Fundamental Beliefs:
The work we do at
Bridges to the Past is based on several principles that we hold dear:
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All peoples of the globe have a rich cultural heritage,
and a shared history. Modern cultures
have often forgotten their roots.
Education on cultural heritage is important for people to rediscover who
they are.
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All peoples, if traced back, were at one time living
close to the earth and local resources.
They were hunters, gatherers, herdsmen & planters. They lived each year by using their natural
resources in such a way that they would be available in the coming year; in
other words, sustainability was the rule, not the exception.
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There is enough and to spare: the world has plenty of
resources, and if used properly this world has more than enough to support its
enormous population in sustainable ways.
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Given similar environments & materials, peoples
around the globe from each other will solve their problems of daily living in
similar or identical ways. We are humans
& we think like humans. We are all
more similar than we are different.
Examples of this can be seen in woodland regions such as Iron-age
Britain & North American Woodlands Cultures, Mongolian Herdsman on the
Steppes & Native American Plains Tribes, and Coastal cultures of the
Northwest American Continent & the Ancient Vikings. Their methods of everyday life and art were not that
different from each other.
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The industrial revolution, while providing many modern
conveniences, has created an unprecedented level of resource depletion on this
planet. People have adopted attitudes
that everything is disposable, and that resource stripping is acceptable if the
appetite for goods is present. These
practices and attitudes are leading to our demise. Unless people learn to return to ancestral
ways of thought and action we will see increased industrialization &
urbanization and continued destruction of productive land. People need to relearn to think small-scale,
local and sustainable, just as our ancestors did.
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People are hard-wired to connect to ancient arts and skills. It is part of who we are. Through teaching the arts and skills of our ancestors
we have been able to observe people as they learn to make fire by friction, tan
animal skins, make baskets, gather food in the wild, grow food at home, and
much more. They come alive, their eyes
sparkle, and they express childlike joy at the rediscovery of their ancient
ways.
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Our natural environment is not indoors; it’s outside,
and we belong there. The things we teach
help people to regain comfort with themselves and the outdoors and gain
confidence in being outside.
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Hands-on is paramount: static displays are fine, but
people connect when they can get involved and do something, especially
something different. They must get their
hands dirty to really learn and connect.
What we are NOT:
Sometimes it is
important to draw distinctions:
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Bridges to the Past is not a survival school. There are plenty of survival schools doing a
good job of educating people for trying times and preparing for ‘what if.’ We applaud them. We are not in the same business. Survival implies a level of duress, while
living implies a level of comfort. We
teach living.
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We are not Doomsayers.
We do believe that things are changing and that changes are required in
the way we live, but what we do is not based on fear of cataclysmic
events. Fear is unproductive. We prefer faith and hard work.
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We are not a nature awareness school. Awareness is great and is often the first
step in a process. What we do goes many
steps beyond awareness; it requires action, conviction and involvement. We help people to gain perspective of who
they are and where they have come from, and then empower them to deliberately
move forward into their futures.
Current Activities:
We have big dreams, and big dreams take time. Currently, the work we are doing to fulfill
our mission is a focus on teaching workshops in Historic Skills in the
community, and at large when we are able to travel, and we have also done classroom presentations
in our local schools to help the children to connect to those who have come
before them in experiential ways. We offer scholarships to local school students for Between the Rivers Gathering and Fall Camp, and we also offer field trip opportunities for some of our local school classes.