2021 Sunset Blessing of the Land Drumming Circle
Blessing of the Land Sunset Drumming Circle
Wild Horse Warriors will host Mary Ellen Connett for a Drumming Circle in Sand Wash Basin.
This will be a celebration of the Van Gogh Legacy Fence and a Thank You to all our followers for their support and donations.
We will host a Free BBQ prior to the Sunset Drumming Circle.
We will need an RSVP for the BBQ.
If you have your own drum you are welcome to bring it and join in with the Drumming Circle.
Or if you do not have your own drum
Mary Ellen will hold a drum making workshop for those of you that are interested in making your own drum to use in the Drumming Circle.
It the Basin is not accessible due to wet, muddy roads we will hold the event in the Maybell Park or the Maybell Community Center.
The Blessing of the Land Drumming Circle will be held at Lake Pond on Ct Rd 67 in Sand Wash Basin, Colorado
Saturday, June 12, 2021 at 6 PM MDT – 9 PM MDT
2018 Blessing of The Land
On May 5th, we met at the location and set up our signs and did a general cleanup. We had parking signs and handicapped signs. My camper was set up for emergencies and a restroom if needed.
We also had the covered picnic area in Maybell reserved in case of bad weather.
There was a miscommunication or lack of communication between the Native Americans and WHW about a honorarium, for the Native Americans. This will need to be addressed before next year.
The night before the service the Native Americans called for directions, they were staying in Craig for the night. They did not realize that Craig was an hour away.
The morning was cold and clear. The Native Americans got lost on their way and we were about 20 minutes late starting.
We had a table with coffee, hot water, tea, hot chocolate and cookies.
There were about 35 guests that showed up and 15 Native Americans.
The Blessing of the Land Service only lasted about 30 minutes.
In general things went very smoothly, but there are some things that we would need to change and re-address for next year. The Native Americans have said they would like to come back.
It has been suggested that it be a sunset ceremony instead of a sunrise. That is something that we would consider.
The Location was great and there is plenty of room for a larger group.
There was a misunderstanding about the parking and we would need to let people know that they need to park on 75, not to come down into the area of the ceremony, except for the handicapped.
We had mini solar lights out to light the way, but the first rays of sunlight shut them off. IF we did a sunset service they would be great to light the way back to the cars.
Several people, including the guests of honor, got lost. We will need to do a better sign at the turn on 75, although again if it’s a sunset ceremony the sign would be easier to see.
By 8:30 am we had the site cleaned up and we were headed to Maybell to set up our booth. Later in the morning my husband returned to the Basin and brought out our camper.
Wild Horse Warriors would like to hold this event again next. I think there needs to be a better conversation and explanation of what we would like to see and what the Native Americans would like to do. This year was difficult as we were working through a third person, until the week before the ceremony. Three days before they asked about the honorarium, that had never been discussed and was not included in our permit, so they were told that we would not be offering one as we did not know it was a standard practice. At that point we were not sure they were going to come. They later contacted us to let us know they would still come.
We had hoped they would wear their native clothing, but they did not. Next year we would request that they wear their native clothing. We would also like the ceremony to be a little longer.