Manitonquat (Medicine Story) R.I.P.

Medicine Story "Manitonquat" Talbot passed away at the age of 89 on July 21, 2018.

Medicine Story taught people around the world about The Circle Way for creating peace, ending violent crime, and teaching people how to use a talking stick to facilitate communication. To learn more about the work he and his wife, Ellika, have been doing for decades, visit their website, the Circle Way.

These two videos were  made at the 2016 Rainbow Gathering in Vermont when many of the earlies came to share their hipstories, or tales of how the rainbow gathering came to be. He would have been 2 weeks shy of turning 87 that year.







In 2009, at the New Mexico Gathering, I had the joy of digging a shitter with him and Garrick Beck and we talked about stories and how important they are to our understanding of the world.

Medicine Story at main circle, Washington Gathering 1981

Dear Medicine Story,

You have taught us many lessons and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.


Be safe on your journeys.

Medicine Story and Ellika

Ellika, Pete Seeger, Toshi Seeger, Medicine Story

Bajer R.I.P.

Bajer and Debby at an unnamed gathering

On July 18, our much loved Bajer, aka Charles Winslow, passed away after attending his final gathering on planet Earth in Georgia.

Bajer dedicated his entire life to this crazy roller coaster we call the rainbow gathering. He was a mountain man of the kind that are fast becoming extinct in this country if they aren't extinct with his passing. He lived in the woods for a large part of his life. He was a man of few words, "harrumph" being a frequent expression. 

I first met Bajer at the Alabama Gathering in 1993 at a wedding where he was the groom.  I had been to a few regionals before then, but this was my first July 4th gathering and the love he and his bride shared was real. Bajer was a man who believed in love, wanting love. In fact the last time we really hung out was in Vermont, 2016 and he asked me, like he had for years, if I was seeing someone. If I wasn't, he was interested.  Always polite about it, but always looking for love somewhere with someone.

In Colorado 2006 during one of many discussions of how to write an unsigned operating plan that the Forest Service would accept, Bajer stalked by in full exasperation mode and said something to the effect, tell them we will gather, pray for peace and then we'll clean it up.  We don't need more than that. Then he stormed off throwing his hand up in the air.

Enjoy these photos shared by many.

Bajer and a very young John Buffalo

Bajer with headband. Patty in upper right, white tank top.

Chuck Windsong (RIP) on left and Bajer on right.

Amber Robinson RIP

Updated 7/20/18 at 11:00 p.m. eastern time with donation opportunity

Dear Amber,

You were with us for such a short time. I did not meet you, but those who did said you were a beautiful soul.

We failed you. You asked us what to do with your life and we said, please come home to the gathering. You came to the gathering with the man that would end your life two weeks later. Both of you came home and we didn't keep you from leaving with him.

So many hearts are broken. These words are helpless scratches on the life that you deserved to live.  These words come too little, too late. We should have, could have, would have.  As a family, we have soul searching to do to prevent this from ever happening again. We owe you this much at least. 

You should have been on your way to another gathering or a beautiful lake somewhere to swim in the cool refreshing water and dancing under the trees by moonlight.  This is the life I wish for you.

I will continue to identify ways that the collective we, and my self personally, will work towards protecting our family from those who would pray upon them as we gather in the future.

Let us sink deeply into our grief and then later when our tears have dried up, channel that grief towards  preventing anyone person from experiencing the fate you did.

To all that knew Amber well, I am so deeply sorrow that we failed her.

If you would like to donate to a GoFundMe opportunity to help her family with the memorial arrangements, click here.

A reporter took a video of her hard at work on trash at the gathering. Its posted on Facebook so I'm not sure if you will be able to see it or not without a Facebook account. Click here for the video.