Interview conducted by Bill Dowling for Native Digest

 

Currently there are over 60 wolves that need a place for a natural life in their own habitat. The people at Wolf Gardens Wildlife Center in Bluff Spring, Alabama are in the process of fulfilling this need for these majestic animals.

 

WGWC is a wildlife rescue, rehabilitation and education center focusing on the well being of North American wildlife. Those working, volunteering and directing the center believe that the protection of wildlife can only be complete if we also protect the habitat that is required to maintain a natural environment for each species. The dedicated people at WGWC also believe that diversity in habitat and species are essential to the complete health of our ecosystem.

 

My assignment was to have an exclusive interview with Jim Windwalker, Founding Director of Wolf Gardens Wildlife Center. Jim however had other ideas. Prior to finalizing any of the interview questions, Jim requested that he not be the sole focus of the article. Instead, Jim asked that the interview focus on the project of WGWC and also include others at this unique center who are participating in the care and futures of the wolves and the growth and development of the center itself.

 

Throughout the interview process, consisting of many e-mails, I was impressed with Jim's humbleness. Jim says that he is only one man and therefore only plays a part at the center.

 

Prior to finalizing my interview questions I asked Jim to write sort of an autobiography so we all could get to know Jim a little. The humble Jim Windwalker had other ideas! In the "autobiography" that follows Jim tells us not only about himself but also a lot about WGWC that isn't found on their website; http://wolfgardens.org/wolfgardens/.

 

Jim, the volunteers, staff and Board Members are extremely dedicated to wildlife, the growth of the center and educating others about the problems facing wildlife. They will also share with us what we all can do to help improve the situation.

 

To me, the wolf is vital for the balance of our ecosystem. The wolf and the spirit of the wolf are also necessary for us and future generations of people to learn from, appreciate and protect. Wolf Gardens Wildlife will be hosting the 2nd Annual Spirit of the Wolf Pow Wow this coming May 28-30 2010.

 

For more information about Wolf Gardens, please email Jim at: wolfgardens33@gmail.com.

 

I am Jim Windwalker, I was born in the foothills of Alabama where the Appalachian, the great Smokey Mountains and the Catskill Mountains all come together to form a rather interesting array of foothills and Eastern Forest land; as far as a man can walk in many days.

 

I am Cherokee on my Mother’s side and Cherokee/Choctaw on my Father’s side with a little Scottish somewhere down the line. I was raised in the forest and taught to only take what I needed and protect what is left. I was taught that the earth will provide everything that I need if I only take what is needed. I became involved in Tribal Rights issues over 30 years ago. I have traveled to many places and met a lot of really good people.

 

Almost thirteen years ago, my wife Jan and I rescued a female wolf who was with a for profit breeder. We soon had a request to take in another female that was eight weeks old. The second was soon followed by Michi who had been taken to a veterinarian to be euthanized by the owner.

 

It has been so ever since. We didn’t set out to rescue wolves, but somehow these marvelous creatures seemed to find us. We discovered that the need was too great, both in the Civil Rights arena as well as the wildlife conservation arena. We filed for and received our 501(c) 3 Non Profit status in 2004. Since that time we have began developing intentional goals rather than the unintentional rescues that we had made up until that time.

 

We are working to develop Wolf Gardens Wildlife Center. Wolf Gardens will serve many areas of interest for us. We live in a very rural area with very little to offer our community in the way of jobs. Wolf Gardens will help us to develop an interactive wildlife conservation program that will protect local and regional (North America) wildlife, develop wildlife and nature based tourism in our area, help to expand our community development programs, help to expand our Indian Rights interests, develop community economic opportunities, build community cultural education programs, and serve as a prototype for other similarly situated communities to do the same thing.

 

 

This year I turned 56 years old. My goal is to see all of these things through to completion before I reach 60. I do not know why the wolf people came to us. I only know that they did and, since their arrival, our lives have been blessed every day. I believe that once we have our program in full operation, it can be duplicated on any reservation. I guess rather than setting goals, my goals set me. I allow the earth to guide me and I listen to what I hear.

 

Almost all Nations share some common beliefs. One shared by many is that everything is connected together. It continues like that until it makes a complete circle. If we truly believe this then we have to also believe that we can accomplish anything that we seek to accomplish.

 

There have been times when it seemed like we would never find support and it was very hard for me to ask people for help to start with. I saw so many people "begging" for money, (I know we all have heard that term and can relate to it), that I did not want to give people the idea that we were doing that.

 

It took some time for me to get past that. I knew that if we were going to accomplish what we feel, then it will take many others to join in and make this happen. That is how it should be so that no one person can take credit for what is done. Credit should go to everyone because that is the only way things can ever be like they are supposed to be.

 

Many people told us that we would not be able to do the things that we have done, but we have. We never listen to those who say something cannot be done. We pray then we go forward and just do it.

 

In the past times, we have listened to people who said we cannot do things. It is time for all of us to learn that we can do anything that anyone else can do.

 

Over the years, I have seen Indian rights violated in more ways than I even knew there were ways to violate a person’s rights. There are many ways to fight these violations, but that too will lake many people speaking together in a new way. The first thing I had to learn when dealing with those who violate Indian rights was that you cannot ask them to stop. They will not. You have to TELL them to stop in a way they cannot ignore.

 

In my life there have been many things that I hoped to do. Some I have accomplished some things I have not. I wanted to become a writer, I had my first book (Kettle Creek) published and hope to publish another one someday. I had always wanted to cut an album. I did in 1997 I published my first album of my own songs called “The Time Has Come”.

 

I wanted to obtain non-profit status so that we could expand our work in a much more productive way than we could ever do out of our own pockets. We could not afford an attorney, so I filed the application myself and we were granted non-profit status.

 

I wanted us to find a place to build Wolf Gardens Wildlife Center and a new Ceremonial Ground for our community. That was accomplished and the Ceremonial Grounds are complete and we will hold our Second Annual Spirit Of The Wolf Powwow there in May.

 

The things I have not accomplished seem not to be as important after the fact. Though some things may have seemed extremely important at the time, often those things were not needed as badly as I felt they were.

 

It remains very important to me that everything that we do is credited to the Board Members and volunteers who make it possible. I am simply one of many. My voice carries no more weight than any other persons. My dreams are not more important and my actions are not more appreciated that those of anyone else who works to make success come.

 

My focus is on the complete circle. If man is to survive and be healthy, then the Earth must be healed and be healthy. If the Earth is to be healed and become healthy, then the creatures of the earth must be healed and become healthy. I was raised to believe this way. I have always believed this way and in the days when I worked as a Park Naturalist I tried to teach this to those who came to visit the Park. Some learned while others did not.

 

We will complete Wolf Gardens Wildlife Center and then we will teach others how to do what we are doing. I know that it will make a great difference for especially poor rural areas with few jobs and lots of wildlife that need help.

 

If we educate our visitors rather than just let them stroll through, we have changed a visitor into a conservationist. Every person that we convert will convert others until eventually everyone will work to protect the things that we work to protect.

Bill: Jim, you mention in your introduction to yourself and WGWC that one of the intentions of WGWC is to serve as a prototype that other rural communities and reservations can duplicate and have many positive effects on wildlife and the surrounding community. What are some of the current goals for the year ahead at WGWC?

Jim Windwalker: Our first goal for the year is to complete the perimeter fence and enclosures so that we can get the wolves all moved into their new home. We also hope to be able to get Wolf Gardens opened to the public by the end of the year.

 

We hope in the near future to build our own veterinarian clinic on site and be able to host a forum on site to tell other small organizations how our program can help them develop similar concepts in their communities.

 

We also hope to be of use to other organizations and Tribes. We have to be able to show them what we are doing which will lat some point in order for us to become totally self sufficient; generating not only operating funds but providing jobs and business opportunities for the whole community as well.

 

Once Wolf Gardens in in full operation and open to the public, we anticipate between 200,000 and 400,000 per year visitors in the first two years. The total population of our County is only 15,000. So you can see the economic effect this will have on our area. We will be able to:

1. Rescue and rehab more animals and many more species.
2. Develop and restore local habitats.

3. Educate our visitors on the conditions of their wildlife, habitats and the problems surrounding them.

4. We will be able to develop productive programs to solve some of the problems that we currently have to deal with surrounding wildlife, habitat and the environment.

5. Generate other opportunities for business development in our local community.

6. Offer training seminars for other organizations and Tribal Representatives interested in learning how to reproduce our programs in their own areas.

Bill: On your website, which is very interesting and thought provoking, the writer says, "We have to save all the creatures and protect habitats that are required for the food chain or all will fall and none will survive.

Jim Windwalker:  If you really want to save wolves and other wildlife from extinction, join us and help us do just that, because that is what WGWC does and we cannot do it without help."

 

Bill: Jim, what kind of help does WGWC need now and how can people participate in the causes and aims of WGWC?

Jim Windwalker: With Wolf Gardens as with all other non profit organizations, funding is essential.
There are many ways to help some that do not even cost the supporters anything to participate in.
Programs like iGive.com is a very productive program for us. All it takes is joining at http://www.iGive.com/fnorp

Adding First Nations Outreach Project/ Wolf Gardens as your charity and when you do a search through their search engine or shop we get a donation. Most of the places that people would normally do online shopping are already a part of the iGive donation program.

Also personal donations. We are a Public Charity so all of our funds come from public donations. This can be done in a number of ways either through our web site at http://defendthewolves.org or through Network for Good by clicking here. and through Pay Pal. A few supporters even send their donations through the mail in the form of check or money order.

Another type of support that is badly needed are on site volunteers. There are never enough hands to do everything that needs to be done. Volunteers with every type of experience right down to raking leaves and cleaning enclosures are needed.

Another way is to attend our events such as the Spirit of the Wolf Pow Wow and Kiowa Gourd Dance held the last weekend in May every year. http://defendthewolves.org/blog

Michi

 

Bill: Native American Art and Culture has always been attracted to the wolf for so many generations. What do you think the spirit of the wolf is and why is the wolf important for man and nature?

Jim Windwalker: It is true, many tribes have the wolf in their beliefs, lore and culture. For many, the wolf represents the teacher. We have learned much from the wolf. We learned that to survive we must live together in groups and have strong family bonds.
We learned that it takes the whole village to raise our young. We have learned that courage to overcome lives deep within our spirits and if we persevere we will survive.

Bill: Some of the readers may be considering working in the field of Conservation. How can the Education Program help them achieve their goal and what words of encouragement and hope can you give, especially for children and young people who would like to voice their support for wildlife and habitat protection and possibly get involved with WGWC someday?

Jim Windwalker: When Wolf Gardens is completed and opened to the public, our Zoo Veterinarian will be a key part of our education program. Marie Rush is one of the most knowledgeable Zoo Vets in the world and she delivers information in a way that makes people yearn for more.

 

Once Marie is on staff, we will begin an intern program that will offer limited positions for interns each year. This will be a rare opportunity which will provide a learning opportunity to students that no one can exceed. She will also head up the community education program which will consist of Marie and other members of our staff who will be able to teach on all levels, bringing the problems and solutions to those problems to the community, state and country in a fun, exciting yet challenging way.

 

Bill: What brings joy and fulfillment to those working at WGWC and what are the hopes of everyone there, regarding wildlife and habitat protection?

Jim Windwalker: For me it is not only seeing the growth at the new facility. From starting with nothing to woods to building a road, clearing land and now getting ready to put up the perimeter fence and enclosures, It is also seeing the closeness of our group as a community of it's own.

Each month we have a cookout and we invite friends and family. This gives us a family connection not just a business connection.

Wolf Gardens isn't just a Wildlife Center, we are a family. A close knit family who strive together in unity of spirit and mind to do what needs to be done. Each person works tirelessly without complaining about the long hours and no pay. Yes, our entire staff from the bottom to the very top are all volunteers. We have no paid staff at this point and seeing all these people literally slaving together to make things happen is amazing.

When we don't have funds to hire equipment, we roll up our sleeves and grab hand tools. It takes us longer and it is much harder, but the results are greatly the same.

Kim Powell and Michi

 

Kim Powell : Secretary/ Board of Directors Wildlife Biologist/ Wolf Gardens Wildlife Center

Becoming involved with WGWC has brought so much to my life. Working with wolves has always been a dream of mine. These wonderful animals can teach us so much from how important it is to have those family and community bonds to respect and love. They have so much to give and are such an important part of this world that we live in. It's been a very healing experience for me working with them and it is wonderful to see the positive impact that it also has on others as well. When you open yourself up to the blessings, you will be changed by the experience.

 

As far as working with the others involved in the org, it's brought on a whole new dimension of community for me.. to have like minded people that are truly working to make a difference and who bring such love and support. We are all family and everyone is so determined to make this a reality and bring positive change. It's hard work but with it comes so much growth and inspiration. I get such satisfaction and joy out of looking back and seeing just how far we have come in less than 2 years. A small group of people working together that are literally moving mountains.

 

My hope is that we can build a better and more natural environment for the wolves already in our care and to educate people about these wonderful animals. My hope is that by doing this work, we will be better able to teach humans that it is possible to live in harmony and balance with the natural world. We can live alongside wildlife & nature without it becoming about 'us or them'. I hope that we can educate and inspire others to make those small realistic changes in their own lives that add up to big changes for the Earth and all that inhabit her. My hope is that by bringing education and practical solutions, we can make real positive and lasting change.
 

Jan Windwalker: Treasurer/ Board of Directors First Nations Outreach Project. The one thing that I would add is that the animals that are currently living at WGWC are 60 wolves and 2 wolf/dogs. Most of which were rescued from bad situations, whether it was neglect or physical abuse doesn't matter to us. Each animal is entitled  to live its life to the fullest. To be able to have their needs met requires nutrition and medical care, along with love and affection. I'm not saying that these animals are pets because they are not. They are wild animals and need to be treated as such, With respect and care in handling. But they still need to know they are loved.

 

Also in the future when the new facility is completed we will be rescuing all other endemic wildlife that comes our way.

 

I would like to thank Jim, Kim and Jan (WGWC) for providing their time and attention to this interview. I wish each of you much success with your honorable quest.  I would also like to thank Margherita Foscarini for her extraordinary wolf art contributions seen in this article.

Bill: Is there anything final that you or your team would like to add that you would like to share with the readers?

Jim Windwalker: It is impossible for us or any other group of people to accomplish what needs to be done on our own. Without thousands and I mean literally thousands of supporters and volunteers all across the country, we can never make Wolf Gardens Wildlife Center a reality. This is how it should be. It is this way so that none of us get to thinking too highly of ourselves. In this way we understand that it takes all of us to solve problems that affect all of us.

 

No one person is greater than the problem and no one person is great enough to fix the problem. If we each do our small part, then together we have all accomplished an impossible feat.

Bill: Everybody at WGWC has learned so much about the problems facing wildlife and habitat and has so much to share with others. Your organization appears to be taking necessary and commendable steps toward helping wildlife for the current generation and for generations to come. How can WGWC help people to improve the situation for wildlife and habitat that in turn will help us all?

Jim Windwalker: One of the things that every individual can do that will help is by creating their own wildlife habitat. Back yard habitats will make a lot of difference and it is not a overly expensive project. While beautifying our own backyards, we can also improve the vegetation’s that help to produce oxygen, buffer the impurities from the air, and are inducive to small mammals and birds.

Bill:  Prior to the interview you told me that the health of man depends on the health of the world around us. These days we just can't stand by and say that the problems facing wildlife and habitat will take care of themselves or that other people will take care of it all for us. You said something to the effect that today there are still attitudes and practices that are defeating, that work AGAINST nature. What are some of these defeating attitudes and practices and what can people learn at WGWC about working WITH nature?

Jim Windwalker: Some of those practices are profit at all cost. We sacrifice wildlife habitat for no reason other than making a profit. Until large corporations learn that destroying the habitat is not required to make a profit and that we can actually have both, then we all stand to lose. While private property does belong to the individual, the environment belongs to all of us and no-one has the right to destroy it.

 

Currently we allow drilling and mining leases on public lands. The practices of the companies with mining and drilling leases on public lands has not in the past been beneficial to anyone but the companies holding these leases.

 

Repairing our public lands after these companies have finished with them would be so costly that it would not be feasible for the taxpayers to attempt to correct the problems that have been created. Until we decide that if we are going to lease our public lands for these purposes, then those who win these leases must understand they have to leave the land in at least as good a condition as they found it. Watchdog organizations should have the ability to monitor these practices at will. It is after all everyone’s land.

Richard Britt. with Anishnabe

 

Bill: Previously you told me that the most important aspect of WGWC will be the interactive Educational Program. How deep are the problems facing wildlife habitat and what topics or issues will the Educational Program aim to teach people? Will anything be available on-line?

Jim Windwalker: The issues that we face with wildlife that are most likely to benefit in long terms are the encroachment of humans into wildlife habitat. By teaching people how to interact with or in most cases how not to, we will be able to reduce the negative results of many meetings between human and wildlife.

In almost every issue we have concerns about, the primary cause is lack of education. Most people are aware to some degree, but at the same time, they have not had the opportunity to be fully informed.

 

Most Zoos and such provide a place for people to go for the day and learn something about animals. We will not have a zoo type atmosphere and our program will be dedicated to different levels ranging from daily visitors to those who want to come and bring a group and stay for a week.

 

Our programs will not only be educational, they will be fun and exciting as well with many recreational opportunities for those who wish to take advantage of them. We will host interpretive trails to guided Nature expeditions and many other surprises that we will bring to focus later.

 

We are currently working on a complete online education program using Moodle software. The lesson plans are being designed by several very talented educators across the country. It will include several basic courses for all ages as well as community certificate programs for k - 12 and Adult education levels. We hope to have this program up and running some time this year as well.