by Chris Wells
This piece was originally published in Home! A Bioregional Reader, edited by Van Andruss, Christopher Plant, Judith Plant, and Eleanor Wright, New Society Publishers, copyright 1990.
May 20,1988: Santa Fe’s 8th Annual All-Species Day: The theme: Why Wild?
Multicultural opening ceremonies
The day is kicked off by the San Juan Tewa Indian Buffalo Dancers. Next, in rustic harmonies, the De Colores Singers glorify the landscape of New Mexico in Spanish song. The crowd joins in, singing the beautiful 18th century hymn, “For the Beauty of the Earth.”
All-Species Day Parade
Soon the parade starts up with rhythm sections leaping forth and the ecological floats moving slowly amongst the several thousand children, teens, parents and contingents of creatures. The masks, costumes, and other carried representations are the results of months of educational and artistic species studies in schools, church groups, girls clubs, scouts, etc. Roadrunners, rattlesnakes, pihon trees, coyotes, river otters, pumas, red-tailed hawks, western flickers, mosquito, antelope—the other creatures have come to town to remind us of their place in the world.
Pageant Puppetry Theater
The All-Species Parade of about 4,000 people arrives at a large park for the year’s giant puppetry pageant theater, “Aldo and the Wolf,” dedicated to the naturalist author and wildlife biologist Aldo Leopold, who did so much to bring the science of ecology to the modern world. A quartet plays Pachelbel beautifully from their wheelchairs. A group of teenagers from a local drug abuse program come in as stilt-dancing performers in a crane dance. Wild serenity is invoked for a moment in the city. The wolf study group from a local school club JADE (Juveniles Against the Destruction of the Earth) makes their choreographed stalking moves in masks made from recycled materials as full-size buffalo puppets appear out of a cloud of smoke. The pageant has begun.
Ecological Sideshows
Later, during sideshow time, three elementary school classes have prepared their plays on wilderness topics so they can be presented today. The crowd moves from professional mimes and musicians to puppeteers, dance groups and speaker,s each with short repeated shows on ecological themes. Live buffalo, wolf, and raptors in the care of local ranchers and animal doctors arrive.
Images of nature in its glory and balance, scenes of family and community overcome oppressive forces of ignorance and destruction. The world for a moment seems turned right-side-up again. People are seen in the course of the day crying, laughing, thinking out loud with strangers and in a few paved hearts, seeds of appreciation are starting to germinate.
Excerpted from North American Bioregional Congress III Proceedings, 1989.
Chris Wells is a many-talented artist and environmental educator from Santa Fe, New Mexico. He is also one of the co-founders of the All-Species Project, a cultural arts/education program working in schools and diverse communities culminating in a yearly event: an All-Species Day celebration of our connection to the Earth and all species.
