Mission Statement

In The Old Way Institute is an organization committed to preserving cultural memory and rekindling the human relationship with Earth. Through story, conversation, and careful listening, we amplify Indigenous voices and explore the healing wisdom found in ancestral traditions, wilderness, and the cycles of nature.

We live in a time when languages are vanishing, elders are passing, and our connection to the land grows increasingly fragile. In response, with permission, we gather and share teachings through digital storytelling platforms that serve as a modern-day hearth. Our purpose is not to speak for Indigenous communities, but to provide space where traditional knowledge can be heard, remembered, and honored for generations to come.

Our Media Platform: In The Old Way Media

In The Old Way Media is the Institute's storytelling arm, the hearth where all our offerings, podcasts, writings, and reflections gather. Through digital storytelling, we present the old ways in a form accessible to the modern world.

• The In The Old Way Podcast: This podcast amplifies Indigenous voices, focusing on Traditional Knowledge (TK), spiritual teachings*, and tribal lifeways. It is a living archive for endangered stories, ceremonies, and cultural perspectives. Rooted in the prophecy of the Return of the White Buffalo Calf and the awakening of the Seventh Generation, we seek to preserve what is sacred and inspire a cultural resurgence led by this generation and the next.

• Wild Visions Podcast: A podcast dedicated to the wilderness as teacher, mirror, and medicine. As a pathway to deeper human awareness, we explore the wild landscape, its skills, folklore, history, and myth. This is where bushcraft meets inner tracking, and ancestral memory comes alive through the land. Wild Visions is for those seeking transformation through connection with the untamed world.

Our Blogs

Our blog platform extends the teachings of the podcasts and deepens our mission through reflective writing, seasonal teachings, and cultural storytelling.

• In The Old Way – Focused on ethnobotany and the traditional use of plants for food, medicine, and ceremony.

• Wild Visions – Essays, stories, and reflections on the healing power of wilderness and the human-nature relationship.

Core Values

• Preservation Through Story: We record, honor, and share ancestral teachings and oral traditions. This work is not entertainment; it is ceremony, survival, and legacy.

• Listening Before Speaking: We prioritize deep listening to elders, the land, and ancestral stories before taking any action. We move slowly and with respect, only sharing what has been given with permission.

• Earth-Centered Connection: All life is interconnected. We center the land as teacher, relative, and guide, encouraging a return to respectful and reciprocal ways of being.

• Cultural Integrity: We move slowly, with respect. We only share what is given to be shared. We uplift Indigenous voices, center source communities, and avoid distortion or appropriation.

• Holistic Renewal: We believe that healing is not only individual but communal, cultural, and ecological. Our work supports the renewal of mind, body, spirit, and planet.

• Seventh Generation Responsibility: We act on behalf of those yet to come. Inspired by Indigenous prophecy, we aim to be good ancestors by protecting the knowledge, land, and traditions that will nourish future generations.

Vision Statement

At In The Old Way Institute, we envision a future in which Traditional Knowledge (TK), earth-based practices, and ancestral stories are honored, protected, and shared with integrity.

We see a world where digital platforms can serve as fires around which stories are passed, not for entertainment, but for remembrance, healing, and connection. Through our podcasts and written work, we offer a modern gathering space where cultural teachings can survive and individuals can reawaken their relationship with the wild, the sacred, and the ancestral.

*A Note on Earth-Based Spirituality

At the heart of Earth-based (Indigenous) spirituality is direct experience. Knowledge is not secondhand; it’s lived, felt, and earned. Personal sovereignty is respected and upheld. One does not form opinions or beliefs based on the hearsay or teachings of others alone. Instead, wisdom comes through personal immersion and participation.

Rather than being shaped by the crowd or swayed by popular opinion, Indigenous ways encourage deep listening, sincere curiosity, and inner discernment. Truth must be touched to be known. In many Native traditions, if you haven't lived an experience yourself, you're not expected, or even permitted, to speak on it. Without firsthand knowledge, there's no ground to stand on.

I recall sitting in a Sundance council over a decade ago when a young dancer began to speak on a matter he hadn't lived. An elder, with patience and firmness, reminded him that perspective without experience is hollow. “Don’t speak it until you’ve lived it,” he said. Until then, your words carry no weight; they lack integrity, clarity, and truth. In this way, Indigenous teachings invite each of us to walk our talk, not just echo the voices of others.

Disclaimer

In The Old Way Institute is not affiliated with any tribal government or nation. While we may share Traditional Knowledge, stories, or plant knowledge, we do so only with permission, proper attribution, and cultural context. Our work does not speak on behalf of any Indigenous community. We serve as stewards of what has been entrusted to us and approach all content with humility, reverence, and a commitment to cultural integrity.

We acknowledge that not all teachings are meant to be shared publicly. We avoid sacred, ceremonial, or private knowledge unless explicitly offered for educational and preservation purposes.