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.
Our interludes between live panels combine Leah’s beautiful image with the soothing, flowing music of Sound Alchemist Laura Inserra.
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”
Registration is now closed for this year’s symposium.
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.
Our interludes between live panels combine Leah’s beautiful image with the soothing, flowing music of Sound Alchemist Laura Inserra.
2026 Symposium to Feature Dr. Apela Colorado
Dr. Apela Colorado, along with two members of the Worldwide Indigenous Sciences Network “Dream Team” is our featured speaker for our upcoming symposium:
2026 Online Symposium, May 3 2026:
“Reimagining Goddess Scholarship: At the Edges of Sacred Knowledge.”
Apela Colorado, Ph.D. (Oneida-Gaul) is a renowned Indigenous scholar, educator, and cultural bridge-builder whose work centers on restoring Indigenous wisdom and forging ethical relationships between Western and Indigenous knowledge systems. A Ford Foundation Fellow, she earned her Ph.D. in Social Policy from Brandeis University in 1982, with additional coursework in Federal Indian Law and Child Welfare at Harvard University.
In 1989, Dr. Colorado founded the Worldwide Indigenous Science Network (WISN), which she continues to lead. WISN fosters the revitalization and global exchange of traditional knowledge, protects endangered Indigenous cultural practitioners, and facilitates respectful dialogue between Indigenous science and Western disciplines. A major recent milestone in Dr. Colorado’s work is the establishment of WISN’s graduate program in Indigenous Science and Peace Studies at the University for Peace (UPEACE) in Costa Rica.
In 1997, she was honored by the State of the World Forum as one of twelve women leaders selected from 52 countries. She has represented Indigenous perspectives at global events including the United Nations Earth Summit and the Conference on Religion and Environment hosted by the President of Indonesia.
Dr. Colorado’s publications explore sacred ecology, ancestral memory, and Indigenous methodologies. Her recent books include Woman Between the Worlds: A Call to Your Ancestral and Indigenous Wisdom (Hay House, 2021) and Journal des Rêves (WISN.org). She continues to mentor global leaders working at the intersections of culture, land, and spirit.