All Children are Our Children©

by David G. Blumenkrantz

It's been an amazing vibration here in CT.... I've had an outpouring of calls and e-mails. Plus, everywhere I go around town conversations occur. I live in a small New England town about the size of Newtown.... Feels like being close to the epicenter of an emotional earthquake.

Kasserian Ingera?

This is the traditional greeting passed between Masai, one of Africa’s most fabled and accomplished tribes. It means: And, how are the children? Are the children well?

The Children are not well. (more…)

Mars – Curiosity & Raising Children ©

Curiosity, a one ton roving robotic laboratory landed today on Mars. We continue to make amazing advances through technology. What if we applied this amount of intellectual capital, resources and time to improve the way we raise our children?

This article was first written about ten years ago. In celebration of Curiosity and our unbridled capacity for creativity and technical ingenuity, I’m releasing it again. Perhaps it can nudge policy-makers to consider our children as a frontier worthy of exploring and devoting resources and time to helping them grow up better. How are our children doing? (more…)

Shift Is Happening- 4 Arguments For The Initiation Of Youth

 M. Kalani Souza, outgoing IKE Hui Steersperson, officiates the appointment of new co-steerspersons Kesner Flores, Jean Tanimoto, David Blumenkrantz, M. Kalani Souza (left to right), Penny Larin, PRiMO and NOAA Pacific Services Center administrative support is in the foreground.

In the March blog I discussed our work with PRiMO - the Pacific Risk Management Ohana, which is a collaboration of local, national and regional agencies, institutions, organizations and academia. Over the past several years a growing number of federal agencies have begun to recognize the essential value of youth engagement and the role of rites of passage. At the March PRiMO meeting a major shift occurred. The Indigenous Knowledge and the Environment Hui (IKE Hui) chose "youth integration" through the youth and community development through rites of passage framework as its project for 2012-13. It was a great honor to be appointed "Co-steersperson" (chairman) of this distinguished group, along with Kesner Flores, Kapay Allaince and Jean Tanimoto, Pacific Services Center. (more…)

The Fish in All of Us

If we save the children we save the fish, the waters and the planet.

The only approach that makes sense to me is an ecological one. In this we see what our ancestors saw, “that all things are related.” Mitakuye Oyasin… all things are connected - Schema, the primary prayer in Judaism, we are one with God and all that there is.

In almost all traditional cultures there are similar concepts of “oneness” and the interrelatedness of all things. (more…)

Pacific Risk Management ‘Ohana (Primo) Annual Meeting

Go to Pacific Risk Management 'Ohana (PRiMO) Annual Meeting Website »

 David Blumenkrantz and Kalani Souza welcomes the PRIMO group to song at the 2010 Pacific Partners Meeting

David Blumenkrantz and Kalani Souza welcomes the PRIMO group to song at the 2010 Pacific Partners MeetingNational security is dependent upon our education and youth development policy and practices. Youth & community development through rites of passage is one focus of the March annual meeting of PRIMO.

The Center’s Founder and Executive Director and member of the Traditional Knowledge and the Environment Hui, David Blumenkrantz along with the Olohana Foundation’s founder an IKE Hui Steersperson M. Kalani Souza serve as host & convener of conversations at the PRIMO’s annual meeting in Hawaii, March 13-15, 2012. (more…)