NAIITS: An Indigenous Learning Community

19^th Annual Symposium

June 2-4, 2022

Co-hosted by

Acadia Divinity College

Wolfville, NS Canada

The Full Schedule is posted here: https://www.naiits.com/symposium2022/#sympschedule

In-Person Registration is closed and Dorm requests are no longer being accepted 

see SPECIAL OFFER for Indigenous Registrants below!! 

UPDATE APRIL 20: 

Our in-person gathering at Acadia University is confirmed. 

PUBLIC HEALTH: All Canadian, Nova Scotian and Acadia University public health requirements will be followed. As of today (April 20, 2022), Acadia University will not have a vaccination requirement to attend on-campus events or stay in campus residence in June. There are continued restrictions on travel to Canada from other countries.  It is your responsibility to keep up to date on all requirements. Should the situation at the time warrant it, NAIITS may require masks to be worn at some aspects of the event for the continued safety of Elders and others.F

SPECIAL OFFER
The first 40 Indigenous virtual EAST region registrants will have their name entered in a draw for the first-ever 'limited edition' Indigenous Pathways/NAIITS WATER BOTTLE and 6 NAIITS laptop stickers to share with friends! (Delivered to your home address)

The first 40 Indigenous virtual WEST region registrants will have their name entered in a draw for the first-ever 'limited edition' Indigenous Pathways/NAIITS WATER BOTTLE and 6 NAIITS laptop stickers to share with friends! (Delivered to your home address)

Draws will be held at the live event! 

“Indigenous in the City”

Nowhere is the urban and rural divide felt more strongly than among Indigenous peoples. It is commonly understood that Indigenous peoples are peoples of a particular land and place. Yet for a variety of reasons, an increasing percentage of Indigenous peoples live in urban contexts which may be at a distance from their ancestral lands.

 Urbanization presents numerous challenges for Indigenous peoples. The City is a social, economic, and political system developed without the input of Indigenous peoples and all too often an alien and hostile place. Historically, the City is a place of disconnection that often attacks our cultural and spiritual values; a place of discrimination where our people encounter addiction, poverty, violence, unemployment, and frequently struggle with mental health issues.

 Yet it is increasingly apparent that the City is no longer just a place where Indigeneity is lost but where Indigeneity can be renewed through proactive engagement. In the heart of the City, our people are finding ways of connecting and organizing community that promote Indigenous life in a new way, making a stand for a future based on the principles of justice and fairness.

At the NAIITS 2022 Symposium at Acadia University in Wolfville, NS, we want to flip the stereotype of the city. Instead of the place where Indigeneity is erased or lost, stereotyped or derided, we want to ask: How are Indigenous peoples proactively engaging the City? How is Indigenous urban life driving innovation? How is it bringing to light new assets to address longstanding colonial problems? How is the City informing Indigenous life on Country, on the Rez or on Marae** in a positive way? What forms of spiritual renewal are to be found that foreshadow the Heavenly City?

In the words of Uncle Ray Minniecon, the challenge “is not on how well we defend ourselves against the ‘City’, but how we understand the concept of ‘City’ and make it an environment where justiceI and peace for Indigenous people can be advanced and made to endure.”

How is language, culture, and spirituality passed on when one is separated from one’s land, place and people while living in an interethnic context? How are new identities and ways of life embraced, not at the expense of traditional cultural values and spirituality, but as old ways revitalized for a new context? What new forms of community organization are taking place? What do ministry, spiritual care, ceremonial life, and healing approaches look like in an urban context? How are Indigenous peoples influencing the life of the City itself?

There are many possible theological conversation partners in any discussion of the City. Many are from non-Indigenous voices, including but not limited to Seek the Peace of the City: Reflections on Urban Ministry by Eldin Villafañe, The Soul of the City: Mapping the Spiritual Geography of Eleven Canadian Cities by Len Hjalmarson, and the various ministries and writing of Henri Nouwen.

But what are Indigenous voices saying?  How are we speaking about the City?

In this symposium, we would like to home in on the cross-pollination between urban and rural Indigenous life. On the one hand, how is the Rez, the Marae, and being on Country connecting to the City in a better way? How are social media platforms helping widely separated kin to connect and encourage cultural regeneration? How are rural and Rez, Marae and on Country leaders connecting with urban Indigenous communities? How is modern transportation making participation in both possible and how is that “dual citizenship” impacting and transforming community?

On the other hand, we may want to ask, “How is the Indigenous City bringing new ideas and practices to the Rez, Marae or Country? How do connections between Indigenous people from different backgrounds encourage Indigenous identity and collaboration? How are urban ideas of sustainability, food sovereignty, and green energy revitalizing traditional Indigenous values and practices? What new business opportunities and educational innovations have come out of the connection between urban and rural Indigenous people?”

Finally, we must ask, “How can this generation facilitate the teachings of seven generations and other Indigenous concepts of continuity, in the City and on Country?”