How do we come into a more just relationship with the more–than-human kin who are around us? How can we pay better attention? How do we learn law from the land? Do we know the ground that we stand on, what supports us and the kin folk that are around us. Informed by these questions of Robin Wall Kimmerer (Potawatomi) we will experience some land-based and body-based approaches to relationships with the more–than-human world, and how these can inform our sense of both reciprocity and responsibility. In this on-line workshop series, we will explore the following themes: body, directions and the elements; body and water; body and land; and laws and lessons from the land. Participants will be invited to spend some time with their more – more – than human kin outside the workshop.

Alannah Young Leon - Research Associate with Indigenous Research Partnerships, Faculty of Land and Food Systems at UBC, is Opaskwayak Cree/ Peguis Anishinabe. Alannah specializes in focusing orientated therapy– a genocide informed, body-centered therapy training program for service providers working with complex trauma. The skills and tools from this training program have been modified so they can be applied in community settings as Indigenous Tools for Living. Her Ph.D. in Education at UBC was based on work with Indigenous Elders in rural Manitoba who developed a pedagogy for land-based health education programs. Her publications with Denise include: “Embodying Indigenous Resurgence” (2018); “Moving with Water: Relationships and Responsibilities” (2017); “Decolonizing Bodies” (2005). She has worked with the University of British Columbia, First Nations House of Learning, the University of Victoria, Simon Fraser University, and the Justice Institute of British Columbia.

Denise Nadeau - a settler of mixed European heritage from Quebec, now residing in Lekwungen territory. She is the author of the book Unsettling Spirit: A Journey into Decolonization (MQUP, 2020). With a background in dance, expressive arts therapies and somatic education her focus is on decolonization of the body. She is an Affiliate Associate Professor in the Department of Religion at Concordia University and continues to offer workshops in the areas of Indigenous-settler relations, the deconstruction of whiteness and decolonizing water. At present she is exploring somatic practices as they relate to Indigenous legal orders. With common interests in body-centered modalities and land-based learning she and Alannah Young Leon have worked together over many years.

Dates: 4 Tuesdays - Jan. 4, 11, 18 & 25, 2022
Time: 2:00 - 4:00 PM Pacific   5:00 - 7:00 PM Eastern   10:00 - 12:00 PM London, UK | 8:00 - 10:00 AM AM Brisbane
Cost: $60.00 (Please do not let cost deter you from attending - Click Here to learn more about funding)

Location: Zoom on-line - a link to the program will be emailed to you before the program begins.

Register: Click the GREEN button below to Register