Indigenous Knowledges Holder Circles in 2024

Thanks to funding from the Indigenous Knowledges Holder Fund, a sister fund to Tamalpais Trust, six Indigenous elders/youngers will spend time at Mesa Refuge this summer. The Indigenous Knowledges Holder Circles offer a unique opportunity for (elder) language keepers and knowledge holders and (younger) knowledge learners to convene, exchange ideas, rejuvenate, and build meaningful connections. This project aims to share knowledge, culture and Indigenous language across generations in a sanctuary space.

First, three knowledge learners (youngers) will convene for two weeks. Then the knowledge keepers (elders) will convene for a week. At the end of the knowledge keepers circle, the knowledge learners will return and join the elders. The culmination of both retreats is an interaction between the two groups as a form of youth and elder exchange, closing with a talk and meal with an invited group of local community members.