Last Updated on April 10, 2025
The eldest living member of her tribe, the Takelma Indians of southwest Oregon, Agnes Baker-Pilgrim is a world-renowned spiritual leader, spokesperson and member of the International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers, and keeper of the Sacred Salmon Ceremony—a tradition that she revived for her people after 150 years.
Agnes, more widely known as Grandma Aggie, recently sat down with WPSU host Patty Satalia for a one-hour discussion about the 13 Indigenous Grandmothers and their efforts around the world to encourage peace, health, prosperity and dignity—for all of us today and for all generations to come.
If you would like to learn more about the 13 Indigenous Grandmothers, you can visit their website, grandmotherscouncil.com.
A film is also being produced about the Grandmothers’ walk, titled, For the Next Seven Generations: The Grandmothers Speak. You can see the trailer on youtube and at the film’s official website, forthenext7generations.com
About the International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers: On October 11, 2004, 13 Indigenous Grandmothers from all over the world—the Arctic Circle, North, South and Central America, Africa, and Asia—arrived at Tibet House’s Menla Mountain Retreat amidst 340 acres of forests, fields and streams in upstate New York. Within a few days of convening, the grandmothers agreed to form a global alliance; to work together to serve both their common goals and their specific local concerns.
The first council gathering was a time of hope and inspiration. The grandmothers are both women of prayer and women of action. Their traditional ways link them with the forces of the earth. Their solidarity with one another creates a web to re-balance the injustices wrought from an imbalanced world; a world disconnected from the fundamental laws of nature and the original teachings based on a respect for all of life.
Aama Bombo – Tamang – Nepal
Margaret Behan – Arapaho/Cheyenne – Montana, USA
Rita Pitka Blumenstein – Yup’ik – Arctic Circle, USA
Julieta Casimiro – Mazatec – Huautla de Jimenez, Mexico
Maria Alice Campos Freire – Amazonian Rainforest, Brazil
Flordemayo – Mayan – Highlands of Central America/ New Mexico
Tsering Dolma Gyaltong – Tibetan
Beatrice Long Visitor Holy Dance – Oglala Lakota – Black Hills, South Dakota, USA
Rita Long Visitor Holy Dance – Oglala Lakota – Black Hills, South Dakota, USA
Agnes Baker Pilgrim – Takelma Siletz – Grants Pass, Oregon, USA
Mona Polacca – Hopi/Havasupai/Tewa – Arizona
Bernadette Rebienot – Omyene – Gabon, Africa
Clara Shinobu Iura – Amazonian Rainforest, Brazil
Across the world right now, Indigenous peoples are facing a renewed assault on their lands, rights, and ways of life.
From extractive industries pushing deeper into ancestral territories, to governments rolling back hard-won protections,
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