Creative Reconciliation
Creative Reconciliation:
A Series of Workshops
Creative Reconciliation offers an in-depth exploration of syilx culture and practice. Each session provides a distinct opportunity to learn about respectful engagement with First Nation communities, experience traditional storytelling, understand cultural appropriation, and participate in environmental stewardship.
Interactive activities and thoughtful discussions will offer valuable insights into cultural respect and environmental care. Although each workshop is designed to stand alone, attendees are welcome to join any individual session or participate in the entire series.
Workshops
Last Session, Land Acknowledgement and Allyship, March 3, 2025. We’ve opened up 2 more spaces.
IMPORTANT CHANGE: This session will now take place on Mariel and Sienna’s property on Okanagan Indian Band land. Please contact us for directions.
We will reflect on the importance of land acknowledgements and explore practical ways to support Indigenous communities. Discuss strategies for reducing waste and promoting environmental stewardship as acts of allyship.
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Learn how to respectfully engage with First Nation communities by participating in hands-on activities that connect you to the land and its people. Gain an understanding of village governance through syilxcentric exercises and grounding principles, including land-based material plant activities that guide self-development and offer insights into community decision-making processes.
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Sienna will engage in storytelling in the language of How Turtle Set the Animal People Free, which speaks to Guesthood Practices. Learn about the story’s lessons on helping others and community roles, and use creative storytelling props to bring the discussion to life. Participants will be invited to engage in a mini tule mat-making activity as part of the workshop.
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Explore the important distinction between cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation. Examine historical items featuring Indigenous symbols and learn about their significance and misuses. Engage in thought-provoking discussions about how these practices reflect the historical and ongoing impacts of colonization.
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Create a vision board-style letter to Mother Earth, setting your intentions for a future dedicated to environmental care. Participate in a discussion about endangered species and how traditional stories guide us in living respectfully with nature. Discover how these stories and practices deepen our understanding of our role in protecting the environment.
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IMPORTANT CHANGE: This session will now take place on Mariel and Sienna’s property on Okanagan Indian Band land. Please contact us for directions.
We will reflect on the importance of land acknowledgements and explore practical ways to support Indigenous communities. Discuss strategies for reducing waste and promoting environmental stewardship as acts of allyship.
Meet the Facilitators:
Mariel Belanger (c̓ʕ̓n̓c̓ʕ̓an̓)
Mariel is a PhD Candidate and 2022-25 CGS SSHRC Doctoral Scholarship, the Teyonkwayenawá:kon – Queens University Graduate Scholarship, MFA SSHRC at UBC-Okanagan, UBC-Okanagan Aboriginal Fellowship, and Indian Brotherhood scholarship recipient who was awarded Outstanding Indigenous Masters Graduate Student at the 2018 International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry held at University of Illinois in Champaigne-Urbana. Belanger’s research Digital Embodied Story Practice as Indigenizing Research-Creation Methodology explores digital story-making to subvert coloniality and contributes to the growing body of interdisciplinary artistic scholarship that engages Indigenous community, language, and culture, as a bridge for society telling stories of our time.
Sienna Belanger-Lee
(x̌ixʷutəm, Shongswiigeezus)
Sienna (she/her) is from the Syilx and Anishinaabe Nations and was raised on reserve at Okanagan Indian Band, located at the head of Lake Okanagan. She is a student obtaining a bachelor's degree in the nsyilxcn/nqilxʷcn language through the Bachelor of Nsyilxcn Language Fluency program at UBC-Okanagan. Sienna currently resides at nsisul̓aʔxʷ(dry creek) where she facilitates Indigenous planting opportunities as well as her digital arts, language learning, and horse culture.
