A Conversation with Lyla June
While you prepare for the Indigenous Sciences, enjoy a free conversation with Dr. Lyla June, the creator and facilitator of the course.
What Is the Weaving Resilience Course About?
Why Energy Systems Matter for Sustainable and Regenerative Development
Dr. Lyla June Johnston is an Indigenous scholar, musician, and community organiser of Diné (Navajo), Tsétsêhéstâhese (Cheyenne), and European lineages. Her doctoral dissertation — Architects of Abundance: Indigenous Regenerative Food and Land Management Systems and the Excavation of Hidden History — spent years assembling the evidence for one of the most overlooked stories in human history.
The finding: pre-colonial landscapes were not wilderness. They were designed.
In this conversation, recorded for the Gaia Education Online Festival, Dr. Lyla June sits down with Erika Zárate to explore the depth, rigour, and living relevance of Indigenous sciences — the regenerative land stewardship practices that Indigenous Nations developed and sustained across thousands of years, and what their recovery means for communities, ecosystems, and future generations today.
This interview is a preparation for the course Indigenous Sciences: Food Systems, Land Stewardship, and Sustainable Worldviews — Lyla June's second course in partnership with Gaia Education, starting September 7th, 2026.
Why Energy Systems Matter for Sustainable and Regenerative Development
Photo: NextGENNA
Inside the Interview
This is not a surface-level conversation. Over the course of their exchange, Lyla June and Erika Zárate move through the personal, the academic, and the deeply practical — tracing a line from Lyla June's own healing journey to the rigorous science behind Indigenous land management, and what both have to teach us about living differently on this earth.
Here are some of the threads they follow:
From extraction to reciprocity Lyla June speaks candidly about the shift that changed her life — from a worldview oriented around getting to one oriented around giving. She offers a metaphor that stays with you: a child who forgot they had a mother, and started seeing her only as a resource to take from. "Think of the spiritual poverty of that child," she says. This is not just personal reflection. It is the operating principle that distinguishes Indigenous land management from industrial exploitation — and the reason one lasted thousands of years while the other is collapsing ecosystems in decades.
The science behind the story Lyla June's doctoral research draws on tree ring data, fossilised charcoal records, archaeological findings, and Indigenous oral histories to document what Indigenous Nations actually built: clam gardens engineered on the ocean floor, fire regimes that sustained vast prairie ecosystems, soil management systems that added topsoil depth over millennia. In this conversation, she brings that research to life — not as dry academia, but as a story of extraordinary human ingenuity rooted in love for the land.
Why this knowledge was hidden
One of the most important threads in the conversation concerns erasure — the deliberate minimisation of Indigenous land management histories in the mainstream record. Lyla June explains how acknowledging the sophistication of Indigenous sciences would have directly contradicted the narratives used to justify colonial land seizure. Understanding this is not just historically important. It changes how we receive this knowledge today.
What it means to be a warrior for the land
Perhaps the most personal thread of the conversation: Lyla June speaks about purpose, lineage, and what it means to show up in service to the living world. She describes her own path — through struggle, healing, and the guidance of elders — toward a clarity about why she is here. "We're only here for a flash," she says. "And hopefully, if we have the guidance and support to do so, we serve and we love and we try to make our delicate, loving mark on things for future generations — not just of humans, but of everyone."
Why Energy Systems Matter for Sustainable and Regenerative Development
About the Indigenous Sciences course
Whether it’s 3500-year-old Clam Gardens in the Pacific Northwest, or regenerative fire practices in American prairies to support bison, or ancient oyster farms in the Chesapeake Bay, there are many examples of abundant bread baskets that fed human beings and the entire ecosystem in reciprocity and balance.
We’ll also sit with fascinating questions: Why have these systems been erased from mainstream history? What does it mean to restore not just land, but decision-making power to original stewards?
Dr. Lyla June has specialized in North American systems, but she has also learned about similar systems in every corner of the Earth, illuminating how humanity's true nature is to be a regenerative force and an instrument of beauty. We will learn from these systems to give us hope for the future.
In her second course in partnership with Gaia Education Lyla June will teach what she learned from her PhD. studies, merging with her knowledge and worldview as an Indigenous Woman.
This is a six-week journey into the science, the stories, and the value systems of Indigenous regenerative practice. These practices have shown us a different side of humanity, civilizations that flourished alongside all life. If we did it before, it means we can do it again.
Course Details
Course format:
Online with Live Sessions
Price:
Options based on what's best for you: £300, £350 or £400.
Limited number of partial scholarship available, apply here by August 31st, 2026
Duration:
6 Weeks, starting September, 7th, 2026
Workload:
Approximately 3-5 hours per week
Structure:
6 Modules - Live sessions, Forums, and Complementary material
Live Sessions
90-minute sessions for each weekly. Mondays at 6 PM UTC
Is the Indigenous Sciences course for You?
Throughout the world, humanity has remembered its true purpose, which is to be a servant of the land rather than a master of the land. Only very recently, Lyla June argues, have human beings forgotten that their true nature and their true purpose on earth is to be an asset, a keystone species, a gift to the land and to all life upon it.
Indigenous food systems and regenerative land management practices are simply a mirror, reflecting to all of humanity our own inherent capacity to be a catalytic force of biodiversity and ecosystem health.
Course Creator
The GEDS Full Course is guided by dedicated professionals with real-world experience across all dimensions of sustainability.
Meet some of our facilitators:
Dr. Lyla June johnston
(aka Lyla June) is an Indigenous musician, author, and community organizer of Diné (Navajo), Tsétsêhéstâhese (Cheyenne) and European lineages. Her multi-genre presentation style has engaged audiences across the globe towards personal, collective, and ecological healing.
Lyla 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.
Guest Speaker
The GEDS Full Course is guided by dedicated professionals with real-world experience across all dimensions of sustainability.
Meet some of our facilitators:
Pat McCabe (Weyakpa Najin Win, Woman Stands Shining)
A Diné (Navajo) mother, grandmother, activist, artist, writer, ceremonial leader, and international speaker. She is a voice for global peace, and her paintings are created as tools for individual, earth and global healing. She draws upon the Indigenous sciences of Thriving Life to reframe questions about sustainability and balance, and she is devoted to supporting the next generations, Women’s Nation and Men’s Nation, in being functional members of the “Hoop of Life” and upholding the honor of being human.
Course Creator
The GEDS Full Course is guided by dedicated professionals with real-world experience across all dimensions of sustainability.
Check out more from Lyla June
Course facilitator
The GEDS Full Course is guided by dedicated professionals with real-world experience across all dimensions of sustainability.
Meet some of our facilitators:
Ad Vlems
Ad Vlems is a pioneering figure in the ecovillage world, having founded Boekel Ecovillage, an inspiring example of sustainable living. He has transformed his life to focus on sustainable living with a positive impact and inspiring others.
A documentary about Boekel Ecovillage, made by the European Commission, has been broadcasted in 155 countries worldwide on television. Ad has participated in Project Resilience, on which the Weaving Resilience course is based.
He is also part of the Keystone Community project which applies one of the tools that you will learn to use in this course, the Resilient Tracker. More than 15 Dutch communities are involved with it.
Journey Outline
Week 1
Water: Indigenous Fisheries
In this session, we will explore many sustainable, Indigenous fisheries throughout the world, which have shown us that we have the capacity to not only harvest fish at a sustainable rate, but to improve the strength and numbers of our marine relatives.
Week 2
Fire: Pyro-Management
In this session, we will see how human beings have applied gentle and regenerative fire to the land, not only in North and South America, but also in Africa, Australia, Europe, Asia, and beyond. We will see how fire is an instrumental part of sustainable land management by facilitating the nutrient cycle processes, creating nutrient dense grasslands in their wake, which provide ample forage for herbivore populations.
Week 3
Earth: Soil Management
In this session, we will explore ways that Indigenous Nations the world over, have not only not depleted their top soils, but have contributed to the depth of topsoil through millennial scale management of regional soil systems.
Week 4
Air: Cultural Software
We will explore in this session how the invisible world of the human mind and the human heart, which contains our cultural softwares and value systems, are just as vital as the invisible air that we breathe. We will see that intention is more important than strategy, and highlight the weightless, invisible, yet highly consequential effect that our worldview has on the world around us.
Week 5
Implementation + Policy
In this class, we will discuss the ways in which communities and governments around the world are integrating Indigenous knowledge systems into their land management practices.
Week 6
Discussion + Closing
In our final session, we will have a large discussion to process all we have learned and to generate next steps in our journey as students of regenerative practice.
Testimonials - these are from the participants from the pilot (read more about the pilot here) (read the details here)
“I have already started applying it in my own understanding and dealings with the climate crisis, but also in my work, I have started to look at it from the lens of resilience.”
“There were useful frameworks that I have now suggested suggested to my community, I'm bringing a 'broader spectrum' thinking to the conversation. Before it was about having our own water supply and better systems for electricity distribution. Now it's about thinking about what will be feasible 100 years ahead, taking inspiration from existing wisdom, and including a bigger picture.”
”This course is delightful in the sense that showed me the transdiscipline involved in understanding resilience from the origin: the individual worldview, up to the collective perspectives. A box full of tools and methods to share and help spread reflections at other scales."
“I enjoyed a lot the spiral structure from the personal to the collective views. I also enjoyed the academic resources provided throughout the topics"
"The Weaving Resilience Course is well-structured, conceptually rich, and grounded in systems thinking and regenerative design. The Resilience Tracker Activity and results of the circle diagram which gave visual snapshot was particularly insightful and that is where it all came together"
”My biggest learning was understanding the interconnectedness of resilience in various systems - emotions, relationships and adaptation. i also came to see how my work in climate psychology can be supported by this process. the frameworks used were new to me and it was refreshing and positive to see the amount of work that has already been done in this area."
Have questions? We’ve got answers.
No previous experience is required. All you need is a passion for community building and collaboration.
The course is designed to fit busy schedules with around 10 hours per week of flexible study. Though highly encouraged, Live Sessions are not mandatory and are recorded to be watched later.
Yes! The course provides hands-on tools you can apply immediately in your community.
An energy systems course explores how energy flows through living, social, and economic systems, and how these flows shape resilience, equity, and long-term sustainability.
No. This course is accessible and experiential, combining systems science with practical tools and real-world applications.
Entirely online with live sessions, group discussions, and self-paced assignments. You’ll have access to experienced facilitators, a supportive learning community, and rich resource materials.
Yes. The course is designed for people working in community development, sustainability, education, social innovation, and regenerative design.
Participants have life-long access to the course material. Though the course has a defined length, participants can go back to the material any time after the course completion.
Have questions? We’ve got answers.
An energy systems course explores how energy flows through living, social, and economic systems, and how these flows shape resilience, equity, and long-term sustainability.
No. This course is accessible and experiential, combining systems science with practical tools and real-world applications.
Entirely online with live sessions, group discussions, and self-paced assignments. You’ll have access to experienced facilitators, a supportive learning community, and rich resource materials.
Yes. The course is designed for people working in community development, sustainability, education, social innovation, and regenerative design.
Participants have life-long access to the course material. Though the course has a defined length, participants can go back to the material any time after the course completion.
An energy systems course explores how energy flows through living, social, and economic systems, and how these flows shape resilience, equity, and long-term sustainability.
No. This course is accessible and experiential, combining systems science with practical tools and real-world applications.
Entirely online with live sessions, group discussions, and self-paced assignments. You’ll have access to experienced facilitators, a supportive learning community, and rich resource materials.
Yes. The course is designed for people working in community development, sustainability, education, social innovation, and regenerative design.
Participants have life-long access to the course material. Though the course has a defined length, participants can go back to the material any time after the course completion.
An energy systems course explores how energy flows through living, social, and economic systems, and how these flows shape resilience, equity, and long-term sustainability.
No. This course is accessible and experiential, combining systems science with practical tools and real-world applications.
Entirely online with live sessions, group discussions, and self-paced assignments. You’ll have access to experienced facilitators, a supportive learning community, and rich resource materials.
Yes. The course is designed for people working in community development, sustainability, education, social innovation, and regenerative design.
Participants have life-long access to the course material. Though the course has a defined length, participants can go back to the material any time after the course completion.
Join us!
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