Indigenous languages are action oriented to their core. Heather and Hōkū join SENĆOŦEN language specialist and land steward Dominique James for a conversation about language, native plants, and what it means to engage in reconciliACTION. A child of SÁNEĆĆ land, we hear about Dominique’s experiences with the SENĆOŦEN Survival School, what it means to SENĆOŦEN-ize, and how language shapes the ways we can interact with the land. Dominique shares how she is helping the Habitat Acquistion Trust (HAT) “see how she sees.” A key part of seeing as she sees is sharing language because Indigenous knowledge, culture, worldviews, and teachings are grounded in SENĆOŦEN. We also hear about Dominque’s work with SatinFlower Nurseries, an organization that grows native plants from seeds and helps people explore and learn about native species that support ecosystem health. For Dominique, reconciliACTION is about taking the steps towards healing and decolonization through active allyship. She wants to strengthen all her relationships with anyone who is willing to learn, with the hopes and dreams of beginning a new journey together.  



Dominique James is a W̱SÁNEĆ Land Steward and SENĆOŦEN (Sen-chah-then) Language Specialist at the Habitat Acquisition Trust on Vancouver Island and works for SatinFlower Nurseries. She is a passionate SENĆOŦEN speaker, having worked at the LÁU,WELṈEW̱ Tribal School in the SENĆOŦEN immersion program.  



This podcast is created by the Impact Chair in Transformative Governance for Planetary Health at the University of Victoria, with production support from Cited Media. We receive additional support from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research You can find us at https://indigenousplanetaryhealth.ca/