Outside the Circle:
A Creative Exploration
of Grief and Community

A Summer Happening
May 7-9, 2025

Register Now

Featuring:

William Linthicum-Blackhorse, D.M.A.: Musician and composer

Will Daddario, Ph.D.: Mental health counselor and performance philosopher

Joanne Zerdy, Ph.D.: Grief worker and herbalist

What does it mean to you and to us all to grieve?

The circle is essential to and emblematic of community and connection across many Native American communities. Taking the circle as an organizing principle, we invite you to join us in exploring what it means to grieve individually and collectively, and how individuals and communities are shaped and reshaped through grief. 

Where does grief live or move within the physical and social body?

Through drumming, small-group conversations, herbal tea-drinking, and embodied workshops, our invited guests will invite participants to reflect upon, discuss and embody the multifaceted dimensions of grief and grieving. 

What does grief make, activate or manifest? 

We ask participants to bring their unique lived experiences and distinct creative practices to “Outside the Circle,” and welcome you to take part in the full event, or to come and go as you are able. An option for remote/online participation will be available on May 9.

To join us for some or all of the three days of “Outside the Circle,” please register here. 

Schedule

Wednesday, May 7

8:30-9:30 a.m.: The First Circle, LAAH Courtyard

• 8:30-9 a.m.: Traditional Sunrise Greeting — The First Circle
• 9-9:30 a.m.: Introduction and Welcome

12:30-2 p.m.: Presentations, LAAH Black Box Theater

• 12:30-1 p.m.: Channeling Grief Into a Work of Musical Art (Dr. Blackhorse)
• 1-1:30 p.m.: Grief and Laughter (Dr. Daddario)
• 1:30-2 p.m.: Finlay’s Garden: Cultivating Individual and Collective Grief (Dr. Zerdy)

2:30-4:30 p.m.: Tea and Workshops, LAAH 120

• 2:30-3:30 p.m.: Herbal Tea Drinking and Conversation Circle
• 3:30-4:30 p.m.: Learning Grieving

6 p.m.: Dinner, LAAH 120

Thursday, May 8

8:30-9 a.m.: The Great Circle, LAAH Courtyard

• 8:30-9 a.m.: Traditional Sunrise Greeting — The Great Circle 

9-11 a.m.: Living Outside of the Circle, LAAH Building

• Individual Office Hours: The Art of Composing; Grieving in Native America; LGBT+ Issues; Embracing and Overcoming Controversy; Multicultural Liberty (Dr. Blackhorse)
• Grief Wayfinding: Walks and Wanders (Dr. Daddario and Dr. Zerdy)

2-4:30 p.m.: Tea and Workshops, LAAH Building, rooms TBD

• 2-3 p.m.: Herbal Tea Drinking and Conversation Circle 
• 3-4:30 p.m.: Microlecture: “The Out- and the Other Side”

6 p.m.: Dinner, LAAH 120

Friday, May 9

8:30-9:30 a.m.: The Great Circle, LAAH Courtyard and livestreamed*

• 8:30-9 a.m.: Traditional Sunrise Greeting — The Last Circle 
• 9-9:30 a.m.: Inside the Circle: To Return or Join Anew 

9:30-11 a.m.: Presentations, LAAH Black Box Theater and livestreamed*

• 9:30-10 a.m.: PURE ART — Composing, Programming and Performing Cultural Art (Dr. Blackhorse)
• 10-10:30 a.m.: Ficto-Criticism: Transmute Objects to Ancestors (Dr. Daddario)
• 10:30-11 a.m.: Grief Ecotones Workshop (Dr. Zerdy)

2-4:30 p.m.: Tea and Workshops, LAAH 120 and by Zoom*

• 2-3 p.m.: Herbal Tea Drinking and Conversation Circle 
• 3-4:30 p.m.: Seeds of Grief Improvisational Gardening 

*  To participate remotely in “Outside the Circle” on May 9, please register via PSi Constellate 2025.