Activities

These gatherings are a place to return to the land, to reconnect with Indigenous teachings, and to be in community with each other in ways that are rooted, relational, and real. They’re about Indigenous food sovereignty, cultural memory, and reclaiming the right to care for land in the ways our ancestors always have.
Led by community members and organizers with United Indians of All Tribes Foundation, this work centers Indigenous knowledge systems and relationships with land that have existed here since time immemorial—and that continue, despite every attempt to erase them.

The Forest Garden is growing with care—planted with camas, salmonberry, huckleberry, wild strawberry, nettle, cedar, and other Native plants that are more than food and medicine—they’re our teachers, our elders, and our ancestors.
These plants are being tended not just for harvest, but to support the many Indigenous-centered programs at UIATF: elder meals, youth programming, cultural wellness, and more. This is one way we practice sovereignty—by feeding ourselves, our people, and our spirits in alignment with our values.

In a time when many of us are searching for where to belong and how to show up—this is a space to meet one another, build real relationships, and map the power we already hold together.

Let’s gather not just to work the land—but to connect, share our stories, and remember that we are each other’s safety, each other’s strength, and each other’s solution.

We will be preparing for our book and film series in partnership with The Seattle Public Library Foundation. February - March we will be reading "M-Archive" by Alexis Pauline Gumbs, and "Hospicing Modernity" by Vanessa Machado de Oliveira. Both books can be found on Libby or Audible.

WEEK 1 — FEB 5–6
ENTERING THE RECORD
M Archive: Archive of Dirt — What We Did
Hospicing Modernity: A Single Story of “Forward”

LAND PRACTICE
Walk the site without touching
Notice soil, slope, water, plants
Identify ivy, blackberry, laurel


QUESTIONS TO LIVE WITH
What stories are already written here?
What happened before we arrived?
Who decided what “progress” looked like?


CREATIVE PRACTICES (CHOOSE)
Touch drawing with soil or charcoal
Mapping: What We Did / What Was Done Here
Writing fragments that begin with “Before us…”

WEEK 2 — FEB 12–13
ENTANGLEMENT
M Archive: Dirt → Fire
Hospicing Modernity: The House of Modernity

LAND PRACTICE
Ivy cut-and-roll
Stack ivy for compost—nothing disappears


QUESTIONS TO LIVE WITH
What was built to help but now causes harm?
When does protection turn into suffocation?
What systems promised safety?


CREATIVE PRACTICES
String/rope mapping of entanglement
Writing or drawing from the forest floor’s view
Diagrams of “houses” we were taught to trust


SHARED LEADERSHIP
A participant demonstrates ivy technique
Someone decides when enough is enough
Someone explains why ivy is not “thrown away”



WEEK 3 — FEB 19–20
DEFENSE & URGENCY
M Archive: Archive of Fire — Rate of Change
Hospicing Modernity: Faster Than Thought

LAND PRACTICE
Blackberry cutting and root crown removal
Work slower than instinct


QUESTIONS TO LIVE WITH
Who taught us to hurry?
What does urgency cost bodies and land?
When is speed useful—and when is it violence?


CREATIVE PRACTICES
Timed writing + intentional pauses
Charcoal or ink gesture marks
Breath tracking during labor


SHARED LEADERSHIP
Participants sets the pace
Someone calls a collective pause
Someone reflects on urgency aloud



WEEK 4 — FEB 26–27
LIGHT, SHADE, & POWER
M Archive: Fire → Archive of Sky — What We Became
Hospicing Modernity: Surrendering Arrogance

LAND PRACTICE
Laurel identification and management
Observe changes in light and moisture


QUESTIONS TO LIVE WITH
Who gets access to light?
What thrives when dominance loosens?
Where do our assumptions fail?


CREATIVE PRACTICES
Light/shadow mapping
Writing from an understory plant’s voice
Sky-based metaphors for becoming


LEADERSHIP OPENINGS
Someone interprets the light shift
Someone chooses where not to intervene



WEEK 5 — MAR 5–6
DECAY AS CARE
M Archive: Dirt (Revisited)
Hospicing Modernity: Living and Dying Well

LAND PRACTICE
Build or turn compost piles
Layer with intention


QUESTIONS TO LIVE WITH
How do we care for what is ending?
What deserves gentleness even in removal?
What does dignity look like in decay?


CREATIVE PRACTICES
Letters to what is being composted
One-sentence writing (only what is necessary)
Temperature, smell, time journaling


SHARED LEADERSHIP
Someone names compost layers
Someone offers a small offering for the group to participate in

All ages OK

0 out of 50 participants registered.

What to Bring

Come dressed for the weather (rain or shine) in clothes you don’t mind getting dirty. Wear sturdy closed-toe shoes (rubber boots, hiking shoes or boots), long sleeves, long pants, warm layers and rain jacket. We'll have tools and gloves for you to use, as well as a mid-morning snack. Help reduce waste by bringing your own water bottle!
Please bring the following:
Water bottle
Gloves
A Waterproof Layer
A good heart and mind
Work Shoes

Where to Meet

Please meet near the overlook in front of Daybreak Star Cultural Center, near the parking lot.

Meeting Location Map

Where to Park

Please park along the access road. Please leave parking areas for visitors and school attendees.