The Restoring Collective is a group of respected Indigenous Knowledge Keepers, Elders, Counsellors, Peers, Artists, Organizers and Allies in the Coast Salish lands, collaborating on a vision:

Together, we can stop the violence.

Since 2013, we've been sharing
Indigenous cultural ways that replace
colonization's 'power over'
violence with

Ayataway: Uplift Together,
‍rippling webs of respect, belonging, collective action and joyful harmony, across BC and Turtle Island.

Our Story

We’re building networks of Ayataway Circles to weave Indigenous collective non-harmony and collective non-violence throughout our communities, organizations, and relationships.
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WHO: We engage with Indigenous and Indigenous-facing front-line workers and leaders, organizers, teachers, social creators, artists and counsellors, restorative justice projects, health and wellness teams, crisis intervention, and land-based healers.
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In our Train-the-Trainer, radical inclusion approach, we are all learners, and we are all teachers.
We are all creators, building new worlds by our daily actions, together.

Meet Our Team

Ayataway is our vision,
and calling.

Ayataway is a Salish Hulkamenum verb meaning: Working together, we lift each other and our whole effort up, fill the work with joy, health and happiness, and create better outcomes for all.

It is the essence of collective harmony, and All My Relations belonging and joy.

This name was gifted to us by Squamish Elder Ms. Deliah Nahanney, Ayataway Circle alumni. The concept lives in Indigenous languages across Turtle Island, and there is no English equivalent.

Ayataway Circle Facilitator Program

Become an Ayataway Circle Facilitator, and bring the restorative, healing, creative, joyful collective non-violence practices to your community and organizations

Ayataway Circles Online:
Start October 22, 2027.

Weekly, 2 hr Healing & Learning Circles
with micro-teachings you can do right away, anywhere. Spring, Fall, and Winter Series.

Limitless Workshops

Bridge your beliefs to actions with accessible practices that can transform your collaboration and relationships with Indigenous peoples and communities.

The Keilelum Circle

This focused Circle of Indigenous trans, former and current sex workers in Vancouver's inner city build love, belonging, and collective care through cultural ways.
Custom Circles are available.

Testimonials

You've done it - these skills, these tools, activated and accessible for the community, for the front line.
This is what we've been waiting to see for 40 years.

Patricia Tuckanow
Cree Elder and Artist, Restoring Collective Advisor

For the first time, with this Toolkit, I believe that reconciliation is possible.

Carol Martin
Nisga'a Nation,
Downtown Eastside Women's Centre

Here, in Circle, working with these teachings, I can be my higher self. With this new normal, with practice in the Collective. I can take the teachings into the rest of my community, into my work. And they work.

Carol Martin,
Nisga'a Nation,
Downtown Eastside Women's Centre

I attended RCP workshops that covered Racism, Allyship and Collaboration, and Sharing Power and Privilege... these can be messy and uncomfortable topics and their approach was compassionate, inclusive and respectful. Their expertise and experience made for content that was both inspiring and practical. It was empowering I left with many takeaways, learnings, and action plans. It was outstanding!

Ravi Basi
Manager of Multicultural Services, Surrey Libraries