-GUEST BIOGRAPHY-

Métis / mixed-settler multidisciplinary artist, educator, Somatic Experiencing Practitioner (SEP™) and vocalist, Moe Clark (she/they) is a 2Spirit singing thunderbird. Moe was born and raised in Treaty 7 (Calgary) and is a proud member of the Métis Nation of Alberta who currently resides in Tio'tiá:ke/ Mooniyang/ Montréal (QC). A dedicated nêhiyawêwin (Plains Cree language) and Michif (Métis language) learner, Moe collaborates intimately with Indigenous Elders and knowledge keepers to advance language resurgence through song-based practices. She works across disciplines of vocal improvisation, land-based oskapêwis facilitation (ceremonial Elder apprenticeship), drum circle healing work, and performance creation, to co-create contexts that centre collective liberation, embodied knowledge, 2Spirit Indigenous resurgence, and healing through creative kinship.  

Moe’s last solo album “Within” toured across North America and their collaborative video poem “nitahkôtân” won best Indigenous language music video at the ImagiNative film festival. Moe’s poem “committing a dream / pawâkan Palestine” won the 2024 Ian Ferrier Spoken Word Prize through the Quebec Writers’ Federation. Moe has performed the world over, including the Lincoln Centre (US), Sydney Opera House (AU) and Origins Festival in London (UK).

PRACTICES:

• Open a space with warmth and intention so participants feel welcomed, grounded, and aware that something meaningful is beginning.
• Acknowledge the land, territory, and peoples connected to the place to situate the gathering within a larger web of history and relationship.
• Call in helpers such as ancestors, spirits, community members, or guiding energies to support the intention of the ceremony.
• Turn ordinary actions into rituals by bringing attention and intention to them.
• Stand facing the wind and ask it to clear your mind or move stagnant thoughts and energy.
• Relate consciously to the elements such as earth, water, wind, and fire as living forces that support life and transformation.
• Adapt rituals to modern circumstances so their spirit continues even when traditional conditions are not available.
• Use music as a ceremonial tool by listening deeply, singing together, or letting rhythm guide reflection.
• Let community witness moments of change, growth, or vulnerability so transformation is supported rather than isolated.
• Spend time with natural places such as rivers, trees, or open landscapes and observe what they teach.
• Hold natural elements like water, stones, or ice with attention to deepen awareness of change and interconnection.
• Incorporate moments of celebration into everyday life rather than saving them only for special occasions.
• Encourage people to ask for support and reach toward community when they need help.
• Practise collective care by creating spaces where people can support one another emotionally and spiritually.

IDEAS: 

• Ritual practices help people remember that they are part of a larger web of life and creation.
• Belonging is not a fixed state but an ongoing process of seeking and strengthening relationships.
• Healing often happens through remembering connections that have been forgotten or neglected.
• Kinship can extend beyond humans to include animals, landscapes, plants, and everyday encounters.
• Ceremony does not require perfection; mistakes, humour, and discomfort can all be part of the sacred process.
• Hyper-individualistic culture can weaken the sense of belonging that rituals normally strengthen.
• Reciprocity and relationship matter more than appearance or performance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.