CINMENA Editorial Board

CINMENA editors are advocates for the growing Confederation of Indigenous Nations of the Middle East and North Africa. No threatened indigenous nation is turned away, provided that it agrees to the principles of justice and non-violent conflict resolution.

Editor-in-ChiefPatrick Harrigan
Associate EditorSandra Suplicki
Legal EditorJames G. Young
North Africa Regional EditorLarry Teich
Levant Regional EditorDenise Dannels
Editor-at-LargeDavid Clay
Reserve EditorDiana Kanoy

Constitutions edited by the Editorial Board to date:

Patrick Harrigan has long been working with indigenous people.

Editor-in-Chief Patrick David Harrigan (b. 1950 in Detroit) was in the late 1960s an aspiring student of astronomy at the University of Michigan, yet far more influenced by his teacher and friend Taekwondo Grand Master Hwa Chong, even to this day. In 1970, with $1700 saved from his summer job, Patrick set out on a three-year odyssey across Asia that led him to acquire an abiding interest in cosmography, the mapping of sacred space. He returned in 1973 to take up South Asian languages and literature there and at UC-Berkeley, Cornell and the University of Madras. Since 1970 he has traveled and worked extensively in much of South Asia, especially South India and Sri Lanka where he is best known for his association with the multi-religious shrine Kataragama‘s tradition of foot pilgrimage. From 1989-2009 he lived and worked in Sri Lanka where he worked closely both with Sri Lanka’s indigenous peoples and government ministries of Sri Lanka and where he compiled Cultural Survival’s 1993 “Report to Sri Lanka’s National Committee for the International Year of the World’s Indigenous People“. Since 2014 he has been serving the Provisional Government of Ezidikhan as policy consultant, publisher and editor. When he is not listening to James Joyce’s 1939 novel Finnegans Wake, Patrick enjoys folk music by Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Leonard Cohen and Tanita Tikaram among other artists. He also serves as the World Kangdukwon Federation Vice President for International Affairs.

Sandra Suplicki

Associate Editor Sandra Suplicki, Ph.D. has taught at every level from preschool through graduate school. When teaching at Bemidji State University in Minnesota, she served on committees related to diversity and worked with the community to alleviate prejudice and more fully integrate indigenous peoples into the community. As Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Evaluation in Windham, MN she headed the race/culture activities aimed enhancing understanding and eliminating prejudice both in the schools and the community.

James G. Young

Legal Editor James G. Young was an elected District Attorney doing criminal prosecution for twelve years and served as civil Counsel for the County in which he was elected.  After this public service, he started a law firm that specializes in governmental law, including cooperative endeavors by multiple governmental entities. Drafting intergovernmental agreements was a regular part of his law practice.

In 1964, James G. Young founded the University of Michigan Taekwondo Club and has been instrumental in promoting Kangdukwon Taekwondo as a legal professional.

“Indigenous peoples throughout the world have beliefs, social customs, tribal cultures and historical heritages that they wish to preserve and protect. They desire basic human rights and fundamental freedoms so that they can preserve these heritages, which include the protection and preservation of historical lands. Far too often, indigenous peoples are subject to discrimination and persecution simply because their societal beliefs and practices differ from the culture and beliefs of those in power,” Young observes.

“Many Indigenous Peoples in the Middle East desire to organize, protect and promote their inherent rights and freedoms by local self-governance and regional cooperation. The Editorial Board has had the privilege of taking concepts from these concerned citizens and assisting them in creating Constitutions, Articles of Confederation and related documents. These organizational documents are an important step in creating a framework to help these Indigenous Peoples reach their goals.”

-James G. Young
Denise Dannels

Levant Regional Editor Denise Dannels, Founder of Waves of Grief Support and Healing Transformation Center and member of the Healing Arts Alliance of the Big Bend in Florida, USA, has a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering with a focus on computers, psychology, and the human-computer interface.  She worked for fifteen years as a software developer and project manager, primarily in the medical industry, and has served on countless committees and boards including reviewing/editing organizations’ foundational bylaws.  Denise’s primary interest in this work is based on a desire to contribute to the realization of peace in the Middle East, where half of her ancestors originated.   

Larry Teich

North Africa Regional Editor Larry Teich of Tallahassee describes himself as a contra dance community builder and ambassador of goodwill. Larry is said to have been instrumental in getting Florida’s capital Tallahassee to recycle its waste.

David Clay

Editor-at-Large David Clay obtained graduate degrees from University of Texas, Austin and from Florida Institute of Technology where he also taught for three decades. David’s most significant education, however, was the result of extensive international travel, especially his Fulbright scholar assignments in Lesotho and in Sri Lanka. Recently David has also been involved in small-scale development projects serving indigenous peoples of India and Guatemala.

Reserve Editor Dr. Diana Kanoy is former Director of Conferences and Institutes at the University of Florida, Professor Emerita of English Communication and Public Speaking at the College of Central Florida and author of soon-to-be-published She Swims with Alligators. Presently her main volunteer work is with Dances of Universal Peace International where she has served on the Board of Directors as Vice-President. She leads regular dance meetings and retreats which raise consciousness of world cultures and promote peace between diverse religious traditions.

Dr. Diana Kanoy is best known as a leader of Dances of Universal Peace.
Dr. Diana Kanoy is best known as a leader of Dances of Universal Peace. Click on image for more details.