Category: Onaway

As 2024 marks the 50th anniversary of Onaway, we have been taking the opportunity to reflect on the origins and history of the Trust and to take a look back at the impact of Onaway’s partnerships over the decades. This is the story of how the Onaway Trust began.

John’s Journey

Onaway founder John Morris was born in Yorkshire in 1921. He was a highly gifted, compassionate and spiritual young man who from an early age was inspired by the Native American culture and ways of life described in the epic poem, ’The Song of Hiawatha’ and who loved to be surrounded by nature.

As an adult, John met Pilkington Glass heiress Barbara Pilkington through his work as a reporter, with whom he would go on to co-found the Onaway Trust and form a life-long friendship. After  travelling to the Middle East, he became deeply concerned by the dispossession of the Palestinians he met there. With the backing of Barbara Pilkington and with the late King Hussein of Jordan as its patron, John went on to set up a home for disabled Arab refugee children, which served the community for over a decade.

In 1973, at the age of 53, John visited North America and was warmly welcomed by Native American communities such as the Seminoles, Mohawks and Lakota, with whom he lived and formed close bonds. He was inspired by the tribes’ innate wisdom and sacred, intuitive ways of life and found himself in communication with a new spiritual guide or imaginary friend called Golden Eagle. From this point on, John made frequent trips back and forth to the US to spend time with the Native people, his new friends. 

However, it was through these numerous journeys that he learned the difficult truth that the spirit and cultures of the Native American peoples had been catastrophically suppressed, and in many cases lost entirely, due to decades of oppression, discrimination and genocide at the hands of white colonisers and their descendants. John felt a spiritual calling to help the Native peoples to preserve and celebrate their culture and it was from this awakening that the Onaway Trust was born in 1974.

“In former times an Indian, whilst still quite young, was sent out alone on a vision quest. Whatever was revealed to him in dreams and visions would, he believed, serve to shape and guide his future life. Although no longer young, John Morris’ sojourn among the Indians was also, in essence, a ‘vision quest’ and from it he derived both a new direction and a new purpose in life — to speak out for justice for the American Indian.”– Akwesasne Notes, 1982

The Evolution of Onaway

John Morris soon started the Onaway magazine, ‘onaway’ being an Ojibwe word meaning ‘awake’, which he produced from his home in Leeds. The magazine was sent out by post to subscribers and featured articles and photographs which served to educate the British public about the ways of life, world view and struggles of Native peoples. The Onaway magazine and the message it shared received a lot of interest from other Brits who were interested in the Native American way of life and concerned to learn of the despicable treatment of the people at the hands of fellow Europeans. 

All profits went towards the Onaway Trust’s projects, providing seed funding to small projects led by and supporting these Indigenous communities. Copies of the Onaway magazine are available at the Onaway Trust HQ and we have plans to make these available digitally in the near future.

Onaway has always believed in giving a hand-up rather than hand-outs to communities in need, by providing initial seed funding to sustainable, community-led projects which will have a long-term positive impact on communities, rather than one-off grants which have limited benefits if gains are not reinvested back into the project.

The funding provided to projects back in those early days gave some of them the initial boost they needed to help them grow into the successful organisations they are today. For example Survival International, a hugely important international force in the fight for Indigenous rights globally, which runs many vital and game-changing campaigns which have helped to protect tribal lands and save vulnerable Indigenous tribes from being wiped out completely, has close ties with Onaway dating back to the mid 1970s.

The Onaway Trust understands that Indigenous peoples are the best guardians of the natural world and that their wellbeing, cultures, rights, ways of life and languages must be protected, not only for their own sake but also for the very future of the planet we all rely on.

The organisation exists to give Native peoples the resources to fight back against the struggles which they face as a result of the oppression, genocide and discrimination dealt to them by those who believe that civilisation and progress are to be achieved through the theft and exploitation of the Earth’s natural resources and the assimilation and subjugation of those who live a more harmonious way of life.

We also aim to help educate the Western world on the benefits that living in a more traditional or environmentally conscious way and embracing Native wisdom has for both ourselves and the health of our planet, ensuring a more promising future for generations to come. It is evident that the Indigenous way of life provides us with many of the solutions we need to fix the problems caused by the Western world’s destructive and selfish behaviour to date.

Over the past 50 years, the Onaway Trust has supported many incredible and deserving projects across the world, from the Americas to Australia, Africa and Asia. In the coming weeks and months we look forward to taking a look back at some of these projects and the impact that they continue to have on Indigenous communities in the present day.

However most importantly, we wish to celebrate the incredible bonds and friendships which have been forged with Native peoples and allies around the world ever since John Morris’s first visit to America in the 1970s.

If you would like to share any memories or stories of the Onaway Trust or the impact that our partnership has had on your community, please feel free to get in touch and help us celebrate this important milestone in the collaboration and respect between our Native and non-Native communities. Thank you.

“Over the years, the work of the Onaway Trust has often meant the difference between the survival and extinction of a number of traditional organisations. […] It is true that they have provided monies for projects and crisis situations when no one else would provide money, and we are very grateful for this because several projects at Akwesasne have survived because of the generosity of this organisation, but it would be wrong to view the work of the Onaway Trust in terms of money. This is an organisation sincerely dedicated to introducing a natural world viewpoint to European people and to trying to help correct long-standing injustices.” – Akwesasne Notes, 1982

A project funded by the Onaway Trust is helping the Indigenous Matsés people to protect the Amazon rainforest by providing them with sustainable income opportunities which prevent the need for deforestation.

The Matsés, or Mayoruna, are an Indigenous people who live along the Javari (Yavarí) river and its tributaries between Brazil and Peru. They live in remote villages deep in the Amazon rainforest which are difficult to access, making trade with the outside world practically and economically challenging.

Although most of the Matsés needs are met by their traditional practices, such as hunting, gathering, fishing, and horticulture, nowadays they rely on a small amount of money to pay for basic household items, medical care, fuel for outrigger canoe motors, and to exchange goods in the city.

Unfortunately, greedy timber extraction companies take advantage of this fact by bribing the Matsés to allow access to their sacred forest in order to log the remaining tree species which haven’t already been eradicated by industry. Not only is this work dangerous and laborious, but the Matsés are often underpaid for the precious timber that they sell.

Acaté Amazon Conservation’s copaiba tree resin project is helping the community to develop an alternative income source which means they will no longer have to resort to working with harmful extractive industries, which destroy their rainforest home and its ecology, in order to make an income.

The copaiba tree produces a golden resin which has many uses in medicine and the manufacture of products such as cosmetics. Acaté have worked alongside the Matsés to create their own drills in order to sustainably extract this resin in a way which doesn’t kill or infect the dense hardwood trees. The organisation has also helped to connect the community with local markets in order to sell this renewable product.

With Onaway’s funding, Acaté and the Matsés community were able to map out all of the copaiba trees in the south of their territory between the Chobayacu tributary and the Upper Yaquerana river and they have also been able to extend their work to Puerto Alegre on the Upper Yaquerana with training and the construction of additional drills.

This inspiring project not only provides the Indigenous community with a sustainable source of income which helps to prevent ecological and environmental destruction but, in preserving their ancestral home, it also protects against the loss of the Native peoples’ cultural traditions, wisdom and practices.

This is in line with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples which seeks to empower the cultural traditions and economic self-sufficiency of Native communities while preserving the health of the natural environment and its biodiversity. In addition, the project serves to highlight the benefits of traditional Matsés medicine, something which Onaway has previous experience in having funded a project in which Acaté worked with the community to produce an encyclopaedia of traditional medicine.

Onaway is proud to have been able to provide support to these incredible projects and to help the Matsés people to achieve self-sufficiency and preserve their home and their culture in such challenging times. Read more about this partnership and the work of Acaté here.

•Sign the Petition•

The Onaway Trust supports Native American communities in their mission to change the offensive name of a sacred landmark back to one which respectfully portrays the Indigenous history, culture and legends of the site.

‘Devils Tower’ is an unmistakeable geological feature in the landscape of Wyoming. However, for years it has been at the heart of a controversial debate which sees Native American communities petitioning the government to change its name to Bear Lodge, a name which they consider more historically accurate and culturally respectful.

The site was branded with the name ‘Devils Tower’ in 1906 due to a mistranslation of its Native American name to ‘Bad God’s Tower’. A clerical mishap which erased the apostrophe then compounded this error, leading to the name ‘Bad Gods Tower’, which was subsequently simplified to ‘Devils Tower’.

Understandably, the dozens of local tribes to whom this site is a place of worship find this name highly offensive and damaging, as it equates their sacred ceremonies with devil worship and helps to cement harmful stereotypes about these Indigenous cultures.

As a result, Native American citizens, led by Chief Arvol Looking Horse, are campaigning to change the name of the park to Bear Lodge National Historic Landmark, a name which is known to have been used historically and which is closely aligned with Native legends surrounding the site.

Despite having a strong case to present to The United States Board on Geographic Names (USBGN) due to their obligation to reject names which may cause offence to racial, ethnic and religious groups, the campaigners have faced strong resistance from some Wyoming state politicians, who have used their powers to block the renaming petition from being considered.

Consequently, supporters of the campaign are forced to resort to taking their petition to the highest level for approval by the President of the United States, Secretary of the Interior, or Congress. However, in order to have the best chance of success and of finally restoring Bear Lodge’s true name, the petition needs as many members and allies of Native communities to support it as possible.

Please sign and share the petition to help fight for justice and respect for Indigenous communities.

Read more about the Bear Lodge campaign.

We are pleased to share a positive update from Care Across Communities about the education project funded by the Onaway Trust in December 2021. Throughout this year, essential items such as school bags and stationery have been successfully distributed to 300 marginalised and Indigenous primary school pupils in Bangladesh.

Local parents, teachers and volunteers report that this project has helped to boost the self-esteem of these children, who have never received special attention or gifts before, and that as a result they are now more motivated to attend school and to continue their studies.

The children benefiting from this programme come from marginalised Indigenous groups such as the Tripura and Garo communities, with many of their parents having left school early to earn low salaries working as slash-and-burn cultivators, day labourers, or in beauty parlours. As they are unable to afford to support their own children’s education, the poverty cycle inevitably continues and the next generation is now facing the same struggle to break free and fulfil their potential.

It is hoped that, by carrying out initiatives such as this, children living in these disadvantaged communities who may otherwise have left school to get married or start work in order to support their own families will now see the other possibilities that become available to them when they are offered a little support and encouragement.

The Onaway Trust is proud to have provided funding that was able to bring joy and empowerment to children with so much potential and enthusiasm to follow their dreams and build a better life for themselves and their families.

Click here to find out more about this project and to read all about Onaway’s partnership with Care Across Communities.

The Onaway Trust is proud to be supporting the Amazon Guardians in their tireless fight to defend Brazil’s Indigenous peoples, their territory and the future of the planet we all rely on.

Olimpio Guajajara, an Amazon Guardian from the Indigenous Guajajara tribe of Araribóia territory in Brazil, has recently visited Europe for the first time on a mission to raise awareness of the suffering and threats facing his people at the hands of money-grabbing industries.

The Amazon Guardians are a brave and dedicated group of Guajajara tribal members willing to risk their lives in order to stand up for the rights and lands of Indigenous Amazonian peoples, including the uncontacted Awá tribe, who are under constant threat from invasion by illegal loggers and cattle ranchers hoping to exploit their native lands for profit.

After visiting London to deliver speeches and make several media appearances,  Guardian leader, Olimpio, travelled throughout the continent in an effort to raise support for the group’s work and cause. The Onaway Trust had the great honour of speaking with Olimpio during his UK visit and we are proud to be working once again with long-term partner organisation Survival International in order to support the Amazon Guardians in their crucial mission.

Fighting back against these powerful and government-backed forces is highly dangerous work, with 80 Guajajara members having been killed in the last two decades alone. On the 3rd of September, Olimpio and his tribe received the shocking news that a sixth member of the Amazon Guardians, Janildo Oliveira, had been murdered for defending this precious territory, an area which is supposed to be protected by law. None of the murderers have yet been brought to justice. This tragedy further highlights the need for international support and solidarity with the Guardians’ cause and will surely add further fuel to the fire as they continue their vital and inspiring work.

Onaway believes that all Indigenous peoples deserve the right to live their traditional lifestyles free of exploitation and oppression. If you’d like to join us in our support of the Amazon Guardians or wish to find out more about their fight against genocide and environmental destruction, please follow the links throughout.