Indigenous Food Systems and Human Beings as a Keystone Species with Dr Lyla June

Sept 8, 2026 6-8 pm Berkeley, CA 

In this session, Dr. Lyla June explores how we can redefine our role as a species from an “ecological pest” to an invaluable gift, perfectly designed to care for and catalyze ecosystems health, as so many past civilizations have proven possible.

She illustrates how the hybridization of tools from Indigenous and Western sciences can illuminate a path forward for global food systems, drawing on examples ranging from Clam Gardens to herbivore and tall grass prairie management.

She walks us through the physical practices of land stewardship, and the underlying Indigenous Nations’ values systems of kinship, humility, reciprocity, regeneration, and reverence, kinship with life, and being a good ancestor. 

Attendees will learn that we must cultivate these elements of our inner landscapes

strongly before we can ever hope to properly care for our outer landscapes. She believes this is the secret of caring for our collective future. 

About Lyla June 

Dr. Lyla June Johnston (aka Lyla June) is an Indigenous musician, author, and community organizer of Diné (Navajo), Tsétsêhéstâhese (Cheyenne), and European lineages. She specializes in the study of ancient sustainable food systems, drawing lessons from these practices and principles that can be applied to any global system today. Her multi-genre presentation style has engaged audiences across the globe towards personal, collective, and ecological healing. She blends her study of Human Ecology at Stanford, graduate work in Indigenous Pedagogy, and the traditional worldview she grew up with to inform her music, perspectives, and solutions. Her doctoral research focused on the ways in which pre-colonial Indigenous Nations shaped large regions of Turtle Island (aka the Americas) to produce abundant food systems for humans and non-humans.

Ticket Options

A portion of your program fee goes to Native American Rights Fund.  

Adults

$45 Pay it Forward (I'd like to support someone else to come)

$35  Standard Ticket

$20 Community Supported (these are supported by Pay it Forward tickets) 

Teens & Kids

$15 per teen (age 13 - 17, must be accompanied by an adult)

$15 per child (recommended for age 12 and up, but you know your child best)

Accessibility

Our space is wheelchair accessible