Bayo Akomolafe, rooted with the Yoruba people, is a celebrated posthumanist thinker, poet, and author. His books, These Wilds Beyond our Fences and We Will Tell our Own Story, reflect his unique perspectives. Founder of The Emergence Network and host of ‘We Will Dance with Mountains,’ he lectures at Pacifica Graduate Institute and University of Vermont. Akomolafe sits on boards including Science and Nonduality (US). He’s the inaugural Global Senior Fellow at UC Berkeley’s Othering and Belonging Institute and Senior Fellow at The New Institute, Hamburg. Recent honors include the New Thought Leadership Award 2021 and Excellence in Ethnocultural Psychotherapy Award 2022.

Samwel Leiyian Nangiria is a Maasai human rights activist from Northern Tanzania and the founding director of the Ngorongoro NGO Network. He serves as the mentor for the Oltoilo Le Maa Tanzania Hub.

As a passionate advocate for land rights and cultural preservation, Samwel has become a powerful voice for the Maasai people. He emphasizes the profound connection between humans and wildlife in Maasai culture, stating: “”Protection of nature is not a ‘project’ to us – it’s a way of life.”” To the Maasai, Earth and its creatures are not separate—they are one.

Samwel has been outspoken about how the Tanzanian government seeks to remove and erase the Maasai from their lands in Ngorongoro. He counters this by highlighting that the Maasai have always protected nature and consider themselves and their lands to be one and the same.”

Iya Affo is a trauma specialist and founder of Healing Historical Trauma, who brings over two decades of experience in mental health, social services, and community advocacy. Iya’s ancestors hail from the Sacred City of 41 Mountains in West Africa, Barbados, Jamaica and the Bahamas. Affo’s work focuses on empowering individuals and communities to break cycles of trauma through culturally-responsive healing practices. Her approach integrates traditional wisdom with modern therapeutic techniques, emphasizing the importance of reconnecting with cultural roots. She is a sought-after speaker and educator with a mission to facilitate re-culturing and the subsequent healing of indigenous people all over the world.

Atarangi was raised in the small coastal village of Ahipara and is affiliated to Ngati Kuri, Te Aupouri, and Te Rarawa tribes. Her drive in the healing work is the growth and support of people using specific tools for self-healing. Atarangi’s passion for the healing arts was ignited by her elders, her many Kuia (Elder women) and Koroua (Elder men), where her training in traditional methods began at an early age. Today she passes these healing arts to her children, grandchildren, and extended family – biological and spiritual.

Aviaja Sanimuinaq is an Inuit woman who comes from a shamanic lineage in Greenland. Aviaja returned to her pre-colonized traditional beliefs after a long journey of intergenerational trauma healing. She holds a deep respect for ancient teachings, connection and healing in a modern world.

Ikimaliq Pikilak is an artist, author, filmmaker and traditional practitioner of Tunniit (Inuit Tattoo from Narsaq). A neurodivergent research nerd, she has been researching Inuit culture since 2016. Her passion about the preservation of Inuit culture is exemplified in the disseminating knowledge through her practice, art, children’s books and films.

Mark was raised in Mangatuna, by his old people and is considered a historian by his East Coast tribes of the North Island in New Zealand; Te Aitanga a Hauiti, Ngāti Ira, and Ngāti Porou. He was the master carver for several meeting houses both on the East Coast as well as in the lower North Island. He and a small group of moko artists are responsible for the reinstatement of moko into New Zealand society. He has trained several moko artists and continues to work as a moko artist and design consultant. Mark is a co-director for Te Kurahuna where he uses his skills as a storyteller and keeper of ancient Māori knowledge and whakapapa.

John Ridsdale, Hereditary Chief Na’Moks of the Tsayu Clan, Wet’suwet’en Territory is dedicated to the preservation and enhancement of First Nations’ culture, traditions and territories.

Patty Krawec (Anishinaabe/Ukrainian) is a founding director of the Nii’kinaaganaa Foundation and the author of Becoming Kin: An Indigenous Call to Unforgetting the Past and Reimagining Our Future (2022) and Bad Indians Book Club: Reading At The Edge of a Thousand Worlds (2025), both published by Broadleaf Books. Her work centers on how Anishinaabe belonging and thought can inform faith and social justice practices and has also been published in Sojourners, Rampant Magazine, Midnight Sun, Yellowhead Institute, Indiginews, Religion News Service, and Broadview. She posts podcasts and essays with some regularity on her blog. You can find her online at daanis.ca

Emeritus Professor Judy Atkinson, is a proud Jiman, Bundjalung, Anglo-Celtic and German woman. She is the author of Trauma Trails – Recreating Songlines The Transgenerational Effects of Trauma in Indigenous Australia and has won many awards for her contributions to the understanding of trauma-related issues stemming from the violence of colonisation and the healing/recovery of Indigenous peoples. Presently she is the co-founder and patron of We Al-li Trust and continues to work across Australia and in Papua New Guinea.