Aria Viveiros, Roots Circle Project Coordinator, provides a reflection from the recent programming from the Roots initiative.
Over the past few months, the Roots team has been holding programming to bring together Indigenous-led and Indigenous-focused health researchers to build community and support each other in the shared goal of building meaningful, reciprocal relationships between Indigenous communities and research institutions like UBC. Here’s what we’ve been up to!
New website launch!
The Roots website has undergone a redesign! Here you can find our upcoming and past events, learn more about our different projects, access the resources shared at our events, and sign up for our mailing list to stay updated on all things Roots.
Relation-Building Lunch
In January, we invited friends of the Roots Circle to join our cluster members for lunch at the Longhouse to build community and make new connections. Our attendees enjoyed shared conversation over a meal, learned about our upcoming events at Roots. They also got the chance to sign up for our first-ever book club! Book club registrants even got to take home a copy of our first read, Becoming Kin by Patty Krawec.
Roots’ First Book Club
Roots hosted an online book club focused on the book Becoming Kin: An Indigenous Call to Unforgetting the Past and Reimagining Our Future. The book implores readers to reckon with past and present colonial harms and looks toward building a decolonial, reciprocal future together. We held two sessions over Zoom and had some insightful conversations and actionable moments.
Learning Circle Webinars
This February, Roots gave two presentations hosted by the UBC Learning Circle (UBCLC) webinars. In the first webinar, we shared the story of Roots from its inception to today, outlining the initial exploratory interviews with Indigenous-led researchers and Indigenous students in health, to the ways this informed the Roots Circle and led to the evolution of our Roots initiatives.
Our second webinar gave participants the opportunity to learn more about the Roots Cluster. We outlined the purpose of the cluster, the ways in which we work together, our areas of focus, and shared some of our experiences as part of this group.
Cluster Winter Wellness Retreat
Also in February, cluster members and friends of the cluster gathered in the Musqueam Cultural Centre for a two-day wellness retreat, with the goals of taking intentional care of our spirits and deepening our relationships with one another. On day one, Elder Duane shared stories of his and his daughter’s harvesting process and taught us about the physical and spiritual healing properties of Devil’s Club.Our second day consisted of only our cluster members for a day of visioning, peer mentorship, and planning for the future of the cluster.
Cedar Weaving Workshop
At the end of May, we held a weaving workshop led by Musqueam weaver and knowledge-keeper Rita Kompst. Guests learned the skill of cedar weaving, making hearts out of cedar. Together we had a day to slow down, work with our hands, practice a new skill, and learn about Musqueam cedar harvesting protocols.
Coming up!
Beaded Medicine Heart Workshop
Roots is planning a new workshop in July taught by Auntie Rosie. We will be sewing pouches of medicine and learning to bead the edges using simple beading techniques.
Register for this event here and sign up for our mailing list to be updated about future Roots events! To learn more about the Roots Cluster, explore our website.
Written by Aria Viveiros | Banner Photo: Aria Viveiros
Aria Viveiros, is the Roots Circle project coordinator for a partnered project between HELP and the Centre for Excellence in Indigenous Health (CEIH). The project, entitled Creating Structures for Meaningful Indigenous Community & UBC Health Partnerships aims to explore and create structures that will support relational, reciprocal, and meaningful partnerships between Indigenous communities and UBC. If you have questions about this project, please contact Aria.