Our Community Development Assistant, Ivy Major, attended the 2026 IAN Gathering hosted by the Squaxin Island Tribe at the Little Creek Casino. She spent three days attending panels, discussions, and field visits to learn more about Indigenous stewardship techniques and philosophies from across the continent. DERT is committed to promoting co-management of the land with its original stewards, as their wealth of expert knowledge based on thousands of years of study and practice has been historically disregarded by our colonial governments.

DERT recently had the opportunity to attend a “Dismantling Systemic Racism in Education” presentation at the Washington Center for the Performing Arts, hosted by the Hawk Foundation, with keynote speaker Dr. Joy DeGruy. Dr. DeGruy is a deeply respected researcher and educator whose work explores the long-term impacts of historical trauma and the pathways toward healing and change. The evening was thought-provoking and emotionally impactful. It offered a powerful reminder of how history continues to shape present-day systems and experiences, and showcased a critical truth: when we downplay, or refuse to confront, the histories that have shaped our present, we limit our ability to move toward meaningful healing.

On Wednesday January 21^st, I had the pleasure of attending Evergreen’s Center Climate Action and Sustainability’s Climate Lecture Series, “Gaming for Change: The Role and Power of Games in Education and Climate Justice.” There are plenty of people that hear gaming and their minds go to the stereotype of the day, whether it be first-person shooters or the ever-popular Fortnite. Growing up in the tech boom that brought us from 8-bit games to 4k hyper-realism, the most common association was “waste of time.”