Beginning with the Harmonic Convergence in 1987, another sacred place – Chaco Canyon, home to ancient Puebloan villages and Great Kivas – has been overwhelmed with offerings left by New Age practitioners. While filming In the Light of Reverence in 1997, we met archaeologist Wendy Bustard, the National Park Service curator at Chaco Canyon. Park Service staff have to clear away the offerings and catalog and store everything in the Chaco collection. Bustard spent a day with us, displaying an array of New Age offerings and reflecting on why they are considered offensive by native people. Here is a scene we weren’t able to include in the film.
To read a blog on this issue by Project Director Christopher (Toby) McLeod, please visit: https://www.sacredland.org/crystal-clear-new-age-dilemma
Thanks to Lisa Law and the National Park Service for historic photographs. Music by Shane Watson.