People of the Rainbow: A Nomadic Utopia

Preface

Preface The Rainbow Family of Living Light, also known as the Rainbow Nation and the Rainbow Family, is committed to principles of nonviolence and nonhierarchical egalitarianism. They have been holding large noncommercial Gatherings in remote forests since 1972 to pray for world peace and to demonstrate the viability of a cooperative utopian community living in harmony with the Earth. They govern themselves by a Council whose membership is open to all interested people. All decisions are by consensus. Money is not needed, as all necessities are free at Gatherings. Everyone is welcome. This book describes different aspects of Rainbow Family life such as how the Rainbow Family Council functions; how the physical infrastructure of the Gatherings work; how members attempt to confront problems nonviolently; who the Rainbow people are; what motivates them to work in a society without money; how they relate to other communities; and how they care for the land on which they gather. It also looks at internal contradictions within the Family and places them within a historical context of North American utopian experiments. It examines how the mainstream world, "Babylon" to the Rainbows, relates to the Family; how the media see and report the Gatherings and how the U.S. government treats them. It also examines the Family's relationship with Native Americans , from whom they've appropriated much of their culture and spiritual beliefs. The research methodology involves participant observation, open-ended interviews , content analysis of media reports, and scrutiny of government documents. xviii • Preface The end result is a comprehensive ethnography. Rainbow voices, in the form of interviews and writing excerpts, are present throughout the text. As an author, Iam sympathetic to the Rainbow Family, their goals, and the vision they represent. I am also inspired by their ability to not only survive, but to grow and bring their vision to an ever-widening circle. The Rainbows are torchbearers for an ideology of hope, one that is all too rare in this age of xenophobia, nationalism, and ethnic strife. I'd like to see the Family persevere; that is my bias. As a scholar, however, it is also my duty to report not only on the successes of the Family, but to examine their faults, shortcomings, and failures as well. The first chapter, Sunflower's Day, is a piece of ethnographic fiction designed to prOVide a slice of Rainbow life. It follows Sunflower, an amalgam character, as he navigates through a day at an annual North American Rainbow Gathering. His experiences are real, based both on my field notes and on stories Rainbows have shared with me. The topography of Sunflower's Gathering is also real; it's a combination of the 1990 National Gathering, which took place in Minnesota, spiced with traces of the 1986 National, which took place in Pennsylvania. The goal of Sunflower's Day is to prOVide an initial description of life at a Rainbow Gathering and, through narration, to bring life to its sights, sounds, and smells. ...