One thing that really captivated me through the program has been the honor to know and acknowledge different cultures and practices not only through the classroom but also through the wonderful batch of individuals who have become friends. The Indigenous knowledge class was more instrumental in this as we managed to have a lot of hands-on activities throughout the duration of the course.
One of the things we have done that has stuck in my mind was in one of the classes we had a “Prayer circle/ Sacred circle”, this is an act of putting tobacco on the ground and is often done in remembrance of loved ones that have passed on, to give thanks or to seek guidance. I vividly remember this because before that we had read and gone through various cases of local indigenous girls who had disappeared or were killed because of their ethnicity. I remember how emotional it was, and people shared words to pay their respects. Having such experiences, knowing and being in the space where we can share and remember the people that we have lost really brought a lot of meaning for me. This experience brought out our interconnectedness and just the drive for seeing equality was uplifted as a group. This was also a way for us to bond and reflect on the personal and group experience with situations that have had an impact in our lives and creating space for healing. As a practice this really resonates with a cultural practice we have in Zimbabwe, were after the loss of a loved one the family, friends and community comes together some months after a loved one has been buried and people pay their respects and have a night vigil singing and dancing in honor of their loved one.
For me this was way of recognizing the resilience of the local indigenous culture and the value that is present through its preservation especially looking from a point of historical colonial oppression on the native people. There have been so many adversities that indigenous people have gone through and the fact that culture and tradition still have a place in in their community, on the backdrop of how globalization has moved through, really shows and gives hope in that these practices won’t die or be forgotten.