The paddlers will next cross over the Hudson and are scheduled to land about 3 p.m. on Friday, August 2 at the Hudson River Rowing Association dock on the north side of Poughkeepsie. At 5:30 p.m. an event called “Lacrosse: The Creator’s Game” will get underway there, featuring young Iroquois Nationals lacrosse star Orris Edwards; Alf Jacques of the Onondaga Turtle Clan, a master lacrosse stick carver and veteran player of the traditional sport; and Phil Arnold, professor of Religion at Syracuse University and author of The Gift of Sports: Indigenous Ceremonial Dimensions of the Games We Love.
The flotilla will head out from Poughkeepsie around 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, August 3. Well-wishers are invited to join the Unity Riders on the Walkway over the Hudson as the hundreds of boats pass underneath; bring your drums and “an intention for peace between peoples and healing for the waters, land and all our relations.”
Beacon Fest
The final stop in our neck of the woods — or reach of the river — is the Beacon Two Row Wampum Festival, set to run Saturday, August 3 from 11 a.m. to 8:15 p.m. at Riverfront Park in Beacon. The City will roll out its red carpet for all participants, and Native American music, authentic crafts, storytelling and poetry, lacrosse demonstrations, food and history are on the agenda.
Performers on two stages will include Pete Seeger, David Amram, Dennis Yerry, Hugh Brodie, the Mamalama Band, the Nimham Mountain Singers, Annie Roland, Ben Vita & the Vila Vila Kula Band, Carrie Chapman, Christine Nardozzi, Ilfra Halley, Joan Henry, Liam O’Malley, Margo Thunderbird, Matoaka, Miss Vickie, Powhatan Swift Eagle, the River Town Kids, Roland and Mindy Mousaa, the Sunheart Band and Tiokasin Ghosthorse.
Featured speakers in Beacon will include chiefs Jake Edwards, Dwaine Perry and Vincent Mann, the Dakota Nation Unity Riders, Dana Gallay, Evan Pritchard, Gloria Waslin, Jack Manno, Jeff Rumpf, Jim Davis, Jim Red Fox, Julia Walsh, Karine Gordonier, Kathy Nolan, Kay Olan, Manna Jo Greene, Maureen Etaoqua Kelly, Mel Johnson, Miss Vickie, Molly McGlennan, Pete Seeger, Rainbow Weaver, Shabazz Jackson, Susan Deer Cloud, Ted Hall, Tiokasin Ghosthorse, Tom Porter, Tonya Gonnella Frichner, Vernon Benjamin, Vincent Mann and Willa Skinner. Local artists will also create and exhibit eight-foot-tall totems that will be placed in locations around the City of Beacon after the event as a reminder of the Two Row Wampum Treaty’s commitment to friendship, ecological stewardship and peace.
A $5 donation is suggested at the Beacon festival; all other events are free and open to the public. For lots more information about the Two Row Wampum Campaign and the Unity Riders, visit https://honorthetworow.org and www.theunityride.com.
Dakota Unity Riders join Two Row Renewal Event
The Dakota Nation Unity Riders are coming from their homes in Manitoba, Canada, and reaching out across the United States to bring healing and hope to our country and the world. The horses, which have been to many sacred sites with their riders, are the instruments of this healing journey. The restorative energy of these horses and riders will be felt this summer as their journey brings them into New York and, ultimately, Washington, DC.
The combined energy of the Two Row Renewal event, involving more than 200 canoes and kayaks led by Hickory Edwards of the Onondaga Nation, and the Unity Ride horses led by Chief Gus High Eagle of the western Dakota Nation will continue this epic journey to the heart of NewYork City. A great alliance and spirit of cooperation will be seen with the coming of these peaceful and giving people as we are transported back in time to a place where Europeans and Indigenous peoples shared this valley in peace.
The Unity Riders will be in the area for the following events:
Sunday July 28, 12:30 p.m: The Unity Riders lead opening ceremony for HITS Grand Prix, at 319 Main St, Saugerties. 845-246-8833.
Monday, July 29, 2 p.m.-4 p.m.: The Unity Riders leave from Woodstock’s Community Center and proceed on to KTD, Buddhist retreat center for a clearing ceremony at Magic Meadow.
Tuesday, July 30, 11 a.m.: The Unity Riders will ride from Mount Tremper on Rt 212 through Phoenicia and on to Menla Mountain Retreat, where from 1p.m.-5 p.m. there will be an afternoon of horse and native customs ceremony. The Menla Mountain Retreat is at 375 Pantherkill Road, Phoenicia.
Thursday, August 1, 10:30 a.m. Hudson Maritime Museum on the Kingston Rondout.
Friday, August 2, 9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., Unity Riders will participate in a Beacon Fire Tower ceremony. Participants will be leaving Mount Beacon Park at Intersection Howland Avenue and 9D (Wallcott Rd) to walk up the mountain.
Saturday, August 3, 10 a.m.-11:30 a.m. The Riders go across the Walkway over Hudson in Poughkeepsie as Two Row paddle under bridge.
Sunday, August 4, Unity Riders will lead the Flag Procession of all Nations in Woodstock on the International Day For Peace. Procession leaves from intersection of Route 375 and Route 212 and ends at Comeau Property with Flag Ceremony offered by World Peace and Prayer Society. A free concert at Comeau property will feature Irish Master Liam O’Maonlai, Dakota drummers, singer Jessie High Eagle, Jerama African Drummers, Tibetan singer and other special guests. At 5 p.m. at the Colony Café on Rock City Road in Woodstock, there will be a concert with Liam O’Maonlai of the Hothouse Flowers, and special guests Gayle Two Eagles, Paul McMahon & friends. Tickets for this will be $20 at the door.
