Learning Tuesday - Indigenous Teaching

Join  for a time of learning about Indigenous culture, Truth and Reconciliation and history. Conversation with Kahontakwas Diane Longboat, B.A., B.Ed., M.Ed., who is a member of the Turtle Clan, Mohawk Nation, at Six Nations Grand River Territory, Canada, and a citizen of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy.

Who should attend: All Club Presidents, Presidents-Elect, Public Image Chairs, Directors, and all Rotarians who want to learn and do meaningful work towards Truth and Reconciliation.

Learning Objective: To learn about the important role Rotary can play in the journey to Truth and Reconciliation, and to gain an understanding of Canadian history as it relates to Truth and Reconciliation.

Agenda:  Diane will share insights and teaching with us, then open the session for dialogue.

In preparation for the event, please look at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s 94 Calls to Action.

Kahontakwas Diane Longboat, B.A, B.Ed., M.Ed., is a member of the Turtle Clan, Mohawk Nation
at Six Nations Grand River Territory, Canada and a citizen of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. Diane’s work has been situated for decades at the intersection of health, education and systems metamorphosis based on traditional Indigenous epistemology. Born of vision, in 1994, Diane founded Soul of the Mother, a healing and teaching Lodge of Nations, on the shores of the Grand River. It is the home of international teachers of peace and healing and a refuge for those seeking healing and strengthening of their own gifts.

Diane also founded First Nations House, the Office of Indigenous Student Services and Programs at the University of Toronto, a full-service program designed to meet the educational, social, and spiritual needs of students so they can thrive.

From 2013-2025, Diane served as Elder and Healer for the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in Aboriginal Services where she led the development of the Ceremony Grounds to establish the Sweat Lodge, the medicine gardens and the Sacred Fire with 44 healing ceremonies. Diane continues to advise regional hospital systems, universities, Indigenous organizations and national research organizations with strategic advice and spiritual guidance for the transformative work required to serve First Nations, Inuit and Métis in culturally grounded and safe ways.

Working alongside gifted leaders, today Diane is the President/Founder of the Institute for theStudy of Spirit, a national Indigenous women-led charity dedicated to supporting international ceremonial gatherings through a global network of spiritual leaders and Healers, GrandmotherFires Circles serving in First Nations communities and urban areas, focused on the needs of youth and families, training the next generation of Traditional Healers and offering publiceducation through a podcast series based on Elders teachings held in the World Wisdom Library at the Institute. Founded on the values of love, respect, healing, unity and peacemaking, the Institute will raise up First Nations for self-determination while working for the spiritual evolution of humanity and healing Mother Earth.