Rooted in Community, Driven by Purpose

Who are we?

We are a diversified 501c3 nonprofit co-founded by Osvaldo Cabral and Samantha Farrell. Alongside our amazing board of directors, we are dedicated to providing a quality educational program while helping people experience the spiritual medicine of connecting with four legged relatives. We also actively help to rehome wolfdog relaties that are in unsuitable situations to the best of our ability. Cuetlachtepetl is a place of healing, and we believe in supporting community. All are welcome.

Our values

  • Health

    Our personal health is interconnected with the health of our people and our environment. We practice Native ceremonial traditions like smudging, prayer, community connection, and reflection to help restore and maintain our health.  

  • Help

    We value giving and receiving help, seeking wisdom from our elders before decisions and sharing resources as needed. Guided by the Wolf Nation, we know that as the strength of the wolf is the pack, and the strength of the pack is the wolf, we thrive by supporting one another.

  • Healing

    Being of service, learning our history and culture, and connecting with our human and animal relatives allow us to help heal as individuals and as a community. Through this we can begin to heal our relationship to Mother Earth. 

  • Happiness

    We are grateful for the opportunity to learn from our relatives of the Wolf Nation. By restoring our bond to these relatives, we receive the gift of their wisdom and presence. We are happiest when we can meaningfully and respectfully coexist with all our relatives on Mother Earth. 

Community is everything

These are a few organizations that are important to us who we would like to raise awareness and support for.

Native Hope

A nonprofit dedicated to bringing home missing Indigenous women and supporting the families of those murdered, helping them cope with grief and advocating for justice.

Harvest of All First Nations

Focused on Indigenous-led reparations, rematriation, and Earth-based decolonization for the benefit of BIPOC+ communities for cultural education and health equity.

Sacred Return

Restoring Indigenous peoples connection with their ancestral practices through bison restoration and the revival of traditional ceremonies.

Our people

CO-FOUNDER & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Osvaldo Cabral

Osvaldo “Ozzie” Cabral (Wixarika/Chiricahua Apache) is an educator and advocate whose life’s work bridges behavioral health, Indigenous community leadership, and the restoration of sacred relationships with wolves and other animal relatives of the land. He has worked in the fields of addiction treatment and mental health since 2002, serving in residential and outpatient treatment programs, community mental health centers, domestic violence programs, and specialized clinical settings.

Raised within Native community traditions, Ozzie’s Native given name is Sunkmanitu Naji (Standing Wolf), and he serves as a firekeeper and has supported elders in ceremonies and community events for many years. He has been an outspoken advocate and activist for Indigenous sovereignty, environmental protection, and cultural preservation. His advocacy includes organizing the Native Defend the Sacred March and Gathering in 2017 and serving as a water protector at Standing Rock from June to December 2016 during resistance to the Dakota Access Pipeline.

Ozzie has also contributed to national efforts to advance Indigenous-led conservation. He worked alongside tribal elders and U.S. Senator Cory Booker on the Tribal Heritage and American Bison, Grizzly Bear, and Wolf Restoration and Coexistence Act, introduced in Congress in September 2024. He has also collaborated with tribal leaders on The People of the American Indian Bison Treaty, a nation-to-nation agreement among sovereign Indigenous Nations focused on the reintroduction of bison and the restoration of tribal stewardship.

CO-FOUNDER & MANAGER OF OPERATIONS

Samantha Farrell

Samantha Farrell is a co-founder of CWMEC. She has been passionate about the care of wolf dogs and wolves since 2017, when she took on the responsibility of raising and coexisting with her own wolf dog, Freya. She has volunteered with multiple animal rescues over the years before embarking on this journey to build Cuetlachtepetl. She helps host tours, action days, events, as well as assists with taking care of the animals. Helping to educate and connect others with these animals is truly a dream come true, and she is honored to be a part of this community.  

BOARD MEMBER

RedFawn Luita Janis

Han mitakuyapi, Hello relatives, my name is Red Fawn Janis. I am Oglala of the Lakota people from Pine Ridge, South Dakota. My Ina (mother), TroyLynn Yellow Wood (Oglala Lakota and Shaheila), raised me in Denver Colorado since I was an infant. My Lakota name Čante Wašte Win (Good Hearted Woman) was given to me in a Lakota ceremony as a child. I grew up in the Colorado American Indian Movement, where I was taught how to stand up against injustices perpetrated against our people, our land, our water, and our future generations. I am a community organizer, working on behalf of youth and elders. I also work on the frontlines in the drug and alcohol recovery field, helping community members navigate daily tasks and recovery resources and gain their lives back. I sit on two different nonprofit organization boards in support of the work they do for the indigenous community, as well as the community as a whole. I remember the teachings handed down and taught to me by my mother, my grandmother, and many others throughout my life. I am a Lakota who walks the red road of sobriety as a spiritual person. I am thankful for the opportunities in this life to be Lakota, to be a good relative, and to hand these teachings and traditions down to our future generations. Pilamiya ye. Thank you.

BOARD MEMBER

Isaiah Placencia Blue Stone

Isaiah Blue Stone has worked in the disability community for the last decade as a service provider, advocate, and friend. Prior to this experience, he served as an EMT and an educator, specializing in agriculture and outdoor education. His dream is to launch a social enterprise food truck that doubles as a means for BIPOC entrepreneurs to learn skills to grow their own businesses, thereby creating financial independence and the opportunity to build intergenerational wealth. Family, culture, social justice, and reconnecting with his Native roots are a few of Isaiah Blue Stone’s passions. He feels the most content when he’s in nature and serving a purpose.