The Living Breath of wǝɫǝbʔaltxʷ

"Generational Food Sovereignty"

13th Annual Living Breath Indigenous Foods Symposium – Save the Date - May 2 and 3, 2025

UW wǝɫǝbʔaltxʷ Intellectual House, 4249 Whitman Ct, NE, UW Seattle campus, Seattle, WA, 98105. 

We hope you will join us for our 13th annual “Living Breath of wǝɫǝbʔaltxʷ” Indigenous Foods Symposium on May 2^nd & 3^rd 2025, hosted by the UW’s American Indian Studies Department and the Na’ah Illahee Fund.  We are happy to share that our Keynote speaker is Mateus Tremembé, an Indigenous Youth Leader from the Tremembé da Barra do Mundaú Indigenous community in Brazil! Mateus is an agroecological farmer, an agronomy student, and he coordinates Of Just Transitions in Food Systems Network and the Tremembé Climate Project. Mateus presented virtually at our symposium a few years ago and we were so moved by his presentation and the important work he is doing with and for his community that we invited him to come to Seattle and present in person (please see attached flyer for more information on Mateus).

Our 2025 Symposium theme is “Generational Food Sovereignty: Nurturing our Sacred Relationships” and this year, for the first time, we have coordinated youth-driven panels and presentations highlighting the work our Indigenous youth are doing in enacting food sovereignty across the globe! We will be welcoming youth from the regional tribal community, from Aotearoa, New Zealand, and students from the UW.

Save the Date! Tickets will be available soon. Registration will include continental breakfast and lunch with traditional Northwest Coast foods prepared by Indigenous chefs Jason Vickers and Gail Gus.

Please reach out to LB Coordinator, Tia Yazzie, at tyazzie@uw.edu if you have any questions or need more information. 

If you would like to know about upcoming events please sign up for our mailing list. Please see our website and Facebook page for more information on previous events:

• Website: https://livingbreathfoodsymposium.org
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/UWLivingBreath

Our annual event draws over 300 people from the UW campus community, regional tribal and urban Indigenous communities, and throughout the U.S, Canada, Mexico, and Aotearoa New Zealand. Our symposium is a signature event for the UW Intellectual House and has become an important venue for bringing together people from diverse communities and organizations who share the same commitment to protecting Indigenous homelands and the environment. It serves to foster dialogue and build collaborative networks as Indigenous peoples strive to sustain cultural food practices and preserve healthy relationships to the land, water, and all living things.

For registration information contact Dr. Dian Million at dianm@uw.edu. For information, please visit our website: livingbreathfoodsymposium.org or our Facebook page. You can also contact Dr. Charlotte Coté at clotise@uw.edu or the AIS office at (206) 543-9082.

Planning Team: Dr. Charlotte Coté, Dr. Dian Million, Susan Balbas, Dr. Clarita Lefthand-Begay, Dana Arviso, Bridget Ray, Dr. Jessica Salvador, and Tia Yazzie.