Red Wind Councils 
Ignite your flame & many more around you will catch fire to light the world for a better awakening.
Walking Towards Justice
We are pleased to introduce our Honorary Council of Directors and our Council of Co-Directors who are working with the Maya people and Red Wind Councils to help create a more just and equitable world. Click HERE to learn more about our Directors.
RED WIND PURPOSE
Red Wind Councils works with the indigenous Maya people of CHIAPAS, MEXICO. Chiapas is the most southern state of Mexico, bordering Guatemala, a region well known for its beautiful rainforests & natural wonders. In some ways it is one of the richest states in Mexico, abundant in coffee, cacao, fine woods & oil, & producing most of Mexico's hydroelectricity. In spite of this, Chiapas is among the poorest regions of the three Americas. The systematic exploitation of these natural resources has enriched a few people & left the large majority of the Maya natives of Chiapas in the most absolute misery. Additionally, NAFTA treaties & globalization, together with flagrant neglect by the government of the people's marginal living conditions, have increased & accelerated the impoverishment of native communities. Chiapas registers one of the highest levels of illiteracy & malnutrition on the continent, resulting from the serious social & agrarian underdevelopment. This is a great paradox for an ancestral people who live in one of the richest natural areas of the Americas.
In Chiapas, there is a constant inflation rate of over 100% while wages rise only 10% annually. Indian populations are the first to be affected by globalization & economic destabilization. A male laborer in Chiapas does not earn enough to provide food & basic provisions for an average family of six children. Most of the time the children cannot attend school but must work hard at fetching firewood & basic needs, or must sell crafts in the streets, often for almost nothing, in order to meet the family needs. Often the poor of Chiapas cannot afford medicines when there is a family illness. At times there is little if any food. Our indigenous neighbors survive day-to-day, week-by-week, not knowing if there will be a tomorrow, resigned to their extreme poverty.
In an effort to correct the extreme inequalities documented above, RED WIND COUNCILS was formed by four concerned individuals in the U.S. as a grassroots not-for-profit organization providing support to the indigenous Maya of Chiapas, Mexico for sustainable development projects independent of any political or religious affiliation. Over the past several years we have been fortunate to receive grants from the Levinson Foundation, the Saylor-Woods Foundation, the Rudolf Steiner Foundation, One Heart Many Rhythms & others to help with self-sufficient projects.
Our project funding includes, but is not limited to:
- Women's Development which includes sewing, weaving, family planning, bread making, embroidery & corn mills
- Educational Development which includes building supplies for schools, school supplies, food & transportation subsidies for local volunteer educators, & shoes for the children
- Healthcare Development includes funding for emergency medicines & surgeries, food & transportation subsidies for local volunteer health workers, building & supplying local pharmacies & clinics
- General Community Development that includes water systems, solar systems, community meeting buildings, community stores, community transportation solutions, organic farming, greenhouses & other agro-ecology efforts.
For years, Red Wind has been building alliances with the Maya, creating a core of strength & sanity despite their extreme poverty & oppression. Red Wind, based on the ancient indigenous councils of the Medicine Wheel ways, models respect for & conservation of the Maya legacy to create a more just society, especially for the children who are the true hope of all. We welcome everyone in the quest for a restoration of balance in ourselves & our world through sustainable projects & cultural renewal initiatives with the indigenous Maya.
Click Here to read the latest Red Wind Newsletter
The Spirit of the Maya: People Made of Corn
Website designed by Wild Geese Consulting