Welcome! Hau Koda! Va'ohtama! E Komo Mai! Tunngasugit! Haere Mai! Yak'ei Haat Yigoodee!

On Friday, October 27, 2006 Seattle University will present The Path of the Spirit: Indigenous Rights, Intercultural Dialogue and A Collaborative Response to Preserve Diversity. This event is a unique opportunity for our diverse Northwest community to gather with peoples from throughout the global community to dialogue about universal human rights, self-determination and equality for all peoples. The roots of these themes are grounded in our profound respect for the human person.

The United Nations’ Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples recognizes that “all peoples contribute to the diversity and richness of civilizations and cultures, which constitute the common heritage of humankind.” Seattle University recognizes this principle and has a distinctive mission to educate its students and the larger community about the importance of honoring diversity in creating a just and humane world. The founders of Seattle University, the Jesuits, recognize their historical dependence on the First People, and their commitment to walk with the Indigenous people of the world. As educators and holders of a spiritual tradition, the collaboration of all people with diverse ways of knowing and understanding the world is paramount to the Jesuit way of educating the whole human being.

At The Path of the Spirit: Indigenous Rights, Intercultural Dialogue and A Collaborative Response to Preserve Diversity, Indigenous peoples will discuss how western paradigms of knowledge impact their understanding of the world. The day long conference focuses on the context of life sciences and the implications of advances in human genetics for Indigenous peoples and their communities. The conference, “Who Owns Nature: Biotechnology, Bioprospecting and Indigenous Peoples Rights,” will engage lawyers, advocates, ethicists, scientists and local Seattle life sciences executives in a reciprocal forum to explore ways in which biotechnology may preserve, sustain and even cure disease afflicting Indigenous peoples. The conference will also address ways to receive the wisdom of Indigenous peoples whose healing traditions include a holistic vision of the care for the environment.

In the evening, the event transforms into a celebration of indigenous culture, complete with storytelling, dancing, drumming and song. This is ”La Peña: A Gathering to Celebrate Indigenous Knowledge, Culture and Art.” This celebration follows in the tradition of la Peña which arose in Latin America in the early 1960s. According to one of the main developers of the tradition, Chilean composer and singer Violeta Para, la Peña is intended to be a gathering place where artists of all disciplines could share their art forms. La Peña is intended to provide music, dance and an aesthetic response to the creative ideas that are often not recognized in an institutionalized culture.

Advocacy for human rights needs a voice in law, corporate social responsibility and ethics, but also in music, in dance, in painting, in poetry . . . The objective of any good peña is to link the arts and culture to a vision for social justice, and that is the intent for the evening portion of the event.

Please join us on the Path of the Spirit to a deeper understanding of the meaning of human dignity and the value of cultural diversity.

901 12th Ave, P.O. Box 222000, Seattle, WA 98122-1090 (206)296-6000 Questions? Please email ipc@seattleu.edu.