Prince William meets young environmentalists and plays rugby on first day of South Africa visit

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — Britain's Prince William offered words of encouragement to a group of young environmentalists and later joined a rugby practice at a local school as he began a visit to South Africa on Monday that will focus heavily on climate change and conservation.

The Prince of Wales will have four days of engagements in Cape Town, during which he'll see his annual Earthshot Prize award $1.2 million in grants to five organizations for innovative environmental ideas. The awards ceremony will take place in a 470-foot-long reusable dome that will be packed up and taken away after the event.

The Earthshot awards on Wednesday night are the centerpiece of William's trip to South Africa's second-biggest city. But the 42-year-old heir to the throne will also attend a global wildlife summit, visit a botanical garden on the slopes of Cape Town's landmark Table Mountain, spend time at a sea rescue base and meet with a local fishing community.

The prince will use the visit to highlight other issues close to his heart, such as the work of rangers on the front line of conservation efforts, officials said.

William's first engagement was joining more than 100 young environmentalists aged between 18 and 35, who sat in small groups and discussed climate and conservation issues. William jumped from group to group and spent a few minutes talking with them.

“I loved chatting to you today. What you are all doing is incredible," William said at the end. “You are the leaders. You are the people that are going to make the difference going forward. Your solutions and your impact are so important and so needed right now."

William formed the Earthshot Prize through his Royal Foundation in 2020 to encourage new ideas to solve environmental problems, with a focus on young entrepreneurs and innovators. It launched in 2021 and the first three awards ceremonies were held in Britain, the United States and Singapore.

William last visited Africa in 2018 but he has a strong connection to the continent. He traveled there as a boy after the death of his mother, Princess Diana, in a Paris car crash in 1997. He and his wife, Kate, got engaged at a wildlife conservancy in Kenya in 2010. And he said he came up with the idea for the Earthshot awards while in Namibia in 2018.

“Africa has always held a special place in my heart as somewhere I found comfort as a teenager, where I proposed to my wife, and most recently, as the founding inspiration behind the Earthshot Prize,” William said in a statement ahead of his visit.

Kate, Princess of Wales, and their children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis are not traveling to South Africa. Kate, 42, only recently returned to some public duties after completing treatment for an undisclosed type of cancer.

William’s visit follows soon after his brother Harry, the Duke of Sussex, visited South Africa and neighboring Lesotho last month for a youth charity he set up in southern Africa with a member of Lesotho’s royal family.

The visit also comes as the finances of William and his father, King Charles III, come under scrutiny following an investigation by The Sunday Times newspaper and Britain’s Channel 4 television. The probe found their private estates made millions of pounds by renting properties to government entities, including the armed forces, the National Health Service and public schools.

The two estates, the king’s Duchy of Lancaster and the prince’s Duchy of Cornwall, hold portfolios of commercial, residential and agricultural properties that provide personal income to the royals.

The Duchy of Lancaster responded by saying that while the king takes an interest in the estate, day-to-day operations are overseen by an independent council and executives. The Duchy of Cornwall said the estate operates with a commercial imperative “alongside our commitment to restoring the natural environment and generating positive social impact for our communities.’’

William briefly broke away from environmental issues to travel to a high school in the underprivileged Ocean View neighborhood on the fringes of Cape Town on Monday.

There, William — dressed in a dark suit and gray shirt — joined in at a rugby practice. He kicked and passed the ball but also became the target of playful tackles from a few of the youngsters. They yelled: “Let’s tackle the prince!" before two of them grabbed a smiling William.

Rugby is one of South Africa's favorite sports and its national team is the reigning world champion. Three former South Africa rugby stars were at the practice session to greet the prince.

Wiliam is also a follower of the game and a spokesperson for Kensington Palace had promised that the prince would play some rugby.

Associated Press writer Danica Kirka in London contributed to this report.

AP Africa news: https://apnews.com/hub/africa

A photographer lies on the ground to take a picture of Britain's Prince William greeting pupils at the Ocean View Secondary School in Cape Town, South Africa, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay-pool)

Britain's Prince William, greets pupils at the Ocean View Secondary School in Cape Town, South Africa, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay-pool)

Britain's Prince William poses for a photo at the Ocean View Secondary School in Cape Town, South Africa, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay-pool)

Britain's Prince William plays rugby with pupils at the Ocean View Secondary School in Cape Town, South Africa, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay-pool)

Britain's Prince William plays rugby with pupils at the Ocean View Secondary School in Cape Town, South Africa, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay-pool)

Britain's Prince William plays rugby with pupils at the Ocean View Secondary School in Cape Town, South Africa, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay-pool)

Britain's Prince William plays rugby with pupils at the Ocean View Secondary School in Cape Town, South Africa, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay-pool)

Britain's Prince William waves at well wishers during his visit at the Ocean View Secondary School in Cape Town, South Africa, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay-pool)

Britain's Prince William, is tackled playing rugby with pupils at the Ocean View Secondary School in Cape Town, South Africa, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay-pool)

Britain's Prince William, left, speaks to an attendee at the Earthshot Prize Climate Leaders Youth Programme at Rooftop on Bree in Cape Town, South Africa, Monday Nov. 4, 2024. (Gianluigi Guercia/Pool Photo via AP)

Britain's Prince William speaks to an attendee at the Earthshot Prize Climate Leaders Youth Programme at Rooftop on Bree in Cape Town, South Africa, Monday Nov. 4, 2024. (Gianluigi Guercia/Pool Photo via AP)

Britain's Prince William, center, and Hannah Jones, right, CEO of The Earthshot Prize, speak to a group of young people at the Earthshot Prize Climate Leaders Youth Programme at Rooftop on Bree in Cape Town, South Africa, Monday Nov. 4, 2024. (Gianluigi Guercia/Pool Photo via AP)

Britain's Prince William, center, and Hannah Jones, center right, CEO of The Earthshot Prize, speak to a group of young people at the Earthshot Prize Climate Leaders Youth Programme at Rooftop on Bree in Cape Town, South Africa, Monday Nov. 4, 2024. (Gianluigi Guercia/Pool Photo via AP)

Britain's Prince William listens to a group of young people at the Earthshot Prize Climate Leaders Youth Programme at Rooftop on Bree in Cape Town, South Africa, Monday Nov. 4, 2024. (Gianluigi Guercia/Pool Photo via AP)

Britain's Prince William talks to a group of young people at the Earthshot Prize Climate Leaders Youth Programme at Rooftop on Bree in Cape Town, South Africa, Monday Nov. 4, 2024. (Gianluigi Guercia/Pool Photo via AP)

Britain's Prince William visits the Earthshot Prize Climate Leaders Youth Programme at Rooftop on Bree in Cape Town, South Africa, Monday Nov. 4, 2024. (Gianluigi Guercia/Pool Photo via AP)

Britain's Prince William, center, and Hannah Jones, right, CEO of The Earthshot Prize, speak to a group of young people at the Earthshot Prize Climate Leaders Youth Programme at Rooftop on Bree in Cape Town, South Africa, Monday Nov. 4, 2024. (Gianluigi Guercia/Pool Photo via AP)

Nomzamo Mbatha, left, the host of Earthshot Week, takes a selfie with Britain's Prince William and a group of young people at the Earthshot Prize Climate Leaders Youth Programme at Rooftop on Bree in Cape Town, South Africa, Monday Nov. 4, 2024. (Gianluigi Guercia/Pool Photo via AP)

Britain's Prince William, center, and Hannah Jones, center right, CEO of The Earthshot Prize, speak to a group of young people at the Earthshot Prize Climate Leaders Youth Programme at Rooftop on Bree in Cape Town, South Africa, Monday Nov. 4, 2024. (Gianluigi Guercia/Pool Photo via AP)

Britain's Prince William, speaks to a group of young people at the Earthshot Prize Climate Leaders Youth Programme at Rooftop on Bree in Cape Town, South Africa, Monday Nov. 4, 2024. (Gianluigi Guercia/Pool Photo via AP)

Britain's Prince William, center, poses for a photo with a group of young people, with Table Mountain in the background, at the Earthshot Prize Climate Leaders Youth Programme at Rooftop on Bree in Cape Town, South Africa, Monday Nov. 4, 2024. (Gianluigi Guercia/Pool Photo via AP)

Britain's Prince William, speaks to a group of young people, with Table Mountain in the background at the Earthshot Prize Climate Leaders Youth Programme at Rooftop on Bree in Cape Town, South Africa, Monday Nov. 4, 2024. (Gianluigi Guercia/Pool Photo via AP)

Nomzamo Mbatha, left, the host of Earthshot Week, takes a selfie with Britain's Prince William and a group of young people at the Earthshot Prize Climate Leaders Youth Programme at Rooftop on Bree in Cape Town, South Africa, Monday Nov. 4, 2024. (Gianluigi Guercia/Pool Photo via AP)

Britain's Prince William, speaks to a group of young people, with Table Mountain in the background at the Earthshot Prize Climate Leaders Youth Programme at Rooftop on Bree in Cape Town, South Africa, Monday Nov. 4, 2024. (Gianluigi Guercia/Pool Photo via AP)

The Native American Church is considered the most widespread religious movement among the Indigenous people of North America. It holds sacred the peyote cactus, which grows naturally only in some parts of southern Texas and northern Mexico. Peyote has been used spiritually in ceremonies, and as a medicine by Native American people for millennia.

It contains several psychoactive compounds, primarily mescaline, which is a hallucinogen. Different tribes of peyote people have their own name for the cactus. While it is still a controlled substance, U.S. laws passed in 1978 and 1994 allow Native Americans to use, harvest and transport peyote. However, these laws only allow federally recognized Native American tribes to use the substance and don't apply to the broader group of Indigenous people in the US.

The Native American Church developed into a distinct way of life around 1885 among the Kiowa and Comanche of Oklahoma. After 1891, it began to spread as far north as Canada. Now, more than 50 tribes and 400,000 people practice it. In general, the peyotist doctrine espouses belief in one supreme God who deals with humans through various spirits that then carry prayers to God. In many tribes, the peyote plant itself is a deity, personified as Peyote Spirit.

The Native American Church is not one unified entity like, say, the Catholic Church. It contains a diversity of tribes, beliefs and practices. Peyote is what unifies them. After peyote was banned by U.S. government agents in 1888 and later by 15 states, Native American tribes began incorporating as individual Native American Churches in 1918. In order to preserve the peyote ceremony, the federal and state governments encouraged Native American people to organize as a church, said Darrell Red Cloud, the great-great grandson of Chief Red Cloud of the Lakota Nation and vice president of the Native American Church of North America.

In the following decades, the religion grew significantly, with several churches bringing Jesus Christ’s name and image into the church so their congregations and worship would be accepted, said Steve Moore, who is non-Native and is an attorney with the Native American Rights Fund.

“Local religious leaders in communities would see the image of Jesus, a Bible or cross on the wall of the meeting house or tipi and they would hear references to Jesus in the prayers or songs,” he said. “That probably helped persuade the authorities that the Native people were in the process of transformation to Christianity.”

This persecution of peyote people continued even after the formation of the Native American Church, said Frank Dayish Jr. a former Navajo Nation vice president and chairperson for the Council of the Peyote Way of Life Coalition.

In the 1960s, there were laws prohibiting peyote in the Navajo Nation, he said. Dayish remembers a time during that period when police confiscated peyote from his church, poured gasoline on the plants and set them on fire.

“I remember my dad and other relatives went over and saved the green peyote that didn’t burn,” he said, adding that it took decades of lobbying until an amendment to the American Indian Religious Freedom Act in 1994 permitted members of federally recognized Native American tribes to use peyote for religious purposes.

Peyote is the central part of a ceremony that takes place in a tipi around a crescent-shaped earthen altar mound and a sacred fire. The ceremony typically lasts all night and includes prayer, singing, the sacramental eating of peyote, water rites and spiritual contemplation.

Morgan Tosee, a member of the Comanche Nation who leads ceremonies within the Comanche Native American Church, said peyote is utilized in the context of prayer — not smoked — as many tend to imagine.

“When we use it, we either eat it dry or grind it up,” he said. “Sometimes, we make tea out of it. But, we don’t drink it like regular tea. You pray with it and take little sips, like you would take medicine."

Tosee echoes the belief that pervades the church: "If you take care of the peyote, it will take care of you.”

“And if you believe in it, it will heal you,” he said, adding that he has seen the medicine work, healing people with various ailments.

People treat the trip to harvest peyote as a pilgrimage, said Red Cloud. Typically, prayers and ceremonies take place before the pilgrimage to seek blessings for a good journey. Once they get to the peyote gardens, they would touch the ground and thank the Creator before harvesting the medicine. The partaking of peyote is also accompanied by prayer and ceremony. The mescaline in the peyote plant is viewed as God's spirit, Red Cloud said.

“Once we eat it, the sacredness of the medicine is inside of us and it opens the spiritual eye,” he said. “From there, we start to see where the medicine is growing. It shows itself to us. Once we complete the harvest, we bring it back home and have another ceremony to the medicine and give thanks to the Creator.”

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

The property of the late Amada Cardenas, who was one of the first federally licensed peyote dealers, alongside her husband, to harvest and sell the sacramental plant to followers of the Native American Church, in Mirando City, Texas, Monday, March 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)