*So true, inspiring, & beautiful. Thank you!!* *Sunny Walker * *She/her/hers* *On **Arapaho, Cheyenne, Núu-agha-tʉvʉ-pʉ̱ (Ute), and Očeti Šakówiŋ (Sioux) tribal land* Certified Facilitator (Also Certified ToP Facilitator) ToP Methods Mentor Trainer - Upcoming Courses <https://www.top-training.net/w/> Virtual Facilitation Collaborative Senior Facilitator sunny.sunwalker@gmail.com 303-587-3017 For diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging inquiries: sunny@diversityinnovators.com www.diversityinnovators.com For virtual facilitation inquiries: sunny@virtualfacilitationcollaborative.com www.virtualfacilitationcollaborative.com On Sat, Jul 4, 2026 at 6:28 AM Ellie Stock via OE <oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote:
*JULY 4TH GREETINGS AS WE CELEBRATE THIS COUNTRY'S 250th!*
*CELEBRATING AMERICA'S* *PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE--* *A DECLARATION OF * *INTERDEPENDENCE--* *OF LIVING THE TRUTH THAT* *ALL (ANIMAL, VEGETABLE AND MINERAL)* *ARE CREATED EQUAL AND* *ARE ENDOWED BY NATURE WITH CERTAIN* *INALIENABLE RIGHTS:* *THAT AMONG GTHESE ARE * *LIFE, LIBERTY, AND THE * *PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS FOR* *ALL LIFE.*
*Carleton and Ellie Stock*
*250 **YEARS SINCE ITS FOUNDING**, **AMERICA* *NEEDS A DECLARATION OF * *INTERDEPENDENCE* *(Excerpts)* *Words by Barathunde Thurston*
*INTERDEPENDENCE* Is not just an Indigenous principle—it is the *LAW OF NATURE*, exhibited by *ALL LIVING SYSTEMS*, and it reflects the fact that *RELATIONSHIPS*, not isolation, are core to *SUSTAINING LIFE*. In this age of cascading crises, as we revisit the more complete founding narrative of our *nation*, living in the *TRUTH* of our *INTERDEPENDENCE* may be the most important choice we can make.
*INTERDEPENDENCE* is a reorientation: from *RELATIONSHIPS* built on hierarchy and transaction to ones rooted in *RECIPROCITY*; from governance that concentrates power in the hands of the few to governance that *LIBERATES* the *MANY*; from seeing the *EARTH* as a collection of resources to honoring it as a *COMMUNITY OF RELATIONS*; from the pursuit of greed to the practice of *PEACE**. *
To shift our systems, we must shift our story. Fortunately, *2026* represents a season rich with narrative possibility. With our shared attention focused on *remembering* the founding events of 1776, let’s seize this current moment as a refounding one, with principles of *INTERDEPENDENCE* intact and central. As we’ve learned from the restoration of devastated ecosystems, when done the right way, those systems come back better than ever, faster than expected. I believe the same can be true for our *DEMOCRACY*.
It is hard to let go of the myth of separation, dominance, and individualistic independence given the culture in which most of us have been raised.
It’s time to recognize that *DEMOCRACY *in its highest form was not imported from Europe—it was native to this land, rooted in *PEACE*, *EQUALITY*, *ECOLOGICAL STEWARDSHIP*, and *BALANCE*, and it was willingly shared. This is not a call to replace the *founding story*. It is a call to expand it—a *UNIFYING VISION* that makes room for *ALL* the excluded *TO BELONG* to the *AUTHENTIC STORY* of this *nation *and to the *STORY OF LIFE*. And this time around, we can grow from *We the People*, to *WE THE LIVING*.
atmos.earth › political-landscapes › 250-years-since250 Years Since Its Founding, America Needs a Declaration of ... <https://r.search.yahoo.com/_ylt=AwrEJnB3sg1qabwASccPxQt.;_ylu=Y29sbwNiZjEEcG9zAzEEdnRpZAMEc2VjA3Ny/RV=2/RE=1780492151/RO=10/RU=https%3a%2f%2fatmos.earth%2fpolitical-landscapes%2f250-years-since-its-founding-america-needs-a-declaration-of-interdependence%2f/RK=2/RS=yEQu_iXQrXXZQg504guFe8NDarM->
Nov 27, 2025 · It’s time to expand the founding story of the US to reflect the forms of democracy that many of this land’s original inhabitants practiced so well, writes Emmy-nominated storyteller
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