A PRAYER FOR CHACO

"Sacred Lands Are Not Resources - They Are Our Relatives"

“There comes a moment when awareness must become responsibility.”

-Grandmother Flordemayo, founding elder of the International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers

Let me start by saying that I am not going make a habit of sending you daily emails! (I currently aim for two thoughtful articles a week, here on Substack). However, I have been away in the Arctic and this situation came to my attention (here in Sweden) only last night (when an email from Shamans Directory pinged in) and there is a deadline in terms of responding and taking action. So here we go!

Chaco Culture National Historical Park is situated in north western New Mexico (between Albuquerque and Farmington), in the USA. It was a monumental, administrative and economic centre of the Ancestral Pueblo culture, between 850 and 1250 CE. It holds a large concentration of pre-Columbian indigenous ruins of pueblos. It is part of the Chaco Culture World Heritage Site. It recently also made the "America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places" list by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Today, the people of the Pueblos maintain deep cultural ties to Chaco Canyon and the Greater Chaco Region through pilgrimage, song, and prayer. The Greater Chaco Region holds profound cultural importance for many Indigenous people in the Southwest, not only the Pueblos, but also the Hopi Tribe, the Navajo Nation, and other Indian Tribes, affirming Chaco Canyon and the Greater Chaco Region’s rich heritage and unparalleled significance.

Presently, Chaco Canyon and the Greater Chaco Region are under significant threat from those who seek to extract deposits of oil, gas, and minerals for energy development. Approximately 90 percent of federal lands in the Greater Chaco Region have already been leased for mineral development.

There is also a remote canyon here, called Chaco Canyon. I have profound memories (and a sketchbook full of drawings) from Chaco Canyon. I also have vivid memories of facilitating a ceremony under the Deep Night Sky there, where an actual miracle occurred under the ancient star constellation Delphinus. (I have never seen so many stars in my life, the Milky Way felt close enough for our group to touch!)

Picture Note: All my personal photographs of Chaco Canyon are on my London desktop computer (I am not good with cloud storage) and all my sketchbooks from New Mexico are stacked on a shelf in London too, and therefore currently out of reach here in Sweden (I have never digitalized them). For that reason I have used pictures from (relatively nearby) Santa Fe, taken in October 2023, when I was teaching a petroglyphs course there! I may write another article about Chaco Canyon as a soul-scape and dream-scape in the future, when I have access to all that material. I am eager to revisit my notes and sketches in the light of this development!

LA CIENEGUILLA PETROGLYPH SITE OUTSIDE SANTA FE

I spent hours sitting out (and sketching, scribbling, meditating) by the petroglyphs there. There is evidence of archaeoastronomy (one of my personal obsessions) being practiced there. For instance there is a famous “Sun Dagger” petroglyph. Many buildings at Chaco appear to have been aligned with solar and lunar cycles, which requires generations of astronomical observations.

I remain forever grateful to my colleagues Alec Davis and Terry Morgan, who did an immense amount of organising to make our time at Chaco (part of a reunion of our Teacher Circle) possible. The days were hot. The nights were freezing. One morning I woke up to a Coyote sitting outside my tent!

COYOTE BY OSCAR SUTTON, UNSPLASH

Chaco Canyon is far more than a place from the past. It is a living landscape holding memory, ceremony, prayer, and sacred relationship! When such places (key places in the brain and nervous system of Mother Earth) become endangered, de-sanctified or even desecrated, we all loose our tether (sacred connection, lifeline, umbilical cord) to the ancient wisdom that can help us (gradually, with great determination) navigate our way to a better and fairer world (not a world driven by corporate greed).

​For countless generations, Indigenous Peoples have understood that the Earth is our oldest teacher, our greatest healer, and our closest relative. There are places on this Earth where that relationship is especially profound. Chaco Canyon is one of those places. Today, this sacred landscape needs our collective voice.

Grandmother Flordemayo, founding elder of the International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers, has issued a heartfelt call to people around the world to help protect Chaco Canyon, before an important public comment period closes on 29 July 2026.

In her own words:

​“We are the ancestors of tomorrow. Let us choose courage today, for the children who will one day ask what we did when these sacred places needed us most.”

You can watch and share Grandmother Flordemayo’s free webinar, A Prayer for Chaco here:

Here are some other options:

Submit a thoughtful public comment before July 29: https://bit.ly/ChacoCanyonBLM

PLEASE share Grandmother Flordemayo’s request far and widely, in your own communities, words and ways! Every share counts and will reach some people that Grandmother Flordemayo and her team, or Shamans Directory cannot.

At the time of me writing this only one day remains (we must act by 29 July 2026).

In the words of Shamans Directory:

“Every voice matters. Together we are powerful medicine.”

And so it is. I will be back soon with articles about Elders as a Mycelium of Rooted Souls and how the Norns (Powers of Fate in Norse mythology) may act when human hubris spins out of control. Please share this article with other people to request their support and stay tuned!

Imelda Almqvist, Arctic Witch and Aspiring Elder, Sweden

SKETCHING THE ANNULAR SOLAR ECLIPSE IN SANTA FE, 14 October 2013