Willowtail Springs is Granted $30,000
by NextFifty Initiative
NextFifty Initiative, a Colorado-based foundation that supports efforts to improve the lives of older adults and their caregivers, has granted Willowtail Springs Nature Preserve and Education Center $30,000 for its unique program serving older adults, A Cross-Cultural, Cross-Generational Exploration of Storytelling through Art, Music, Writing, and Nature. Willowtail Springs plans to offer week-long residencies, one-day workshops, and an immersive weekend workshop series in 2024 aimed at Native and non-Native older adults, using artistic expression as part of the path to self-discovery, celebration, and healing.
Willowtail is situated on 60 wooded acres in the Four Corners region, just outside Mancos, Colorado. This area, at once geographically remote and breathtakingly beautiful, possesses a long history of environmental, colonial, racial, and sovereignty disputes. Conservative ‘traditional’ values of the dominant Anglo culture have often resulted in friction with Native nations. The Willowtail property provides a sanctuary to meet participants where they are in their individual creative process, regardless of their cultural background. Moving forward, Willowtail hopes to provide additional arts education to address various cycles of historical trauma in marginalized populations. Willowtail has a Native American Board Chair, Michael Thompson (Muscogee), and other Native advisors, including Tina Deschenie (Diné) and Regina Whiteskunk (Southern Ute).
NextFifty works with community leaders, experts in the field of aging, and front-line professionals to support programs and projects that positively impact aging and longevity. They focus on education, sharing best practices, and supporting innovation that will transform aging for generations to come. “We believe that older adults are a critical part of our communities and that providing opportunities for all people to remain active and engaged as they grow older is important,” said Chandra Matthews, director of programs at NextFifty Initiative. “We’re grateful for the work that Wilowtail Springs is doing to improve the quality of life for people aged 50 and older, and are proud to support this and other efforts to help people age with dignity and purpose.”
Willowtail Executive Director Peggy Cloy was thrilled with the support from NextFifty and cited the similar missions of the two organizations -- supporting older adults, especially those in underserved communities. "We look forward to an exciting year of creative accomplishments and joyful spiritual growth in 2024 thanks to the generosity of NextFifty," Peggy said.
Willowtail Springs is located on Diné Bí Kéyah, traditional Navajo land, near the escarpment of the northern sacred mountain, Dibé Ntsaa. It is also part of the open range of the Ute people, now living on the Ute Mountain Ute and Southern Ute Tribal Allotment reservations to the southwest and southeast. Additionally, Mesa Verde and the surrounding lands in Montezuma County and the Four Corners Region were occupied by the Ancestral Puebloan People a thousand years ago. We honor the past, present, and future indigenous people residing in this region and recognize them as long standing stewards of this land, amplifying our work by their historical presence and their living contributions to land preservation efforts across this region.
