Engaging in Reparations
Shifting energetic patterning for Mama Earth
Grandmother Cherry Sanctuary is located on traditional Abenaki homeland—land that was colonized by white European ancestors during physical and spiritual genocide of indigenous people of this land. EmpowR land stewards are of white European ancestry and are intentional about acknowledging and speaking this truth and our own practice around decolonizing our hearts and minds. This truth is especially alive in how we care for the land and are exploring how to shift from privatized property ownership values to a communal care model of reciprocity and healing with the land.
A commitment to reparations is offered by engaging in the following practices and weaving these practices into EmpowR Transformation offerings:
- Regenerating the land from colonized land management practices by healing the soil, protecting the water, and supporting biodiversity by replanting native plants and medicines.
- Unlearning and relearning from indigenous voices, practicing ancestral healing work, and being students of our own Pagan roots.
- Listening carefully to the energy of the land to help guide how the sanctuary is cared for.
- Centering equity and belonging in EmpowR offerings and being committed to our mission and accountability to transformative justice and emergent strategy.
- Holding space for people to listen and re-awaken their sacred relationship with the Earth, and how that may inform creating the cultural conditions for a just and liberated world.
- Building capacity for community-supported herbalism and Earth-based medicine offerings that can support more people in need as the old systems continue to fail.
- Exploring how the sanctuary can be a part of cultural easement to allow medicinal plant access to indigenous people.
- Cultivating a community to co-create the future of the sanctuary for expanded respite, retreat, plant medicine, and individual and communal healing.
Acknowledgement of the Work We Move Forward
Deep gratitude and reverence to many visionary culture builders, change makers, activists, and thought leaders who inform our work. As a part of a movement building for transformative justice and collective liberation, we are committed to learning from and moving the work forward of many teachers, including:
adrienne maree brown, Resmaa Menakem, Sherri Mitchell (She Who Brings the Light), Layla F Saad, Tema Okun, Kimberle Crenshaw, Grace Lee Boggs, Norma Wong, Jean Houston, Joanna Macy, Pat McCabe (Woman Stands Shining), Tara Brach, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Kimberly Latrice Jones, Heather McGhee, Sonya Renee Taylor…
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