It is from this point forward that Midwest SOARRING's sister organization, Midwest SOARRING Foundation, continues the legacy of dedicated people with a passion for mother earth and all her children. The Foundation will continue the educational function it always had, with the potential of broadening its scope of activities in line with its mission statement:

Educational programs have been sponsored since the Foundation's incorporation in 1996, when it was formed to support Midwest SOARRING's work. Presentations and programs have included:

• Giant Effigies & Geometric Earthworks by James Marshall, 2/96
• First Concert of the Peoples, 10/96
• The Migration of Man: Into—or From—The America's by Myles Goddard, 7/96
• Indians of Illinois & The Upper Great Lakes by Helen Tanner 10/96
• Cherokee Storytelling by Rogers Clinch, 2/97
• The Buffalo Hide-Tanning Weekend at Waswagoning, Lac du Flambeau, WI 6/97
• Folklore of the Winnebago Tribe by David Lee Smith, 11/97
• Blackfeet Storytelling by Curly Bear Wagner, 11/97
• Beginning of the Illinois Native Plant Initiative, Spring 1998
• Establishment of the Annual Canoe Trip, Fall 1998
• Concert of the Heart, February, 1999
• Clean-up of the Historic 1673 Portage site, Lyons, IL, May, 1999
• Arvol Looking Horse talk, 5/99
• Purchase of Broken Horn, the last of a herd of bison, in order to begin a Native American herd for Illinois, 9/99
• Greenhouse set up at the Wolf Road Prairie, Westchester, IL, to provide plants for a Native garden, 1/00
• Co-sponsor of the award-winning Garden of the Great Spirit exhibit, Annual Flower and Garden Show, Chicago, 3/00
• Trip to Effigy Mounds National Monument, Waukon, Iowa, 5/00

The greatest event sponsored by the Foundation, without comparison, has been the Homecoming of the Kickapoo Pow Wow in May, 1998. All of the above are a sampling of the broad concerns covered by the Foundation in the past, with the momentum building so that future projects can affect the wider population of Illinois and beyond.

In 1999, the Natural Resources Conservation Service formally joined our efforts, when Ivan Dozier, District Conservationist for Macoupin County and SOARRING member, secured a grant to begin our greenhouse project, the Illinois Native Plant Initiative (see Wings, Number 17). One greenhouse was placed at the Wolf Road Prairie, Westchester, Illinois, and the surrounding grounds became an arena for further Foundation work, including space for a flower garden and a vegetable garden.

The preservation and restoration of natural land areas has always been one of the emphases of the Foundation. Plans for a model village and cultural learning center, as well as for land to support a bison herd, are long-range possibilities, on the verge of becoming reality.

All members are encouraged to add their ideas and energies to the great work ahead.