Human Culture in the Bay Area: The First 8,000 Years, 11:00-12:30pm 

The nine counties now known as the San Francisco Bay Area have been continuously inhabited for at least 8,000 years. Seeking to live in conscious relationship with the land here calls an appreciation of the human history, both before European arrival and through the last two and a half centuries of intense cultural and ecological change. Panelists will focus on how changes in human culture have been reflected in changes in the natural systems of the Bay Area. Participants can expect to increase their literacy of local history and landscape. There will be plenty of time for questions. Presenters: Gregg Castro, Arthur Dawson & Craig Chalquist

Songs in Praise of the Ancestors, and this Land, 2:00-3:30pm

In our literal and literate modern Western world, reverential encounters and practices are often depicted in the written words of sacred books and religious scholars. However, reverence for the land and the ancestors, in ancient times as well as now, often takes a more mythopoetic and naturally musical route to the heart. In this interactive and participatory session we will open our hearts in song and musical storytelling and explore the transition from literal and prosaic to mythopoetic and musical. Please bring your own songs and creativity as well. Presenters: Hua Anwa & Hassaun Ali Jones-Bey

Sure, the idea of relating with mountain spirits sounds good in a poetic sort of way, but what does that actually mean in practice? How does someone relatively new to ritual and ceremony go about connecting with one of the local mountains? And once you do connect, what happens then? Participants can expect to leave with greater context for relating with mountains and new ideas and skills for approaching the specific mountains here in the San Francisco Bay Area. No prior experience with ritual or talking with mountains required. Presenter: Daniel Foor