A Reflection from the 2020 Native American Virtual Retreat

ZPI encourages reflections from retreat participants, staff, members & others touched by our work and doing similar work from around the world, as part of the practice of bearing witness. Angell Deer, a participant in this year’s Native American Virtual Retreat, reflects on the bearing witness to the trauma of the stories told by the […]
A Gift of Not Knowing

Peter Pierson, a writer and a participant in the Native American Bearing Witness Plunge in 2019, offers us a reflective writing piece that shares a bit about how the practice of « Not Know » remained with him throughout his return home, long after the retreat had come to an end.
Sending Our Voices In Prayer For Mother Earth~ZPI Native American Plunge 2020

We will meet in Northern Wyoming Monday, June 22nd through Friday the 26th, 2020 with plans to visit sacred Lakota sites, Bear Witness to their histories & come together as a community of peacemakers across cultures. More details with registration opening will be shared in the weeks to come.
We Have To Heal

RAPID CITY, SOUTH DAKOTA, USA. This writing, by Roshi Eve Myonen Marko, first appeared on her blog on February 10th, 2020. It has been reprinted here with her permission. The piece reflects on the most recent meeting with Native American Plunge Leader Manny & Renee Iron Hawk, sharing intimate, poignant dialogue exchanged in the meeting held […]
September ’19 Update on Native American Programs: Lakhota Educators Visit NYC School & ZP Colleagues for Cultural Exchange & Professional Development

The following post is Eve’s reflection on a recent event held at Staten Island, New York’s Integration Charter school where two Lakota Elders- Manny & Renee- discuss a way of preserving their culture’s language through the support of the educational institute.
To Sit with an Elder: Australian Participant Reflects on the 2019 Native American Bearing Witness Plunge

Struck by a people’s history of trauma alongside great resilience, Sam reflects on the tears and laughter shared among the elders from the Lakota-speaking culture in South Dakota, USA during the Zen Peacemakers 2019 Native American Plunge.
Summary Report: 2019 Zen Peacemakers Native American Bearing Witness Plunge

SOUTH DAKOTA, USA. The 2019 Zen Peacemakers Native American Plunge was held July 14-19. This year brought together thirty-six participants from Australia, Switzerland, Israel, France and across Turtle Island- as the United States of America is referred to by the indigenous Native Americans. It is the fourth Native American Program held by Zen Peacemakers International […]
Native Americans Appeal to US Senate to Honor Wounded Knee Massacre Victims and Descendants

WASHINGTON DC, USA. On the 2019 anniversary of the battle of Little Bighorn, Manny and Renee Iron Hawk (two of the Lakota hosts and organizers of the 2019 Zen Peacemakers Bearing Witness Plunge) joined US Rep. Congresswoman Deb Haaland (D-NM1) and a delegation from Pine Ridge and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe reservations to petition a […]
Start Talking Lakota: Manny and Renee Iron Hawk Discuss Reviving the Lakota Language, Immersion Schools, Trauma, Prayer, and Spirit

Renee Fast Horse Iron Hawk and Manny Iron Hawk, two of the organizers and hosts of Zen Peacemakers’ Native American Programs, have been instrumental in the opening of Lakȟótiyapi Okáȟtaŋ Wičhóičhaǧe Inc. (LOWI), a school dedicated to education by full immersion in Lakota language. In an interview with Rami Efal, they discuss language loss and immersion, Trauma, Prayer, and Spirit.
Summary of the 2018 Zen Peacemakers Native American Bearing Witness Plunge

The 2018 Zen Peacemakers Native American Bearing Witness Plunge was completed this past month, July 15-19 2018. The event, which lasted 5 days and spanned South Dakota, Wyoming and Nebraska, brought together participants from across the United States and Europe with elders and their families from Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe reservation.