By: Francesca Mundrick, Founder & Executive Director
A circle is universal. It allows to see what has been and what is coming. It allows us to connect to the unending continuation of time, space, and energy.
I recently attended the Indigenous Circle Series Symposium hosted by Native American Advancement Corps at the Cohanzick Nature Reserve in Salem County, NJ.
Cohanzick Nature Reserve is a special place, not just for the modern cultural reestablishment of the Lenape but for the spirit and ancient history of the land.
Cohanzick Nature Reserve features old growth and untouched habitats. As Tyrese Gould Jancito described, matriarch of the NAAC and the Reserve, the Reserve is “Where the ashes of our ancestors are woven into the soil. Where they walked, lived, and prayed.”
Beyond participating in a smug ceremony, gourd art, learning about TEK informed arborist practices, and the purchase of a handmade knife, the connections made during discussion within our community circle was the most rewarding aspect of the program.
A circle of friends. A circle of influence. A circle of trust. A hug. The circles of our DNA, our Solar System, our Galaxy, our Universe. The circle of life. Circles are not just a symbol, they are our familiar. Circles are a recognition of something greater than ourselves that we all know, feel, and seek.
The community circle that we formed at the symposium, where we all learned and shared, helped us to see that connection is what we seek most in a modern world set up to distract us with dependence, shallow gratifications, and meaningless experiences. Circles lead us back, physically and spiritually, to the things that matter most in this life.
The Medicine Wheel is a significant circle in indigenous lifeways all over the world. The Medicine Wheel includes White Owl, Yellow Eagle, Red Hawk, and Black Crow as the most sacred circle. The Medicine Wheel is a keeper of generational knowledge that guides us through the seasons of our lives by teaching us ways of knowing and purpose.
We have to ask ourselves, are we looking for the circles that are missing in our lives?
What can circles teach you?
Learn more about Cohanzick Reserve here!
To learn more about Fran, visit About the Founder.
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