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 OPTIONAL 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.

(We are including this list, just incase people want to join in, or engage at a different time. No pressure. Everyone is invited to participate in a created practices and conversations. We are intentionally making this accessible even if folks aren't able to read the text.)


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

WEEK 6 — MAR 12–13
WATER REMEMBERS
M Archive: Archive of Ocean — Origin
Hospicing Modernity: There Is No Away

LAND PRACTICE
Trace runoff and pooling
Follow water without correcting it


QUESTIONS TO LIVE WITH
Where does water go when it leaves here?
What do we send “away” that never leaves?
What water are you from?


CREATIVE PRACTICES
Watershed self-portraits
Sound mapping of drip, flow, saturation
Blue-line memory maps


SHARED LEADERSHIP
Someone guides the water walk
Someone offers a reflection

WEEK 7 — MAR 19–20
TENDING WITHOUT CERTAINTY
M Archive: Baskets — Possible Futures Yet to Be Woven
Hospicing Modernity: Mapping Horizons of Possibility

LAND PRACTICE
Mulching and soil repair



QUESTIONS TO LIVE WITH
What are we willing to tend without guarantees?
How do we care without controlling outcomes?


CREATIVE PRACTICES
Basket pages: futures unnamed
Collective language weaving
Lists of responsibilities, not goals


SHARED LEADERSHIP
Someone decides mulch depth
Someone names what “enough” feels like



WEEK 8 — MAR 26–27
STAYING AS THINGS FALL APART
M Archive: Fragments & Offerings
Hospicing Modernity: As Things Fall Apart / Returning Home / Getting to Zero

LAND PRACTICE
Site walk: before/after noticing
Documentation, not celebration


QUESTIONS TO LIVE WITH
What responsibility remains?
Where is home when nothing is finished?
What does “zero” feel like in the body?


CREATIVE PRACTICES
Collective statements of responsibility
Archiving fragments (text, drawings, maps)
Silence as practice


SHARED LEADERSHIP
Someone decides what is archived
Someone closes the circle
Someone invites stillness

All ages OK

1 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.