Spring Listening Circle

Thursday, May 8
6 – 7:30pm
Free; registration encouraged.

On Thursday, May 8, we launch the Listening Circles series at Calder Gardens, a new program inspired by Indigenous talking circles where participants gather to reflect, listen deeply, and share across generations. Guided by Denise Dunkley of the Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Tribal Nation, each session explores a story and opens space for dialogue and sharing lived experiences. For this inaugural program, we welcome special guest Mirian Masaquiza Jerez from the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. She shares perspectives from the forum’s 25th session, which focuses on climate change and the health of Indigenous Peoples.

For many Indigenous Peoples of the Amazon rainforest, círculos de la palabra—circles of the spoken word or talking circles—are essential communal gatherings where knowledge, memory, and care are shared. Elders, adults, and the youngest members of the community sit together in a non-hierarchical circle, listening attentively to one another while affirming listening as a collective responsibility. These practices nurture intergenerational bonds and recognize wisdom as something that emerges through presence, reciprocity, and time.

Location: Calder Gardens Disc (outdoor area in front of our main entrance). If weather conditions require, the program will move indoors.

Born in the southernmost tidewaters of Lenapehoking, Denise Bright Dove Ashton-Dunkley is a master artisan, educator, public speaker, tribal councilwoman, and a citizen of the Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Tribal Nation of New Jersey. For over 25 years, she has used art to carry forward ancestral knowledge, guided by her grandmothers. Holding a master of legal studies in Indigenous Peoples law, Dunkley pairs art and advocacy to advance Indigenous rights, climate justice, and MMIW awareness, with work exhibited internationally.

Mirian Masaquiza Jerez (Kichwa from Salasaca, Ecuador) is a social affairs officer at the UN’s Department of Economic and Social Affairs. With over 20 years of experience, she has been a leading advocate for the rights of Indigenous Peoples, including her work with the UN’s Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. Her expertise spans issues affecting Indigenous Peoples, including gender and women’s rights, climate change, and cultural and educational development. Bridging grassroots organizing with global policy, she is recognized for elevating Indigenous voices in international decision-making and advancing equity, representation, and human rights.

Programming at Calder Gardens is generously supported by Jill and Sheldon Bonovitz, Donna Green, and Michael Sternberg.