Indigenous-led Circle for Ancient Resilience
(11:30 am US Central Time Zone)
This Indigenous-led Circle draws upon resilience teachings of Indigenous, Zen and Wombs of Peace traditions. The Circle is opened by placing relationships in the center and inviting teachings from these diverse wisdom traditions to be shared, followed by expanding the Circle to invite all participants to join in this ancient practice for collective resilience. Experience and enter a collective resilience practice drawing from ancient teachings of Indigenous and Zen traditions and the womb.
About the Speakers
Ilarion Kuuyux Merculieff
Raised on St. Paul Island in the Bering Sea, at four-years-old Ilarion was given his traditional Unangan (Aleut) name: Kuuyux. There is one Kuuyux in each lifetime, and he was given the name by the former Kuuyux who came looking for the child to succeed him as Kuuyux, meaning: a bridge; a messenger; carrier of ancient knowledge into modern times. As a young teenager, Ilarion was taken to western schools. He climbed up the conventional ladder, became co-chair and head of 17 boards and councils, until he jumped. Ever since then, he has been living the legacy of his traditional name, Kuuyux. He is president of Global Center for Indigenous Leadership and Lifeways (GCILL) and co-founder and key speaker for the Wisdom Weavers of the World.
Iya Tahirah Abubakr
Elder Iya Tahirah Abubakr of Black American & Yoruba ancestry, was born River Lee Adams in Pocahontas, Mississippi. Iya was initiated by Ifa Priestess Yamaya in the ancestral traditions of the Yoruba people of Western Africa and studied and trained with Malidoma Some' in shamanism. She is a medicine woman, diviner, and shamanic practitioner. She provides initiatory guidance and trainings for those who seek greater wisdom in the mystery. She is founder & co-founder for the St. Croix Council of Elders. Iya’s life purpose and dedication are to the service of humanity as a whole and to leave the Earth in a greater place than she found it.
Selene Manga
Dr. Selene Manga (Quechua and Aymara, Peru) is a traditional Andean Indigenous healer, and a western MD infectologist, fellow at Harvard University. Selene comes from a 600 year old women healers’ family tradition. Recognized as a healer at the age of 5, she grew up to become a traditional healer, a western MD & an international scholar. She worked for Doctors Without Borders in Peru, founded and headed the Green Hospital - and Indigenous Medicine Center and medicine school. Selene currently continues to work with Indigenous (Shipibo-Konibo, Quechua, and more) communities, and with non-Indigenous people, including protestors, policemen, and others, from all over the world.
Sabra Kauka
Elder Sabra Kauka is a Native Hawaiian Kumu (Educator), Historian and Activist from Kaua’i, Hawai’I and is considered one of the most influential and respected na wahine alakai (women leaders) of Kauai. She is a former freelance photojournalist for Time, Life, and National Geographic. She serves as Kumu of Hawaiian Studies at Island School on Kaua‘i, Kumu Hula of Na Pua O Kamaile, Kaua‘ coordinator for the Department of Education’s Hawaiian Studies Kupuna Program, Kumu Kapa on Kaua‘i. She is founding member and Past-President of Na Pali Coast Ohana, a grassroots non-profit foundation dedicated to the preservation of the natural and cultural resources of the Nāpali Coast State Park, Kaua‘i Hawai‘i. E mau‘ana ke ea o ka ‘aina i ka pono. A hanauna o kawa mamua. “Preserving the life of the land for future generations.” The work at Nualolo Kai by the combined efforts of the Ohana, Department of Land and Natural Resources and State Parks is considered one of the most successful curatorship programs in Hawai‘i.
Yael Zeligman-Merculieff
Yael Zeligman-Merculieff is of Jewish-Israeli ancestry with Yemen, Syrian, Lithuanian & German roots. In 2016 Yael was a struggling single mom in Israel. She was an alternative educator by day, and a TED volunteer-translator by night, when she saw a video of a man talking about things she felt when she gave birth. It was Ilarion Kuuyux Merculieff, a traditional messenger of the Indigenous Unangan (Aleut) people in Alaska. Yael contacted him to ask his permission to translate, and... today they are married in Alaska, raising the two girls together. Alongside him Yael works and learns from Indigenous Elders. She also co-creates what she calls ‘Wombs of Peace’ and other circles in the Middle East and beyond.
Bonus content: More information or to join a Wombs of Peace circle
Heather Meikyo Scobie
Dr. Heather Meikyo Scobie is an 86th-generation Zen master, Zen priest, and the head of the Chosei Zen Virtual Dojo. She serves on the Board of Directors for Chosei Zen. She currently lives in Alaska where she works in public health, specifically focusing on promoting the health of Alaska Native peoples. In her free time, she enjoys the outdoors, practicing okyo (sound/chanting), writing, and developing the Virtual Dojo. Recently, she began writing a blog on mushin (no-mind, no-self).
Ginny Jiko Whitelaw
Dr. Ginny Jiko Whitelaw (summit co-host) is an 86th Generation Rinzai Zen master, Chosei Zen priest, and founder of the Institute for Zen Leadership. She has been developing whole leaders for over 25 years and is the author of Resonate and The Zen Leader, and co-developer of FEBI (pronounced “fee-bee”), a personality assessment that links mind and body and behaviors. Formerly, Deputy Manager for integrating NASA’s Space Station Program, she has a doctorate in biophysics, degrees in physics and philosophy, and a 5th degree black belt in Aikido. She is a regular contributor to Forbes.com in leadership strategy.
Hosted by The Institute for Zen Leadership
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