Land, People & Peace: An Indigenous Peoples & Care for Creation Self-Guided Solo Day or Half-Day Retreat

Every piece of land has a story. 

Sometimes we walk through beautiful places without stopping to consider their history, the people who came before us, or our responsibility to care for the land and its future.

Whether you come for a full day, or a few hours, this personal retreat invites you to learn about the Indigenous peoples of this region, explore your relationship with the land, and reflect on what it means to care for creation.

Here at St. Mary-on-the-Lake, we are on the ancestral homeland of the Duwamish people, whose history, culture, and connection to this land continue today. This retreat invites you to consider what that history means for us today. Why should we care about whose land we live on? What can we learn from Indigenous peoples about our relationship with creation? And how can that understanding influence the way we live and care for the world around us?

During your retreat, you will explore different areas of our peaceful 11-acre grounds, including our Peace Path through the woods, Meditation Garden, Peace Prayer Labyrinth, and dock overlooking Lake Washington. Each location offers an opportunity to learn, observe, and reflect on a different aspect of our connection to the land and its peoples.

While no facilitator is present during your time, you will receive a self-guided retreat booklet with suggested readings, activities, reflection questions, and instructions on where to go and what to do during each part of your retreat. You are welcome to follow it from beginning to end, use only the parts that interest you, or set it aside altogether! It is simply there to help you make the most of your time, if you wish.

Not familiar with the Duwamish or other Coast Salish peoples? Your retreat booklet will introduce you to their history and continuing presence, share resources from Indigenous communities themselves, and invite you to consider how respect for the land and its peoples can become part of everyday life.