Honoring Indigenous Land & Teachings
4 Elements Earth Education was born out of the Children of the Earth Foundation and the Foundational Teachings of The Tracker School through Tom Brown Jr. These teachings were passed down from Grandfather Stalking Wolf, of the Southern Lipan Apache Lineage to Tom. Grandfather Stalking Wolf was born into the Coyote Clan of Lipan Apaches, from an early age he was raised by his great grandfather among a small group of other Elders and children, he was raise in the Old Ways. Grandfather’s people lived with deep connection to the spirit of the land and the ancient skills of nature’s wisdom which guided their lives. Stalking Wolf spent his childhood learning from the Elders, all that they could share about all aspects of camp life and how people can live in harmony with each other and Mother Earth.
During a solo hunting quest, Stalking Wolf was shown a vision of his life which led him to wander alone for 60 years seeking vision and knowledge to find a common thread among all peoples. This culminated in a condensed mentoring shared with Tom Brown Jr, which started when Tom was 7 years of age. Much of the teachings were of the Old Ways, making and creating everything to live directly from the Earth by hand. Tom Brown Jr. spent over 20 years learning and testing out his skills and started the Tracker School in 1978 to share a common Vision born through Stalking Wolf and his Lipan Apache Clan.
We are grateful for our partnership with the Southern Lipan through Juan Villarreal for over 17 years. Our newest addition of the Red Sun Ranch in South Texas has been almost a lifetime in the making.
Rick Berry is thankful to Gary Morris who passed down Yurok and Hoopa ways of living and thinking through Calvin Rube and Georgina Matildon.
Fox Walkers is ever grateful for the acceptance and 15 year partnership with the Siakumne Tribe and Chairman Don Ryberg. Together we’ve re-created the cultural, living village of Pata Panaka.
As a non-profit organization that teaches Earth Skills, 4EEE is intrinsically bound to honoring Indigenous Peoples as this is where we gained our teachings from. We continue to Honor Indigenous Land and Teachings with Tribal Partnerships in California and South Texas.
A Brief History …
In 1999, Coyote Tracks started on the East Coast as a Youth Program under Tracker School. In 2001 Coyote Tracks led to the nonprofit “Children of the Earth Foundation” (COTEF), with a goal to provide affordable youth and family programs through the help of donations from the Tracker community and beyond. Rick Berry served as Director for 8 years before returning West.
In 2010 Rick Berry moved west and founded 4 Elements Earth Education Inc. (4EEE) on the same Vision as Coyote Tracks and with the help of Juan Villarreal and support from Tom Brown Jr.
In 2019, 4EEE absorbed the Children of the Earth Foundation at Tom Brown Jr.’s request. We now have Coyote Tracks on the East Coast and Fox Walkers on the West Coast, under our 501(c)(3) nonprofit, 4 Elements Earth Education.
With Coyote Tracks in the East, we are investing in highly qualified instructors and taking the time to rebuild what was a thriving program during the early years of its formation.
It is careful, intentional work to ensure Grandfather Stalking Wolf’s teachings and vision are held strong at the core and passed on.
