Organized by the Wolakota Foundation and coordinated by representatives of many races and nations, the Prayer Run will gather indigenous people and peace activists from all over the North American continent. Four routes, one from the North, South, East and West, will converge in Piedmont, South Dakota for the World Peace Prayer Day Festival. Organized by Chief Arvol Looking Horse of the Lakota, nineteenth generation keeper of the White Buffalo Calf Pipe Bundle, this festival has brought thousands of people together in locations on five continents over the past ten years.

The Wolakota Youth Council is made up of Indigenous youth. Their commitment is to bring back cultural identity, as young people grow in these turbulent times. The struggles we have to face in order to stay true to our identity and purpose are becoming more apparent. Our goal is to come together to share, support, and guide one another in co-creating a promising future. The youth of today understand the dire need to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past. Our vision is to bring health and abundance not only to our generation, but to carry it forth for the future generations to come.

We want to reach Youth that may have a viewpoint of hopelessness, and provide them with the necessary tools. We want to inspire them with acceptance of taking responsibility to become positive leaders and role models. An Indigenous Youth council with participants throughout the United States. This would alow cultural exchange, while reinforcing eachindividual cultural identity. We feel that participation in this type of forum would encourage an exchange of ideas and solutions, thus establishing a foundation for their creative ability to foster change in their own communities and on a global level.

We seek to: Reinforce the celebration and sharing of their individual traditional values and culture, thus promoting respect for themselves and one another. Give voice and empower Youth so that they may add their perspective to their tribal forum while assisting them in preparing for their future roles as peacekeepers and caretakers of the land.

The forces are gathering, and the Tribes are uniting. Old proclimations are finding their limitations, and new foundations of unity and acceptance are being laid. Indigenous people on this continent have been divided and conquered for 500 hundred years, yet they recognize that the greatest enemy has become themselves. It is time for the people to give birth to a new kind of warrior, who overcomes the battle within, before facing the obstacles of the world. Pollution, diseases, drug abuse, alcohol abuse, racism, and an unending cycle of massacres and wars plague the people of this planet. If we don’t take action or speak from our hearts, the consequences will be drastic. The future will be lost for young brothers and sisters, and for seven generations to come. It is time to remember the sacred teachings of the ancestors, that all are one.

We are asking for two youth representatives from each of the tribes in Canada and U.S., to come and run with us. We ask that their tribes to sponsor them for food and transportation and other miscellaneous costs. This is open to non-Indigenous youth and adults may participate. From nation to nation, the sacred eagle feather will be passed from hand to hand, giving every nation the responsibility to lead. Our sacrifice and commitment is the only thing we own, the rest including our bodies, belongs to the earth.

The 19th generation keeper of the White Buffalo Calf Pipe Bundle, Arvol holds the responsibility of spiritual leader among the Lakota, Dakota and Nakota People. He holds an honorary Doctorate from the University of South Dakota, and travels and speaks extensively on peace, environmental and native rights issues. He has been the recipient of several awards, including the Wolf Award of Canada for his dedicated work for peace. A skilled horseman, he shares his knowledge with the youth on the long distance rides that take place in South Dakota throughout the year.

An accomplished traditional Dakota singer and artist, Paula's musical credits include opening for the Indigo Girls, touring Europe with Keith Secola and other notible native artists, and composing and producing her own cd, Songs of a Black Hills Woman. She has be involved in indian rights for over 20 years, organizing the Run to Pipestone and Thanksgiving Feast, and is one of the original graduates of the Red Schoolhouse in Minnesota. She brought her organizational skills to World Peace and Prayer Day in 1996 and has been a moving force in creating the events ever since. She is also the mother of eight children.

Graci is the youth representative for World Peace and Prayer Day and the Wolakota Youth Council President. She is a public speaker for various peace events, and a full time student in college. She is involved with her community and cultural gatherings.

Eastern Coordinator for the Prayer Run for World Peace, Adam Apollo Walsh is Executive Director of an educational multimedia resource organization known as Access Granted. Working out of Asheville, North Carolina, he is dedicated to refining and manifesting visions of a united, free, evolutionary, self-organizing, and spiritually centered humanity.