Healing and Reconciliation: A Nuu-Chal-Nulth Perspective

Posted: February 16, 2023

By: Institute for Catholic Thought and Culture


Winter IDI - Atleo
Wednesday, March 1, 4 p.m.
Oberto Commons, Sinegal Center 200 (Zoom access is available)
RSVP for the conversation

Dr. E. Richard Atleo, whose Nuu-chah-nulth name is Umeek, is a hereditary chief. He is widely and duly celebrated both for his analysis and promotion of the Nuu-chal-nulth concept of "tsawalk," oneness, the interdependence of all things, and for fostering our respectful relationship and negotiation with it. He has written two contemporary classics on this theme, Tsawalk: A Nuu-Chal-Nuth Worldview (2005) and Principles of Tsawalk: An Indigenous Approach to Global Crisis (2012). In this talk, he will draw on his vast experience and his life in two cultural worlds to speak to healing and reconciliation. 

Dr. Atleo's contributions include the creation of the First Nations Studies Department at Vancouver Island University where he also taught as well as the Universities of Victoria, Manitoba, Simon Fraser, and UBC. Beyond his roles in academia, Dr. Atleo was a social worker, elementary school teacher, principal, federal ministerial assistant and assistant superintendent of education. Dr. Atleo received the Equity Award from the Canadian Association of University Teachers, where he served as a member of the Equity Committee since its inception. His contributions extend to other organizations, including roles as co-chair of the Scientific Panel for Sustainable Forest Practices in Clayoquot Sound, and as a member of the board of Ecotrust Canada.