Coming to Orcas Center | International Indigenous Forum: “A Welcoming”

||| FROM BETHANY MARIE for ORCAS CENTER |||

WHAT: As part of its series of International Indigenous Forums, Se’Si’Le is honored to work with Batani: International Indigenous Fund for Development and Sovereignty to offer “A Welcoming.” Together we are bringing to the Orcas Center for one night only Indigenous leaders and Human Rights scholars currently in exile from Russia. They will be joined by Lummi, Yakama and Tsleil-Waututh First Nation (B.C.) tribal members to share an informative, inspired and inspiring evening of culture, lifeways, current events, music, and ceremony. The event is free and open to the public

WHEN: April 16, 6:00-8:00 PM (Doors open at 5:30)

WHERE Orcas Center (Eastsound, Orcas Island)

WHY: The Original Peoples of the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia and the Udege and Itelman peoples of the Russian Far East have much in common. They will be together at the Orcas Center to show solidarity with each other in these perilous times, and to their dedication to preserving their cultural identity, their inherent rights and their way of life, and the biodiversity of their homelands. Batani was created in 2004 to organize indigenous peoples in Russia. One of the most important goals of Batani is to protect indigenous peoples’ rights in Russia and around the world. Batani and Se’Si’Le are committed to building on indigenous peoples’ vision of being in right relations with nature and strengthening international Indigenous cooperation.

VISUALS: A performance by Pavel Suliandziga of the Udege Peoples who has performed around the world, including Carnegie Hall and in Moscow, and visuals from the homelands of the Udege and Itelman peoples.

SPEAKERS:

• Jay Julius, Member and former Chair of the Lummi Nation, and President of Se’Si’Le.
• JoDe Goudy, Member and former Chair of the Yakama Nation, and Vice-President of Se’Si’Le.
• Rueben George, Member of the Tsleil-Waututh First Nation of BC, and Se’Si’Le Board Member.

Pavel Sulyandziga, Sr., is from the Udege Nation. He was born in the village of Krasnyi Yar by Bikin River. He helped develop the Indigenous movement in Russia and actively participated in the development of the UN declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. He is an elected Honorary Professor of the UNESCO Department of Novosibirsk State University, former member of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (2005-2010) and a former member of the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights (2011-2018).

Pavel Suliandziga is from the Udege Nation is the recipient of many awards in voice competitions. He was the fist-place winner in 2013 and 2014 with AADGT in New York, performing in Carnegie Hall; third-prize winner in the Bella Voce competition in Moscow; third-prize winner in the Talents of the World International Competition; the Finalist of Licia-Albenese competition and Giulio Gari competition. He is currently working to bring his Udege knowledge and language into opera.

Tjan Zaochnaya is from the Itelmen Nation. Tjan is a member of the Munich Group of the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) and of the International Committee of Indigenous Peoples of Russia (ICIPR). She was born into a family of gatherers and hunters in Kamchatka. In 1980 her family was deprived of Soviet citizenship and expelled from the country. Since then she has been living in Munich, informing the public about the indigenous peoples of Russia. In the 1990s she was allowed to travel to Kamchatka (Russia) and initiated several projects, including a project to support traditional fishing of the Itelmen Peoples of Kamchatka.

Ms. Mariana Katzarova was appointed as Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Russian Federation by the United Nations Human Rights Council on 4 April 2023.

Dr. Inozemtsev is a Russian economist and political scientist, focusing on global economic issues, development of the knowledge economy in the West and modernization of the Third World nations, with special reference to Russia’s history and current policies.

Contact: Kurt Russo, Executive Director of Se’Si’Le: 360-961-4554 (frkvalues@aol.com)

About Se’Si’Le

Se’Si’Le (“our Grandmother” in the LhaqTemish language) is an all-indigenous led nonprofit based in the Pacific Northwest that promotes respect for, an and understanding of, indigenous ancestral knowledge of the spirit of place and person-nature relationalities. (www.se-si-le.org)