Thirty years ago, in Wabanaki territory – a region encompassing the state of Maine and the Canadian Maritimes – a group of Indigenous and non-Indigenous individuals came together to explore some of the most pressing questions at the heart of Truth and Healing efforts in the United States and Canada. Meeting over several years in long-weekend gatherings, in a Wabanaki-led traditional Council format, assumptions were challenged, perspectives upended, and stereotypes shattered. Alliances and friendships were formed that endure to this day.
The Gatherings: Reimagining Indigenous-Settler Relations tells the moving story of these meetings in the words of both Indigenous and non-Indigenous participants. To create the book, fourteen individuals came together to reflect on how their lives were changed by their experiences and how they continue to be impacted by them. The participants share the valuable lessons they learned and the actions they were motivated to take as a result.
Co-authors Barb Martin and Shirley Hager will share their experiences and lessons learned during the Gatherings, and in the creation of the book. They will reflect on their impressions of one another, Indigenous and non-Native, during the Gatherings and since then, and speak to differences they observed in their cultures’ approach to relationships, to the land, and to physical and spiritual wholeness. Participants are strongly encouraged to read The Gatherings: Reimagining Indigenous-Settler Relations by Shirley N. Hager and Mawopiyane (University of Toronto Press, 2021) prior to this program. The book is available through local libraries and can be ordered through any bookstore or online.