Central New Yorkers will hear about the earth’s global challenges and ways to solve them at a symposium this weekend. “Haudenosaunee and Indigenous Matrilineality: Original Teachings for a Livable Future” is presented at Syracuse University. Michelle Schenandoah is the founder of the non-profit Rematriation magazine and website… focused on women’s voice and their role in their respective culture. The concept is about having an awareness of how the decisions we make now have lasting impacts.
“So, we’re not just thinking about ourselves here and now… but, thinking about things such as what will the state of the water and the air and the food be seven generations into the future. Those generations that we won’t be walking the earth with… but, who will know us by the decisions that were making today,” Schenandoah said.
She hopes people walk away from the symposium inspired and realize it’s possible to incorporate ‘indigenous knowledge’ into their own daily lives. This will be done through storytelling and art displays to inspire them to become more aware of the earth and the universe. Keynote Speaker Samantha Doxtator is an indigenous astronomer and says the stars are a guiding light.
“Like the greatest atlas of all-time. And we still use to this day for navigation, to tell us what time of year it is. They tell us when to plant, when to harvest, when to hunt, when to fish and what time of the month it is,” said Doxtator.
Doxtator adds looking to the stars to navigate through life opens a new understanding of their significance relative to our daily lives. Only tickets remain for the keynote panel Saturday night from 6 to 10 at SU’s National Veterans Resource Center. Click here for tickets.
