Background on Ceremonia Chalchiutlicue and the Chalchiutlicue Environmental Project

Ceremonia Chalchiutlicue is dedicated to honoring the waters of the world. Here in Minnesota we live in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, and as guests amongst the Lakota, Dakota, Nakota and Ojibwa Nations, we host this ceremony with hopes that we as a people will work toward achieving a healthy environment that will allow us to live in harmony with the universe.

It is a great honor to host such a ceremony here in Minnesota. Bringing attention to the environment is a critical part of our ceremony. Although we focus this ceremony on the waters, it is imperative that we understand how all of the elements are closely related and how all of the earth must be cared for in order for balance and harmony to be realized.

Given the urgent need to care for the environment, in 2004, we founded the Chalchiutlicue Environmental Project. It is our goal that through this project, members of the Latino community will engage as active participants in addressing issues around protecting the environment.

As Latinos and as Indigenous peoples of this continent, we must address many issues facing our communities. For example, there are few Latino and Indigenous based environmental efforts taking place in our communities. In fact it is very difficult to even get your hands on materials written in Spanish that explain how to recycle, dispose of hazardous waste, conserve electricity and water, shop environmentally smart, or how to report illegal dumping.

In addition to not having the above resources easily available in Spanish, there are also many additional environmental issues like environmental health hazards that are in our homes, lawns, schools and air that must be more effectively communicated to Latinos so that not only are these issues understood, but that there are opportunities for Latinos to get involved at a grass roots community level to participate in identifying and creating solutions.

The Chalchiutlicue Environmental Project is dedicated to addressing these issues by creating solutions, doing grassroots community outreach and organizing, and by building collaborations and partnerships with other groups and communities across the Twin Cites. The Chalchiutlicue Ceremony Celebration will serve as an annual for the Latino community to come together with friends and allies to highlight progress, share what has been learned and to celebrate the environment through a cultural community celebration honoring the

waters.

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