Animal Medicine Ceremony as a Site of Building Belonging
Publication information:
Abstract
Born out of research cultivated within and supported by the Harvard PES Indigenous Talking Circle working group, this workshop presents an opportunity to experience traditional animal wisdom through ceremony, to learn and participate in traditional knowledge and wisdom of the animal world and its role in fostering community and belonging, both to community and nature. This workshop features a living traditional animal guidance ceremony shaped by intergenerational dialogue and decades of practice that has been adapted for group work, followed by a talking circle open to willing participants centered on both experience sharing and exploration of the topic. Observers wishing to simply experience the ceremony and listen to the talking circle are welcome!
Presenter Biographies
Stefan Ray Sanchez is a Latine Indigenous scholar whose methodology centers phenomenology in the registers of both philosophy and religious studies. Their research focuses on North American and Latine diasporic spirituality, with particular emphasis on relationship to nature, multiple spiritual and cultural belonging, and identity formation. In addition to their scholarship, Stefan works to serve their local Indigenous community by working with college-age students of Indigenous heritage to help facilitate reconnection and integration of Indigenous spirituality and thought in the modern world.
DeVante Love is a Shamanic Healer and Ph.D. Student who helps people connect to the spirits of the natural world through embodied practices.