Program

LEARNING FROM NATIVE CULTURES

Stream Description & Purpose

Native or original peoples all over the world still practice lifeways that have sustained them in harmony with their environments for well over 50,000-100,000 years. They understand that we are all interconnected participants in the global village, and that maintaining cultural diversity is as essential as biodiversity to the survival of our precious planet.   Each one of us has ancestral roots in native cultures, and it is crucial now that we begin to reconnect with and nurture those roots through shared, community-building experiences.   By learning from the Earth-honoring values long-carried by native peoples and integrating them to ground our modern cultures and technologies, we can begin to address the spiritual poverty of our time, and restore balance and peace for future generations.  

The purpose of the Learning From Native Cultures (LFNC) Stream is to create an open and welcoming atmosphere where multi-cultural exchange, learning and bridge-building serves to establish a foundation upon which a truly sustainable future can grow and thrive.   To this end, the LFNC Stream will provide opportunities for conference attendees to share hands-on experiences with authentic indigenous wisdom-keepers from many cultures around the world, and facilitate participation in Earth-based activities that help people of all ages to reconnect at the heart.   All activities, including ceremonies, music, art, dance, storytelling, panel discussions, council sessions, craft making, etc. as practiced by native peoples will focus on learning from and honoring natural cycles, and promoting balanced and sustainable stewardship for ourselves and our natural environment.   Also, there will be many opportunities for youth and elders to engage, interact and build bridges through intergenerational dialogues and experiences.   In addition, as the LFNC Stream carries elements common to each of the other Streams participating at SR04, it can serve to ground and connect all of the other Streams like the hub of a wheel acts as the central core connecting its many spokes.

Global Village

To provide an inviting, informal, inclusive, inspiring and interactive "festival" learning atmosphere for hands-on experience, the LFNC Stream team proposes creating a "global village" made up of four structures, one in each of the four cardinal directions, around a central gathering area.   It is key that this area be outdoors, as connected with the land as possible, and open and freely accessible to the public.   Also, this central location on campus will encourage CU students to participate in SR04, and surely enrich their CU experience.   In fact, we will seek co-sponsorship for the global village from members of the CU indigenous student organization, Oyate, especially in the development and construction of the structures onsite.  

Perhaps the global village could be brought together on the plaza area around the fountain next to UMC on the CU campus to be convenient for conference participants, students and the public.   The four structures will include a tipi, a yurt, a reed hut and a small RV equipped with modern technologies for sustainable living.   These structures arranged together in a circle will provide an inviting space for intercultural teaching and understanding, and will promote a feeling of global community.   The global village will function as a central hub, not only for many of the LFNC Stream activities, but also for the entire SR04 conference.

Global Village Activities

Continuous Global Village activities will be conducted inside the indigenous and modern structures and outside on the plaza area during the lunch break through evening hours from Thursday, September 30 th through Saturday, October 2nd .   Interactive activities will include:

• instruction on the origin, purposes and practical uses of every aspect of the global village structures, as well as its connection with the natural environment, and role in the greater community circle
• storytelling for all ages by indigenous teachers
• native crafts and art demonstrations and hands-on learning including carving, weaving, painting, pottery & jewelry
• native songs and chants
• indigenous music and dance
• informal small group council sessions to include youth & elder intergenerational dialogues
• ceremonies for rebalancing and reconnecting with each other and our natural environment to include rights of passage for youth, etc.

Ceremonies

LFNC will offer opportunities to participate in earth-honoring, indigenous ceremonies toward reconnecting, healing and rebalancing.   Particularly important will be opening and closing ceremonies for SR04 conducted by peoples from native cultures indigenous to the land here in Colorado including the Arapaho, Cheyenne & Ute peoples.   These ceremonies will set the tone and intention of the entire conference.   In addition, they will help bring all Streams or spokes of the wheel together as one cohesive group, and demonstrate our interrelated and complementary purposes toward a balanced and sustainable future for all peoples.

Keynote

LFNC will provide a keynote address on Thursday morning, September 30th , in order to:

• introduce indigenous values and lifeways
• show how LFNC Stream grounds and connects other Streams
• provide definitions for "native," "indigenous," "elders," etc.
• remind that we all have indigenous roots
• honor our diversity as we all carry a piece of the puzzle
• honor natural cycles and our interconnectedness and relationships
• suggest why indigenous wisdom is essential now
• help people to reconnect with the Earth and at the heart
• introduce LFNC Stream programs, global village and experiential theme for all LFNC activities during SR04

Seminar Sessions

All five (5) LFNC sessions will be conducted as panels including speakers from several different indigenous cultures involving the following topic areas:

Thursday, September 30th

• panel discussion on indigenous communication and storytelling             (2 hrs.)
• panel discussion on indigenous roots of modern cultures                        (90 mins.)

Friday, October 1st

• panel on indigenous medicine and natural healing methods                       (2 hrs.)
• panel on sustainable living of indigenous cultures                                   (90 mins.)

Saturday, October 2nd

• panel discussion on prophecies of indigenous wisdom-keepers             (90 mins.)

Suggested locations for seminar sessions include UMC, as scheduled, and the Mary Rippon Theatre, if available.

Evening Activities

Planetarium:   Thursday evening, Sept. 30th , 7:00 - 9:00 pm , presentation of star knowledge and creation storytelling from several native cultures.

Music & Dance:   Programs will include music and dance from cultures of the four directions.   Music will include many traditional instruments from many lands including flutes and drums, as well as chants and songs of many native cultures.   Dance will include a mini Native American pow pow, as well as Aztec, Apache, Haida, Bhutanese and African dance.   These beautiful, entertaining and educational programs will be held on the plaza area both Friday and Saturday evenings after the other Streams' evening presentations.   In addition, a multi-media show to include images and sounds of the world's indigenous cultures could be included just after dark in the plaza one evening, and/or as part of the closing ceremonies for SR04 on Saturday evening, October 2nd .

Off-site:   LFNC may provide other activities including a traditional native feast (e.g., luau) off-site, but close to CU campus, for an additional fee.

Pre-Conference Workshops

Engage youth and others to learn how to develop and construct native structures, and the ancient teachings and ceremonies behind their placement, significance, etc. on Tuesday and Wednesday, September 28th and 29th before SR04 opens on Thursday, September 30th .