Wednesday, 10/14/2026

10-11:30 AM - Faculty Training Workshop "Going Beyond the Land Acknowledgement: Braiding Indigenous Knowledge with Western Sciences to Improve Pedagogies" facilitated by Bazile Minogiizhigaabo Panek, Good Sky Guidance Founder/CEO, and Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals Consultant. Room TBC.  This event is reserved for GVSU faculty and staff and has a limited capacity.  RSVP is required. Non-GVSU faculty wishing to attend, should contact Elena Lioubimtseva at [email protected]

12 - 1 PM Climate Expo in Grand River Room, Kirkhof Center

1 - 1:20  PM Welcome  and Opening Remarks 
1:20 - 2 PM  "Indigenous Ways of Knowing and Not Knowing" - Keynote Address by Bazile Minogiizhigaabo Panek, Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe, Good Sky Guidance Founder/CEO, Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals Consultant, and PhD candidate at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities.

2- 3:15  “Setting the Straits on Fire – Using tree-rings to tell the stories of the people and the landscape in the Michigan Straits” interactive presentation by Mary Parr,  Sault Ste Marie Tribe of Chippewa (Ojibwe) Indians, Michigan Natural Features Inventory Joshua Gabriel Cohen, Michigan Natural Features Inventory, Mae Wright, Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, Derek Hartline,  Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, Kurt Kipfmueller, Department of Forestry at Michigan State University.

Abstract: Through the Coastal Program, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service established a cooperative agreement with the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, Michigan Natural Features Inventory, and Michigan State University to prioritize biodiversity stewardship within the Straits Region of Michigan. This project builds upon 3complementary components: 1) Collating knowledge about factors that determine priority for cultural burning; 2) Reconstructing fire histories of culturally significant sites through dendrochronology; and 3) Developing models to that identify the most ecologically and culturally important places and thereby increase the integrity of native ecosystems, improve habitat for native biodiversity, and increase opportunities for cultural expression of Indigenous communities. In this presentation, we will share results about the reconstruction of fire history in the homeland of the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians.

 3:15-3:30 Coffee Break and Transition to Break-Out Sessions

Bazile Minogiizhigaabo Panek

Bazile Minogiizhigaabo Panek comes from the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe where he was born and raised. His culture is an integral part of his life, as he consistently participates in cultural events and ceremonies.

In 2022, Bazile graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Native American Studies from Northern Michigan University. There, he made a significant impact as the President of the Native American Student Association, advocating successfully for the university's official observance of Indigenous Peoples’ Day. In 2023, Bazile founded Good Sky Guidance and is currently the CEO. Good Sky Guidance is a consulting fi rm specializing in the integration of Indigenous Knowledges and culture in environmental initiatives and advising institutions on respectful tribal community engagement. Bazile is also a graduate student at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities studying for a Master’s Degree in Natural Resource Sciences and Management and a PhD in American Indian Studies. His focus is on fire as a land caretaking tool. Bazile also works as the  Fire-Plan Research Coordinator at University of Wisconsin-Platteville for a National Science Foundation-funded project that combines various ways of knowing to help heal fire-dependent lands and cultures in the Great Lakes region. He is a sought-after speaker on topics such as Indigenous environmentalism, Traditional Ecological Knowledge, decolonization, and cultural revitalization. He has spoken all across the United States and internationally.

Bazile's guiding philosophy in life is to "honor my ancestors by becoming an honorable ancestor for future generations."

Thursday, 10/15/2026

9:00 AM - 1 PM

 Global Climate Change Week Webinar Sessions

7:00  - 9:00 PM Poetry Night 2026 with Craig Santos Perez

Dr. Craig Santos Perez is an Indigenous Chamoru from the Pacific Island of Guam. He is the editor of nine anthologies and author of seven books of poetry, most recently Call This Mutiny [Uncollected Poems], and the academic monograph, Navigating Chamoru Poetry: Indigeneity, Aesthetics, and Decolonization, which received the MLA Prize for Best Book in Studies of Native Culture and Literature. His work has been honored with the National Book Award, the American Book Award, a PEN award, and the Poetry Society of America Prize.

Perez will appear at Poetry Night for a poetry reading and conversation, as well as for the 2026 GVSU Climate Change Education Solutions Summit. Perez is a poet, editor, essayist, critic, environmentalist and political activist. An important voice in eco-poetics, he describes his work as a mourning and desire to protect the environment from further desecration and a longing and advocacy for a decolonized, sovereign, and indigenous future. His from Unincorporated Territory series uses poetry to touch on the history and ongoing militarization, colonization, and environmental injustice in Guam and the Pacific, often using documents and maps to expose and critique colonial power. In 2010, the Guam Legislature passed Resolution No. 315-30, recognizing and commending Perez “as an accomplished poet who has been a phenomenal ambassador for our island, eloquently conveying through his words, the beauty and love that is the Chamorro culture.”