Today we attended the Ivy Native Council Fall Summit, which featured presentations and workshops on the theme of Expansion, Intervention, Refusal: Representing Indigeneity through Art in New York City.

I left at lunch time due to fatigue, but prior to that I got to chat with some lovely Indigenous students from all over the US about our experiences and our homes.

One student from Arizona showed me pictures of her home town—the landscape was gorgeous. The colours reminded me of Western Australia, but the topography was completely different. She showed me a picture of a cedar tree and the trunk looked very much like that of a bottlebrush, though the structure of the branches and leaves was very different.

I napped in the afternoon, and then a group of us went out to a Japanese restaurant a couple of blocks away for dinner. The food was delicious and made me miss all the amazing little Japanese places in Perth. I’m keen for Hakata Gensuke ramen when I get home!

Tomorrow morning we’re taking a short flight to Boston. It looks like it’ll be a busy week at Harvard but I’m hoping to cancel or reschedule a couple of my meetings so I don’t burn out.

I’m very glad I made it to Central Park yesterday. It’s actually made it easier to notice and appreciate what little greenery is scattered around the city.

Thanks, New York, and see you again.

The opening presentation at the Ivy Native Council Fall Summit