Much of this week’s festival is a celebration of indigeneity, and I’d like to take a moment and frame this performance by looking at what this term means in a sacred and modern context.

In North America, the term “Indigenous” has come to replace “Native American” as the preferred way of referencing those who come from a people with a pre-colonial presence. One reason is because the word “America'' itself comes from Amerigo Vespuggi, a colonist sometimes credited with bringing awareness of the “new world” to Europeans, and is unrelated to how those who were already living on these continents referred to the land.

But the term “Indigenous” has a greater meaning as well. The word native comes from the Latin word for birth; to be native is to be born in a particular location. To be Indigenous, however, implies a deeper sense of belonging, of originating from the place itself. This is a subtle difference, but one many Americans understand deeply, especially the children of immigrants who are born in one place but find their identity split.

When we say someone is indigenous, it is not a statement of where they are from, rather it is a declaration of that which they belong to. To be indigenous to a place is to belong to that place, to be inextricably entwined with the land itself, the ecosystem, to be at one with the very essence of that place and all things in it, ourselves and each other included. As Phillip Blanchett says, “Indigenous people are connected to an ancestral wisdom that respects the planet through countless generations of culture, heritage and sacred ceremonies that reflect a lifestyle in balance with nature, spiritual beliefs and the universe”.

Indigeneity is not about buckskin and rain dances, it’s a living breathing tradition as much a part of today as it ever has been in the past. Certainly many aspects of modern life have placed a veil between us and the rest of this interconnected world. We are, reportedly, lonelier than at any other time in history, but modernity has also given us the tools - music, art, and dancing - to lift the veil on this deeper, truer reality where we are part of a living web. These tools help reveal the truth of our interdependence: that we belong to one another and that we belong to the earth.

While most of us do not claim an indigenous identity, today’s festival is an opportunity for us to embrace that spirit of interconnectedness, reflect on our own ancestry, and consider how we might bring our individual ancient heritage, one where we reclaim our original belonging to this world, into the modern day so we may join with PAMYUA as they say, “one heart, many voices”.

It is my pleasure to introduce Kimberley Morales Johnson, a member of the Gabrielino/Tonga who will offer a blessing for this event and share a little history of the land as welcome to Pamyua.