Our Wildwood Talks can be tailored to fit your audience. Our specialties include presentations on environmental issues, the Northwoods, and Native American history and culture.
Around the world, traditional Indigenous peoples view other animals as relatives. In contrast, the last several centuries of Western history have viewed other animals as inferior. What are today’s cutting edge Western scientists and others revealing about animal lives that may have everyone re-thinking humanity’s relationship to the animal lives on this planet? Join us in this presentation to explore the fascinating world of our animal relations – they just may be more “human” than you think.
Most of us think of trees as just sticks of wood growing out of the ground and plants as inert, transient green things. But did you know that many wildflowers can live for decades or centuries? What gifts do these plants offer? What is the “Mother Tree” concept today’s botanists are talking about? We explore these questions and more to better understand the land to which we belong.
Contrary to the contemporary Western concept of land ownership, traditional tribal views see humans as belonging to the land, as part of a land community. What, then, does it mean to belong to a particular land and how might this concept be applied to today’s society? In this interactive presentation, we’ll explore the meanings and possibilities inherent to this ancient concept.
“The Land That Was” takes you back in time to the precolonial forests of the Northwoods then walks you forward to today, examining the changes in the region’s forests, waters, and environmental health as recorded by accounts from historical Native American speeches, early European journals of exploration, scientists, historians, and the intergenerational body of Traditional Ecological Knowledge.
The Anishinaabeg (Ojibwe/Chippewa, Ottawa, Potawatomi) have teachings called the Seven Fires which include discussion of the time of the Seventh Fire when society as a whole will choose between “the burnt path” and “the green path.” “In the Time of the Seventh Fire” looks at the times we live in today through the lens of the Seven Fires teachings: what is “the burnt path” and what is “the green path?” What are Indigenous peoples and others doing today to move society to “the green path?”
In “Speaking for Wolf,” we explore the environmental philosophies of contemporary environmental thinkers from various cultures. Ultimately we ask, how can we apply these ideas to our lives and our society?
As we wrestle with solving today’s environmental crisis, many are beginning to pick up on a traditional concept found with the Haudenosaunee and other Indigenous peoples: societal decisions are grounded in how those decisions will impact the Seventh Generation. As a cultural disconnect from our wild roots is largely what has led to our current environmental crisis, how do we re-wild ourselves so as to re-wild the Seventh Generation? The Kinomaage (Earth shows us the way) approach offers answers through understanding the teachings of the forest, the path to becoming indigenous to place, and the meaning of being truly wild.
Presentation Rates:
Community & Homeschool Organizations – negotiable + travel
K-12 schools – $300 + travel
Universities – $500 + travel
Except as noted, all images © Spirit of the Wildwood LLC
Spirit of the Wildwood LLC 