About Us
FOUR WORLDS INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE
Four Worlds International Institute is a family of people and organizations, bound together by a set of common principles based on the traditional teachings of North American tribal peoples brought together with the best that western science and technology has to offer in a non-profit organization. For more than 18 years, Four Worlds has been learning how to support individuals, families, organizations, communities and nations in building a healthy and sustainable future for the human family.
Four Worlds International Institute for Human and Community Development was born out of the intense deliberations and prayers of a gathering of native elders and community leaders that was held on the Blood Indian Reservation on the high plains of Alberta in the last week of December 1982. Forty distinguished representatives of North American tribes met in search of a solution to the social devastation brought on by, alcohol, poverty and an increasing sense of powerlessness that was sweeping across tribal communities.
The Four Worlds International Institute (FWII) was established in 1982, at the University of Lethbridge, by Indigenous elders, spiritual leaders and community members from across Canada and the US.
FWII is an internationally recognized leader in holistic human, community, organizational and economic development because of the Institute’s unique focus on the importance of culture and spirituality in all elements of development. During the past 36 years FWII has worked extensively with Indigenous Peoples across the Americas and SE Asia.
The past four years a primary focus of FWII’S North American work is stopping the Alberta Tar Sands through supporting direct action, innovative social media approaches and actualizing International Treaties between Indigenous Nations. These efforts include: The International to Protect the Sacred from Tar Sands Projects, the International Treaty to Protect the Salish Sea and the Nawt-sa-maat Alliance.
In June, 2013, FWII officially opened the Four Worlds Foundation (FWF) at the City of Knowledge, Panama City, Panama. FWF serves as an international organizing and educational Hub for actualizing the Reunion of the Condor, Quetzal, and Eagle via the Fourth Way across the Americas and beyond! This unification effort, initiated in 1970 in Bolivia, was crystalized at the 5th Indigenous Summit of the Americas in Panama City, Panama in April, 2015, held in parallel with the 7th Summit of the Americas.
FOUR DIRECTIONS INTERNATIONAL:
In 1995, a bold new initiative was undertaken by Phil Lane, Jr., International Coordinator of Four Worlds International Institute to create a profitable business initiative to fund the humanitarian work of The Four Worlds International Institute for Human and Community Development and other related initiatives. It is involved in promoting healthy living through herbal products, environmental solutions and technologies and international trade agreements. This community based, sustainable economic enterprise is called Four Directions International.
