Sacred Bones is an educational program to inspire deep personal and cultural change toward Nature Consciousness  ways of living and a state of consciousness and awareness embodied by Animals, Plants, the Land, and many Indigenous tribal traditions. Sacred Bones is a commitment to stand with the Animals, to protect their lives and homes, and to restore their societies and those of tribal humans through ethical living with Earth. There are two components to the Sacred Bones Program: the seven Sea Turtle and Tribal Monuments and their companion workbooks. Listen to Joe Mitchell (Muscogee) and MaryBeth Timothy (Cherokee) speak about the Five Tribes and Loggerhead Sea Turtle Sacred Bones.

Sea Turtle & Tribal Monuments

In partnership with tribal communities and conservation groups around the world, we are creating seven Monuments to celebrate each of the seven endangered Sea Turtle species and the tribal peoples who have lived with them for thousands of years.

As part of a worldwide effort to save Sea Turtles and in support of Indigenous sovereignty, the seven monuments reflect the deep relationships between Sea Turtles and tribal cultures. The monuments are paired with a learning program- the companion Sacred Bones Workbook (156 pages) which can be used in schools and communities to further their understanding of Nature’s ethics and principles.

The completed Cook Islands Honu Monument, designed and created by Maori artist Ian George, now stands on front of the Ministry of Education, Rarotonga, Cook Islands. The second monument – Loggerhead Sea Turtle and Five Tribes – designed by MaryBeth Timothy (Cherokee) is now in progress.

Cook Islands Honu Monument

The Cook Islands Honu Monument, a stone sculpture designed and created by Ian George, promotes the protection and restoration of the magnificent Honu (Green Sea Turtle, Chelonia mydas). The creation of the monument in 2015 coincided with the Cook Islands’ 50th Anniversary Independence Day celebrations. Thousands of people from all the islands gathered in Raratonga to participate in the arts, sports, singing, dancing, drumming, and other cultural activities.

Satta Isbakchoba Monument

This monument celebrates Loggerhead Sea Turtles and The Five Tribes (Creek, Choctaw, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Seminole). Designed by Cherokee artist MaryBeth Timothy, Kerulos artist-in-residence, the bronze sculpture will be located in the U.S. Southeast. The monument’s name is the word for Loggerhead Sea Turtle in the language of the Koasati (Coushatta) tribe.

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