Ask a Native

Presenter: Kanyon CoyoteWoman & Gregg Castro
Pronouns: Kanyon: She/They/Coyote
Gregg: He/Him

Come sit with two Natives indigenous to the Bay Area and learn some great things.

Kanyon Sayers-Roods is Costanoan Ohlone-Mutsun and Chumash; she also goes by her given Native name, “Coyote Woman”. She is proud of her heritage and her native name (though it comes with its own back story), and is very active in the Native Community. She is an Artist, Poet, Published Author, Activist, Student and Teacher. The daughter of Ann-Marie Sayers, she was raised in Indian Canyon, trust land of her family, which currently is one of the few spaces in Central California available for the Indigenous community for ceremony. Kanyon’s art has been featured at the De Young Museum, The Somarts Gallery, Gathering Tribes, Snag Magazine, and numerous Powwows and Indigenous Gatherings. She is a recent graduate of the Art Institute of California, Sunnyvale, obtaining her Associate and Bachelor of Science degrees in Web Design and Interactive Media. She is motivated to learn, teach, start conversations around decolonization and reinidgenization, permaculture and to continue doing what she loves, Art.

kanyonkonsulting.com

Gregg Castro [t'rowt'raahl Salinan/rumsien-ramaytush Ohlone], has been involved in preservation of his cultural heritage for over three decades, for both his late Mother’s rumsien Ohlone heritage, and on his late Father’s side, the since ended ‘Salinan Nation Tribal Council’ (serving two terms as Tribal Chair) and currently the non-profit organization, Salinan T’rowt’raahl. Gregg is a member of the Society for California Archaeology (SCA). He serves on SCA’s Native American Programs Committee (NAPC) as Chairperson. Gregg is a Co- Facilitator for the annual California Indian Conference. He is now the Culture Director of the Association of Ramaytush Ohlone; within that role he is on the Advisory Board of the San Francisco American Indian Cultural District. Gregg is a writer and activist within the California indigenous community, on issues regarding cultural preservation, protection, education and traditional practices.

Facebook: gregg.castro.35

Ethically Approaching Baneful Magic

Presenter: Sidney Eileen
Pronouns: Ze/Zir/Zirs

Baneful magic is a very hotly debated subject in witchcraft. Ethics and morality are mentioned a great deal, usually with all parties admitting that ethics are a critical aspect to determining whether
or not baneful magic should be used. However, there is also usually little or no clarification about what that means, or how to personally evaluate the ethics of potential baneful workings. Join me as we weigh the often debatable, cultural, and personal nature of magical morality and ethics alongside some common motivations for doing baneful magic. We will examine common attitudes towards and frameworks for the ethics of baneful magic, being mindful of the strengths and weaknesses of each. After that we will discuss some ways to approach finding and using your personal moral compass, so that you can decide for yourself how you want to approach baneful magic, or if you want to do it at all.

Sidney Eileen is a nonbinary, transgender, asexual, animistic, polytheist witch, and an artist, blogger, writer, and teacher. They acknowledge divinity and unique natures in not just deities, but in all manner of ephemeral and supernatural beings, spirits, living beings, and the souls that embody the physical objects and spaces around us. Their practice is lifelong and of an intuitive nature, seeking fulfillment through mutable asymmetrical balance. Their perspective as a witch and an artist influences everything they do.

Instagram: @sidney_eileen
Facebook: bySidneyEileen
Twitter: @sidney_eileen

sidneyeileen.com

Envisioning Decolonizing Anti-Racist Cultures of the European Diaspora Workshop for Pagans

Presenter: Liam Harwyn and Kanyon CoyoteWoman
Pronouns: Liam -They/Them/He/Him/His,
Kanyon: She/They/Coyote

Based on a set of guidelines written by Kanyon CoyoteWoman Sayers Roods and Liam Harwyn, we recognize that for white supremacy to be eradicated we need alternative cultural moorings for European settler descendants that are explicitly anti-racist and decolonizing. The European diaspora includes European descendants and anyone who has been affected by white supremacist culture.

Kanyon CoyoteWoman Sayers-Roods is an Ohlone & Chumash California Native Woman. She is a creative artist, catalyst of decolonizing conversations, contemp/traditional artist, Native Representative, CEO of Kanyon Konsulting LLC and founder of Indian Canyon Two Spirit Society, advocate of truth in history, “Coyote”, T.E.K educator, and much more.

Liam is a nonbinary, transgender white settler descendant living on stolen Miwok and Pomo land. They are a writer, student of decolonization and a witch.