41st Annual Native American
Elders and Youth Gathering
July 25th – 27th, 2025
Presenters
Venerable Dhyani Ywahoo, is the Founder and Spiritual Director of Sunray Meditation Society. She is the 27th generation lineage holder of the ancestral Ywahoo lineage in the Tsalagi / Ani Yun Wiwa tradition. She is unique as a teacher, carrying three intact streams of ancient spiritual wisdom. Venerable Dhyani is the Chief of the Green Mountain Band of the Ani Yun Wiwa. She is the author of Voices of Our Ancestors, Learning Cherokee ways: The Ywahoo Path, and 108 Quotations: A Treasury of Mystical Wisdom. She has also contributed to many books over the years and has written various curriculums that have been utilized for peacemaking around the world.
Grandfather Michael Bastine is a member of the Algonquin Nation, and he is a healer, elder, and former student of famous Tuscarora medicine man Wallace “Mad Bear” Anderson and Tuscarora healer Ted Williams. He lives in South Wales, New York. He is the co-author of the book, Iroquois and Supernatural: Talking Animals and Medicine People.
Abuela Maria Theresa (Grandmother Elena Ixcot) is a Maya Spiritual elder (Ajq’ij) of the Maya Mam Nation. In the 1980s during the height of the internal armed conflict and genocide against the Maya people, she and her family were persecuted for their work demanding justice and equal rights for the Maya people. Grandmother Elena, her children and husband were forced to flee to Chiapas, Mexico and ultimately were provided sanctuary as political refugees in the United States. Throughout her life, she has advocated for the rights of the Maya people, other Native Nations, and the care and protection of Mother Earth. She now lives in Guatemala and is former K’amalb’e of the Regional Council of Ancestral Maya Authorities of Guatemala; is current member of the National Council of Ancestral Authorities of the Maya, Garifuna and Xinka peoples of Ixim Ulew (Land of the Corn); member of the leadership council of the Maya Mam Council of Quetzaltenango; member of Aj Q´ij, Oxlajuj B´e of 8 municipalities of the Mam people in the department of Quetzaltenango, Guatemala; member of the Consultative Group of the Maya Program of the United Nations, Guatemala; and a Founder and current Board Member of the International Mayan League.
Elder Larry McDermott is an Algonquin Elder of the Shabot Obaadjiwan First Nation, and he and his wife Nancy live in a 170 year-old log home on 500 acres of biologically-diverse Algonquin land along the Mississippi River. Elder Larry is the Executive Director of Plenty Canada, Lanark, Ontario, an Indigenous charity working to share Indigenous knowledge with western science. He is a member of numerous organizations, including the International Indigenous Forum for Biodiversity, the Conservation through Reconciliation Partnership (CRP), Ontario Biodiversity Council, the Ontario Professional Foresters Association, the Healing Place partnership, the Indigenous Circle of the Canadian Biosphere Association, and is a co-chair of the Lanark County Safety and Well-Being Plan. He was a Commissioner for the Ontario Human Rights Commission and served on Ontario ‘s Species at Risk Public Advisory Committee. Elder Larry was a humble student of the late Algonquin Elder, Grandfather William Commanda.
Lei’ohu Ryder and Maydeen Ku’uipo ʻĪao are visionaries, ceremonialists, musicians and kahu/caretakers of a sacred temple on Maui. They celebrate life by embracing the spirit of aloha within the one ocean of our collective hearts.
Grandfather Kodata & Britton Family
“In these most challenging times, with each breath we breathe, we are reminded that in each of us is a Place Of Peace”, Grandfather Kodata shares.
“The kingdom of God/Creator is within you. In knowing we are all connected to the One Infinite Creator, this family has overcome great challenges. We have welcomed the lessons learned. When two or more people come together in prayer, Creator is present on our behalf. Being aware, we share the Oneness of all things created. We hold steadfast in our faith and overcome the obstacles we willingly accepted as our mission or assignment prior to our walk on this Earth. With every challenge on this path of life, we have the opportunity to be of service to self, or of service to others.
Living in each moment and trusting with each breath that love, compassion, and understanding is the spark that keeps our love/light, our heart/ mind connection available helps guide our future generations and all of humanity. Trust in your Place Of Peace, Trust in your Holy magnificent intuition, and recall your mission to help humanity and all things created. Have faith in knowing the Oneness of all things created. It is good.”
Grandmother Tatjana Cady is of the Abenaki Turtle Clan, and also has Abenaki, Mohawk, Huron, French and German ancestors in her lineage.
Earlier in her life, she was adopted as first daughter by Grandmother Nanatasis in traditional Abenaki family ceremony. She spent 17 years with her learning and participating in ceremony and the sharing of Abenaki Women’s Sacred Wisdom Teachings & Practices and Medicine Wheel Teachings. She has been actively continuing with these ceremonies and sharing of teachings for the past 26 years. She is a member of communities locally and in Europe, where she shares teachings and holds ceremony as called for.
Grandmother Hears Crow (Nootauau Kaukôntuah) lives and breathes the traditions of the Narragansett people. As a master storyteller, educator, published poet, and workshop leader, she weaves Longhouse Tales, Native American legends, and Transformational Stories.
“Stories are gateways that can link diverse cultures, transform our spirits, and open our hearts to one another,” she says.
A twice-published poet and author of an upcoming Native children’s novel, Hears Crow served as the Vermont State Liaison to the National Storytelling Network and mentored youth storytellers through Artists Standing Strong Together (ASST). She is on the faculty alumni at the Transformation Storytelling School. With over 35 years of storytelling experience, she brings Indigenous oral traditions and other cultural stories to life at libraries, schools, community centers, museums, and Indigenous gatherings.
Formerly the Director of Strategic Sourcing at Deloitte & Touche, she now dedicates herself full-time to storytelling, blending her business expertise with Indigenous traditions to foster communication, engage communities, and educate through stories.
Sky Road Webb is a descendant of the Tamal’ko – Tomales Bay Band of Miwok of the Coast Miwok Tribe of Marin County, California. Sky Road is a councilman on the Coast Miwok Tribal Council of Marin, the tribally self-determined governance of the Coast Miwok of Marin. He also sits on the Board of Directors for Hukukio Inc., (which is the original, traditional name of the Coast Miwok and means: The People Who Stand in Front – perhaps a reference to the Point Reyes Peninsula which juts out into the Pacific Ocean), which is the Tribal non-profit the Coast Miwok Tribe of Marin. He is the President of the Marin American Indian Alliance (MAIA), based in San Rafael, CA — a 501c3 non-profit formed in 1968 to support all Native Americans in Marin County and the North Bay area. He sits on the Board of Directors for MAPOM (Marin Archeological Preserve of Marin), a 501c3 dedicated to preserving Coast Miwok archeological sites and cultural heritage.
Sky Road is a 12-year veteran of the US Navy, and a graduate of the US Naval Academy, Annapolis MD. Currently, he is employed as the chief of operations for Inter-Tribal Council of California, Inc., a 501c3 non-profit that provides federally funded social services for over 50 California Tribes and Tribal organizations. As a certified FEMA CERT instructor, Sky Road instructs and helps build Tribal Community Emergency Response Teams (T-CERT) at Rancherias and Reservations throughout California. He provides cultural presentations and native skills classes to K-12 school children through the American Indian Education Program.
Sky Road appeared in the award winning 2014 independent documentary, The Invisible Peak, by Gary Yost, about the restoration project of Mount Tamalpais, the sacred mountain in the center of Marin County. In an effort to learn, revive and teach his own indigenous language of the Tamal’ko, Sky Road composes and performs original songs in Coast Miwok. Sky Road integrates Native language and songs in the telling of traditional “First-People” stories of the adventures of Old Man Coyote, Deer, Bear, Raven and the other First Peoples who lived on the back of Mele-ya, The Great Turtle, in the time before Humans.
Rudy Schild, Ph.D., is the Executive Director of FREE: Foundation for Research into Extraterrestrial Encounters. He is a Professor Emeritus research astrophysicist at the Harvard/Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, following an extensive career studying dark matter, black holes, and the fluid mechanical origins of cosmic structure. He has become deeply interested in the formulation of a coherent understanding of the nature of space-time in the Universe. As an editor-in-chief of the Journal of Cosmology, he is seeking to broaden the scope of scientific inquiry to include the nature of consciousness and the Universe. He is a co-author of the book, Beyond UFOs: The Science of Consciousness & Contact with Non-Human Intelligence.
Dr. Orest Pelechaty,
Mestre Boneco (Luiz Alberto “Beto” Simas) is a renowned Brazilian Capoeira Master and actor who began training Capoeira at the age of eleven with Grupo Senzala in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Guiding a global community of teachers around the world, he has always underscored the physical, mental and spiritual benefits of Capoeira, believing strongly that it is an art of transformation. His story is a beautiful fusion of culture, ancestry, creativity, art, and family.
Mestre Boneco heads Capoeira Brasil Los Angeles, is the founder of the non-profit “Projeto Ginga” and author of G.I.F.T.E.D- teaching us how to move with ease, listen to life’s rhythm, and act with greater clarity. It’s a call to awaken your potential, and remember the wisdom that already lives within you.
The Reverend Co’Relous C. Bryant is currently the Senior Pastor of the United Church of Lincoln in Lincoln, Vermont. Co’Relous obtained his bachelor’s degree from NYU in New York City and his Master of Divinity degree from Emory University in Atlanta, GA. Co’Relous is a sought after preacher having been invited into the pulpits of The Riverside Church in the City of New York, Union Chapel on Martha’s Vineyard and Concord Baptist Church in Brooklyn, NY. Co’Relous has been interviewed by Vermont Public Radio and the Addison Independent about his new ministry in Vermont. Rev. Bryant is thrilled to join this wonderful community of seekers and mystics to help detect the Divine in this Green Mountain paradise and deeply honored to join the Sunray family!
Reverend Meli (aka Mary Kitchens), through her father, is part of the Western Cherokee diaspora that journeyed to California during the dust bowl of the 1930’s. She is the drumkeeper for Unole, a drum group that has been nominated for a Native American Music Award. She is a Sunray minister in the Ywahoo tradition.
Reverend Katherine Amtul Hannan, Lithuanian/Irish lineage, Mother, Grandmother, Great-Grandmother, Artist, Psychotherapist and Seeker, began study with Venerable Dhyani Ywahoo in October 1978. She was ordained with Louise Diamond in 1985, at the hand of Venerable Dhyani.
Rev. Amtul focalized Star Child Gathering with amazing teams of people, in Vermont 1988-1998 and in Germany 1992-2019.
Reverend Sandra Sheridan, Physical Therapist specializes in manual therapy and therapeutic exercise. A long time student of Venerable Dhyani Ywahoo, she is the NGO representative of Sunray Meditation Society at the United Nations and has been for the past 25 years. Her focus has been on Indigenous Peoples rights and utilizing the Sunray Peacekeeping Principles within the UN system and internationally in support of Indigenous Peoples.
Carolyn DiCarlo’s approach to form, function and design is unique. She believes that we are profoundly affected by our surroundings. With that in mind, she makes environments that you feel, not just see.
DiCarlo combines her vast knowledge of ancient architecture and sense of style as she creates homes, work environments, and public spaces. Having designed over 500 residences in New York City and surrounding areas, DiCarlo brings her expertise in construction and fabrication, as well as her connections to resources, contractors, and artisans.
Having launched two design showrooms in the Flatiron district in NYC and worked on numerous commercial, hotel and restaurant projects around the world, including Chanel Headquarters NY and Rockefeller Group corporate offices, DiCarlo currently manages a successful architectural and interior design firm based in NYC. Her projects include residential design, commercial projects and her latest venture—designing sanctuary spaces.
DiCarlo has been featured in Forbes, the New York Times, the Washington Post, NPR, the Associated Press, Mindbodygreen, Oprah Magazine, Elle Décor, and House Beautiful.
Jon Delson, Mohawk Firekeeper
Joan Henry, (Tsalagi/Nde’/Arawaka)
Dekanogisgi (Traditional Song-Carrier) & Elisi (Grandmother) Director, Fours Worlds Circles and the monthly global 22 Sacred Prayers of Women of Mother Earth
Indigenous Composer/Performer/Artist/Educator/Counsellor & Water Protector, it has been Chuchu Joan’s privilege to be a carrier of songs for elders among the Nde’ (Apachu), Coast Salish, Shoshone, Paiute, Hopi, Chippewa/Cree, Dakota and other nations, that these songs might be kept alive and heard when needed. Raised to listen deeply from an early age, she is best known as a singer and stage performer whose youth was filled with her grandmothers’ & elders’ stories, songs and healing plant-knowledge — and as a foremost proponent of Indigenous Talking Circles as a way to “change the heart of communications in the world.”
Calpulli Tletl Papalotzin is a group dedicated to indigenous Mexika tradition, revitalizing the culture, dances, and ceremonies that are carried out depending on the various seasons. Calpulli Tletl Papalotzin strive to continue and share indigenous values, medicine, and traditions to preserve their indigenous cultural inheritance.
Zacciah Blackburn is a gifted intuitive, teacher, and sound healer, trained in classical healing, shamanic traditions, and sacred sound cultures. He teaches internationally, and practices in Chester, Vermont. He offers in depth training in the therapeutic application of sound healing and the evolution of human consciousness. See www.SunreedCenter.com
He also offers quality instruments in the field of sound healing, at Sunreed Instruments , providing fifty years of experience and knowledge while assisting others in both understanding the use of, and selecting the appropriate tools for, their sound healing and other holistic healing practices. See (www.sunreed.com)
Rev. Nando Ausin is a sustainability educator and practitioner of alternative medicine. A lifelong student of Indigenous traditions across the world, he weaves ancestral wisdom with leading-edge science to serve a clear mission: to restore balance between humanity and nature, and to heal the individual as part of the whole. His work bridges ancient wisdom with modern innovation through healing, writing, and consulting to cultivate regenerative futures.
Susan Manewich specializes in contemporary leadership, is a teacher, researcher and published author with expertise in emotional intelligence, consciousness research, soul continuity, new emerging technologies and geomagnetic changes affecting our planet and humanity. She has led two organizations dedicated to new energy technology and consciousness.
She has worked with the originators of Emotional Intelligence (MSCEIT) and taught Emotional Intelligence and Leadership at Harvard Business School, Yale Medical School, University of Chicago Business School, University of London Business School, and several others top leading business schools in the US, Asia and the U.K. She also serves as advisor and board member on several visionary research and educational organizations.
She is currently pursuing her PhD in consciousness and cosmology with a focus on electro and geomagnetism and what she refers to as “the sun’s relationship to the Earth and human’s evolutionary adaptive abilities.”
She’s co-authored the book Hidden Energy; Tesla Inspired Inventors and a Mindful Path to Energy Abundance, 2019 and a contributing author to Beyond UFO’s; The Science of Consciousness and Contact, 2018. She is in the process of working on her new book titled, Conscious Incarnation and Soul Continuity – Lessons in a Time of Great Change, 2025. Her other writings can be found on Amazon.com and her writing on Substack at IETEvolve.substack.com.
… and more to follow