Future Plans
Yours?
How we handle the disposition of our body is a choice best made while we are alive and not left as a burden for others to grapple with in the midst of the grief of loss...the last act of yours on Earth.
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The best way to get a feel for this place is to make an appointment to come pay us a visit, and there are plenty of places to enjoy along the way – including wine tasting opportunities, the Goldendale Observatory, Maryhill Museum, Mount Adams, and the Columbia River Gorge towns of Hood River, Bingen, & White Salmon. Visit the Gorge Owned, or GO! directory for information to inspire your trip.
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We’ve compiled some ideas to help you plan for your visit to White Eagle at Ekone Ranch. Please visit our Directions Page for more information about places to stay and eat while you are in the area.
Resources
We know that planning for death is scary and surreal and we at White Eagle feel that it is not only healthy, but enlivening to be in this fierce conversation. We can “walk” with you as you begin to think about it, and to help you in planning for your funeral or graveside ceremony. We would like to nudge you forward in the process of contemplating and completing this final wishes document from People’s Funeral Cooperative: Putting My House In Order. We are comfortable with this topic, and can recommend resources for you to share with your friends and family to help make the subject more approachable for everyone in your world. End of Life Washington has very thorough end of life advance directive information as well.
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None of us know just when death will come and take us. It is an extremely beneficial and heart opening task to prepare this document well in advance of when it is needed. When complete, your loved ones will be grateful for the guidance you have provided them as to how you would like them to handle the details of your ceremony and burial, during a time when trying to figure it out on their own can be incredibly stressful.
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Sacred Earth Foundation and White Eagle with financial support from a private donor through a community foundation grant, and the partnership of Holly Pruett and Death Talk Project, have developed two resource websites, offering family & community-led death care information, specific to Oregon and Washington law. Please spend some time exploring your options:
Washington Funeral Resources & Education
Oregon Funeral Resources & Education
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P E O P L E & P L A C E S
Columbia Hills Memorial Chapel
Goldendale, WA
Phone: 509-772.2636
Jon Bilderback is the representative at our local funeral home, which is now owned by Anderson's Tribute Center in Hood River. They arrange for transportation throughout the state of Washington, including pick ups at the Portland airport. They are great people, they are familiar with our practices, and their costs are reasonable.
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Jade Sherer is one of White Eagle’s Founding Stewards. She currently lives in the Southwest, but is available by email earthecho@gorge.net for personal assistance in bringing more consciousness to your death and dying process.
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Charlene Ray is a celebrant in the Puget Sound area who leads Living and Dying Quests at Ekone and is available for burial services and ministry.
Charlene Ray MSW, LICSW is a heart centered therapist, spiritual teacher and quest guide with over 28 years experience working with children, adolescents, and adults. She has a unique style of intuitive counseling that blends traditional shamanic practices with archetypes, alchemical healing, guided imagery, breathwork and voice dialogue. She has studied with the Foundation for Shamanic Studies, School of Lost Borders, is a Voice Dialogue facilitator and has Level 2 training in Nicki Skully’s Alchemical Healing work. Along the way, Charlene was called again to ministry to serve the dying and the grieving, and also called to minister to the living at points of transition and celebration, such as births, weddings, blessings, memorials, and rites of passage. For the past 13 years she has led Passage groups for youth and since 2010 has led Vision Quests for youth and adults. Charlene graduated from One Spirit Interfaith Seminary in 2014.
Holly Pruett, Celebrant | Holly works in the Portland area, creating life ceremonies from cradle to grave. She was the primary organizer of 2015’s Death:OK conference. She organizes public events, remembrance rituals, and outreach and education through The Death Talk Project. Sacred Earth Foundation is proud to serve as the Fiscal Sponsor entity for this project, which offers inspiration, information, and connection opportunities in the Portland and Columbia Gorge areas.
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A Sacred Moment | Home Funeral support in the Everett, WA area – Funeral Director Char Barrett is also a leader in the home funeral movement. This website resource page is very helpful as well.
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O R G A N I Z A T I O N S
Green Burial Council | GBC is a national certification program for green cemeteries and we are certified through them as a Conservation Burial Ground. Their website Resources section is very helpful, including these following guides:
Green Burial Council Planning Guide
On the Way to the Green Burial Cemetery: A Guide for Families
National Home Funeral Alliance | home funeral information, resources for anyone wanting to learn how to prepare a body for green burial.
Green Burial Info | general info on the green burial movement
Conservation Burial Alliance I A national non-profit dedicated to supporting Conservation Burial Grounds
Natural Burial Company | The largest collection of bio-degradable caskets around.
Kinkaraco | Beautiful variety of burial shrouds.
Peoples Memorial Association | Helping Washington State residents with end of life arrangements since 1939
Funeral Consumer Alliance | excellent resource for funeral planning in Washington State
A Sacred Passing I A Seattle-based organization dedicated to education and assistance to support conscious dying experiences.
Death Resource Center I An online collection of resources related to death and dying, primarily in the Seattle area.
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L I N K S and PAPERWORK
Pre-planning information | checklist, living wills, Advance Directives, state forms etc.
End of Life Washington | End of Life Choices, POLST etc
Oregon Funeral Resources & Information I Family-led death care options in Oregon
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B O O K S
Greening Death: Reclaiming Burial Practices and Restoring our Ties to the Earth (We are featured in this one!)
Reimagining Death – Stories and Practical Wisdom for Home Funerals and Green Burials, by Lucinda Herring, a local funeral director
Come of Age and Die Wise, by Stephen Jenkinson
Green Burial Guidebook, by Elizabeth Fournier
Grave Matters: A Journey Through the Modern Funeral Industry to a Natural Way of Burial
Crossings: A Caring For Our Own at Death
