seek an appropriation of $500,000 from the 2014 state legislature for the second phase of the project to build, staff and equip the lab.

The SFIP’s Place Sourced Impact Investing Project will be a fund that will invest in companies that provide social, as well as financial, benefits. Portray.it, the third project, received $15,000 in crowdfunding seed money. Portray.it will be a social media site that leverages artistic talent. All three projects are still seeking additional investments to take the next steps.

Breecker is also working with Santa Fe County on an updated economic development plan.

Green Fire Times • December 2013

43

2885 Trades West Road (off Siler) Santa Fe, NM 87505

960-C Highway 550 Bernalillo, NM 87004

910

Consider placing an ad in this award-winning publication. Call Skip Whitson (505.471.5177) or Anna Hansen (505.982.0155) 44

Green Fire Times • December 2013

www.GreenFireTimes.com

NEWSBITEs David Versus Goliath, Again

The New Mexico Environmental Law Center, on behalf of clients in Silver City, is fighting to overturn the recently enacted “Copper Rule” that exempts copper mining operators in New Mexico from adhering to 40 years’ worth of water-quality protection legislation. The “Copper Rule” allows unlimited contamination of any groundwater in New Mexico, no matter where that water is located—on private property, tribal land or public land. If mining operators are exempt from water-quality standards, then a host of other businesses, including large diary operators, will also apply for exemptions. The NMELC is running its first online fundraising campaign to offset legal costs associated with saving this precious natural resource. To watch a brief video about the need for the lawsuit and to make a donation, visit www.crowdrise. com/nmelc

Mora County Commission to Defend Ordinance That Bans Fracking

On Nov. 20, in response to a lawsuit filed by three corporations and one individual, the Mora County Commission voted unanimously to hire legal counsel to defend its Community Water Rights and Local Self-Government Ordinance, which was passed into law in April 2013, banning oil and gas extraction and other hydrocarbons within Mora County. The plaintiffs are asserting their corporate “rights” that the ordinance challenges through the 1st, 5th, and 14th Amendments, which point to the privilege of “corporate personhood.”

© Sharon Stewart

The Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF) assisted a citizen committee made up of local business leaders, land-grant heirs, acequia parciantes, grazing permittees, an elected official and other community members to draft the ordinance. CELDF and the NM Environmental Law Center and have been hired (pro bono), along with Santa Fe attorney Daniel Brannen to defend the new law.

There are currently over 160 communities across the US that have passed CELDF Community Rights ordinances. Mora County’s is one of the 19 ordinances that ban “big oil” while asserting rights to local self-governance and self-determination, and the first to be sued for banning drilling and fracking.

“The focus of the lawsuit won’t be on fracking, but on challenging the current fact that corporations have more rights than the people of Mora County. In other words, we don’t have a fracking problem, we have a democracy problem,” stated Kathleen Dudley, CELDF NM Community Rights organizer. Mora County Commission Chair John Olivas stated, “It is unfortunate that counties and municipalities cannot say ‘no’ to corporate development without the threat of litigation.”

SF City Council Passes Resolution Requesting Denial of the Keystone XL permit

Last month, the Santa Fe City Council passed a resolution respectfully requesting that President Obama deny the permit application by TransCanada to construct the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. The Council also strongly endorsed public expression of resistance to approval of the pipeline, “up to and including peaceful, nonviolent and dignified expressions of civil disobedience.”

“Climate change is happening, we see it with drought and forest fires,” said Mayor David Coss. “Santa Fe needs to be part of the solution and not part of the problem.”

“There’s nothing in the Keystone XL pipeline for the people of the United States,” said Councilor Chris Calvert. “We take all the risk and don’t benefit from any of the rewards.” “Our Charter charges the Governing Body with the responsibility: to protect, preserve and enhance the City’s natural endowments,” said Councilor Patti Bushee. “It is incumbent upon us to act boldly when dealing with the real threat of climate change and its impact on our environment.”

The resolution discusses several statistics, including: • 830,000 barrels of tar sands oil proposed to be carried daily from Alberta, Canada, to the Gulf Coast would increase climate-changing emissions yearly by 24.3 million tons, the equivalent of Americans driving an additional 60 million miles per year.

• Over the course of the project’s lifetime, carbon emissions would increase by up to 1.2 billion metric tons. This comes at a time when the World Bank and International Energy Administration are warning that 66 percent of known fossil fuel reserves must be kept in the ground if we are to have even a small chance at stopping the climate crisis.

www.GreenFireTimes.com

• High rates of rare cancers, renal failure, lupus and hyperthyroidism have been documented in indigenous communities living downstream from tar sands extraction.

• In the last decade, there have been over 2,500 pipeline mishaps, including recent tar sands pipeline breaks in Kalamazoo, Mich. and Mayflower, Ark.

Santa Fe Board of County Commissioners Approves Carbon Fee Resolution

On Nov. 26, the Santa Fe Board of County Commissioners passed a resolution calling for a federal revenue-neutral carbon fee and dividend program. A similar resolution was passed by the city of Santa Fe two weeks earlier.

The proposed program would levy a fee on the carbon in each kind of fossil fuel (coal, oil, natural gas) at the point of production or import. Funds collected would then, except for federal administration costs, be returned to taxpayers. The intent, advocates say, is that putting a price on carbon as one way to address climate change will add an incentive for people to decrease their use of fossil fuels, curb carbon emissions and help drive contemporary societies toward a renewable-energy future.

This approach, which has support on both sides of the political spectrum, is simpler and more efficient than the failed cap-and-trade program. More than 30 countries have adopted a carbon taxation program.

“We need to put a price on carbon, so we don’t continue to pay the environmental cost of carbon,” said Maria Rotunda, leader of the local Citizens Climate Lobby chapter. “Only massive grassroots efforts will pressure Congress to act on climate change.” More information: 505.570.7586, santafe@citizensclimatelobby.org, www. citizensclimatelobby.org

Navajo Nation Environmental Workforce Development Program

With a $200,000 grant from the US Environmental Protection Agency, the Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals (ITEP) at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona, will train Navajo Nation tribal members in environmental cleanup, including the safe handling of radioactive materials. The training will take place in the tribal capital of Window Rock. ITEP will also provide job-placement assistance. The program specifically targets unemployed or underemployed Navajo tribal residents, particularly those living in and around communities impacted by uranium mining activities. There is no cost to qualified participants.

The unemployment rate in many areas of the Navajo Reservation is about 50 percent.

About 4 million tons of uranium ore were mined there from 1944 to 1986 for the production of weapons of war. Families and their livestock are still impacted by contaminated lands, abandoned uranium mines and leftover waste. The Northeast Church Rock Mine near Gallup, NM, is one of the top priorities. Some water supplies, such as those around Tuba City, Arizona, have high levels of radionuclides.

ITEP is working with the Navajo Nation Environmental Protection Agency and the Navajo Nation Department of Workforce Development to recruit 20 tribal members for each training cycle, leading to the education and certification of up to 40 graduates over the first two years of the program. The application deadline for the first cycle is January 31, 2014.

Shiprock Chapter Opposes Navajo Mine Waiver

The Shiprock Chapter of the Navajo Nation has voted to support a resolution stating opposition to the waiver of all liabilities the tribe has granted to BHP Billiton, the coal company the tribe has signed a purchase agreement with for the Navajo Mine.

The Navajo Nation Council approved the waiver on Oct. 31. It covers all past, present and future claims, demands, indebtedness, liabilities, obligations, costs, expenses and actions for BHP Billiton. The purchase agreement is not finalized until the US Department of the Interior, through the Bureau of Indian Affairs, signs its approval.

Chapter members have asked why tribal leaders did not ask tribal members to vote on the purchase and have expressed their concerns about environmental effects of the mine on the land and people in the vicinity. Shiprock is the only chapter to issue a resolution that opposes the waiver. Other chapters have issued resolutions supporting the purchase of the mine.

Green Fire Times • December 2013

45

What's Going On! Events / Announcements

Dec. 8, 4-7 pm Big Bosque Bash Tortuga Gallery, 901 Edith SE

A music benefit to keep the bosque natural featuring Le Chat Lunatique, Sage & Jared’s Happy Gland Band, Strange Magic featuring Javier Romero and more. $10 suggested admission. Facebook.com/mim.fm

ALBUQUERQUE Dec. 3, 7:15-8:30 pm Growing Fruit Trees Meadowlark Senior Center, 4330 Meadowlark Lane, Rio Rancho

Gardening with the Masters lecture presented by certified arborist Elizabeth Gardner.

Free. 505.867.2582, www.sandovalmaster gardeners.org

Dec. 4, 5:30-7:30 Green Drinks Holiday Social Hotel Andaluz, 125 2nd St. NW

2nd Annual Reuse, Recycle, Re-gift fundraiser. Network and mingle with people interested in local business, clean energy and other green issues. Free admission. Silent auction to benefit the Green Chamber. 505.244.3700, Lindsay@nmgreenchamber.com, http://nm greenchamber.com/events/

Dec. 4, 6:30 pm Climate Action Watch Party for “Chasing Ice” Jewish Community Center 5520 Wyoming Blvd. NE

Free screening of award-winning film followed by panel discussion featuring physicist Mark Boslough, former PRC commissioner Jason Marks, Kara Peterson of Sandia Labs, UNM Earth and Planetary Sciences professor Zachary Sharp and Bill Spotz, climate modeling at Sandia Labs. http://alibi.com/ events/60830/Chasing-Ice.html, www.Abq ClimateAction.us

Dec. 5-8 Festival of Trees Fundraiser Sandia Resort and Casino

Benefits the Carrie Tingley Hospital Foundation, which helps children with disabilities and their families. Dozens of beautifully decorated trees with photos and stories of the children. Entertainment.

Opening night gala 12/5 at 6:30. Tickets: $50. carrietingleyhospitalfoundation. org/festival-of-trees/get-tickets/ For more info, visit carrietingleyhospitalfoundation. org/festival-of-trees/hours-and-activities/

Dec. 7, 10:30 am-12:30 pm Eating for Your Health Highland Senior Center 131 Monroe NE

Community-based workshop facilitated by Susan Clair, MCRP/MPA, for people healing through cancer. Workshop addresses elements of a healthy lifestyle, plant and animal-based proteins, organic and conventional foods, antioxidants & systemic alkalinity, health benefits of herbs & spices, fats & sweeteners, easy & delicious recipes. Free. Advance registration required.

505.321.8649, clair@nmia.com

46

Dec. 9, 4-8 pm Engaged Citizen Awards NM Museum of Natural History and Science

A statewide award program. Categories: “Visible Accomplishments” and “Behind the Scenes” efforts resulting in increased engagement with the outdoors. Reception, awards ceremony, music. Sponsored by the NM Outdoors Coalition, a collaboration among federal and regional public lands agencies, private and nonprofit organizations. Free. RSVP: newmexicooutdoors coalition@gmail.com, Info: 505.435.2356, dacohen77@gmail.com, www.newmexico outdoorscoalition.wordpress.com

Dec. 27, 4 pm Polyphony: Voices of NM Cathedral of St. John, 318 Silver Ave. SW

Professional vocal ensemble and chamber orchestra performs Handel’s Messiah–part one, Bach’s Christmas Oratorio–part one and Buxtehude’s 8-part setting of the Magnificat. Tickets $35-$10. 505.821.1956, polyphonyvoicesofnewmexico.com www.polyphonynm.com

Jan. 27-Feb. 1 Holistic Management in Practice Course Location TBA

Understand and manage stressed ecosystems, learn about financial, land, agricultural and people resources with certified Holistic Management International educator Kirk Gadzia. 505.867.4685, kirk@rms gadzia.com, www.rmsgadzia.com

Jan. 30-Feb. 2 Clean Economy Conference ABQ Embassy Suites 1000 Woodward Place

Building Resiliency through Sustainable Practices. Keynote speaker: Joel Salatin of Polyface Farms. 1/30: Gourmet Steward’s Dinner; 1/31: Pre-conference full-day workshop on Local Food Production; 2/1-2 (9 am-5 pm): Conference with plenary sessions on wise water use, regenerative agriculture, zero-waste, organic food production, compost tea, strategies to shrink our carbon footprint, seed saving, creating an agricultural production center, community gardens, urban farming, sustainability tradeshow and more. $125/day or 3 days/$275. www.carboneconomyseries.com

Feb. 5-6 Fossil-Free Film Festival The Guild Cinema, 3405 Central Ave. NE

The best new films about climate change and what you can do about it. 505.350.3839, tstark1960@gmail.com

Feb. 25 Crawford Symposium: Green Trails for the Next Generation Bosque School Info: 505.898.6388, bosqueschool.org

Green Fire Times • December 2013

Rebecca.belletto@

Daily Degrees of Change: NM’s Climate Forecast NM Museum of Natural History & Science, 1801 Mountain Rd. NW

With a focus on NM and the SW, this exhibit reveals current and predicted impacts on humans, landscapes and ecosystems. Tickets: $7, $6, $4. Info: 505.841.2800 www.nmnaturalhistory.org

March 5-7, 8 am-5 pm 3rd International Meeting on Indigenous Women’s Health Hotel Albuquerque at Old Town

Healthy Generations: Integrating Traditions and Science to promote well-being.

An opportunity for physicians, midwives, nurses, community providers and others who work with indigenous women to share, support, network, learn and build partnerships to improve the health of indigenous women and their families. 505.272.3942, kbreck enridge@salud.unm.edu, http://som.unm. edu/cme

SANTA FE

Dec. 3, 4 pm Sustainable Land Development Code Public Hearing County Commissioner Chambers 102 Grant Ave.

SF County Board of County Commissioners consideration of adoption of SLDC regulations to guide future growth and development in the County. There is also a regular meeting of the commissioners on Dec. 10 at 2 pm to consider the code adoption. Info: 505.995.2717, cn romero@santafecountynm.gov. The draft can be viewed at www.santafecountynm.gov/sldc

Dec. 3-4, 8:30 am-4:30 pm Collaborative Forest Restoration Programs Workshop SF Community College Jémez Rooms

A diverse group of stakeholders and forest restoration experts will come together to discuss forest restoration on public lands in NM. Info: 505.982.9805, romero.rosemary@gmail.com, www. fs.usda.gov/detail/r3/workingtogether/ grants/?cid=fsbdev3_022022, Registration: http://www.fs.usda.gov/goto/r3/cfrp

Dec. 4, 5-8 pm Opening GLOW—A Winter Lights Event Santa Fe Botanical Garden at Museum Hill, 715 Camino Lejo

A glowing winter wonderland designed by Lisa Samuel. 5 consecutive weekends. $8/$5. Children 12 & under free. Tickets online or at the door.

505.471.9103, info@santafebotanicalgarden.org

Dec. 4, 5:30-7 pm Santa Fe Green Drinks Inn and Spa at Loretto, 211 Old Santa Fe Trail

Network and mingle with people interested in local business, clean energy and other green issues. Chilean/Cuban singer/ songwriter/recording artist Consuelo Luz will perform. Free admission. Bring a non-perishable food offering for the Interfaith Shelter. glenn@ nmgreenchamber.com

Dec. 4, 5:30 pm Camino Real National Historic Trail Project La Cienega Community Center

Informational open house for the development of a Conceptual Master Plan for the Retracement Hiking Trail along El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro Historic Trail (Buckman Road segment).

505.992.9857, lroach@santafecountynm.gov

Dec. 4, 6-8 pm Santa Fe Conservation Trust Holiday Party SF Women’s Club, 1616 Old Pecos Trail

20th Anniversary celebration. Learn about the SFCT’s current work and plans for coming years. RSVP: 505.989.7019, info@sfct.org

Dec. 5, 5-6:30 pm SF River Trail Crossing Public Meeting Gonzales School Library 851 W. Alameda

Discussion about a key part of the developing urban trail network for bicycles and pedestrians at St. Francis Dr. and W. Alameda.

Ask questions and share ideas. bkdrypolcher@ci.santa-fe.nm.us

Dec. 5-8 Historical Buddha Relics Exhibit Immaculate Heart of Mary Retreat and Conference Center, 50 Mt. Carmel Road

Nonsectarian public exhibit of ancient and sacred Buddhist relics, including some rescued from Tibet in 1959 by the Dalai Lama.

Drepung Monks will chant at the opening ceremony: 12/5, 6-7 pm. 505.603.8084, michaelfouts1@gmail.com www.maitreyarelictour.com/media-coverage

Dec. 6, 1-4 pm Cannupa Hanska Luger: Destroying the Stereotype Museum of Contemporary Native Arts, 108 Cathedral Place

Performance will destroy the stereotypes embodying Luger’s sculptures. 505.983.1666, www.iaia.edu/museum

Dec. 6, 5-8 pm Poeh Cultural Center Exhibition Opening 78 Cities of Gold Road (Pojoaque)

“Doing, Being, Sharing, Laughing” Runs through 1/31. 505.455.5041, www.poehmuseum.com

Dec. 7, 7 pm Moving People Dance Railyard Performance Center, 1611 Paseo de Peralta

Student choreographers will present “Scattered Pieces.” $10 suggested donation.

505.670.2152

Dec. 8, 12-4 pm Winter Traditions Museum of Indian Arts & Culture

Gallery tour of Woven Identities at noon, Arnold Herrera (Cochiti Pueblo) and family – willow wicker basket weaving, Ed Kabotie (Santa Clara Pueblo/Hopi) lecture and music; Ice Mountain Dance Group (Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo); Bea Duran (Tesuque Pueblo) 505.476.1250, www.indianartsandculture.org

www.GreenFireTimes.com

Dec. 8, 2-4 pm Imagine a World Without Hate Campaign Celebration Pink Church Art Center

Celebrate the Anti-Defamation League’s 100th year fight against prejudice and hate.

ARTsmart and ADL-New Mexico have teamed up to present this event. Exhibition of children’s artwork by students from Sweeny Elementary and Agua Fria Elementary.

Children’s Choir from El Dorado Community School. Hors d’ oeuvres. Free admission.

505.992.2787, Ivakharia@arsmartnm.org

Dec. 9, 2-3 pm Successful Gardening in New Mexican Soil SF Women’s Club 1616 Old Pecos Trail

Lecture by Erin Wade of Vinaigrette restaurants and Los Portales Farm in Nambé.

From vermicomposting to soil biodiversity, learn about Erin’s journey and how to create healthy soil.

Dec. 9, 3 pm SF Occupancy Tax Advisory Board Grant Makers Forum SF Community Convention Center, Nambé Room

Forum to inform nonprofits interested in applying for OTAB grant funding for marketing major new off-season events that support creative and cultural tourism and will attract younger tourists. RSVP: 505.955.6214, pearchuleta@santafenm.gov. Online application form for grant funding: www.santafe. org under the link marked OTAB Form

Dec. 11, 5-8 pm Creative Santa Fe Fundraiser/ Silent Auction David Richard Gallery

Through Jan. 5, 2014 New World Cuisine: Histories of Chocolate, Mate y Más Museum of International Folk Art

Exhibit focuses on the mixing of food cultures in the Americas. 505.476.1200, inter nationalfolkart.org

Through March 16, 2014 Cowboys Real and Imagined NM History Museum

This exhibit explores NM’s contribution to the cowboys of both myth and reality from the 1600s to the present day.

First Saturday of Each Month, 10 am-12 pm SF Citizens’ Climate Lobby Natural Grocers, Community Room, 3328 Cerrillos Road

“Creating political will for a livable world.” maria@myearthprints.com

Tuesdays and Saturdays 8 am-12 pm Santa Fe Farmers’ Market 1607 Paseo de Peralta (& Guadalupe)

Northern NM farmers & ranchers bring you fresh greenhouse tomatoes, greens, root veggies, cheese, teas, herbs, spices, honey, baked goods, Southwestern body care and much more. www.santafefarmersmarket.com

Sundays, 8 am-1 pm Santa Fe Artists Market Railyard Park www.santafeartistsmarket.com

Sundays, 10 am-4 pm New Mexico Artisan Market Farmers’ Market Pavillion www.artmarketsantafe.com

Silent auction, music, art, fun. $50.

505.288.3538, cconn@creativesantafe.org

Santa Fe Creative Tourism Workshops, Classes and Experiences

Dec. 13, 6 pm Cowboy Christmas Dinner & Dance La Fonda on the Plaza

Save A Ton Recycling Campaign

6 pm silent art auction, 7 pm sit-down dinner. $100. Benefits Horses for Heroes-NM veterans. Dance to Cathy Faber’s country band.

505.798.2535, www.horsesforheroes.org

Dec. 14, 3-7 pm Christmas Celebration for Senior Animals Kindred Spirits Animal Sanctuary, 3749-A Highway 14

20 minutes south of Santa Fe, half a mile south of Lone Butte General Store.

505.471.5366, www.kindredspiritsnm.org

Dec. 15, 10 am-3 pm Young Native Artists Holiday Show & Sale NM History Museum/Palace of the Governors Children and grandchildren of the Palace Portal artists. Free admission through Washington Ave. doors. 505.476.5100

Dec. 15, 3-4:30 pm Santa Fe Poet Laureate Hosts Reading IAIA Center for Lifelong Education, 83 Avan Nu Po Rd.

Jon Davis will read his work and host “Santa Fe Poets 2,” featuring poets Lauren Camp, Joanne Dominique Dwyer, Jamie Figueroa, dg anaouk okpik and Arthur Sze. Free. Info: 505.424.2365, jdavissimo52@gmail.com

www.GreenFireTimes.com

http://santafecreativetourism.org/

The city of Santa Fe and the SF New Mexican have launched a campaign to double recycling in Santa Fe in one year. Santa Feans score way below state and national averages. For a city with its own recycling facility that envisions becoming a Zero Waste community, we can do better! Find info on the Save A Ton campaign at www.sfnewmexican.com and click on Green Line or on Facebook. 505.955.2209

HERE & THERE

Dec. 5, 7 pm Green Fire Film Screening Harwood Museum of Art, 238 Ledoux Street, Taos, NM

Documentary about Aldo Leopold, father of the national wilderness system and a key figure in developing the fields of wildlife management, restoration ecology and sustainable agriculture. Screening followed by a panel discussion featuring historian Juan Estévan Arellano, journalist Laura Paskus and LANL climate scientist Nathan McDowell. Presented by the Western Environmental Law Center. $10/$8. http://www.aldoleopold.org/greenfire/index. shtml, http://westernlaw.org/

Dec. 6, 11:30 am-12:30 pm First Friday: Your Business History

The Las Cruces Green Chamber of Commerce presents speaker Beth Morgan, a historian who will discuss the value of highlighting your business; its history, the people, their role in the community and the values held by the business. 575.323.1575, carrie@ nmgreenchamber.com

Dec. 7, 10 am-3 pm 2nd Annual Tamal Fiesta y Más Historic Downtown Silver City, NM

Enjoy tamales, performances, heritage activities and more. cissymca@yahoo.com

Dec. 14, 7 am Christmas Bird Count Las Vegas, NM

Data are used to assess the health of bird populations and to help guide conservation efforts. Bring binoculars and lunch.

Sponsored by the National Audubon Society and Hermit’s Peak Watershed Alliance.

505.425.2757, casseagle@gmail.com

Dec. 18, 6:30-8 pm Winter Tree Care Pajarito Environmental Education Center, 3540 Orange St. Los Alamos, NM

Presentation by certified arborist Laurel Hardin focuses mostly on non-native urban trees, as well as Ponderosa, Piñon and Juniper. $8/$6. 505.662.0460, Programs@ PajaritoEEC.org, www.PajaritoEEC.org

Dec. 19, 5-7 pm Green Drinks Taos Mesa Brewing Co., 20 ABC Mesa Rd., Taos, NM

Guest speaker Kris Callori, architect, LEED Fellow, Biomimicry Specialist and adjunct professor at UNM School of Architecture.

Erin@nmgreenchamber.com

Dec. 20, 9 pm Larry Littlebird with Hakim Bellamy PBS CH 5.1 Colores

An engaging story dialogue between Pueblo Indian storyteller/artist/farmer Larry Littlebird and Albuquerque’s Poet Laureate. www.listeningground.com, www.newmex icopbs.org/productions/colores

Tuesday-Friday, 10 am-1 pm and Saturday Pajarito Environmental Education Center 3540 Orange St., Los Alamos, NM

Exhibits of flora and fauna of the Pajarito Plateau; herbarium, live amphibians, butterfly and xeric gardens. Free. Pajaritoecc.org

March 26-27 Sustainability Summit and Exhibition Wisconsin Center Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Implementing sustainable business models, supply-chain innovation, freshwater challenges —global and local, sustainability opportunities in global markets, sustainable food supply, the efficiency and nutrition revolution, sustainable energy, climate: the global challenge. www. sustainabilitysummit.us

Río Grande Return Gifts from the River

Locally produced salsas, jams, honey, chocolates, soaps, lotions, incense and more. Supports local farmers, producers and the conservation of the Rio Grande. 505.466.1767, toll free: 866.466.1767, www.riograndereturn.com

Veterans Green Jobs Academy Northern NM College, Espanola

Workforce training and specific degree programs to support military veterans in fully accredited academic certificate and degree programs in areas of environmental science related to renewable energy, hazardous materials response, forestry, sustainable agriculture, wildland fire science, construction trades and others. A partnership with the NM Dept. of Veterans Services. For more info, call Dr. Biggs at 505.747.5453 or visit www.nnmc.edu/ vetacademy.htm.

Dec. 29, 7 pm We’ve Got the Power Screening Reel Deal Theater, Los Alamos, NM

Brad Marshland’s new documentary, a follow-up to his Emmy Award-winning film The Next Frontier, explores alternative energies. $12.. 505.662.0460, Programs@Pajar itoEEC.org, www.PajaritoEEC.org

Through Dec. 31 Buy Local Story Contest

The Southwest Green Chamber of Commerce is launching a “Tell Us Your Favorite Buy Local Story Contest” and will follow with “Buy Local Awards” each month in 2014.

575.538.4332, swGreenChamber@gmail.com

Jan 2-24 Ghost Ranch Workshops Abiquiú, NM

Indigenous Pottery & Southwest Culture; An Inner Journey: Still the Mind, Open the Heart; Outdoor Adventure; Photography in the Desert; Southwest Weaving & Culture; Sustainability Practices in Action: Agriculture and the Earth. 505.685.4333, ext. 4196, caler@ ghostranch.org, www.GhostRanch.org

January 10 Submission Deadline Aldo Leopold Writing Contest

Eligibility: Students grades 6-12 in public, private and home schools in NM. Describe what “wilderness” means to you and your community. $500 prizes (total of $2,000 will be awarded). Info: 505.898.6388, Rebecca. belletto@bosqueschool.org

Green Fire Times • December 2013

47

48

Green Fire Times • December 2013

www.GreenFireTimes.com