Acknowledgements

Don Mariano says it’s not enough that the Q’eros observe these earth-honoring traditions. We in North America must also become aware, and practice this reverence for the Earth to survive. I’m grateful both don Oscar and don Mariano have given me their warm approval and blessings for this book to help children and families feel spiritually connected to the Earth and to take action in giving back. The Q’eros call this practice of reciprocity, ayni (i-nee).

In 2017, I was selected to attend the Bread Loaf Environmental Writers’ Conference, where I studied with Robin Wall Kimmerer, author of Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants and Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses. She is an enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation and an American Distinguished Teaching Professor of Environmental and Forest Biology.

I am grateful for her wise teachings about kinship with nature.

Urpichay Songoy (Doves from my heart)

or In Gratitude,

Rebecca Myers

In 2009, I was inspired by the teachings of don Mariano Quispe, a revered Q’ero paqo (healer) from Peru, when he came to America for the first time.

With this book, I honor my many wise indigenous teachers.

In 1989 in Santa Fe, Larry Littlebird created a special weeklong event, Coyote Gathers His People. Littlebird, of the Laguna-Santo Domingo Pueblo, gathered a council of beloved tribal elders from across North America to tell us their stories of earth-honoring customs. See https://Hamaatsa.org.

Littlebird’s event started me on my story listening and storytelling path.

For years, I told Native American myths and legends at schools, camps, churches, and hospitals. Their ancient wisdom conveyed through storytelling helped children and families feel connected to the Earth and the stars.

In 2007, I was drawn to the Pachakuti Mesa Tradition teachings of don Oscar Miro-Quesada, and I remain in community with his Peruvian and cross-cultural practices. His teachings are available in his book Shamanism: Personal Quests of Communion with Nature and Creation and at https://heartofthehealer.org.