Indigenous Perspectives & Spiritual Ecology: Lessons on Reviving a Sacred World

Talk with Tiokasin Ghosthorse, Zoe Vokes

A very special evening with Tiokasin Ghosthorse, in collaboration with St Ethelburga’s Centre for Reconciliation and Peace.

Tuesday 10th July 2018, 6:30pm–8:45pm UK Time St Ethelburga's Centre, 78 Bishopsgate, London Ec2n 4ag

Tiokasin Ghosthorse is a member of the Lakota (Sioux) Nation of South Dakota, and a teacher of indigenous worldviews and knowledge. Through conversation, ritual, music and storytelling we will explore indigenous perspectives on Spiritual Ecology and reviving a sacred world.

The evening will offer a space for conversation, storytelling, ritual, reflection and the special opportunity to experience the music of the ancient cedar Lakota flute.

In particular, we will explore the following themes:

The importance of the ‘sacred’, both in terms of space and place, and in the work of safeguarding the natural world.
Stories and experiences from Tiokasin’s own life and work in bringing indigenous perspectives into environmental work.
The role and significance of ritual in relationship to the natural world.
The connections between the indigenous worldview, how this is expressed in culture, art and sustainable living practices.
How we can bring individuals and communities into a sacred relationship with the Earth.

St Ethelburga’s Centre#

St Ethelburga’s Centre is a ‘maker of peacemakers’. They inspire and equip people from all backgrounds to become peacebuilders in their own lives and communities.

The work of St Ethelburga’s Centre is rooted in their core values, which are informed and inspired by their unique heritage and history of place. One of these values is the protection of sacred space. As one of the oldest and most enduring buildings in the city, St Ethelburga’s has stood for centuries on consecrated ground as a place for prayer and inner connection to the dimension of spirit and the sacred. In parallel to the skyscrapers and economically driven corporations which continue to grow around us and tell the story of profit and materialism, our work and space aspires to connect people with the sacredness and interconnectedness of all life, including the Earth.

Their Spiritual Ecology work speaks to the urgent need to shift our relationship with the Earth from a commodity and resource, to a recognition of nature as an interdependent, living and sacred whole. As a member of the Lakota (Sioux) Nation of South Dakota, and a teacher of indigenous worldviews and knowledge, Tiokasin will share his perspectives on the theme of Spiritual Ecology and how we can deepen our relationship with a sacred and interconnected Earth.

St Ethelburga’s Centre works through four project areas: Peace & Community, building community resilience by nurturing diversity and building relationships across division and difference; Peace & Faith, exploring how faith and spiritual traditions can mobilise individuals and communities to take action for a more inclusive, peaceful and sustainable world; Peace & Global Issues, addressing critical global issues and exploring practical ways to connect and amplify the local and global impact of peacemaking; Peace & Young Leadership, nurturing the leadership capacities and end energising the visions of the next generation of peacemakers to take action for a different future.

Tuesday 10th July 2018, 6:30pm–8:45pm UK Time St Ethelburga's Centre, 78 Bishopsgate, London Ec2n 4ag

Tiokasin Ghosthorse #

Tiokasin Ghosthorse is from the Cheyenne River Lakota (Sioux) Nation of South Dakota. He is the host of First Voices Indigenous Radio on Pacific Radio. Tiokasin has been described as a ‘spiritual agitator, natural rights organiser, Indigenous thinking process educator and a community activator’.

Read Tiokasin Ghosthorse’s profile