MAPP Community Meeting: Friday, September 13th

Karalee Bechtol is a Jungian therapist who is fascinated by symbol and finds symbolic meaning in everything she sees. The physical movements people use are especially intriguing. She became interested in ritual when she was adopted into the Pima Indian family by sacred tribal ritual 25 years ago.  Ritual is the process of pairing together a physical act or gesture with words, prayers, or mantras. Emotions get trapped in our bodies as muscle memory, unforgotten like the childhood skill of riding a bike. Ritual movement has the power to heal trapped negative emotion and create new flow and flexibility in our lives.

Melissa Shagonoff is part of the Udzisyu (caribou) and Cui Ui Ticutta (fish-eater) clans from Nay’dini’aa Na Kayax (the log over the river or Chickaloon Village). She grew up on the southern coast of Alaska where she learned the lifeways of her cousins the Dena’ina peoples. Shaginoff is currently the Curator of Contemporary Indigenous Art and Culture at the Anchorage Museum. As both an Artist and Curator her work revolves around identity and representation. Working within institutions Shaginoff sees her work as an act of making space. Space for others, space for change and space to be present. She has participated in the Alaska Native PLACE Collective, the Yehaw Indigenous Artists Collective, the Island Mountain Arts Toni Onley Artist Project and the Sheldon Jackson Museum Artist Residency. Shaginoff has work collected by the Institute of American Indian Arts, the Palmer Museum and the Pratt Museum.

Osi Kaspi is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Registered Dance/Movement Therapist working at SVT Health and Wellness. Born in the US and raised in Israel, Osi has called Homer home since 2012. Osi has a great affinity and enjoys working with indigenous cultures. She lived and worked in the northwest arctic region with the Inupiaq people before coming to Homer. Osi believes that movement is life, the foundation of Body-Mind-Soul. The expressive arts keep us going through challenging times and support us in creating meaning.  We can witness it in the animal kingdom and know its power historically in our ancestors’ survival. The arts are used psychotherapeutically as means of expression and transformation across age groups and conditions (Art, Music, Drama Therapies and more). Dance/movement promotes connection and communication with self, others, and Mother Earth. When we are at home, in body/mind, we can connect from there to others and to the environment. When we move together we can form community and a sense of safety and belonging. Attuning to each other, communicating in natural movements with acceptance and kindness, contribute to the well-being of the community and the individuals within.