The Great Elephant Migration is a global fundraising adventure to amplify indigenous knowledge and inspire the human race, to share space.

A collaboration between indigenous artisans, contemporary artists and cultural institutions, it will raise millions of dollars to power human-wildlife coexistence projects and protect migratory animals making spectacular journeys across land, rivers and oceans.

The creators of the herd live in the Nilgiri Hills, Southern India, where humans and elephants coexist in the densest overlap on the planet. The indigenous communities here see everything in nature as being alive and having a soul. The wind has a spirit, whispering secrets to the trees as she moves through. The stars, rocks, rivers, trees, plants and animals are all part of a big family. 

This way of looking at the world is rooted in mutual respect and reciprocity. There's a reverence for nature and all its inhabitants and a belief that the earth will look after us if we are respectful towards the earth and all of its inhabitants. Humans are a part of a larger web of life, where everything is interconnected. When we harm the earth or other beings we harm ourselves. If we behave respectfully towards the elephants, they are expected to behave well in return. This way of looking at the world is key to everyone’s survival and successful coexistence between all living beings.

The way we see the world shapes the way we treat it. If a mountain is a deity, not a pile of ore; if a river is one of the veins of the land, not potential irrigation water; if a forest is a sacred grove, not timber; if other species are biological kin, not resources; or if the planet is our mother, not an opportunity - then we will treat each other with greater respect. Thus is the challenge, to look at the world from a different perspective.

The Great Elephant Migration will travel through the unceded traditional lands, waters, and territories, of the Wampanoag, Lenape, Tequesta, Calusa, Miccosukee, Seminole, Shoshone-Bannock, Apsaalooké (Crow), Eastern Shoshone, Cheyenne, Tongva, Tataviam, Serrano, Kizh, and Chumash Peoples. We acknowledge the painful history of genocide and forced occupation of their territory. In gratitude, we honor the wisdom of past, present, and future elders and community members, and the enduring strength of their cultures and connections to the earth.