Dear Friend of Plenty,

From the Mayan and Garifuna cultures of southern Belize, to the Caribs of Dominica and the Oglala Lakota of Pine Ridge, South Dakota, life is often made more difficult by the oppressive policies of the dominant societies which surround them, govern them and exploit them. This should rub against the American grain. This country was founded on an insatiable quest for sovereignty--the sovereignty of the spirit expressed in our commitment as a nation to religious freedom, and the sovereignty of expression as honored in our commitment to freedom of speech.

Any objective assessment of the condition of the human species today leaves little doubt that we are in need of a serious re-evaluation of our habits of consumption and management of natural resources. Early in Plenty's 24 year history we became aware that, in our time, the stewards and caretakers of the values and principles we need to adopt, for the sake of the world, are most commonly found among the most materially poor and subjugated populations on the planet--the indigenous people. We learned this first living among the Maya. To us, this was akin to the 49ers discovering gold in California, only the gold we discovered in Guatemala was more precious. Its value was not subject to market forces or the ravages of time and weather.

The ancient Maya, like other Native Americans, were among history's most resourceful traders. What could we, eager but naive and youthful gringos from Tennessee, offer in exchange for this "gold" we were mining by the heartfull? They would teach us: the noble soybean, solar panels, CB radios for village health workers, PVC piping for potable water systems. These appropriate technologies became our currency, offered in exchange for the Mayan gold that opened our eyes to the state of the world and revealed our mission--if indeed we were to accomplish anything in our passion to make the world healthier and more fair, kinder and more peaceful, a key would be our partnership with the indigenous people of the earth.

Over the years our understanding of indigenous has evolved to a realization that indigenous cultures are simply those which are founded in a spiritual understanding of life. Indigenous isn't about blood lines. It's about consciousness. Plenty is constantly seeking to build cooperative relationships with indigenous visionaries in order to expand sovereignty and consciousness for all.

Plenty's relationship with Native Americans as trading partners lately reached a new plateau when a group of Oglala Lakota people living on Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota, a reservation comprising the statistically poorest county in America, asked Plenty to assist them in their attempt to strengthen their economy by a culturally and environmentally harmonious means„through the cultivation and processing of another noble plant--hemp. Hemp grows anywhere you can grow anything and, like soybeans, it provides a healing food, a multi-purpose fiber, an alternative to chemically-dependent crops and animal products as well as a clean-burning fuel. That's the good news. The bad news is, due to the negative association of hemp with its distant cousin, cannabis sativa, or marijuana (in the minds of many politicians and other misinformed persons) it's illegal to cultivate hemp in the United States. Nevertheless, due to domestic and international laws and statutes, Native Americans can exercise their sovereignty and, if passed by the Tribal Council, authorize the cultivation of hemp on the reservation. The work at Pine Ridge, at this point, is educational and political--to develop the agreement that will allow the project to go forward.

Recently, Canada, in a fit of common sense and self-interest, gave the green light to its farmers to grow hemp. America, take notice. Betsy Ross's flag was made from hemp cloth. The Declaration of Independence was written on hemp paper. We're looking forward to the day when the Plenty Bulletin will be printed on paper made from hemp grown at Pine Ridge using soy-based inks made by Mayans in Belize and Guatemala. Fair trade come full circle. With your support of Plenty and Native sovereignty, that day is not far off.

Sincerely

Peter Schweitzer
Executive Director