“Sharing the Himdag Perspective: Tohono O’odham Values of Land, Water, and the Stars”

with Dr. Jacelle E. Ramon-Sauberan

Thursday,  February 20, 2025 at 3:00 PM Eastern Time  

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Long before our urban centers and city lights lit up the dark desert skies, the Tohono O’odham were cultivating and shaping the land with abundant agriculture—from squash and beans to corn and cotton. For generations they passed down their rich knowledge and culture grown from their connection to the desert. Join us for a program with Dr. Jacelle Ramon-Sauberan as she shares her knowledge about current Tohono O’odham issues of water rights, food production, and right relationship to the national observatory which is located on a sacred mountain. 

“We were, as O’odham, as Indigenous people, the first astronomers, but that’s not what we called ourselves,” she says. “We were looking at the night sky, we were reading the constellations. My great-grandfather did that as a farmer. When I talk to Observatory staff, I offer the Himdag side.” The Himdag incorporates “the culture, way of life, and values that are uniquely held and displayed by the Tohono O’odham,” according to the Tohonoho O’odham Community College website.

Dr. Jacelle Ramon-Sauberan is from the San Xavier District of the Tohono O’odham Nation. She is the Tohono O’odham Nation Education Development Liaison for NSF NOIRLab-Kitt Peak National Observatory and an adjunct instructor within the Tohono O’odham Studies Program at Tohono O’odham Community College. Dr. Ramon-Sauberan earned her PhD in American Indian Studies with a minor in Journalism from the University of Arizona in 2023. As part of her dissertation work, she created a living-document on the history of land and water in the San Xavier District, as told from a Tohono O’odham perspective. She has written for news publications across the US including Indian Country Today and is part of Arizona Humanities’ AZ Speaks Program providing presentations on Tohono O’odham History, Culture, and Foodways across Arizona. Jacelle also serves on several boards and committees including Wecij U’uwi Hemapai (Tohono O’odham Young Women’s Gathering), Friends of Tucson’s Birthplace-Mission Garden and Friends of Saguaro National Park.

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Our next Salon: To be announced, following our 2025 Conference

This Salon recording will also be available to members when processed after the event. 

“Belonging as Radical Revolution: Navigating the Care Crisis with Ubuntu“

with Andrea Fleckinger and Simone Plaza-Finis

Thursday,  February 6, 2025 at 12 NOON Eastern Time  

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Amidst the acute care crisis destabilizing almost all spheres of contemporary Western patriarchal societies, the need to explore alternative societal models has never been more urgent. This salon invites scholars and interested participants to delve into the potential of applying ubuntu: “I am because I belong.” This principle, as practiced by the Khoisan of Africa, sharply contrasts with the deceptive ideology of independence, portrayed as the elusive pursuit of happiness in patriarchal rhetoric. The ongoing application of the patriarchal principle of divide et impera affects nearly every facet of life, demanding a profound shift. In a world that values so-called independent individuals, addressing dependency as an inherently human quality becomes a revolutionary act.

In this salon, we invite participants to engage in an in-depth reflection and discussion on the principle of belonging, examining societies where individuals do not long for external validation or possessions because they inherently be-long. Insights from matriarchal societies will be connected to Joan Tronto’s concept of homines curans, exploring the multifaceted dimensions of care. The discussion will further consider how these matriarchal insights can illuminate pathways to fostering abundance and wholeness in Western contexts. By understanding what is necessary to nurture a care-centered society and exploring ways to establish these conditions consciously, participants are encouraged to reflect on how lessons from matriarchal cultures can support a transition from a mindset of scarcity to one of fullness and interconnectedness, aimed at creating future-oriented solutions.

Simone Plaza-Finis is one of the four founders of the Matriforum and a certified lecturer in Modern Matriarchal Studies. She holds a degree in Philology and is a translator and simultaneous translator. She has a son and grew up in Barcelona, influenced by German, Spanish, and Catalan cultures, though she has been living in Berlin since 2017.

Dr. Andrea Fleckinger is a research fellow at the University of Trento (Italy). She is also one of the four founders of the Matriforum and a certified lecturer in Modern Matriarchal Studies. Currently, she teaches alongside Dr. Heide Göttner-Abendroth at the International Akademie Hagia.

The Matriforum is an organization that aims to encourage constructive dialogue between science and the public at large regarding alternative, egalitarian forms of society supported by the latest findings in the scientific fields of modern matriarchal research.

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Our next Salon: To be announced

This Salon recording will also be available to members when processed after the event. 

“European Mythology as a Remedy for the Amnesia of Whiteness”

with Hilary Giovale

Thursday,  January 23, 2025 at 3 PM Eastern Time  

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In this interactive storytelling session, I will share about the journey that led me to discover that my ancestors were early colonizers and enslavers in what would become the United States.  Overnight, I became aware of my identity as a ninth-generation settler of European descent, whose ancestors have been complicit in colonial violence.  My relationships with Indigenous Peoples and cultures helped me to unpack my own whiteness, including the reality of systemic white supremacy and the ongoing harm of settler colonialism.

I will offer my process of healing that has entailed building respectful relationships with the land and water where I live, practicing ancestral reverence and communication, solidarity with Indigenous-led movements, a commitment to making personal reparations, and co-facilitating this work with white settlers communities.

At the request of my mentors, this journey ultimately led me to the archetypes, songs, and folk practices of my ancient European ancestors.  This session will include discussion about the reclamation of European mythologies, languages, women’s history, and plant lore as a source of strength and resilience for white-identifying settlers who wish to become better relatives to Indigenous, Black, and Immigrant communities on Turtle Island.

*Please bring a candle, a small bowl of water, and some dried mugwort (if possible) to this session.

“This is a profoundly brave book. In sharing her journey, in all its pain, revelation, and imperfectness, Hilary has woven both a reckoning and a calling-home. May her offering embolden many more of us with white settler lineages to do the work of becoming good relatives–work that is essential for a shared future of well-being and liberation.” —Joanna Levitt Cea, co-author, Beloved Economies: Transforming How We Work”

“Hilary Giovale unpacks the legacies of historical harm that continue to afflict American society and shows us a way forward toward healing. Her lens is informed by indigenous concepts that encourage harmony between one another and the planet we call home. This book is for people who want to be better and do better for the sake of generations to come.” —Sharon Leslie Morgan, Founder, Our Black Ancestry and co-author, Gather at the Table: The Healing Journey of a Daughter of Slavery and a Son of the Slave Trade

Hilary Giovale is a mother, writer, and community organizer who lives in Flagstaff, Arizona.  A ninth-generation American settler, she is descended from Celtic, Germanic, Nordic, and Indigenous peoples of Ancient Europe.  Hilary seeks to follow Indigenous and Black leadership in support of human rights, environmental justice, and equitable futures.  As an active reparationist, her work is guided by intuition, love, and relationships.  She divests from whiteness and bridges divides with truth, healing, apology, and forgiveness.  She is the author of Becoming a Good Relative: Calling White Settlers toward Truth, Healing, and Repair.  Learn more about her work here.

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Our next Salon:

Scholar Salon #82, February 6 2025 at 12:00 NOON Eastern Time  

Belonging as Radical Revolution: Navigating the Care Crisis with Ubuntu

with Andrea Fleckinger and Simone Plaza-Finis

This Salon recording will also be available to members when processed after the event.