Meet the Delegates
Groups and individuals are traveling to TIBC11 from all over Turtle Island. Here are some of the groups we're spotlighting as delegations.
Alaska, Spruce Root
Joining us from the Tongass rainforest of Southeast Alaska, Spruce Root is sending a delegation of three. Spruce Root is a Native-led Community Development Financial Institution rooted in Juneau, working across the region to build a regenerative economy grounded in Indigenous values. Through loan capital, business coaching, and initiatives like the Sustainable Southeast Partnership, they support Tribal and rural entrepreneurs in creating economic pathways that strengthen rather than extract from their communities and lands. Their delegation brings a grounded, practical lens on bioregional finance, and a living example of what it looks like to build economies rooted in place, culture, and long term resilience.
Front Range, Colorado
SPIRIT of The Front Range is a Colorado nonprofit that fosters local resilience and regeneration along the Rocky Mountain Front Range by offering cultural and educational programs, tools for community coordination, and community-directed funding. We bring together the people, neighborhoods, and organizations already working to care for this bioregion.
The Front Range Commons is a decentralized, member-directed network-in-formation dedicated to cultural and ecological stewardship, and community-led resource allocation; a space where anyone can contribute, propose projects, share resources, and participate in organizational governance. Anyone who lives here can join. Members can propose projects, share resources, and vote on how community-raised money gets used.
Ozarks
The Ozark delegation, six of us, represents both our beloved home bioregion, the Ozarks, and also our organization, the Ozark Area Community Congress, OACC, or 'oak,' named for the dominant tree species in our forest and water-rich region that spans parts of Missouri, Arkansas, and surrounding states. In October OACC will hold our 47th annual gathering to discuss all things Ozark and ecological. Delegate David Haenke was OACC's founder, and was also instrumental in founding the North American Bioregional Congress (now known as TIBC). Three of our delegation attended the first NABC in 1984, and David has attended most of the 10 NABC/TIBC gatherings to date. Two in our delegation have been long-time journalists reporting on Ozark natural resources and many other topics, and four are family members representing three generations.
The 47th annual Ozark Area Community Congress, to be held Oct 9-11, will feature two panel discussions: 1) Data centers and their potential impact on Ozark groundwater resources 2) Ticks, their diseases, and the emergence of Alpha-gal syndrome. Participants give updates on their work or organizing efforts during the State of the Ozarks session, and also can offer presentations using our Open Space process.
Great Lake Erie Southern Shore Bioregion
Permaculture for Social Change is our current initiative our (GLESS) group is organizing. This marries the permaculture and bioregional framework to benefit communities with mutual aid, climate stress, and collapse. We work together on local projects, creating opportunities for social change, teaching Permaculture Design Courses, and envisioning a future beyond collapse.
At TIBC11, we hope to rekindle tradition and storytelling, learn more ways to benefit our Bioregion as well as connecting with other communities.
