The Land and the Waters are Speaking

Date: 

Thursday, April 4, 2019 (All day)

Location: 

45 Francis Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
The ongoing destruction of Earth’s natural systems is the result of decisions, made daily, by billions of people. These decisions are voluntary and involuntary at once, collective and personal. The question must be asked: what is driving our actions? How do we reignite and reimagine a spiritual relationship with this beautiful planet we call home? From traditions around the world, and from within ourselves, how might we create different narratives that honor Nature and acknowledge the sacred? Two indigenous leaders – Nainoa Thompson and Angaangaq Angakkorsuaq (Uncle) – have both been identified by their communities as messengers who are sharing their wisdom with us as we try to heal this broken world together, and they will guide us through these challenging questions as they reflect on their traditions and spiritual practices. Storytelling is a form of bearing witness to change as we contemplate what it means to be responsible citizens in the Anthropocene. Nainoa Thompson is the president of the Polynesian Voyaging Society and a Pwo navigator, who, inspired by his kūpuna (teachers), has dedicated his life to exploring the deep meaning of voyaging, and Uncle is an Eskimo Kalaallit Elder, shaman, healer, storyteller, and carrier of the Qilaut (winddrum), whose family belongs to the traditional healers from Kalaallit Nunaat, Greenland. "The Land and the Waters are Speaking: Indigenous Views on Climate Change" is part of The Constellation Project, a larger collaboration between the Planetary Health Alliance and the Harvard Divinity School that brings together science, faith, arts, and indigenous communities to explore larger questions about our place in the world and imagine a better future. This event is co-sponsored by the Planetary Health Alliance, the Harvard Divinity School, the Center for the Study of World Religions, the Harvard University Center for the Environment, and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and the Harvard College Hawaii Club.