One organizer behind the curtain:  Meet Jackie Batrus from the Wild12 Congress!

RAPID CITY –In the final week of August, Rapid City played host to a gathering of brilliant individuals from across the globe. Indigenous representatives from 41 countries gathered for the 12th meeting of the Wilderness Congress, where they exchanged insights, ideas, and the challenges their communities face daily in their efforts to maintain a 50% balance between the wilderness and the developed environment on Planet Earth. This significant event, hosted by the Sicangu Lakota Treaty Council, may mark the first gathering of its kind in this South Dakota urban center.

A small team organized this complex and far-reaching event, which took place at the Monument Center in Rapid City. Running from Sunday, August 25th to Saturday, August 31st, the week-long event showcased their collaborative efforts. This group worked closely together to weave a synastry that requires an ability to become a cog in a wheel or a thread in a web. Their success set the bar high, not only for themselves, but for others in the field of organizing large-scale special events.

A key member of Wild12 staff is Jackie Batrus, the Campaigns and Communications Manager who has been involved in the protection of wilderness environs for what seems “her entire life.” Family friends were leaders in this movement and Jackie grew up outside of New York City hearing stories of trips to exotic places where protecting the wildlife, fauna and nature were key concerns for everyone involved. Jump ahead twenty plus years and the environmental degradation caused by corporate and political greed, and the level of passion and commitment to protect and defend has increased in direct proportion to the seriousness of the issues facing our world and that of future generations.

Jackie received a B.A. in communications from Boston College with a minor in environmental science. She developed the art of impactful storytelling and became a Fox News intern. The day Donald Trump announced his campaign for President in 2015, was that day that she shifted into high gear as an environmentalist. 

Like learning about people, the main street media is a show. One must take in every topic, every political view to form an accurate image of what is really going on.  he main goal of the media is to increase viewership and Jackie understood early on she needed to hone her marketing skills in order to be effective. She also knew she had to dig deep to present the truest version of the story and worked on documentary films such as “The Cove,” which won the Academy Award for Best Documentary film in 2009.

“A team of activists, filmmakers, and free divers embark on a covert mission to expose a deadly secret hidden in a remote cove in Taiji, Japan. By utilizing state-of-the-art techniques, they uncover a horrible annual tradition of unparalleled cruelty. A provocative mix of investigative journalism, eco-adventure, and arresting imagery makes this an unforgettable and courageous story that inspires outrage and action.”

This film inspired over one million viewers to contact the Japanese government to end the killing of dolphins as they are chased to shore, trapped in a cove, and then selected for marine parks or killed for food.

After working on this powerful film, Jackie Batrus relocated to Colorado to work for Wild and commit to protecting 50% of the planet for wilderness. Most organizations identify a target figure as 30% but that is not what the science tells us. A 50% goal became the underlying goal of everything the people at “Wild” do. Jackie and her colleague Giulia Gasparrini host and produce the “Voices of Wilderness Podcast,” which focuses on committed conversation with leaders in the environmental community. The world is small and, as with everything, egos are large and everyone wants to be the savior. 

What makes Wild such an effective organization? The staff is collaborative by nature, and able to bypass the small stuff and keep their eyes on the prize, as they say. They are a powerful example of the collaborative strength of coming together and working together to find solutions and share those solutions through the art of storytelling. 

This is something that is intrinsic in the Indigenous world where stories and myths are passed down from generation to generation to teach and inspire future generations with the added focus of embedding spiritual health into the culture and the community. To bring the Wild12 Congress to the Black Hills, which the Lakota believe is the birth place of humanity, makes a powerful statement to the world at this critical juncture in our development.

Jackie’s Master of Science in marketing has been a useful addition to her toolbox, helping her and her colleagues produce a world-class event.

The Monument Center in Rapid City was excited to participate in such a project and welcomed the Wild12 team enthusiastically. The entire process proved to be a learning experience for everyone involved as they built a level of trust that enabled them to create something of this magnitude. The experience provided the opportunity for everyone to learn along the way, all while being exposed to a wide array of cultures and ethnic backgrounds. 

Jackie said that she and her colleagues were constantly reminding themselves to listen and to take into consideration other perspectives. This opportunity spilled out into Rapid City itself, a place that has had its own resistance to accepting diversity within its territory. The Wild12 event contributed to the whittling away of old ideas as residents saw firsthand the benefits of the movement of people from around the world coming together. Simply going to the grocery store because an opportunity to expand your attitude about life in general and the many colors humanity expresses in our population. Jackie used the word “brave” in her description of how she saw the event rolling out. It is an accurate description. It takes bravery to embrace change. There was a certain element in the air at the Wild12 Congress. It was palpable.

As a symbol of hope and the return of the buffalo, this spring/summer brought the birth of not one but two white buffalo calves to the area. The first was born in Yellowstone National Park in early June with a second white calf brought to the Pine Ridge Reservation the last week in August, during the time of the Wild12 Congress. The birth of a white calf is rare. The birth of two within a few months’ time is even more precious. 2024 may be the year that humanity begins to turn the world around.

Wild12 is committed to providing a platform for the voice of women to be heard.  It can be difficult for women to feel like they are being taken seriously when there are still places in the world where women are repressed and controlled. We need to pay attention to the role of the woman within Indigenous culture and see how we can improve the balance between women and men in present day life.

Wild13 will be held four years from now, in 2028.  The location for their next congress has yet to be determined.

To learn more about Wild, please visit their website at www.wild.org

Jackie Batrus can be reached at jackie@wild.org

(Contact Mia Feroleto at mia.feroleto@gmail.com)

 

 

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