Origins Background

Background and Biographies

Overview of the Project
Human beings are designed with amazing capability and potential. When given the right environment, encouragement and support, we can do the most amazing things with our bodies, our minds, our talents, and through the array of expressive powers we possess. The design of the human being is at the heart of this potential. When we work in accordance with our design, we get our best results: a rich, meaningful life filled with joy, health and vitality.

The sad truth about today’s world is that many people–especially young people– wish they could have their life dreams and potentials shine, but they remain unfulfilled. Their numbers are increasing alarmingly. We believe, based on 30+ years of experience studying indigenous cultures, that intact, nature-connected cultures can help us identify and attune ourselves to our original design.  By doing so, we can repair the damage that our disconnected society is causing to us as individuals, communities, and members of ecosystems.

The Origins Project immerses people in indigenous cultures so they can experience, first hand, the qualities of the individuals and communities in those cultures. Though we participate fully in the immersion, we maintain a critical eye in order to tease out best practices from these cultures that can be imported into our modern world to effect lasting, positive change. This is our mission: find the best ways to connect ourselves with our own inner nature and design, and to therefore have the capacity to truly connect with others in our families, communities and world. We examine the origins of culture, of healing, of connection and of mentoring. We look deeply into the past of our personal ancestral lineages, ask probing questions, and watch with searching eyes for new (old) truths to reveal themselves.

We at the 8 Shields Institute work world-wide to help restore people’s connection with nature, themselves, and one another. We find best practices for bringing about health and happiness in supportive community systems. We study the role and impact of healthy, intact cultures, and we explore the role of individuals to serve in the renewal and repair of the cultural systems in our lives, and the lives of our children.

Nicole Apelian:

Nicole Apelian is a researcher, expeditionary leader, safari guide, Southern Africa specialist, mother, scientist, and educator. Nicole’s experience abroad, specifically her research and guiding, has been an intensive conversation with the land and the people she visits. She is especially interested in the ways Indigenous cultures identify themselves in the modern world and also the idea of restorative ecotourism. Nicole is currently studying and learning from the Nharo Bushmen in the Kalahari Desert in Botswana, and is working with them on an ethnobotanical field guide. She is one of the primary guides for her company Eco Tours International, and specializes in restorative tracking and wildlife safaris in Southern Africa.

Nicole received a BS in Biology from McGill University in Canada and a Masters of Science in Biology from the University of Oregon in 1993, and is due to complete her PhD in 2013. Nicole has been an educator for many years and is currently a part-time instructor at Prescott College.  She has taught biology at a number of different high schools, community colleges, and universities and received teacher of the year two-years running when she taught high school biology. As an adult educator for the Audubon Society of Portland, leading Eco Tours International expeditions and working at other leading conservation education programs, Nicole is recognized as bringing a vibrant energy and passion into her work.

Nicole’s experience in scientific research is distinguished. She was a research associate at the Okavango Lion Research Project, a 10-year study focused on ecology, reproduction, disease and genetics of these large cats. Through key grants she has also done marine research on the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill in Alaska, studied toxic diatoms and phytoplankton populations, and done studies on genetic diversity.

She has worked as a game warden for the Department of Wildlife and National Parks and the US Peace Corps in Botswana, as a shellfish observer for the Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game, and other diverse career paths in the field of biology, education and ecology.

Her extensive background in biology and real-world experience with global issues adds an unparalleled legitimacy to how she works with workshop and safari participants. Currently Nicole is working on her Doctorate in Sustainability Education at Prescott College. Her research topic is titled: “How a Community of Nharo Bushmen Designed Designed a System of Restorative Ecotourism”. Through her past and on-going experiences Nicole is always working on becoming a more effective leader in the field of transformative nature education and in ecotourism.

Visit Nicole at Eco Tours International

Jon Young:

Jon’s experience in working with indigenous elders across the world is vital to our collaboration with the San Bushmen. This trip is both a cultural and a wildlife exploration, a place to learn and practice the art of tracking with some of the best in the world.

Jon Young is a master tracker, naturalist mentor, author, as well as the founder of the 8 Shields Institute. Mentored himself in the age-old teachings of peacemaking and deep nature connection, Jon has made it his life’s work to gather the cultural elements that make up the blueprint for human health and survival and share them with audiences around the world. Jon’s message has sparked a movement dedicated to awakening people to the importance of re-connecting to nature, themselves and one another. In a time when so few people are stepping outside, the work of Jon Young and the 8 Shields Institute is drawing people back into nature and reigniting hope and their inner origins as the antidote to the challenges of global disconnect.

Learn More about Jon Young, and his tracking roots.