Reimagining Goddess Scholarship:  At the Edges of Sacred Knowledge

Sunday, May 3 2026  

This symposium is a conversation that focuses closely on the question of “Who holds/gives voice to sacred knowledge?”  A spacious schedule allows us to create dialogues among speakers and members. Our program features three  panels on issues that we are often asked to consider.  In this online format we  are able to feature panelists from a wide range of disciplines and locations. Our featured speaker is Dr. Apela Colorado, Director of the Worldwide Indigenous Sciences Network.  Apela and the WISN “dream team” of Mahea Ahia, PhD, and Katrina Maulion Arriola, MA, will discuss the barriers they experienced while recovering the foundational story of Manuakepa the Owl Woman and navigating traditional Indigenous knowledge protocols.

Schedule 2026 Symposium   Times given are Eastern Daylight Time

Panel 1: Gatekeeping/Safekeeping Material Culture

• Carla Ionescu, “Where Are the Hundreds? Museum Display, Fragmentation, and the Hidden Magnitude of Goddess Cults”
• Mary Beth Moser, “Sacred Belonging: The Enduring Presence of the Black Madonna in Italy”
• Barbara Mann, “We Don’t Play with Dead Things” 

Panel 2: Revitalizing Sacred Ceremony

• Cutcha Risling Baldy “We Are Dancing For You: Native Feminisms and the Revitalization of Women’s Coming-of-Age Ceremonies in California”
• Kay Turner “Dining with Hekate: Embodied Knowledge as a Source of Nourishment”
• Apostolia Papadamaki, “Anamnesis: Embodying Ancient Greek Mysticism Through Ceremonial Performances“

 Panel 3: Dethroning Human Hubris 

• Arieahn Matamonasa Bennett, “Western Science is “half-brained”: Indigenous Elders had it right: Rethinking Animal-Human relationships and research“
• Monica Mody, “Divinity and Life in Nondual Consciousness: Revisioning Our Relations With More-than-Human Worlds”
• Judy Grahn, “Encountering mutual consciousness in tiny forms”

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Registration is now open for Members and Nonmembers. Because of the focus of this year’s program, we also have a special category for International Nonmembers who are just learning about ASWM.

Note: For those in need, a discount offer will appear on the MEMBER and INTERNATIONAL registration forms, after clicking the REGISTRATION FEES box.

We are grateful to Métis artist Leah Marie Dorion for sharing her artwork “Passing Water Forward” for our ASWM event. Leah  is a Métis writer and artist currently living near Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada. Her artwork celebrates the strength and resilience of Indigenous women and families. She has also authored books forMétis children and illustrated other books on Métis culture.  See more about Leah and her work here.