The Last Winter

In honor of Indigenous Peoples Day (October 9), The Last Winter is a ceremony of ten songs and readings about The Land that Lives and The Wind that Listens. Some of it depicts great pain and profound sorrow that may be hard to hear. But it also gives voice to The Spirit of New Life, to courage, compassion, and creation unending.

We hope such a ceremony can help bring healing to our planet and its people–of the past, the present, and the future.

Written and performed by: Jim H. Hutcheson, PhD, is a retired counselor and spiritual director. Cleva H. Hutcheson, RN, MS, is a retired nurse, who has a master’s degree in counseling and did post-graduate work in Psychosynthesis. In 2007, Jim and Cleva were adopted into the Chaloklowa Chickasaw tribe, although they have no known Native American ancestry. In the ceremony, they were smudged, draped in skins, and given Indian names. Cleva’s is Hands of Flowers. Jim’s is Wind Listener. Their grandchildren are Cherokee by heritage.