The recovery of indigenous roots is a rigorous process of remembrance that involves:
- A profound shift in ways of knowing;
- Inquiry methods based on an indigenous paradigm;
- Scholarship grounded in the historical, archaeological, mythological, and anthropological literature of one’s culture;
- The personal integrity and patience for healing a dissociated existence.
What the program does not offer is a set of techniques that can simply be appended to an already existing collection. Recovery of indigenous mind involves an honest examination of the historical process that has split the Western mind. It means grieving the genocidal patterns of colonialism and confronting patterns of internalized oppression. It requires ending one’s personal and cultural addiction to “progress.” It calls for honoring spirits that have been neglected for centuries. It means facing the discomfort of uncertainty–a recognition that our knowledge of community, healing, and nature is incomplete.
We invite people who seek to recover an authentic indigenous mind and life. The program is for those who see the importance of preserving and passing on traditional worldviews, and for those who long to recover and re-establish the lifeways and values of their indigenous ancestors–lifeways that teach responsibility for reversing the destruction of the planet.