The Walking People
A Native American Oral History
by Paula Underwood
Keeper of a 10.000 year Old Wisdom Tradition
Join our Winter Reading Circle"As the snows fall".
-- Daugther of Wisdom began to say --
"Let the thoughts of each of the People
-- young and old. --
male and female --
turn to the nature of our Path.
Let each Fire be surrounded
by much individual thought
and many shared words."
Above you read a small section of the book, The Walking People. This is how the dances of words on pages look and feel:)
They had gone through great change and were learning their way forward together. They used the Winter to deepen their learning.
So, Winter feels to be a good time to read and share words about The Walking People with a community.
Where we can share our thoughts about what we read. Where we as a group can explore how these learnings can support us today in our challenging times.
So it is with great joy we offer our second series of gatherings circling around The Walking People. Where we honor and learn from this 10,000 year old Wisdom Tradition. And invite you to learn together. And perhaps like the Walking People in the quote above, learn more about the nature of our Path.
Paula Underwood shares this history as a gift to all Listening Ears.
It is a long, long song, in which the voices of countless generations echo their Wisdom forward. Eight Hundred wonderful Pages:)
They show folks today a path towards peaceful coexistence.
The Walking People share the Wisdom of Ordered Purpose: the Central Fire all wish to be seated around. The importance of Ordered Council: they seek the Wisdom of all. They show the need of Ordered Preparation: they search for new wisdom as much as they search for food and shelter. And they share their way of Ordered Walking their path.
And above all: they share the importance of learning and remembering these things so that the children's, children can learn.
To get a feel for the book, in the audio recording below, you can listen to the first pages. If you are curious to learn more about the history of the Walking People, we invite you to explore a website created by Paula's learning circle.
Learn more about the Walking People
Gathering dates of The Winter Reading Circle
Every Sunday starting January 11th, via ZOOM
19.00 - 21.00 CET
10.00 -12.00 PST
Gathering 1: Meet each other & read the story of Bright Spring
Gatherings 2 through 9:
We meet the Walking People and learn about the Rocks Like Rain disaster that strikes their community. Washing all their wisdom away. We wander with them to the Bering Strait Crossing. We learn how they find their way through the Endless Mountains.
We listen to the Three Mountain Tellings. We see how they meet the Grass Ocean. We listen to First Peoples Child: Many Paths to Learning. We see their joyful life at 'We call the River Beautiful'. We read about their walk further to The Eastern Ocean. And their move to Beautiful Lake. Where they can no longer move away to preserve their way of living and have to stand up for it.
Gathering 10: What may we learn from this? Closing the Circle.
Guides: Deborah Cruzen Baird and Odette Bovenberg .
Every week we meet through zoom and share about the part of the book we 'cover' that week.
All members of the Winter Reading Circle are welcome always, regardless of how many pages they have read:) WE will ensure that all can contribute to the rich conversatons.
The gatherings will follow a certain rhythm.
We create our Central Fire.
Take the time to link to the Ancestors who offered us these words.
We ensure there is a lot of time to share our thoughts on what we have read. Guided by questions that link the words to our live here today. In small groups and as a Circle.
What caught our attention?
What will we remember?
We will close the loop by expressing gratitude.
Testimonials
I great enjoyed being part of a reading of The Walking People. Being in a group that became a community very much enriched the book's message for me. I have learned the value of being read aloud to, in which passages became vibrational energy rather then just images on a page. I read with eyes more deeply when I was engaged in sharing with others what I found meaningful.
Hearing what others found of note in this story of the dangerous and challenging migration from Siberia to the Great Lakes region expanded my view. I was deeply moved by the story of learning how to hear one another, how to make decisions, how to find purpose and meaning, how wisdom forms and the difficulty of living in peace.
Lloyd Hansen
Last Spring I joined an online reading circle to journey through the words, songs, chants and stories of “The Walking People: A Native American Oral History” by Paula Underwood. Our circle quickly became a learning circle, embracing the many life-lessons of wisdom presented in this story of ancient songs. I find it to be a potent form of learning to share one’s views within a safe container of community. My eyes and heart opened to a new way of seeing, being, and doing, enhancing my ability to see a path forward through these chaotic times. I highly recommend it.
~Deborah Doblado Bowers, Wimberley, TX
Guide Odette Bovenberg
Many winters ago, wandering on small paths to find simple yet strong ways of working together, I stumbled upon the work of Paula Underwood. An encounter that turned my wandering into walking through all the words she has left. The deeply pragmatic knowledge and wisdom she shares hit home for me. Her ‘dances of words on paper’ give a smile. These are words that reach my heart.
Her encouragement that this is for all Listening Ears gives me the assurance that I might share her work to other wanderers of small paths. The Walking People I loved reading. And the idea of going through it again with a Winter Reading Circle makes me feel like I do on a day with the first signs of snow. Full of anticipation.
Guide Deborah Cruzen Baird
In my long and precious life, I have been gifted with many invitations into a deeper way of knowing, being. Humans were a mystery for me, so many of my early friends were the four legged, wingeds, insects and reptiles that lived in the sage and cactus covered hills of Southern California.
In the past many years, I have studied in the Moonwalker tradition. I remember when I first met Grandmother Tu Moonwalker she said, ‘welcome home.’ Now, I have been welcomed into the beautiful wisdom of Paula Underwood through Odette and Stephanie. These teachings have given me a sense of hope, a blueprint of how to live through challenging times when what we hold most dear is under siege. To embrace Mother Earth and all our relations, plant, animal and human.
I am so honored to be walking this road with Odette and helping to bring these teachings to you. May we all find our way forward in a good way.
"To all those who went before
Sitting at the edge of any fire at all
Patiently learning each and every song
To all those who may now follow
Patiently turning each and every page
On which these songs are now sung
To all these
But most of all to my Grandfathers, to my Grandmother
Who walked away from her people
At a time of Great Change
So that the children’s children’s children
May yet learn.
This patient weaving
Of Ancient Tellings
Is most gratefully dedicated."
Words by Paula Underwood
Options for Registering
Frequently asked Questions
Can anyone join this Circle?
Yes all Listening Ears are welcome. Paula Underwood explicitly shared the history as a gift to all Listening Ears. So folks from all backgrounds and ages can join and have joined in the past. Paula in her work, encourages learning circles. Because 'many voices clarify'. Tribe of Two Press, who publishes her work, strives to share her work widely and supports our work.
Can I join with a friend or partner?
Yes:)) We encourage you to sign up in pairs or more if possible. So you can exchange in between gatherings and thereafter. If you sign up as a group the 2nd and 3rd subscriber can use the supported offering option.
What if making a financial contribution is difficult?
We aim to make this available to all. So we will figure that out:) Please contact Odette Bovenberg directly to find out more at [email protected]
How large will the group be?
We are deeply committed to create the setting for valuable exchange. Where all voices can be heard. So the number of participants is limited to 24. If many more sign up we will consider opening another group. We will offer this Reading Circle again next year.
Will the gatherings be recorded?
The gatherings are not recorded. Nor do we use AI or allow that to be used. We do this to ensure the sacred nature of this learning community. And to ensure that everyone knows they can share freely and deeply. Our intention is to protect everyone's privacy in a day and age where that's increasingly important and challenging.
To ensure members of the Circle can 'catch up' when they miss a gathering, we encourage each person to team up with a learning partner. For those seeking a learning partner we will ensure they are connected to one.This to encourage building connections and 'real' exchanges.
What kind of homework is there?
Every week we will read a part of the book. It is roughly 80/90 pages per week. Imagine the pages looking like the examples we shared above. In our experience not all members manage to read all words every week.
All are welcome every gathering even if only a few of the words were read. In every gathering we focus on a few pages and allow for a little reading time prior to break out gatherings. So all can share about these parts. Or you simply listen to all the others share:)
Where can I find all the information?
When you sign up, you have access to the library of this course that has all the information you need. You sign in, create a password and you can start exploring there. You can also find the zoom link to the gatherings there.
Every week you will receive one newsletter in the mail. These newsletters are available in the library as well. The link to the Zoom Room is shared in the Library and will be shared weekly just to make sure all have it.
Where can I find the book?
We encourage you to purchase the book from Paula's daughter, Laurie Roberts, at Tribe of Two Press. Laurie also has a CD of Paula reading from The Walking People. The audio is also available on Audible. Note that the audios do not cover the complete book. We strive to ensure we record at least the missing parts and share these in the library.
The Circle has already started can I still join?
If you only missed the starting gathering, you can still join. Thereafter, that will not be possible. Once we begin, the actual reading, we focus on weaving community.
Join the Walking People Reading Circle