Katie Goes...

We packed up the Troupie and were off before Mother Sun reached her highest point, the day promised to be a scorcher.  After an hour we left the main road heading towards Alice Springs, though without Uncle Bob as a guide, we surely would have missed the slight break in the grass and the almost invisible red road snaking off through the scrub brush.  We came to a copse of unusual variation and we spotted wild emu and two kangaroo, though I doubt the different trees were out of the ordinary to these native inhabitants.  Our modern beast was entering a surface world largely untouched by time, but a landscape immersed in tragedy. As the road became rougher and the washouts forced us through untrodden Bush we would alternately slow to a crawl through the spinifex or go almost gangbusters through the soft sand.  If you stop in the soft sand, you stay stopped.  After a most harrowing moment where the truck stalled on a jagged ravine inches from a 6 foot drop we ...

Brian just sent this letter to the Prime Minister of Australia and cc'd the White House: Prime Minister, My name is Brian Loftin. I am a US citizen.  On a recent visit to beautiful Australia, and specifically to Uluru, Mutitjulu, and Alice Springs I saw things that made me question the place of your country in the pantheon of "Great Nations," namely, the way your government is treating the Aboriginal People.  As an American, my complaints about the treatment of indigenous peoples are admittedly a bit like the crow calling the raven black, but we now live in the 21st century--not the 19th. Before my trip I acquainted myself with your policy of "Strong Futures" as well as much material relating to the past and current situations of the First People--including the virtual holocaust of the Stolen Generations. Seeing what is happening now in the wretchedly poor communities I listed above, seeing how the white people live comfortably nearby, seeing no equality in e...

I have so much to say that I don't even know how to begin.  Should I start with the overwhelming amount of work to do that keeps getting interrupted by other things to do?  Or the devastating government legislation and their "stronger futures" that will only have the effect of decimating a culture?  The local land council's ignoring of protocol and lack of communication with the people they are supposed to represent?  And the huge amounts of money thrown to "Aboriginal affairs" which really goes to white "administrators" and their travel, housing, new car, stipend...because you've got to pay those people extra for working in such a remote and hostile environment?  Wow, it is really  hard to not be cynical. O.K., then let me balance that with the brightness of the Milky Way last night and it's sharp, glittering band of starlight, or the wedge-tail eagle we saw on the way back from Alice Springs surrounded by a sunset of fuschia and orange....

After 36 hours of traveling (three planes and lots of layovers) we have arrived at Uluru.  The tiny Ayers Rock airport was the last vestige of air conditioning before stepping out into the 98 degree heat.  The stillness of the landscape is juxtaposed with a palpable vitality and living history, and our first stop from the airport was Anangu homelands of Uncle Bob Randall and his family.  Driving along the red track Uncle Bob was telling us the hopes and dreams for his family's land.  "The marker starts here, and then goes for as far as your eye can see." We then arrive at the spot where I learned how to cook a kangaroo tail three years ago, and now they've added to toilets and a little shelter for Grandmother Barbara to use when she comes out to teach.  Johnny, Uncle Bob's son, has been clearing  insidious non-native grass and the place looks amazing.  This is the spot where hopefully more groups will have the chance to experience the Anangu stori...

Thank you everyone who came out to the Center for Sacred Studies in Guerneville, CA to see KANYINI- it was a great group.  Brian and I so appreciated all the interest, support, and fabulous questions.  It was wonderful to bring a little "Grandfather" energy into one of the homes of the "13 Grandmothers".  We leave for Oz in less than a week now!  SFO to LAX to Sydney to Uluru ~ So, I'll start posting more regularly after jet lag (April 3 or 4).   Our gratitude again to all the amazing people who have been so supportive of our quest.   Here are two incredible resources for more information on the history and current struggles of our Aboriginal brothers and sisters down under: www.ourgeneration.org.au  (go to the "resources" page and you can order a dvd directly from the site) www.treatyrepublic.com.au (read the open letter to Prime Minister Gillard) Aloha, and see you in April!

Uncle Bob Randall was born around 1934 in the Central Desert region of the Northern Territory (NT), Australia. He is a “Tjilpi” (special Uncle) of the Yankunytjatjara Nation and is one of the traditional owners of Uluru (Ayers Rock). At about age 7, young Bob was taken away from his mother and family under government policy. He was one of thousands of Aboriginal children who came to be known as the Stolen Generation . Like so many, he never saw his mother again. Come hear his story through the documentary film,   KANYINI Center for Sacred Studies   13550 Church Street - Guerneville March 22, 2012 6:30pm Uncle Bob continues to write and teach throughout the world, presenting Aboriginal cultural-awareness programs based on the Anangu (Central Desert language) “Kanyini” principles of caring for the environment and each other with unconditional love and responsibility.   Katie Kasben and Brian Loftin, who will be presenting the documentary, will be traveling to Uluru ...

OUR GENERATION  http://www.ourgeneration.org.au/trailer Saturday, March 10, at 7pm , please join Katie Kasben at the Community Church of Sebastopol for a glimpse into the heart of darkness of modern day Australia with the documentary film   OUR GENERATION, which looks at the world's oldest living culture and the devastating effects of the government's nefarious "Intervention". This event is free and open to the public, with a suggested donation of $10 OUR GENERATION is a powerful and upfront documentary on the Australian Aboriginal struggle for their land, culture and freedom – a story that has been silenced by the Australian Government and mainstream media. Driven by the remote Yolngu of Northeast Arnhem Land, one of the last strongholds of traditional Aboriginal culture in Australia, as well as the voices of national indigenous leaders, historians and human rights activists, the film explores the ongoing clash of cultures that is threatening to wipe out the o...