NAINConnect 2008 Workshops

Theme: Pre-Conference Offerings
THE SPIRITUAL PRACTICE OF THOSE WHO LIVED HERE FIRST

WORKSHOP SUMMARY
Indian Canyon, where Indians once hid from Spanish missionaries and soldiers, today is a refuge for people who lack sacred land for performing ceremony. The site, two hours south of San Francisco, is dedicated to furthering the wisdom of California’s indigenous people. Thousands of Native Americans regularly visit Indian Canyon for ceremony, vision quests, sweat lodges, and dancing and story-telling festivals. Founder Anne Marie Sayers draws from this rich mix of indigenous activities to talk about the spiritual practices of the peoples who thrived in California for thousands of years before Spanish invaders showed up in the 1770s.

PRESENTERS
Anne Marie Sayers

Anne Marie Sayers is Tribal Chairperson of the Indian Canyon Nation of Mutsun Ohlone and director of Coastanoan Research, a nonprofit developing Indian Canyon Village, joining indigenous culture with high-tech green technology. She is well-known as a preservationist, overseeing excavation sites throughout the region.