AN IN-PERSON EVENT IN STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN.
A STOCKHOLM +50 ASSOCIATED EVENT
An audio recording of this event will be available shortly after and distributed across our usual platforms.
In-person, listening circle, at:
ABF-huset, Sveavägen 41, 111 83 Stockholm.
Room: Erlanderrummet (first floor).
Time:
13:00 - 14:30 (CEST, Stockholm)
Registration essential.
This in-person event will take the form of a sharing circle -fishbowl format- which consists of an inner and an outer circle of chairs. The inner circle is for the active participants (the speakers) while the outer is for witnessing and deep listening (the listeners). We will start with our guest speakers in the inner circle, and then open the possibility for people from the outer circle to step in and join. This format, called fishbowl, allows fluidity and a variety of insights, while preserving and centering key voices.
What do Indigenous teachings and Western legal systems have in common? They both offer ways to realign our relationship with nature from one of harm to harmony. This event will inform you about the potential of revising international law to criminalise ecocide (mass destruction and damage to nature), and will create a space for deep listening to Indigenous’ worldviews. The format consists of two circles, inner and outer, enabling both active participation and bearing witness, while centering key voices and visions for systems where nature is respected and revered. .
Indigenous cultures and traditional knowledge systems have cultivated respectful and reciprocal relationships with the natural living world since time immemorial. Modern science has started to acknowledge Indigenous expertise to tackle climate change, and develop strategies for mitigation and adaptation. Thus centering Indigenous voices is an essential part towards building a resilient and equitable future. On the other hand, there is a need to modernise international law to reflect the urgency of our times. The recognition of ecocide as an international crime is a key missing piece to create a legal and moral parameter to protect the living world. Momentum for the criminalisation of mass damage and destruction to nature -ecocide- has been growing over the past few years, and it is becoming an obvious and necessary demand across all sectors of society.This event brings these two worlds into conversation, exploring how they both address the roots of the global climate and ecological crisis, and offer solutions and insights towards a more harmonious relationship with nature. The format of the event -a sharing circle with an outer circle of listeners- fosters deep listening and bearing witness, while allowing open participation and inclusion of all voices present.
With:
Mindahi Crescencio Bastida Muñoz (Otomi-Toltec, Mexico)
Loretta Afraid of Bear Cook (Oglala Sioux, Turtle Island)
Kurikindi (Kichua Nation, Ecuador)
Shawna Bluestar Newcomb (Shawnee, Lenape, Turtle Island)
Helen Lindmark, (Sami, Sweden)
Randy Lays Bad, Grandfather (Oglala Sioux Nation,Turtle Island)
Facilitator: Louise Romain, Stop Ecocide International
More information about the participants:
(Otomi-Toltec, Mexico)
Mindahi is Director of the Original Nations Program of the Fountain and until July 2020 was the Director of the Original Caretakers Program, Center for Earth Ethics, Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York (2017- ) and General Coordinator of the Otomi-Toltec Regional Council in Mexico, a caretaker of the philosophy and traditions of the Otomi-Toltec peoples, and has been an Otomi-Toltec Ritual Ceremony Officer since 1988. He is consultant with UNESCO around Sacred Sites and Biocultural issues and for other UN programs.
Mindahi holds a doctorate in Rural Development from the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (UAM, 2010), University Medal of Merit; M.A. Political Science, Carleton University, Canada, 1996, Pass with Distinction; Bachelor: Tourism, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Mexico (UAEMEX, 1991).
Loretta Afraid of Bear Cook
(Oglala Sioux, Turtle Island)
Grandmother Loretta is a member of the Oglala Lakota Nation. She was born at home on Pine Ridge, South Dakota on November 22, 1947. She is the faith keeper and holder of the Afraid of Bear/American Horse Sundance Pipe. Fluent in the Lakota language and protocols, she serves as a cultural specialist and ceremonial keeper for her People. Loretta has made promoting Indigenous education and defending the political and human rights of Native peoples her life's work. Her activism began in her twenties on the Trail of Broken Treaties as one of 800 Natives who occupied the Bureau of Indian Affairs headquarters in Washington, D.C. during the federal election week of November 1972. Their 20-point position paper became the basis of Indian thinking across Indian Country since, addressing the restoration of Indian lands and the reconstruction of a future for Indian peoples. Sixteen of the 20 points have been resolved in the 47 years since that time.
Shawna Bluestar Newcomb
(Shawnee, Lenape, Turtle Island)
Shawna Bluestar Newcomb is Shawnee, Lenape from Turtle Island, North America.
She shares the root causes behind current ecological, social, political and economic imbalances. Shawna teaches a way to rise above the darkness, fear, anger, and anxiety at this time as we enter into what she calls the "New Era of Love". She is dedicated to bring healing and balance on an individual and collective level for the benefit of all peoples, beings, the planet, and future generations.
Kurikindi
(Kichua Nation, Ecuador)
Kurikindi (Golden Hummingbird in his native language Kichwa) was born deep in the Ecuadorian Amazon rainforest, from a long lineage of shamans of both his father’s and his mother’s side. He pursued several studies in secondary school and thereafter university in biology, business management and Intercultural bilingual education. Since 2007, he has been fighting the implantation of oil companies in Ecuador’s Amazon rainforest, assuming a leading role in the protection of the National Park of Yasuní, one of the most biodiverse spots on the planet. He also stood up against the arrival of the oil companies in his community of Sani Isla. He has permanently worked to support the most vulnerable native communities of South America through fundraising campaigns to help communities on issues such as oil spills, building schools and by sharing his messages and wisdom with the world.
From 2017 Kurikindi has been part of the Wisdom Keepers, a platform of elders from different indigenous communities from around the world, who share their wisdom to live in a more conscious and sustainable world, and he joined the Mother Earth Delegation of the United Original People in 2020.
Helen Lindmark
(Sami, Sweden)
Sami Elder Helen Lindmark grew up in Liikavaara, a village south of Gallivare in Sweden, in the northern part of Sapmi. She walks the shamanic tradition of her ancestors’ heritage from Sapmi and the northern parts of Sweden, Russia and Finland. Grandmother Helen’s mission is to introduce people to the old traditions, which partly have been protected and hidden in silence. Her calling is to inspire, guide and help people to heal with great love and with total trust.
Randy Lays Bad
(Oglala Sioux, Turtle Island)
Randy Lays Bad a fluent Lakota Language speaker is a member of the Oglala Sioux Nation, South Dakota. Randy a former Tribal Council Representative worked his way through the educational field to become a classroom teacher in Lakota Language, Culture and History. Using his gift/skills to reach out and help bridge the gap between the younger and older generation through Cultural activities such as the Annual Sacred Hoop 500 Mile Run in which his late father; Ramsey Lays Bad was a co-founder. An oral story based upon a race around the He Sapa (Black Hills) by wamakanskan (living beings; animals). To begin the healing process the tiwahe (families) and tiospaye (extended families) through the Lakota Language that will bring harmony and balance.
Louise Romain
Louise Romain is a campaigner and anthropologist. She works as social media coordinator and international grassroots outreach for Stop Ecocide, a global movement developing global cross-sector support to criminalise mass destruction to ecosystems. She is actively engaged in building alliances with communities most impacted by ecocide and the climate crisis, as well as young generations. Louise trained as an anthropologist in Germany, Canada and Denmark, and ran a 3 year-long research project centered on the cultural revitalisation of Quebec First Nations, working closely with young Indigenous women: Circle of Voices. She believes tremendous change lies in the merged advocacy of Indigenous rights, female leadership and climate justice. Born in France, her ancestry is rooted in the cultures of the Celts, the Anglo-Saxon, and the Norsemen. She is committed to rekindle and remember the ancestral ways of the British Isles and to weave this wisdom into her activism, while standing in solidarity with other peoples across the world.
In person event at: Folkets Forum programme, ABF-huset, Room: Erlandersalen
A partner event in association with:
