One Million Bones

I bet you a million to one, that most of the people reading this post will have never heard of the One Million Bones project. This is a large scale social arts project to bring about awareness of the ongoing genocides and atrocities in Africa, mainly Sudan, Somalia, Burma and Democratic Republic of the Congo. 

The bones were all hand made.  Every bone that was made generated a $1.00 donation, up to half a million dollars by the Bezos Family Foundation.  The project is a collaboration of a creative arts project and activism.  There were 50,000 bones placed in the Congo Square in New Orleans, and one million in the National Mall in Washington, D.C.  Their final resting place is in Silver City, on land behind the Bear Mountain Lodge.

There are still lots of boxes of bones, patiently waiting for people to pick them up and then place them in the secluded valley approximately a mile away.  Many people opt to hang them from trees, or place them along the trail.  You must bring your own bag to carry the bones, unless you want to carry a whole box (recommended only for football players or strong individuals).

 We all wandered around, picking out the bones we wanted to use in our individual art projects.

 This bone has "forgive" written on it.

 Our choices made, we headed out on our hike.  Just don't say "hike" to Sandy....she does NOT hike!  But if you tell her we're going on a walk, she'll join in.  Thus, 8 of us hiked, and one walked the trail.

Don's knee was acting up again, so he quit near the beginning after he had made his directional arrow out of the bones he was carrying.  The rest of us trudged onward.

The trail was rocky, and steep in parts, and we had wonderful views of the valley below us.  Silver City is almost 6000 feet in elevation, so us old folks were slower than usual.  At least I was!

Norm stopped to rest for a few minutes on a nice rock beside the trail. Finally we reached the area where the majority of the bones are resting.   Below, Ainslie found the spot she wanted among all the piles and piles of bones!

I call this the dancing couple.

Doris' creation:

Our great nephews, Micah and Wyatt, by the field of bones.

This was my contribution.  Can you tell it's a scorpion?




And near the end, a poignant moment when reading the inscription on the bone below.  What if I was one of the victims? Or maybe my family? Something to ponder.