Chief Arvol Looking Horse

Arvol Looking Horse is the 19th generation keeper of the White Buffalo Calf Pipe Bundle and holds the responsibility of spiritual leader among the Lakota, Dakota and Nakota People. He holds an honorary Doctorate from the University of South Dakota, and travels and speaks extensively on peace, environmental and native rights issues. He has been the recipient of several awards, including the Wolf Award of Canada for his dedicated work for peace. A skilled horseman, he shares his knowledge with the youth on the long distance rides that take place in South Dakota throughout the year. Arvol has dedicated his life toward Peace Work and has also served on the Board for the International Society for the Protection of Mustangs and Burros for over 10 years. Arvol has chosen to be with the Blue Star herd on the Solstice in 2010 because Blue Star Equiculture is honoring the Horse as a part of World Peace and Prayer Day.

Ken Hamilton

Ken Hamilton (brother of our very own Kate Hamilton!) is extremely knowledgeable in the area of Native American cultural studies, focusing on the Eastern Woodland Nations during the 17th & 18th Century. Ken has been speaking and performing at Powwows and schools for many years. He has even appeared in documentaries on cable television's History Channel.  Ken and his team of reenactors will be depicting a native settlement such as one would have found on our land prior to the arrival of the Europeans at the intersection of the Ware and Swift Rivers around 1730.   

International Society for the Protection of Mustangs and Burros

Our own Jo Bunny is coordinating with Karen Sussman, executive director of the International Society for the Protection of Mustangs and Burros to provide information at a booth about the plight of wild mustangs and burros, as well as the latest research into their lives and history. 

Located on the Cheyenne River Sioux Indian Reservation in South Dakota, the International Society for the Protection of Mustang and Burros (ISPMB) is an empowering force, influencing global attitudes and catalyzing actions for the protection, preservation and understanding of wild horses and burros as well as their habitat. Situated on 680 acres, the ISPMB cares for three separate and unique wild horse herds.

As the first wild horse and burro organization in the United States, the ISPMB provided the answer to a need for sophisticated advocacy programs and public forums. It received the support of Congress, which resulted in the passage of the Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act of 1971. With well over 70 bills introduced for wild horse and burro protection that year, the law passed unanimously in both houses of Congress. This issue generated the largest letter writing campaign, at that time, in the history of Congress.The ISPMB recently has published the definitive biography of Velma Johnston, aka "Wild Horse Annie," who founded the ISPMB in 1960.

Perry Finkelstein, World Harmony Unlimited

World Peace and Prayer Day weekend will be filmed and recorded by award-winning documentarian Perry Finkelstein.  Perry's work in recording the wisdom of the elders can be seen atwww.worldharmonyunlimited.com. World Harmony Unlimited is a creative collective which strives to promote world harmony, by developing media projects and programs that promise to offer substance and value to those who engage them.  This documentary project will become a historical document in and of itself, as well as a work of art!

Harvey Arden

Harvey Arden was a National Geograpic staff writer for over 23 years. He has continued to pursue his desire to collaborate with extraordinary people to share their stories, life lessons, and messages as an author and editor.  He is the author and/or editor of many books on indigenous peoples and their wisdom, including Wisdomkeepers: Meetings w/ Native American Spiritual Elders, Dreamkeepers: A Spirit-Journey into Aboriginal Australia, Noble Red Man: Lakota Wisdomkeeper Mathew King, Travels in a Stone Canoe: The Return to the Wisdomkeepers, Prison Writings: My Life is My Sun Dance by Leonard Peltier, Have You Thought of Leonard Peltier Lately?, White Buffalo Teachings by Arvol Looking Horse, Voice of the Hawk Elder by Edna Gordon.