What Stories Does the Land Hold? is a conversation series co-presented by the Center for Humans and Nature and The New School at Commonweal as part of the Center’s Questions for a Resilient Future Series

Across the world, Indigenous people share something in common: a connection to land and their Ancestral territories. This series of conversations spotlights a collection of Indigenous voices telling the stories of the land and its stories, connecting us to each other and to all of our relations.

Waubgeshig Rice is an author and journalist from Wasauksing First Nation. He has written many brilliant pieces, including his 2018 novel Moon of the Crusted Snow, which quickly became a national bestseller. Join the conversation between Host Christine Luckasavitch (Anishinaabeg and mixed settler) and Waub Rice to dive into their favourite works by Indigenous authors, the importance of making space for Indigenous storytelling, and imagining Indigenous futurisms. Plus, we’ll talk a little bit about Waubgeshig's upcoming novel Moon of the Turning Leaves, the sequel to Moon of the Crusted Snow, to be released in October 2023.

Photo: Alyssa Bardy Photography

Waubgeshig Rice

Waubgeshig is an author and journalist from Wasauksing First Nation. He has written three fiction titles, and his short stories and essays have been published in numerous anthologies. His most recent novel, Moon of the Crusted Snow, was published in 2018 and became a national bestseller. He graduated from Toronto Metropolitan University’s journalism program in 2002, and spent most of his journalism career with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation as a video journalist and radio host. He left CBC in 2020 to focus on his literary career. He lives in Sudbury, Ontario with his wife and two sons. His forthcoming novel, Moon of the Turning Leaves, will be published in October 2023.

Christine Luckasavitch

Christine Luckasavitch is an Omàmìwininì Madaoueskarini Anishinaabekwe (a woman of the Madawaska River Algonquin people), belonging to the Crane Clan, and mixed settler heritage. Christine continues to live in Omàmìwininìaki, unceded Algonquin territory.

Christine is the Owner/Executive Consultant of Waaseyaa Consulting and Waaseyaa Cultural Tours, two small businesses dedicated to reviving and celebrating Indigenous ancestral knowledge and culture-based practices through educational opportunities. She is the co-owner of Algonquin Motors, a woman-led motorcycle clothing company honouring the spirit of unceded Algonquin territory. She is currently writing her thesis to complete her Master of Arts in Indigenous Studies at Trent University.

Christine is the former Executive Director of Native Land Digital, an Indigenous-led not-for-profit dedicated to providing a digital platform for Indigenous peoples to share knowledge about their Indigenous cultures, territories, and knowledge systems across the world.

Her work is centered around creating spaces for Indigenous peoples to share their knowledges, both in physical and digital spaces, and encouraging the re-emergence of ancestral kinship ties.

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