Turtle Island Bioregional Congress 11
Type: In Person
Category: Hands-on
Solution Areas: Art & Storytelling
Regions: State Wide Portland Metro Area
September 15–September 19, 202612:00 am – 12:00 am
Cost: General Admission (May 1 til sold out): $575
Youth (Ages 13-18): $200
Child (Ages 5-12): $150
Young Child (Ages 4 & Under): Free
Delegations (groups of 2 or more) are eligible for Early-Bird prices.
Vernonia, OR
97064
About the event
Text below from the event website.
The eleventh Turtle Island Bioregional Congress builds on five decades of bioregional organizing and ten earlier continental congresses in North America (1984–2009). This 2026 gathering rekindles a tradition of learning in place, celebrating our cultures, and coordinating for long-term regeneration. What happens here will set the stage for place-based resilience in the years ahead.
The purpose of the Congress is to amplify the wave of bioregional organizing across the continent for increased community resilience, Indigenous leadership, local self-governance, climate action, ecological regeneration, and a flourishing future for all life.
We’re organizing the Congress to channel rising bioregional momentum into coordinated action.
A new wave of bioregional organizing is on the rise and this gathering will help cohere and channel the flow of this momentum. We will unite ~300 place-based allies with three goals.
1 Grow the Movement
TIBC11 is a space to nurture trust, relationships, and solidarity across and within the bioregional communities of this continent. The Congress will allow ample space for connection, strengthening friendships, and celebrating our life-places together.
2 Build Capacity
Story-sharing by bioregional and Indigenous elders will ensure today’s leaders carry forward wisdom and lessons learned. Workshops and open space for skills shares will allow us to learn key tactics like bioregional finance, earth law, and whatever else you want to teach the group.
3 Align on Strategy
We’ll hold space for organizing at the bioregional and continental level. We’ll gather for group convergences to identify shared priorities and make plans for coordinated action. We’ll emerge with a Bioregional Action Toolkit with strategies to implement in our home bioregions.
At the Congress
Ceremony
We will open and close with ceremony to honor the earth, waters, and original peoples of the land hosting us. Expect moments of grounding and gratitude that root the Congress in relationship with the more-than-human world.
Connection
Gather in bioregional and topic-based circles to meet collaborators, elders, and emerging leaders from across Turtle Island. These spaces are designed for relationship-building, strategy, and kinship that lasts beyond the event.
Convergence
Congress sessions are strategic councils where all participants will have a voice in collective sense-making and decision-making about the future of our movement.
Learning
The Congress is co-created through open space sessions and workshops led by participants. Share tools, stories, and practices that strengthen bioregional organizing and regenerate our communities.
Arts & Celebration
Participatory art, music, and evening festivities weave creativity and joy throughout the gathering, culminating in the All Species Ball. Celebration is part of the work — a living expression of culture, resilience, and love for place.
Village School
A half-day children’s program offers nature-based learning, play, and storytelling for young ones. Families are supported so multiple generations can fully participate in the Congress.
