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The Vermont sunset at summer camp

"Keep close to Nature's heart

. . . and break clear away, once in a while, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean."

 

       - John Muir     

Purpose

 

Night Eagle is a primitive camp whose way of life is designed  to build a boy’s self-confidence and foster a better understanding of native peoples and their relationship with the earth.

 

The American Indian knew that man’s heart away from nature became hard. He knew that lack of respect for growing, living things soon led to a lack of respect for humans, too. So, he kept his youth close to nature’s softening influences.

 

With the guidance of Allen Flying By, a Hunkpapa Sioux from

Standing Rock Reservation in South Dakota, Night Eagle has

created a program designed to let our campers live as closely

with nature as possible and to learn more about the American

Indian and other earth-based cultures. Great care is taken to

develop a sensitivity to issues surrounding their customs and

sacred rituals. Campers gain respect and understanding of the

heritage of native peoples and also discover our own culture’s

impact on their history and current problems.

As a boy immerses himself in other cultures, he gains a rare perspective of himself and his own culture as well -- a perspective that couldn’t be gained through any amount of reading or studying in the classroom.

A boy climbing a Sioux tipi to install smoke flap poles
A boy exploring a Vermont wetland

Goals

 

From a weekend outdoor education program and summer travel camp established in Mississippi in 1982, Night Eagle grew to include a residential summer camp in Vermont in 2000 and exists to:

Promote a better understanding of the American Indian and other

earth-based cultures through camp lifestyle, discussions, stories, and other activities,

Foster simplicity of life by emphasizing fun, simple living, personal

fitness, and an understanding of, and cooperation with, nature

through practical experience such as gardening and the

study of ecology,

Provide a fun, innovative experience so that boys learn to appreciate the worth of each individual, and

Build a close-knit community that values the strength that diverse   backgrounds bring to a community.

                                       

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