Happy Solstice time to you all! Life is regenerative and creative beyond our wildest imaginations. Sound and music create the possibility to feel, understand and amplify this great creative cosmic breath. Sound shapes our lives in so many ways and is perhaps our greatest tool for engagement. For many millenia music has been central to our world making, helping us to integrate and evolve with the creative forces of Life. We are heard by Mother Earth and all of our kin through song. We express our love for Mother Earth through song. We express gratitude through song. We create community through song. Indigenous cultures maintain sophisticated methods and techniques for this engagement across thresholds to create and renew human relationship with the world, thus maintaining universal connection. This is a beautiful and essential endeavor.
Underwater Panther Coalition is committed to supporting, protecting, and restoring the central role of music for living in proper relationship with all life and strengthening the interconnection of human culture to Mother Earth. We are the land. The land is us. We affirm this through song and music practice for cultural resilience, revitalization, healing, medicine and celebration. This requires reindiginizing musical practice and respectfully centering Indigenous culture, community, and knowledge systems. Indigenous communities’ sovereignty should be prioritized, history learned, and protocols understood. Let the branches reach out and the diversity feed the whole. This is the way of Life. What is best for all is what is best for all. This is Natural Law. Diversity is strength and beauty. The value of language, story, and song cannot be overstated. They are key to shifting perspectives back to right relationship and maintaining balance and harmony.
We had a great year. Highlights included the release of Earth Surface People’s debut album and launch performance at Cahokia in Phoenix, AZ. The album is amazing and the vinyl LP is available for pre-order on our Bandcamp. Your order supports Indigenous artists and their communities. Another highlight was the wonderful Akwesasne Freedom School benefit event in Woodstock, NY. It was a beautiful community engagement experience where musicians and dancers from Akwesasne were able to represent and inspire. It was incredible to see the cultural exchange that took place, lifting everyones spirits and raising money for the Akwesasne Freedom School. The school is an exemplary model for the importance of language and cultural immersion schooling. Elder Tom Porter, who spoke so eloquently at the gathering, said that out of 1-10 it was an 11! It was such and honor to have him and all of the folks from Akwesasne participate. They had a great time sharing with the people here in the Catskills.
It is this kind of generosity of spirit that keeps us all going. Generosity is wealth. Health is wealth. We want to help keep the music flowing generously to heal and strengthen all of our relations. The work is subversive to the mainstream status quo and it is vigorous. It is our promise that will remain so. May we all be in alignment with the regenerative forces of Mother Earth in the coming year. Big thanks to all who attended and supported the work this year, much appreciation! Stay in touch.
Peace – UPC
