Rainbow Warriors

Brittany Shea
SOC-1145
April 14,2020

Rainbow Warriors

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Rainbow Warriors

The Tribe of the Living Light, the Rainbow Family of Living Light, or Rainbow
Warriors, as some people refer to them, are a little known subculture in North America as well as
numerous countries all over the world. In the US, they gather multiple times per year in a voted
upon national forest and build outdoor kitchens and campsites. The gatherings can last anywhere
from a couple days to a month. These gatherings are a community of their own, with guidelines
and systems to keep it running smooth and safe as can be. Rainbow Gatherings practice
reciprocity and redistribution. They practice trade of goods or services, and everything that is
donated is redistributed for the good of the group. If you have nothing to bring that’s fine just
bring yourself. If you have money you can donate to the “magic hat” which is then used to buy
food to distribute equally to all the kitchens. The gatherings can be small or large depending on
the type of gathering. There are regional gatherings that happen all over the US during the year
which are smaller, usually a couple hundred people maybe a 1,000 at the most. Once a year there
are national gatherings which are usually around 20,000 but could be more. There are also world
gatherings that happen once a year always in a different country. People from all over the world
will travel to gather so these gatherings can become quite large. “Rainbows” are people from all
walks of life, all ages, all socioeconomic backgrounds, all religions, and all races. It’s a very
diverse group of people that come together to enjoy nature, share ideas, cook and eat food, build,
heal, and say a prayer for world peace. People bring all sorts of skills and supplies to donate. It’s
likely the largest group of anarchists in the world. The most interesting thing about Rainbow is
that if you don’t live somewhere where a gathering has happened or know somebody involved
you might never hear about them. There is no advertisement aside from news stories done over
the years, and there is very little on the internet. I was lucky enough to have made a friend that
had been going for years to bring me and show me the ropes. These people and gatherings are a
fascinating well kept secret! It’s wild to think that there is such a massive community in the U.S.
that is so completely different from all mainstream culture.

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Community
Rainbow Gatherings have developed a strong sense of community over the years. Many
Rainbows are travelers, hitchhikers, train hoppers, or homeless; so not all of them have a place to
stay between gatherings. My friend Lucid says it best “Rainbow has become a free festival for
the kids fleeing broken homes in the wreckage of capitalism. It’s a nomadic community of the
economic underclass, the disadvantaged, the socially excluded; and as such it’s become an
irreplaceable part of the culture of homeless youth in America.”(Lorax,2020) There is a website
called Welcome Home as well as facebook that you can use to find updates and find other
rainbows in the area. It is not uncommon that transient Rainbows will stay with other Rainbows
that have houses or land. If you get into trouble and are stranded somewhere there is a good
chance that somebody in the rainbow family is nearby and willing to lend a hand in some way.
Many of the elders end up living with younger Rainbows who help them day to day as well as
help them get to and from gatherings.

History
The first Rainbow Gathering was in 1972 in Colorado. It took place in a national forest
just as all future gatherings would. 20,000 people came together for four days. It wasn’t meant to
be an ongoing event but the very next summer another gathering came together in Wyoming.
After that it was a yearly event. (Wiki,Rainbow Gathering,2020) The term “Rainbow Warriors”
supposedly came from an old Hopi indian prophecy, which has been the cause of many
arguments, and was found to be fakelore. “The legend said [the Native Americans] would also be

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joined by many of their light-skinned brothers and sisters, who would in fact be the reincarnate
souls of the Indians who were killed or enslaved by the first light-skinned settlers. It was said
that the dead souls of these first people would return in bodies of all different colours: red, white,
yellow and black. Together and unified, like the colours of the rainbow, these people would
teach all of the peoples of the world how to have love and reverence for Mother Earth, of whose
very stuff we human beings are also made.”(Wiki,Rainbow Warrior,2020) “Since the early
1970s, a legend of Rainbow Warriors has inspired some environmentalists and hippies with a
belief that their movement is the fulfillment of a Native American prophecy. Usually the
"prophecy" is claimed to be Hopi or Cree. However, this "prophecy" is not Native American at
all, but rather from a 1962 Evangelical Christian religious tract, titled Warriors of the Rainbow
by William Willoya and Vinson Brown.” (Wiki,Rainbow Warrior,2020) None the less it seems
like a nice ideal to believe in.

Anarchy/Culture
Rainbow Gatherings aren’t perfect sometimes people have gone missing or even died at
gatherings. Sometimes people get into legal trouble in towns nearby. When you have that many
people from all walks of life coming together it's impossible to regulate who is going to come
and what their motives are. However it’s important to focus on the positives that come from

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Rainbow. A quote from my friend Eloisa that says it all “Rainbow changed my life, forever and
still to this day. It’s essential to free speech, free gathering, and free living. It’s the most
authentic and large group of individuals engaged in peace loving anarchism I have ever
encountered. It’s consistent too; outliving many other groups that have tried to pass the vibe
down tribe to tribe in the last 100 years.”(Lewis,2020) Rainbow is an anarchy, nobody is in
charge, and yet everyone is in charge. If a decision needs to be made then a council is called and
anyone that wants to attend is welcome, they will sit in a circle with a talking stick that is passed
around and everyone is allowed to say their piece. At some point a decision can be proposed and
once the stick passes around the whole circle once in silence then the decision is final. (Finch,
2020) The gatherings have no official rules, but people will call you out if you act unsafe or
unsanitary. Just like at a festival there are guidelines and procedures in place for the safety of
everyone. Alcohol and meat are frowned upon. The people who want to drink are asked to do it
at the edge of the woods near the road, so it’s not inside of the gathering. They want people to
have a safe healing space without the drama that alcohol brings. You should bring your own
dish/cup, and utensil, and you are responsible for washing your own dishes. Practice good
hygiene when cooking and serving food; there are hand washing stations at every kitchen.
“Shitters” (trenches used as toilets) must be dug and buried when full, wood must be collected
and fires stoked, food must be prepped, cooked, and served, and dishes must be cleaned;
everyone that is capable should help when they can. When setting up the gathering “water camp”
arrives and finds a spring or several and runs the water line down into as many kitchens as
possible. Everyone must be very careful making sure the water has been boiled properly before
use to avoid sickness! There are also many social norms inside of a gathering that make some
people uncomfortable at first but most people adjust pretty quickly. When you arrive people that
you don’t know yell “welcome home!” and many will come up and hug you. Every now and then
when you're walking around people will say “lovin’ you” or at the end of a conversation before
you move along they will say it and give you a hug. Sometimes a whole kitchen of people
anywhere from 10-40 people will yell “We Love you!” in unison and after a minute or two
another group of people nearby will answer back yelling the same thing. Usually trying to be
louder than the first group. There are traditional rainbow songs that people will sing as well. It is

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common that local cops and forest service members will stop by and check things out. When
people see cops coming they will yell “Six up!” and when they see forest service coming they
will yell “Seven up!”. The forest service is usually very friendly and interested in learning about
the gathering, however the cops are usually unpleasant and intimidating sometimes they will ride
in on horses carrying guns. You're legally allowed to gather in national forests for up to 14 days
without moving. Gatherings can run beyond that 2 week mark but by then there are so many
people that authorities can’t do anything about it, except occasionally monitor things. (Finch,
2020)

Personal Experience
When I was 21 I went to a music festival in Alaska, I stumbled on a campsite unlike
anything I had ever seen. There was a stone and clay fireplace with logs around the fire for
sitting, and railings and countertops made from skinny trees and branches tied together with
hemp at the joints. I thought maybe he was a worker at the festival so I went up to talk to him.
Turns out he was just another festival goer who showed up a day early to set up. I asked him how
he learned to set up and build everything. He said he’d been going to rainbow gatherings for
years and that’s how they do things. He began telling me about Rainbow and how thousands of
people come and set up nature made functional kitchens in the woods and pray for peace. I was

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pretty confused it all sounded so crazy. He said “I'm putting together a traveling kitchen to take
to Rainbow.” We stayed in touch and later that year we bought a school bus and ended up
traveling to the Tennessee national gathering. There is a council that meets before the gathering
to take a vote on which forest to gather in. The official start date is the 1st of July but if you’re
with a kitchen you want to be early for set up. Before the gathering we stayed in Colorado and
found extra people to come with us, mostly young homeless or traveling kids around my age. We
arrived at the gathering and found a place to park among the other kitchens’ buses. There was a
sea of hippies, dirty, hairy, interesting people of all ages and races. So many dogs! Everyone was
unpacking and hauling their things into the woods. We used hand made carts to haul our gear in.
The trail was unforgiving, long, winding, and so steep, it took about a half hour to reach a good
spot. It must have been 100 degrees and it was so humid. I saw all the kitchens setting up all
throughout the woods. So much creativity, each kitchen with their own theme and loyal crew;
some had been together for decades. I learned to dig up rocks and clay to mix with water and
make fireplaces, stoves, and even ovens! People all over cut down dead standing wood and
collected wood on the ground for fires. We built a handwashing station, a dish station, and a
serving counter. We all camped near the kitchen. We began cooking for people in huge
quantities, we made three meals a day as long as we had food. We served others passing before
serving ourselves. People play instruments and sing all the time, there are drum circles and
people collaborating. All day and night you meet new people and have interesting conversations.
At dinner you come together at what’s called “main meadow” as people arrive they sit in a giant
spiral. People donate money to the magic hat to go towards food. Then everyone holds hands and
oms food is served. People walk around the spiral and offer you food until they run out. Nights
are lively! There is a lot of maryjuana being smoked as well as people using psychedelic drugs.
Some people choose to walk around half clothed or without clothes and it’s normal and accepted.
On the morning of the 4th it is quiet in the morning, nobody talks until everyone meets in main
meadow to say a prayer for world peace and om. After the om everyone erupts into celebration,
cheering! Celebration continues all through the night; there is even a talent show. The gathering
begins to empty around the 7th and 8th. A few kitchens stay behind to clean up and renaturalize
the entire area; which is huge, it took around an hour to walk from one end of the gathering to

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the other. There can be no trash left behind and no structures left up. You have to leave the forest
the way you found it. I was in complete culture shock during my first gathering.After leaving the
gathering I was a changed person with so many new experiences to reflect on. Even though there
are things about it that aren’t perfect and that were hard to deal with I felt honored to belong to
such a strange secret community. The culture had such a strong effect on me that instead of
going back to school I traveled the country and worked on farms for years. I will continue to go
to national gatherings and bring new people.

There are so many small details about Rainbow it’s impossible to narrow it down.
Rainbow culture is unlike anything in mainstream America. It’s a unique experience for
everyone that goes, every gathering is slightly different; in a different location, with different
people, at a different point in time, but always with the same goal; to peacefully assemble and
enjoy nature. It’s a time to heal and disconnect from society, expand your mind, work with
others, learn a new skill, give and receive love, dance and sing and play like when you were a
kid; like you might if you weren’t so distracted by everyday responsibilities. “It brings the
forgotten kids into nature, getting them out of cities and reconnecting with the ecosystem.
Showing them the natural progression of how tribes form and function. It’s giving them the tools
to survive and be comfortable. It gives them an alternative to the streets. Civilization doesn’t
want them, but Rainbow shows them they didn’t really want civilization either, they wanted each
other.” (Lorax, 2020) It’s not just a safe haven for the poor or homeless but for anyone who feels

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lost or lonely in their everyday life. The Rainbow culture is a melting pot of all cultures, races,
and religions coming together as one big family. I hope it lives on for generations to come and
that they continue to teach people to think outside the box and be one with nature.

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Works Cited

Adam Finch (2020, Mar.15), Phone Interview

Eloisa Lewis (2020, April.10), Email Interview

Lucid Lorax (2020, April.12), Phone Interview

Rainbow Gathering, (2020, Feb.21), Wikipedia.com, Retrieved Mar. 24, 2020 from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow_Gathering

Rainbow Warriors, (2020, Feb.5), Wikipedia.com, Retrieved Mar. 24, 2020

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legend_of_the_Rainbow_Warriors

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