Few things evoke the identity and values of New Hampshire more than maple syrup. It also bridges the many divisions facing our communities. In this presentation, explore how the practice of maple sugaring connects us to the land, our ancestors, and all that surrounds us. In conversation with Robin Wall Kimmerer’s bestselling Braiding Sweetgrass, he suggests that sugarmaking — which is informed by indigenous wisdom — is a communal medicine of connection that teaches mutual reciprocity with the land.

PRESENTER: Damian Costello received his Ph.D. in theological studies from the University of Dayton and specializes in the intersection of Catholic theology, Indigenous spiritual traditions, and colonial history. He is an international expert on the life and legacy of Nicholas Black Elk and the author of Black Elk: Colonialism and Lakota Catholicism. Costello was born and raised in Vermont and his work is informed by five years of ethnographic work on the Navajo Nation. Costello serves as the Director of Postgraduate Studies at NAIITS: An Indigenous Learning Community, an Indigenous-designed and delivered ATS-accredited graduate school.

Free and open to the public.