Four Corners Media Project Auction


Photo: Leslie King

2 June 2010

Dear Friend,

As you may know, for the past two years our nonprofit organization, Orenda Healing International, has been working with adolescents and elders on the Navajo Reservation. During Phase I of the Four Corners Media Project, in July, 2008, we brought eight teenagers from Northwest High School in Shiprock, NM, down to the Santa Fe Community College to learn basic film-making techniques. After a two week course with prominent film-makers Hank Rogerson and Jilann Spitzmiller, the students returned to Shiprock to interview and film tribal elders.

Our original goal was to connect the teenagers with tribal wisdom bearers in order to reacquaint them with the richness of their own culture. Through the film-making process, we hoped to encourage them to honor and incorporate their elders’ teachings into their daily lives, provide them with a viable means of making a living (film-making), and encourage them to make positive life-style choices. While working with the Navajo students it became apparent that they were learning not only the importance of preserving the beautiful Diné language, but the value of being able to express their own feelings about living with a foot in two worlds-the gentle, Earth-based world of their grandparents and ancestors and the fast-paced, technology-oriented world that is slowly but surely encroaching on indigenous ways of life.

Two of the original eight teenagers wish to continue their work in film-making and recording the wisdom of the elders while they address this issue of living in two worlds. They have expressed a desire to share what they learn with other teenagers and to serve as mentors to younger students in the school’s new video-making program-a program inspired by the efforts of teachers involved in Phase I of the Four Corners Media Project.

In order to continue to help these young people, we need to raise substantial funds to pay for training, equipment, travel, and other expenses related to the film-making process. Our initial goal for Phase II is $50,000.

To that end, we plan on holding an Auction in Santa Fe in September or early October (exact dates will be announced). Therefore, we ask that you consider making an in-kind donation to Orenda Healing International (501.c.3). In addition, we welcome cash donations of any size. These may be made by mailing a check to Orenda Healing International or by visiting our website and clicking on the "Donate Now" button.

Possible Donation Items:

Clothing (artisan clothing-jackets, skirts, belts, hats, etc.)
Jewelry (Navajo, Zuni, and other Native designs, heirlooms, estate jewelry, etc.)
Art (paintings, photography, small sculptures)
Wines (excellent vintage)
Handmade or Heirloom Furniture (smaller items, such as end tables, chairs, mirrors, etc.)
Elegant Retreat (night or weekend)

A complete list of possible donation items will be available soon. Please remember that you may take any donation valued at more than $25 (including the cost of mailing or other means of transport) as a tax deduction. On the other hand, if you live in the Santa Fe area, we can pick up your donated item. If you choose to participate in this worthy project, please let us know in advance what you plan to donate so that we can arrange for storage. We ask that you send your Auction items to us by the end of August.

Please contact me with any questions you may have about the Auction or about the Four Corners Media Project.

With warm and sincere thanks for your interest and support of our work,

Valentine McKay-Riddell, Ph.D.
Founding and Executive Director
Orenda Healing International
1868 Calle Quedo
Santa Fe, NM 87505
505-471-9744 (office)
510-684-4272 (mobile)
wholebeing@orenda-arts.org