World Water Day: Confluence

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Sunday, March 22nd, 2020
11:00 AM to 3:30 PM

World Water Day: Confluence

You are invited to join us for reflection, consideration and celebration of water in our lives and take part in some or all of the events being offered. Through a confluence of voice, sound, film and dance, we will reflect on water, our relations and its importance to all life on earth. The day will start with welcoming messages by respected elder J,SINTEN John Elliott from Salt Water People. We will then move into a journey of sound, Confluence of Mother Tongues, formed of words on Water from over 150 languages by Voice Artist Bisia Belina. The flow of the event will then take us into poetry on water, by Serap Brown, who will share her love of water. Followed by, Starr Muranko, Artistic Associate with Raven Spirit Dance, who will share an excerpt of a new dance work-in-progress titled Pêyâhtak (Cree word for s/he takes it easy, quietly, slowly, with care) and then will lead a guided somatic exploration for people to connect to their bodies, breath and the earth.

After lunch break, there will be a film, I am River, filmed through a bicycling trip of River Riders (www.riverriders.net) following Bow and Saskatchewan Rivers over 1000 kilometers, from the Rocky Mountains to Saskatchewan Delta. The day will end with an Indigenous panel, confluence of Indigenous voices, from Saanich, Mount Currie, Vancouver, Peru discussing about water and honouring the presence of water in our lives. The panelists are Jhaimy Alvarez-Acosta, J,SINTEN John Elliott, Starr Muranko, Dr. Lorna Wanosts'a7 Williams, moderated by Dr. Sasha Kovacs. For tickets for this inspiring event and more info, go to https://royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/visit/events/calendar/event/109774/world-water-day

Confluence has been inspired due to water’s property of connectivity, and organized by Serap Brown in collaboration with Bisia Belina, Kim Gough, Sasha Kovacs and Starr Muranko, as part of Royal BC Museum’s Community Initiatives. For more information, contact [email protected]

PANELISTS: Jhaimy Alvarez-Acosta is a Wisdomkeeper and holds wisdom teachings of Northern and Southwest regions of Peru. He is a regular featured guest speaker in events across Canada as part of the Andean Wisdom Teachings series through Children of the Seven Rays and is best known for his heart-centered and humble approach to healing and spirituality. J,SINTEN John Elliott is from from “Salt Water People”, from  community. He is a respected Elder of the Tsartlip First Nation and has taught at ?ÁU,WEL?EW Tribal School in Saanich for over 30 years. Elliott is a teacher, co-founded FirstVoices web-based language learning tool, Chairman of the Saanich Native Heritage Society, serves on the Advisory Committee of the First Peoples’ Cultural Council (FPCC) and holds an honorary doctorate from Maharishi University of Management in Iowa for his work in language revitalization. Starr Muranko celebrates her mixed ancestry of Cree, Metis and German in all of her artistic work which has been presented both locally and nationally. She has also toured internationally to New Zealand, Peru and Ecuador as a member of the Dancers of Damelahamid. Starr and C7Rays Foundation have been organizing Water Walks in North Vancouver since 2013 in solidarity with the annual Water Walks in Ontario inspired by the teachings of Elder Grandmother Josephine Mandamin.  Dr. Lorna Wanosts'a7 Williams, of Lil’wat of the St’at’yem’c First Nation at Mount Currie, has devoted her life to promoting and restoring Indigenous culture and language. Dr. Williams, Professor Emerita from University of Victoria, and Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Knowledge and Learning, has worked as an Indigenous educator and language specialist for more than 50 years in diverse settings.