Program
Avenues for Indigenous-led Transformation
The Sierra Nevada Tribal Summit is a landmark gathering of Tribal Nations, cultural leaders, and future nation builders to catalyze Indigenous-led transformation in the Sierra Nevada bioregion. It integrates traditional ecological knowledge, technical innovation, and regenerative practices to create resilient futures rooted in ancestral wisdom and self-determination. The Summit is a place where sovereign solutions are shaped — where cultural and ecological renewal are not just imagined, but activated. Through ceremony, dialogue, and collaboration, we envision a Sierra BioRegion where Indigenous knowledge leads ecological restoration, emergency response, and climate adaptation — resulting in thriving ecosystems and empowered communities.
Ongoing Elements
Main Registration, Lodging Check-in: Outside near main office
Information Booth and Lost and Found: Outside Dobbins Hall
Nursing, Changing, and Mothers Room: Hunters Memorial Library, downstairs of Dobbins Hall
Healing Lounge and Quiet Space: In Living Waters Meeting Room, healing lounge and quiet space with soft traditional music, plant medicines, and other healing elements.
Native Artisans and Vendor Market: Morning Star Room
Elders Lounge: in the Living Waters Lobby
Children’s Cultural Program: Hubbard’s Lodge Meeting Space
Cafe: In Cabin 28, for coffee and espresso drinks, soft drinks, soft serve ice cream, grab and go snacks, and more, if you are wanting something extra during your stay. See hours here.
Note – regular coffee and hot beverages provided in the meeting hall.
DAY ONE
Friday, October 17, 2025
Grounding and Vision: Connecting to our Ancestors, Lands, and Futures
| When | What | Who | Where | Session Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12:00 pm-1:00 pm | Lunch: Nation Builders Gathering | All | Tahoe Center Dining Hall | A shared meal in the Tahoe Center Dining Hall for young leaders (age 18-30) attending the Nation Builders Gathering, offering space to begin cultivating relationships in a relaxed setting. This lunch sets the tone for intergenerational exchange, trust-building, and visioning work that continues throughout the Summit. |
| 1:00 pm-3:00 am | Nation Builders Gathering at the Summit | Led by:
| Amphitheatre | Emerging leaders from across the Sierra region come together to share stories, strategies, and dreams for the future, to catalyze Indigenous-led transformation in the Sierra Nevada bioregion. Designed by Nation Builders for Nation Builders, this session honors the knowledge, questions, and commitments that young Natives carry, inviting participants to build community, explore pathways of leadership, and express what it means to be accountable to land, ancestors, and future generations. |
| 2:30 pm-4:00 pm | Registration, Lodging Check-in, and Refreshments and Networking on the lawn | All | Registration and lodging at front office, networking at the Tahoe Center lawn | This time allows attendees to check in, settle into the space, check-in to lodging if staying on-site (after 3 pm), and begin connecting with one another. Light refreshments will be available, along with a cultural welcome display and resource materials. This is also an opportunity to network and explore the outdoor gathering areas before the evening program begins. |
| 4:00 pm-4:30 pm | Opening Ceremony and Welcome | Opening Prayer – Washoe Elders & Knowledge Bearers (Melba Rawko, Benny Fillmore, Lisa Grayshield) Host Welcome – Hon. Serrell Smokey, Washoe Tribal Chairman | Dobbins Hall | Washoe Elders and Knowledge Bearers will offer an opening blessing to ground us in Wá∙šiw homelands. We are welcomed by Washoe Tribal Chairman Honorable Serrell Smokey. |
| 4:30 pm-5:00 pm | Grounding and Vision Setting, acknowledges Sponsoring Nations – Remarks from Tribal Leadership (SSBMI, CTVCT, OVIWC, WR) Overview of Summit Vision and Intent, Intergenerational Voices | Brian Wallace, Indigenous Futures Society | Dobbins Hall | We gather to articulate the shared vision that brings us together. Indigenous Futures Society ICEO Brian Wallace will offer remarks on the ancestral governance systems that still guide us, the return of Indigenous lands and languages, and the Sierra as a biocultural sacred space. Tribal leadership and participants will share reflections as we begin this Summit in a spirit of regeneration, unity, and hope for thriving futures. |
| 5:00 pm-5:10 am | Program Announcements | Dereck Goodwin and Ariel Elliott, Indigenous Futures Society | Dobbins Hall | A brief overview of what’s ahead for the Summit weekend, special ongoing elements like the healing lounge, Artisan’s Market, Mothers lounge, elders lounge, children’s program, housekeeping notes, and special program announcements. |
| 5:10 pm-6:00 pm | Introductions: What Does Indigenous Futures Leadership Look Like to You | All | Dobbins Hall | This participatory session invites attendees to introduce themselves to the space and to each other, and to reflect on their own roles and responsibilities as leaders—whether as culture bearers, advocates, artists, knowledge keepers, or kin. Through story and conversation, we begin to build a shared understanding of leadership rooted in Indigenous values, accountability, and relationships to land and community. |
| 6:00 pm-7:00 am | Attendees settle in, staff prepare for evening activities | All | NA | Participants may use this time to rest, explore the grounds, or connect informally. Staff will use this hour to prepare for the evening’s reception in Dobbins Hall so we will ask the space to be cleared during this time. |
| 8:00 pm-9:30 pm | Indigenous Film Night | TBD | Dobbins Hall | A curated film screening celebrating Indigenous storytelling, resistance, and vision. Films TBA. |
| 7:00 pm-8:00 pm | Welcome Reception & Cultural Celebration: Traditional Foods, Cultural performances, storytelling, building relationships and community. | All, Washoe food blessing, elders and mothers eat first, Mignon Gelli Flutist | Dobbins Hall | Traditional Washoe catering and cultural musicianship bring the community together in celebration and gratitude. The meal will be blessed, and elders and mothers will be served first. This is a space to reconnect, share stories, and honor the brilliance and beauty of our cultures. Featuring flutist Mignon Gelli and special guests. |
DAY TWO
Saturday, October 18, 2025
Thriving Indigenous Cultures and Lands
| When | What | Who | Where | Session Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6:00 am-7:00 am | Bird Walk and Listen | Dereck Goodwin, Indigenous Futures Society | Meet at Dobbins Hall | Begin the day in quiet reverence with a guided bird walk at first light, led by Native birders. This immersive experience invites participants to attune their senses to the songs, calls, and wingbeats of the Sierra Nevada’s avian relatives. This session will offer cultural and ecological insights into the birds of this region, sharing stories and knowledge. All are welcome—no prior birding experience needed. Bring warm layers, walking shoes, and a warm beverage. Binoculars recommended but not required. |
| 7:00 am-8:00 am | Morning Movement and Sunrise Ceremony | Lisa Grayshield, Indigenous Futures Society and Washiw Zulshish Goom Tahn Nu | Tahoe Center Lawn | This gentle morning session opens the body and spirit with movement, intention, and grounding. Participants are guided to reconnect with self and land in preparation for the day’s sessions. |
| 8:00 am-9:00 am | Breakfast, morning announcements | All, Washoe food blessing, Dereck and Ariel Morning Announcements. | Tahoe Center Dining Hall | A nourishing breakfast, beginning with a Washoe-led food blessing and ending with opening announcements for the day. |
| 9:00 am-9:45 am | Indigenous Guardians and Protected Lands: Guardianship vs. Ownership — Indigenous Land Management Principles | Moderator:
Speakers:
| Dobbins Hall | This session explores how Indigenous Nations are reasserting their role as land guardians. Speakers will reflect on the distinction between ownership and guardianship, and the deep systems of care, law, and reciprocal responsibility that shape Indigenous land management. |
| 9:45 am-10:30 am | Data, Language, & Knowledge Sovereignty. Intergenerational Knowledge Transfer in the Digital Age – Technology, Innovation, and Climate-Resilient Indigenous Futures and Eco-cultures | Moderator:
Speakers:
| Dobbins Hall | What does it mean to protect and pass on language, data, and story in an era of climate change and digital tools? This session brings together researchers, community leaders, and practitioners to discuss how Indigenous knowledge systems are protected, transmitted, and adapted across generations. We explore how technology can support eco-cultural resilience—and where it must yield to community protocol, sovereignty, and spiritual authority. |
| 10:30 am-10:45 am | Morning Break – Refreshments and Networking | All | NA | Refuel, connect, and stretch your legs before we return for more deep conversation and exchange. |
| 10:45 am-11:30 am | Indigenous Youth Movements (Nation Builders Representatives): Indigenous Youth Leadership and Resilient Sierra Futures | Moderator: Ariel Elliott, Indigenous Futures Society Speakers:
| Dobbins Hall | Youth leaders from the Nation Builders cohort are imagining—and building—Sierra futures grounded in sovereignty, solidarity, and hope for the future. This session spotlights Indigenous youth organizing and leadership, with reflections on climate, cultural revitalization, movement-building, and what it takes to thrive in the homelands we inherit and protect. |
| 12:00 pm-1:00 pm | Lunch – seating by region | All, Washoe food blessing | Tahoe Center Dining Hall | A community meal with intentional regional seating to support local collaboration and kinship-building. |
| 1:00 pm-1:30 pm | Free time | All | NA | Rest, wander, or informally connect with new friends and future collaborators. |
| 1:30 pm-2:00 pm | Presentation: Ca. Indian Allotments Research Project: Indigenous Knowledge Systems as Foundation for Climate Resilience | Nina Fontana, Ph.D., University of California, Davis | Dobbins Hall | This presentation shares groundbreaking research into the California Indian Allotments system and its implications for climate adaptation. Nina Fontana highlights how Indigenous knowledge systems inform resilience and how policy must shift to uphold the rights, responsibilities, and wisdom of Tribal communities. |
| 2:00 pm-2:45 pm | Economic Sovereignty and Regenerative Development | Moderator: Laura Carroll, Indigenous Futures Society Speakers:
| Dobbins Hall | This session explores how regenerative development can support long-term Tribal sovereignty and self-determination. Panelists will discuss emerging models in conservation finance, philanthropic partnership, and collaborative project design that prioritize Indigenous leadership and respond to the needs of individual Tribal Nations. This conversation centers on building systems of support—from capital to capacity—that enable Tribes to lead development efforts grounded in culture, community, and care for the land. Participants will reflect on how their institutions are evolving to become better partners in this work, and how we might collectively move toward non-extractive, future-focused models of Tribal development. |
| 2:45 pm-3:15 am | Afternoon Refreshment Break & Networking | All | NA | Refuel, connect, and stretch your legs before we return for more deep conversation and exchange. |
| 3:15 pm-4:00 pm | Traditional Plants, Foods & Emergency Preparedness | Moderator: Brenden Mercer, Indigenous Futures Society Speakers:
| Dobbins Hall | This session explores the critical role of traditional foodways and plant knowledge in emergency preparedness and climate resilience. Speakers will highlight efforts to restore access to traditional gathering areas, revitalize Indigenous agriculture, and protect seeds and biodiversity—all while strengthening Tribal capacity for wildfire response, disaster planning, and food security. Grounded in land-based practice and community leadership, this panel affirms that cultural survival and emergency services go hand in hand, and that thriving Indigenous futures require both ecological and logistical readiness. |
| 4:00 pm-4:45 pm | Indigenous-Water Sovereignty | Moderator: Kris Hohag, Indigenous Futures Society Board Member Speakers:
| Dobbins Hall | Water is life, law, and lineage. This session brings together Indigenous water protectors and cultural leaders to speak on sacred relationships to water, Tribal water rights, and frontline resistance to extraction and dispossession. Presenters will share strategies for protecting and reclaiming water resources through regenerative practices and sovereign solutions—including watershed protection, legal advocacy, and the restoration of traditional water management systems in the Sierra Nevada bioregion. As climate pressures mount, these efforts underscore the central role of Indigenous stewardship in sustaining clean, living waters for generations to come. |
| 4:45 pm-6:00 pm | Free Time | All | NA | Informal rest time. Staff will be setting up for the evening celebration and will ask attendees to vacate Dobbins Hall during this time. |
| 6:00 pm-9:00 pm | Cultural Celebration, Reception, and Artisans Market | Speakers:
| Various | An evening to honor the cultural wealth, leadership, and creative economies of Indigenous Peoples across the Sierra Nevada bioregion. This celebration features traditional foods, storytelling, music, and ceremony—with Native artisans offering handmade goods and wares in an Indigenous-led market and Native performances in the main Hall. Sponsor and partner vendors will also be present to deepen relationships and dialogue. A short program welcomes a company of intergenerational Tribal voices and key agency allies. |
DAY THREE
Sunday, October 19, 2025
Creating a Path Forward
| When | What | Who | Where | Session Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6:00 am-7:00 am | Sunrise Bird Walk and Listen | Dereck Goodwin, Indigenous Futures Society | Meet at Dobbins Hall | Begin the day in quiet reverence with a guided bird walk at first light, led by Native birders. This immersive experience invites participants to attune their senses to the songs, calls, and wingbeats of the Sierra Nevada’s avian relatives. This session will offer cultural and ecological insights into the birds of this region, sharing stories and knowledge. All are welcome—no prior birding experience needed. Bring warm layers, walking shoes, and a warm beverage. Binoculars recommended but not required. |
| 7:00 am-8:00 am | Morning Movement and Sunrise Ceremony | Lisa Grayshield, Indigenous Futures Society and Washiw Zulshish Goom Tahn Nu | Tahoe Center Lawn | This gentle morning session opens the body and spirit with movement, intention, and grounding. Participants are guided to reconnect with self and land in preparation for the day’s sessions. |
| 8:00 am-9:00 am | Breakfast, morning announcements, reminder to vacate rooms by 11 | All, Washoe food blessing, Dereck and Ariel Morning Announcements | Tahoe Center Dining Hall | A nourishing breakfast, beginning with a Washoe-led food blessing and ending with opening announcements for the day. REMINDER - rooms must be vacated by 11 am, please plan accordingly. |
| 9:00 am-9:30 am | Presentation: Land Access, Acquisition and Ancestral Land | Cutcha Rising-Baldy, PhD, Cal Poly Humboldt; Rou Dalagurr Food Sovereignty Lab & Traditional Ecological Knowledge Institute; “Land Back Special Report” | Dobbins Hall | Session description coming soon. |
| 9:30 am-10:15 am | Presentation: Indigenous Futures: Regenerative Relationships with Land and Water | Hon. Margo Robbins, Cultural Fire Management Council | Dobbins Hall | Honorable Margo Robbins brings decades of Indigenous leadership and ecological expertise rooted in Yurok cultural fire stewardship. As co‑founder and executive director of the Cultural Fire Management Council (CFMC) and co‑lead of the Indigenous Peoples’ Burn Network, Robbins has been central to reintroducing cultural fire practices through the Cultural Burn Training Exchange (TREX) on Yurok lands. Her work centers on regenerating landscapes, watersheds, and cultural lifeways through culturally grounded fire— returning agency to communities, supporting basket-weaving materials, traditional foods, biodiversity, and watershed health. Robbins will share how Yurok-led cultural burning fosters ecological resilience, strengthens tribal sovereignty, and heals relationships between land, water, and people—offering a model for regenerative Indigenous futures across the Sierra Nevada and beyond. |
| 10:15 am-11:15 am | Panel: Regenerative Indigenous Sovereignty in the Sierra BioRegion | Moderator: Brian Wallace, Indigenous Futures Society Speakers:
| Dobbins Hall | This panel brings together legal advocates, cultural practitioners, and Indigenous knowledge holders to explore how sovereignty is being reclaimed and redefined across the Sierra Nevada bioregion. Panelists will share real-world examples of Tribal successes in treaty defense, court victories, legislative action, and cultural and ecological restoration. Topics will include land and water protection, data and knowledge return, and intergenerational capacity-building. Together, we’ll examine the legal and community-based strategies that are regenerating Tribal governance—not only as a political status, but as a lived, relational, and land-based practice. |
| 11:15 am-12:00 pm | Wrapping up and looking forward, announce field excursion meeting places | Brian Wallace, Indigenous Futures Society | Ampitheatre | A final circle to reflect, ground, and share intentions for the path ahead. Participants will hear closing words, celebrate shared momentum, and receive instructions for the afternoon’s field excursions. |
| 12:00 pm-1:00 pm | Lunch | All, Washoe food blessing | Tahoe Center Dining Hall | A community meal before breaking for the afternoon workshops. |
| 1:00 pm-1:30 pm | Free time, prepare for field excursions | All | NA | Participants are encouraged to rest, pack, or regroup before heading into the choose-your-own afternoon experiences. |
| 1:00 pm-3:00 pm | Choose your own field excursion | Option 1: Basketweaving Demonstration – Lucy and Julia Parker Option 2: Interactive Art Experience Kim Garrison Means from Friends of Avi Kwa Ame National Monument Option 3: TBD | Various | |
| 4:00 pm-5:00 pm | WZGT Dedication Ceremony | Lisa Grayshield, Indigenous Futures Society Board Chair and Washiw Zulshish Goom Tahn Nu | Ampitheatre | A ceremonial dedication led by Washiw Zulshish Goom Tahn Nu. |
| 5:00 pm-6:00 pm | WZGT Hosted Meal | On-site, Building TBD | A concluding meal hosted by Washiw Zulshish Goom Tahn Nu to celebrate community, kinship, and the power of coming together in purpose. Please indicate on your registration form if you plan to stay, so we can plan for the correct amount of food. |