Connecting Spiritually with the Land and Each Other
JOIN US IN OUR SEVENTH Dialogue in the SERIES ON RECONCILING WAYS OF KNOWING
We are pleased to share this dialogue in our Reconciling Ways of Knowing: Indigenous Knowledge and Science Online Forum series: ‘Connecting Spiritually with the Land and Each Other.’
Join Elder Dr. Dave Courchene, Grandmother Katherine Whitecloud, Dr. Blair Stonechild in dialogue with Moderator Shaunna Morgan Siegers, MSc on our essential and spiritual connection with the land and each other.
“Connecting Spiritually with the Land and Each Other” discussed our fundamental connection to and inseparability from the world and each other and how this understanding carries a spiritual dimension for Indigenous Peoples, to which we remain connected through our ceremonies. This is a foundational understanding present in many Indigenous ways of knowing but often missing from the dominant worldview that has shaped Canadian environmental policy.
After an initial discussion, our other Reconciling Ways of Knowing Convenors, Miles Richardson, OC; Dr. David Suzuki; and Dr. Nancy Turner shared their thoughts and insights on this discussion of relation and spiritual connection. Moderator Shaunna Morgan Siegers, MSc then turned to our audience-participants for thoughts and questions for the speakers.
Our intention was to hold space for this discussion to take shape as guided by spiritual direction, to begin the new calendar year off in a good way, as we continued with our Reconciling Ways of Knowing: Indigenous Knowledge and Science Online Forum Series into 2021. Thank you for watching.
Speakers biographies
GRANDMOTHER KATHERINE WHITECLOUD
Katherine Whitecloud is a mother, grandmother, community leader and knowledge keeper from Wipazoka Wakpa Dakota Nation. Chosen at the age of 16 to represent her people, she has been a spokesperson for her Nation for over 30 years. Over this time, she has worked for her community in several roles, including as Chief and Director of Education, and with a focus on Indigenous health and wellness. She was also Chief Executive Officer of the Assembly of First Nations, Director of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, and Manitoba Regional Chief of the Assembly of First Nations. Her work lies in ensuring the life and teachings articulated and envisioned by her forefathers are honoured and protected. Knowledge keeper Katherine Whitecloud is a member of the Turtle Lodge National Council of Elders and Knowledge Keepers. She is currently engaged in drawing on the knowledge of Indigenous knowledge keepers worldwide to build greater momentum for Indigenous-led Indigenous health systems across the country.
SHAUNNA MORGAN SIEGERS, MSC.
Shaunna Morgan Siegers resides in rural Manitoba. She is a member of the Crees of Waskaganish [WAA-skagan-ish] First Nation situated on the southern shores of James Bay in Eeyou Istchee [EE-you IST-chee] and has a long history of living and working with First Nations and tribes across Turtle Island. Shaunna holds a master’s degree in botany and has more than 20 years of ethnobiological experience. She is the Operations Manager for the Indigenous Leadership Initiative and has been involved in the Reconciling Ways of Knowing: Indigenous Knowledge and Science project since 2017.
MILES RICHARDSON, O.C.
Miles G. Richardson, O.C., is a citizen of the Haida Nation and an Officer of the Order of Canada. Early in his career, while serving as Administrator for the Skidegate Band Council, he directed the establishment of the Haida Gwaii Watchmen program. Then, while serving as the youngest President of the Council of the Haida Nation (1984-1996), he led the drafting of the Constitution of the Haida Nation; development of the first comprehensive Haida Nation land and marine use plan, enacted under Haida law; and negotiation of the Gwaii Haanas Agreement, the first Nation-to-Nation agreement between the Haida Nation and Canada, which protected the Gwaii Haanas area of his people’s homeland, Haida Gwaii. He was a member of the BC Claims Task Force recommending negotiations to build a new relationship. He served as a delegate of the First Nations Summit Task Group (1991-1993) and was subsequently nominated by the Summit and appointed as a Commissioner to the BC Treaty Commission for two terms. He served as Chief Commissioner of the BC Treaty Commission (1998-2004).
ELDER DR. DAVE COURCHENE
Known to many as Nii Gaani Aki Inini (Leading Earth Man), Dave Courchene has touched many lives through his teachings. A respected Elder and knowledge keeper of the Anishinaabe Nation, he has devoted his life to creating a healthy environment for current and future generations, carrying messages of hope and peace around the globe, and learning the knowledge and traditions of Indigenous Peoples around the world. Serving as a member of the Wisdom Keepers of the United Nations since 1992, he has acted in an advisory capacity to the UN in areas of spirituality and sustainable environmental stewardship. In his efforts to bring a message of peace and hope to the world, Elder Courchene founded Turtle Lodge International Centre for Indigenous Education and Wellness – a partner in the Reconciling Ways of Knowing: Indigenous Knowledge and Science project – as a place of learning, healing and sharing for all people, in 2002. He has built alliances with institutions, academics, and policymakers across the country, and is known for his ability to inspire dialogue and cross-cultural understanding. Elder Courchene’s work has been recognized with many prestigious honours, including, most recently, an Honorary Doctor of Laws from the University of Winnipeg.
DR. BLAIR STONECHILD
A Professor of Indigenous Studies at the First Nations University of Canada in Regina, Saskatchewan; Adjunct Professor of History at the University of Regina; and a member of the Muscowpetung First Nation, Blair Stonechild is a teacher and author. He attended Qu’Appelle Indian Residential School and Campion Collegiate, obtained his Bachelor’s degree from McGill University before obtaining a Master’s and a Doctorate degree from the University of Regina. In 1976, Dr. Stonechild became the first faculty member at First Nations University and has been Dean of Academics and Executive Director of Development. His major publications include Loyal Till Death: Indians and the North-West Rebellion (1997); The New Buffalo: Aboriginal Post-secondary Policy in Canada (2006); Buffy Sainte-Marie: It’s My Way (2012); The Knowledge Seeker: Embracing Indigenous Spirituality (2016) and Loss of Indigenous Eden and the Fall of Spirituality (2020).
DR. DAVID SUZUKI
Dr. David Suzuki is a father, grandfather, environmental activist, and an award-winning geneticist and broadcaster, known particularly for his roles in the CBC Radio show Quirks and Quarks and CBC Television’s The Nature of Things. He is widely recognized as a world leader in sustainable ecology and has received numerous awards for his work, including a UNESCO prize for science and a United Nations Environment Program medal. Along with his partner, Tara Cullis, Miles Richardson, and others, he helped co-found the David Suzuki Foundation in 1990. For his support of Canada’s Indigenous peoples, Suzuki has been honoured with eight names and formal adoption by two First Nations.
DR. NANCY TURNER
Dr. Nancy Turner is an ethnobotanist whose research integrates the fields of botany and ecology with anthropology, geography and linguistics, amongst others. She is interested in the traditional knowledge systems and traditional land and resource management systems of Indigenous Peoples, particularly in western Canada. She has worked with Indigenous Elders and cultural specialists in northwestern North America for over 40 years, collaborating with Indigenous communities to help document, retain and promote their traditional knowledge of plants and habitats, including Indigenous foods, materials and medicines, as well as language and vocabulary relating to plants and environments. Her interests also include the roles of plants and animals in narratives, ceremonies, language and belief systems.