OLive, Cedar, & Sage: Indigenous Education Collective
Formerly, 615 for Palestine
About OLIVE, cEDAR, & sAGE
Our mission
Olive, Cedar, & Sage: Indigenous Education Collective (formerly 615 for Palestine) is a Palestinian initiative dedicated to preserving Palestinian history, culture, and relationship to the land through community-based education and public awareness. The organization understands indigeneity as a living relationship between people and place, one rooted in care, protection, and reciprocity. Through workshops, exhibitions, and educational programming, it seeks to foster awareness, understanding, and solidarity, using education as a tool for Indigenous justice, cultural preservation, and liberation.
WHY OLIVE, CEDAR, & SAGE?
OLIVE
For Palestinians, the olive tree is far more than a crop; it is a living ancestor. Generations of families have tended the same groves for centuries, passing down not only trees but stories, songs, and practices of care. The olive harvest, celebrated each autumn, is a season of reunion and gratitude. Communities gather to handpick fruit, press oil, and give thanks to the land that sustains them. This annual tradition embodies stewardship: a reciprocal relationship in which people nurture the tree as it, in turn, nurtures them. Even amid conflict and displacement, Palestinians remain devoted to their olive trees, returning to harvest them under threat and replanting them when uprooted. The olive thus stands as a symbol of endurance, memory, and belonging. The olive tree is a testament to a people who refuse to be severed from their land.
CEDAR
The cedar tree has long symbolized strength, protection, and continuity. In Lebanon, the “Cedars of God,” are among the oldest living forests in the world and hold an important place in history, scripture, song, and national identity.
Across North America, the cedar also carries deep significance for many Indigenous nations, where it is used in ceremony for purification and healing, clothing, baskets, and more. The cedar is considered on of the four sacred medicines in Indigenous practice. The red cedar tree is sometimes called the “Tree of Life,” a title indicative of its extensive use in Indigenous life.
In Tennessee, the home state of our organization, resides Cedars of Lebanon State Park, which takes its name from the ancient forests of Lebanon.
SAGE
Sage is a native herb that grows across the hills of Palestine and has long been recognized for its restorative qualities. Sage tea, or shy bil maryammiyya, is used to soothe pain, calm the body, and strengthen the immune system. Brewed as tea, sage carries layers of meaning as both a medicine and a gesture of care. In Palestinian homes, serving sage tea is an act of hospitality and connection, offered to family, guests, and neighbors during cold seasons or times of gathering. It affirms continuity and presence even in periods of hardship. In this way, sage has become both a comfort and a quiet form of resistance, reflecting how everyday rituals preserve culture and sustain relationship to the land.
Across Indigenous communities in North America, sage holds equally profound significance. It is used ceremonially to purify, protect, and restore balance, and is also, alongside the cedar, considered one of the four sacred medicines. Whether burned in prayer or brewed for healing, sage embodies respect for the earth and recognition of its power to sustain life. Across both lands, sage connects the physical and the spiritual, reminding us that healing begins through relationship with the land, with one another, and with the knowledge passed down through generations.
current exhibits
A Walk Through Palestine
Genocide in Palestine: A Medical Perspective
Living History: We Were, We Are
Living History: We Were, We Are