Indigenous People's Earth Day Summit: April 22-23, 2008

Northern Michigan University's Center for Native American Studies is sponsoring an Indigenous People's Earth Day Summit. The Summit is free and open to the public, so anyone that is in the area and interested should go.

The Summit is part of the global, dynamic movement working to protect the earth. The overall goal of the Summit is to provide participants with the opportunity for intercultural sharing with Indigenous peoples from the Americas and Australia and will function as a call to action in addressing environmental issues from an international, multi-cultural approach. This Summit will be unique, however, in that it will bring representatives of the international Indigenous community to the American Northwoods to meet with the area tribes, regional activist community and university students to discuss environmental issues from an Indigenous viewpoint.

Aboriginal Australian Delegation

Barry Hunter, a descendant of the Djabaguy people from the Kuranda area, is an Indigenous Land Management Facilitator from TKRP hosted by Balkanu and funded by the Australian Government’s Natural Heritage Trust. He has a B.A.S in Parks, Recreation and Heritage as well as a range of experience in land and sea management. His specialties include Aboriginal hunting and fishing rights particularly as they relate to turtle and dugong conservation and illegal commercial fishing issues.

John HunterJohn Hunter, a descendant of the Gamilaraay people from northwestern New South Wales, is a TKRP Indigenous Land Management Facilitator for southern Queensland, a Ph.D. research scholar through Macquarie University and a professional artist. He has taught at the University of Western Sydney, Macquarie University and, currently, at the University of Queensland as both a permanent and part-time faculty member. He has various degrees including an Associate’s in Park Management; a B.A.S. in Parks, Recreation and Heritage; and a Master’s of Indigenous Studies in Research. His current Ph.D. work is focused on developing a Gamilaraay TKRP and Indigenous capacity building project. In addition, he plays the didgeridoo and will be bringing along an art exhibit and a display on the Stolen Generations.

Victor SteffensonVictor Steffenson, a member of the Kuku Thaypan Cape York, is the manager and founder of the Traditional Knowledge Recording Project. He also has a varied background on numerous issues such as methods of traditional knowledge recovery, application of traditional ecological knowledge in natural resource management, aboriginal history, the synergies between science and traditional Indigenous knowledge, Aboriginal culture and spirituality, and a range of contemporary Aboriginal issues.

Traditional Knowledge Revival Pathways

The Aboriginal Delegation speaking at the Indigenous Earth Day Summit is also touring through many of Michigan’s Native communities to establish a Three Fires branch of Aboriginal Australia’s Traditional Knowledge Revival Pathways (TKRP) project. TKRP recently established a branch in Aotearoa (New Zealand) and, following on invitations extended to them from Indigenous communities, plans to expand TRKP to Turtle Island and Saamiland in an effort to unite Indigenous efforts at cultural and ecological restoration under an international Indigenous umbrella.


AKI! Mother Earth with special guest Garry Morning Star Raven

Tuesday, April 22 at 7 p.m.
Great Lakes Rooms, University Center
An Ojibwe elder from Manitoba, Garry is a traditional teacher and operates Ravens Creek Ventures. His work is dedicated to helping people experience and understand the earth through traditional Anishinaabeg (Ojibwe) teachings.

Summit Contacts

Ms. April Lindala
Center for Native American Studies, Director
Indigenous Earth Day Summit Project Director
906-227-1397

Dr. Ron Sundell
Environmental Science Program, Director
906-227-1359

Ms. Aimée Cree Dunn
Center for Native American Studies, Adjunct Instructor
Indigenous Earth Day Summit Project Coordinator
906-227-1397


Attendee Information

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