Our relationship with the land is the foundation of all aspects of healthy living—physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and in our community. In this workshop, we will recognize the land as a relative, a teacher, and a source of deep connection. Through guided discussion, reflection, and storying, we will examine how our conceptualizations of land shape our actions and responsibilities. Together, we will honor the ways that land loves, sustains, and calls us into reciprocal relationship.

About the speaker:

Tia Tidwell is an assistant professor of Alaska Native Studies and Rural Development at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. She belongs to the Nunamiut people of Anaktuvuk Pass and currently resides in Fairbanks. Tia holds a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degree in English Literature from the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Her research focuses on the intersection of settler colonial studies, Arctic literature, and Indigenous counter-narratives. Tia is especially interested in adapting settler colonial theoretical frameworks borrowed from New Zealand, Australia, and the continental United States to account for alternative land claim resolutions and creative resurgent responses from Indigenous communities of Alaska and Northern Canada.