Blog Posts

Finding Our Long-Lost Ancestral Traditions

9/26/2018

PEGI EYERS

Transcript of my presentation at the conference Shatitsirotha Boodiwewin/ Re-Igniting the Sacred Power of Creation: Essential Knowledges for Transformative Action hosted by Trent University, Indigenous Environmental Studies and Sciences, April 22-24, 2016. Such an amazing time!

My name is Pegi Eyers, and I am the author of the award-winning book Ancient Spirit Rising: Reclaiming Your Roots & Restoring Earth Community. I live here in the Peterborough area - Nojogiwanong in the language of the Michi Saagiig Nisnaabeg, who are the original Earthkeepers of this land. As I wrote my book I also went on a personal learning journey, and I would like to invite you to travel with me through the many themes in Ancient Spirit Rising, and how I discovered the links between them.

I have been blessed with a wide range of learning experiences and close proximity to First Nations friends and community over the years, and the starting point for my book began right here at Trent University. At an Elders Gathering in 2010, I heard revered teacher and traditional Midewiwin leader James Dumont say that, "Everyone needs to get back to their own Indigenous Knowledge.” I was stunned by this remark, and how he was referencing two important points at the same time. First, he was referring to the harm that is being done by white folks who take on the spiritual and cultural property of First Nations and assume native identities, and secondly, he was giving us a great blessing by implying that Indigenous Knowledge IS the collective birthright of all humanity, and that we all have original Indigenous Knowledge (or the acronym IK). And what resonated with me on a deep level in James Dumont’s monumental directive was the unspoken understanding, and the paradox perhaps, that reclaiming earth-connected cultures and recovering tribal ways will be the best way forward for all of us, in times of massive change.

Yet just where was our IK located as non-native people, and how did those of us descended from the Settler Society lose our ancestral connections in the first place? Like a long-lost trail gone cold, this inquiry is what drove my research and writing toward the completion of Ancient Spirit Rising. What I found out is that in our rush to colonize the Americas, we gave up our bonds to our places of ethnic origin, and our indigeneity as connected to those lands. Consciously or not, with the founding of the Americas, we sacrificed whatever spiritual ecology and ancestral knowledge we still held from our homelands, and the result today is a serious lack of interest in having any ethnocultural identity whatsoever, or even why that would be important. Belonging to a giant nation-state like “Canada” or the “USA” is not an “ethnicity” or even a “culture” in the strictest sense of the word, unless you count patriotism or capitalism as your ideals, which in my view are questionable loyalties. Finding our long-lost ancestral tradition is a huge challenge, but this is exactly what is being asked of us by James Dumont and countless other First Nations academics, thought leaders, activists and visionaries.

Now as a deep thinker and spiritual person I had spent many years observing and sometimes even participating in the world of New Age Spirituality, and even though I was put-off by the white folks pretending to be “shamans” or Indigenous, I did not fully understand at the time how “Native Spirituality” had been normalized as just another genre or niche modality in our endless array of spiritual choices. But thanks to a great deal of “tough love” from my strong First Nations teachers, plus my own research on cultural appropriation, I soon learned the truth about this modern phenomena.

Of course, the first objection social justice activists hear over and over (mostly from people who don’t want to give up “Native Spirituality” because it is just so much fun) is that intercultural sharing is normal and has always happened throughout time. Yet the truth is, that healthy cultural exchange can only take place between societies that are on equal footing, without one dominating or oppressing the other, and that the sharing is done in a respectful way under the direction of the sharer. This is certainly not the case here in the Americas, as the oppressor/oppressed and colonizer/colonized dynamic has been the driver for building Empire, and guess which side of that relationship we are on as white people? And just because one is spiritual, or Pagan, or New Age, or feminist, or neoliberal, or whatever, does not give that person a “pass card” from being a member of the dominant white society.

As an extension of the racism we hold and our white privilege and power, cultural appropriation goes on without the permission of First Nations, and is just another extension of the same colonial agenda, which moves first to seize the land, then the resources, and finally, elements of the Indigenous cultural identity that have already been subjected to genocide. More than just the lifting of ideas, practices or physical objects, cultural appropriation and identity theft dominates the way oppressed groups represent themselves to the world. This interference, stereotyping and loss of basic human dignity violates fundamental human rights, and in response to the problem, First Nations worldwide have come together to formulate the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, a document that protects spiritual property and re-instates much-needed cultural boundaries.

Learning how the widespread and seemingly innocent New Age “Native Spirituality” genre was such a serious issue, I went on to explore in my book the full range of questionable and delusional beliefs, in what I have come to call "New Age Capitalism." After that highly volatile chapter I then connect the dots by examining Settler-Colonialism, the origins of racism, the erroneous science of “racial theory,” white privilege, false nationalist narratives, and the need for ethics and a moral code in all walks of life.

Concluding with a section on giving back to First Nations instead of take-take-take, I outline how we can engage in Allyship, solidarity and social justice work, and I even throw in a poem or two for good measure! The 16 chapters that comprise the first part of the book are hard going - challenging many of the assumptions we hold and shaking up worldviews - but in contrast, Part Two of Ancient Spirit Rising I assure you is very uplifting and empowering.

The good news is that the call to reclaim our own IK can be reframed by the many new exciting movements already happening in Rewilding, Primitivism, Deep Ecology, Animism, Paganism, Druidry, Ecopsychology and Celtic Reconstructionism, and our cultural recovery is well underway. There has never been a time before in human history when DNA testing, genealogy, historical records, myth and archaeology have been so readily available, and if somewhat challenging, reclaiming our own ancestral knowledge is not all that difficult. Yet the process of re-indigenization and becoming connected to place must also mean rejecting Empire and the dictatorship of the western paradigm, with its unsustainable economic system, religious dominance, white supremacy, intersectional oppressions, harmful technology and all the philosophies that are killing the planet.

By unsettling the settlers, and declaring ourselves as earth-connected peoples once again, we are reaffirming a return to ourselves, to a respect for all life, to earth-connected culture, and to honoring the Earth in all we think, say and do. What could be more important?

To truly walk the talk of the new paradigm will mean spending a lot more time in nature than we already are, to see the world again as an interconnected part of the whole, and to experience creation as our Ancestors once did. In Ancient Spirit Rising I set out in clear and detailed charts the aspects of Western Mind that we may want to revise or discard, and elements of Indigenous Mind that we may want to encourage or embrace on our healing journey. If reclaiming our own ancestral wisdom traditions just don’t make any sense to us whatsover, there are other movements to adopt such as earthing, permaculture, post-peak living or the Transition Town movement that can reconnect us to community, land and sustainable values. And ultimately, we cannot do the work of ethnocultural recovery without working as Allies for First Nations in social justice at the same time, and moving together toward retribution, reconciliation and hopefully in the end, peaceful co-existence.

In closing I would like to say that I am not a self-proclaimed “spokesperson” for First Nations community. I am simply passing on information and data that I have gathered over time, and you can do the exact same thing should you feel the urgency of this important knowledge. And in accordance with what First Nations are telling us, it is up to those of us in the Settler Society to inform and educate our fellow white citizens on the colonialism, racism, genocide, oppression, assimilation and cultural appropriation that has decimated Indigenous societies in the Americas since Columbus made landfall, and that is exactly what I am doing. First Nations are experts on their survivance and resistance to Empire, yet it is time for Settlers to also take up the struggle. It is the members of the dominant society that need to reverse racism, and finally, to take responsibility to clean up the mess created by the white supremacist founding of Empire in the Americas.

Pegi Eyers is the author of Ancient Spirit Rising: Reclaiming Your Roots & Restoring Earth Community, an award-winning book that explores strategies for neurodecolonization, social justice, ethnocultural identity, building land-emergent community & resilience in times of massive change.

Dan Longboat/Roronhiakewen/He Clears the Sky (Haudenosaunee),
Event Visionary, with Team (R) and Pegi Eyers (L)

Keynote by Vandana Shiva

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Our Struggles Are Not the Same

7/12/2018

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White Feminists in Solidarity with Indigenous Women

PEGI EYERS

DEAR WHITE WOMEN ~
As members of the dominant European society who created racial, gender and class inequality in the Americas in the first place, many of us have reached the conclusion that to take responsibility for our unearned social power means demanding full human rights for ALL women. As we take on social justice work to right the wrongs of history, and act in solidarity with Indigenous women who have been oppressed by Empire, we enter a liminal zone. The interface between oppressor and oppressed is a shifting ground of assumptions, protocol and intercultural sharing - a borderland of hearts and minds offering anger, rebuke, confusion, kindness and sorrow. And at the same time that we are reclaiming earth-based paths that value reciprocity with all life, we must ensure that our work as allies does not replicate colonialism, or impact Indigenous women in the Americas with more negativity, such as white perspectivism, knowledge domination and cultural theft.

Once lost in the hegemonic agenda of Empire, we are finally waking up in unprecedented numbers from the patriarchal mass delusion that oppresses women, the Earth and tribal peoples that live in connection to Her. It has taken us centuries to finally rebel against the horrors and inequalities of white male supremacy (!) and our liberation is well underway. White feminists, libfems and radfems are working hard within a vast coalition, to shift our society to the egalitarian values that embody cooperation and inclusion, instead of hierarchy and control. There is evidence everywhere of a collective movement toward a paradigm offering personal and planetary healing, community cohesiveness, earth-connected sustainability, biophilia and peaceful co-existence. We are also being asked at this monumental time to choose between collaborating with, or resisting racial injustice.

For white women, our unchecked privilege and unexamined racism sabotages our potential to work toward common causes, and perpetuates divisions. Of major concern is how feminist ideology has failed to acknowledge the historic difference between white identity and Indigenous women, and the incorrect assumption that native and non-native women are working through the same liberation process. Yet our oppressions are not interchangeable, as white women seek to reject or overthrow the patriarchy, while Indigenous women are working toward the recovery of their own traditional culture, sovereignty and self-determination. It does not seem to occur to white feminists that the struggle in the dominant society for women’s rights has no equivalent in Indigenous resistance efforts that seek decolonization. “There is a difference between fighting for ‘rights’ and fighting against ending occupation, imperialism, and femicide. When we seek ‘rights,’ we are asking to be integrated into a system that aims to destroy our entire existence.” [1]

Our trajectories are not the same, but it is true that ALL women have been oppressed by the hetero-patriarchy since European landfall in the Americas. Our experiences could not be more different, and yet for countless years all of our voices were denied, suppressed, criminalized, and unwelcome at the table. Indigenous women have been excluded, spoken over and ignored, and during the entire Christian era in Europe (and later in the colonies) white women were expected to be silent, obedient and invisible. The legend is passed down that when learning of the status of white women at the time of first contact, First Nations were so shocked they said, "What kind of demented people would marginalize, enslave and denounce their own women?"

To make things even more complicated, patriarchal oppression did not exist in indigenous societies, and is a colonial overlay, the racist agenda being to devalue both genders and set up false hierarchies where none existed before. Traditional indigenous societies were egalitarian and based on the model of the consensus circle, with the emphasis being on gender harmony rather than gender equality. “The Indigenous Circle of Life philosophy more appropriately embodies Aboriginal women’s conceptions of human nature, their political philosophy and their strategy for social change and liberation.” [2]

In our own era, there are other major differences in perception. Not surprisingly, many Indigenous women deny the white-directed universal notion of a "Global Sisterhood" (Newsflash!) and reject the principles of modern feminism by situating it as a movement directed entirely by white privilege. Indigenous women may also object to the widely-circulated idea that we share identity or experience simply by virtue of being women, and possessing the same nurturing and reproductive female anatomy. For white women, we continue to cause offense by ignoring the legacy of colonialism (which is our own history), and discounting First Nations counter-narratives as equal to our own. Many white feminists also have a delusional tendency to insist on a "post-racial automatic harmony" in the face of ongoing systemic racism and institutionalized white supremacy. In fact, there is NO level playing field in our shared spaces, and to expect otherwise is to dismiss Indigenous identity and impose yet another form of assimilation.

“There is a reductionism inherent in liberalist conceptions of unity, and from the Aboriginal perspective, the best laid plans for native/non-native partnership may always have the feel of homogenization.”[3] We need to be aware that in all sectors of culture and society - including movements and subcultures like Feminism, Paganism, Wicca, Goddess Spirituality, Cultural Reconstruction, Rewilding, Permaculture, Transformational and New Age - neo-liberalism claims a universalist, humanist approach while having an effect on WOC that is the exact opposite.

Unpacking our colonial history as white women ("Herstory") allows us to identify our blind spots and omissions. In the 1450–1700 genocide of the Burning Times (otherwise known as the “Women’s Holocaust”), we lost our European wise women, keepers of the Old Ways, ,and “waeccan” healers. Forced to comply with the total supremacy of a “man’s world,” we were the passive and suffering victims of Empire, or the supporting cast and game players who internalized the patriarchal values and were complicit with the colonial directive. Until the flowering of first-wave feminism, we were dominated by the patriarchy for millennia. And as much as we have achieved emancipation and empowerment today, we need to realize that the privileges we experience as white women are the result of white supremacy. As the T-shirts say, "I Am a Genocide Beneficiary" and “I Benefit from Colonialism." The gifts and amenities we take for granted in our daily lives have come at the high cost of human suffering, and the near-annihilation of both Indigenous peoples and the land.

“There needs to be struggle in order to lay out a path to co-existence, and that the process of being uncomfortable is essential for non-indigenous people to move from being enemy to adversary to Ally.” [4]

The truth about Settler-Colonialism is hard to take, especially when we learn that our own values were stolen, and how many of our people lost their lives as a result of the structural violence endemic to Empire. As we were forced to assimilate into the monocultural white mainstream of the Americas, we left behind our traditional European languages, foods, music, games, rituals and spiritual expressions. During the collective dementia of expulsion and immigration, we sacrificed our European histories and spirituality, our love of place, our deep connections to the Ancestors, and our most important cultural keystones. In exile, our survival mechanism kicked in, our traditions were traded away, and our cultural loss forgotten in the promise of a new land and a new life.

“The Settler Society were all displaced - they all left something behind, and that must be why they are attracted to Native Spirituality.” [5]

Today, as the modern descendants of the Settler Society, we need to examine how this immense cultural soul loss has led to our collective and personal dysfunction, and how the stories of our disconnect are at the root of our ongoing spiritual hunger and yearning for holistic earth-connected community. Clearly this exile from our own ancestral knowledge is the contributing factor to our romanticism and appropriation from the vibrancy of Indigenous cultures. There are other serious issues and oversights to be found in today's white feminism community, including:

1) The invisibility of Indigenous women,
2) not knowing the history of Settler-Colonialism or the First Nations in our own area,
3) ignoring how colonization, cultural genocide and assimilation are not just historical "artifacts" but are still happening today. "It's all in the past" is an offensive statement of white oblivion and entitlement,
4) treating the sacred cultural markers of First Nations as a marketplace to "exotify" our own ideas and offerings,
5) coasting along and being complacent with colonialism,
6) not doing our own work in self-education, and expecting Indigenous women to do the "heavy lifting,"
6) not acknowledging our white and class privilege up front in every situation,
7) being a “Becky” - a type of white woman who “exists in a state of racial obliviousness that shifts from intentionally clueless to intentionally condescending," [6]
8) spiritual bypassing i.e. "I'm too evolved for these dialogues," "We Are All One" and rejecting social justice or allyship,
9) gaslighting and "blaming the victim" with New Age beliefs such as "everyone creates their own reality,"
10) making assumptions, upholding stereotypes and imposing our own values and beliefs (known as "white perspectivism"),
11) obvious forms of white supremacy, subtle acts of racism such as microaggressions, and
12) not knowing how to work as allies for the legal struggles and battles of Indigenous women against the Settler State.

So what can we actually do, to act in solidarity with Indigenous women?  Among other initiatives, the Allyship Framework is a great model that allows us to draw close and give back to First Nations, as accomplices in the struggle for racial justice. Here are some other excellent ideas:

1) Recognize that your own bias, lack of knowledge and misconceptions can be interpreted as discrimination or racism,
2) center the voices of Indigenous women - listen and learn - and use respectful communication at all times,
3) be aware that protocols exist, and demonstrate cultural respect by making it a priority to learn about them,
4) recognize that gender roles may vary among Indigenous families, and observe local practices and protocols,
5) understand how lateral violence and internalized oppression show up in Indigenous community, and
6) stand with Indigenous women who are doing important work, become a helper, raise funds for Indigenous causes, attend events, follow pages and blogs, and offer support as needed.

In today's white spaces of conferences, events, academia and the empowerment circuit, there is a hopeful movement toward "inclusivity."     And yet, this may only be the first step. According to the Allyship Framework, what we really need to be doing is include Indigenous women in our dialogues and initiatives from the very beginning, and place them in the prominent position. Fortunately, the resurgence of women in governance and key leadership roles continues to rise in every cultural and ethnic group, including Turtle Island First Nations. And our job as white women is to develop good intercultural competency skills, normalize the activist-spiritual path as one and the same, and work toward dismantling racism and white supremacy.

As time goes on, transformational encounters between Indigenous and white women will continue to happen at the personal level, with the goal to communicate and heal social relationships. This aspect of reconciliation requires an expansion of intimate heart-knowing, and a capacity to acknowledge the residual pain of historic and contemporary injustice. “One can forgive but one should never forget.”   It’s a monumental leap to go from colonization to mutual co-arising, but as ALL women now share Turtle Island, we have an obligation to respond to the Seven Generations code. [7] And through the ongoing work of decolonization, bonds to the land and holistic teachings evoked from our own ancestral wisdom traditions hold the key to restoring the hearts and minds of individuals and communities.

A renaissance of healing, collaborating, rebuilding, and re-visioning is happening in Indian Country, and for Indigenous women the future looks positive for the continued resurgence and reclamation of self-determination and traditional Indigenous Knowledge (IK). In terms of commonalities, ancient matriarchal societies in Europe provide models for their descendants today, and many First Nations have never relinquished their matrifocal status. For example, in the Haudenosaunee world, as Earthkeepers and life-givers the Clan Mothers hold the highest authority, and are skilled at making decisions affecting the well-being of the entire tribe.

Today, finding our way home means relinquishing our white privilege and engaging with social justice, which is synonymous with spiritual values such as balance and interconnection.   Restoring the traditional earth-emergent and matrilineal structures that existed before, can be part of reclaiming power for ALL women. In the meantime, the way forward is to work in solidarity with the First Nations of Turtle Island, who continue to resist the genocide, colonization and oppression forced upon them by the flawed mega-experiment of Eurocentric Empire in the Americas. And to align with true human beings everywhere, who seek to bond with the land and practice their authentic Ancestral Wisdom.

NOTES
1. Poesia, “Death of Empire: Decolonizing Feminism(s),” Shades of Silence (SOS) Colors of Revolt, June 5, 2013
2. Grace J.M.W. Ouellette (Cree), The Fourth World: An Indigenous Perspective on Feminism and Aboriginal Women's Activism, Fernwood Publishing, 2004
3. Sam Grey, “Decolonising Feminism,” Enweyin, Vol. VIII, 2003-2004 www.academia.edu/1330316
4. Taiaiake Alfred (Kahnawake Mohawk), Introduction, Unsettling the Settler Within: Indian Residential Schools, Truth Telling and Reconciliation in Canada by Paulette Regan, UBC Press, 2010
5. Lee Maracle (Stó:lō),“Idle No More: Looking Back, Moving Ahead,” panel discussion, Lakefield Literary Festival, 2013
6. Damon Young, "Where 'Becky' Comes From, And Why It's Not Racist, Explained," The Root, April 27, 2016, quoted in "White People Are Noticing Something New: Their Own Whiteness" by Emily Bazelon, The New York Times, June 13, 2018
7. It is an important teaching of both the Anishnaabe and Haudenosaunee to consider the well-being of the Seven Generations yet to come in all endeavors, and this responsibility requires the ethics of sustainability and care. Ultimately, the tribal landbase, well-being, cultural traditions and collective identity in the past, present and future are all enhanced and protected by this directive.

Excerpts previously published in Whatever Works ~ Feminists of Faith Speak, edited by Trista Hendren and Pat Daly, A Girl God Anthology, 2015 >link<

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Ally Mistakes - Oops ~!

7/7/2018

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PEGI EYERS

In our work as Allies to BIPOC we need to stay away from the methods of the colonizer, which include perpetuating stereotypes, patronizing behavior, the use of perspectivism (assuming others share our worldview), or making rules for the disenfranchised group. It is quite possible that BIPOC hear the solutions and aspirations as offered by white people as patronizing, arrogant and ill-informed. Assuming we know what BIPOC communities need in terms of western ideology or infrastructure, and imposing these “benefits” on them intentionally (or with subterfuge), is known as the “white savior” complex.

White people are not heroes or heroines riding in on a white horse to save everybody (!) we are assisting a group of people who already have a plan in place. Allies cannot presume to know about the experience of BIPOC, or to speak authoritatively about BIPOC community. Targets of oppression are experts on the totality of their oppression and we need to listen to them. Our task is to be mindful of how power is operating in any given context, to think before speaking (if we must speak), and to let BIPOC voices be heard. We are cautioned by experienced activists to understand that our anti-oppression work is not about the needs of the ally, or to feel good about ourselves.

It's about the needs of the targets NOT to be oppressed!

"First Nations Peoples and the decision of Canadians to stand
alongside them, will determine the fate of the planet."
The Guardian
more on Allyship >HERE< PDF download "Good Allies" by Pegi Eyers

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Love from the Earth

5/6/2018

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PEGI EYERS

All my life the clock has been ticking, and the ideological pendulum has been swinging. Finally, my awareness has come to rest in vital knowledge – that I was raised by a false paradigm on “Kanata” and that I am living on stolen land. This shattering reversal of reality transformed and radicalized me, but I don't feel disempowered. For to use a common cliché, “the truth will set you free.” I am a white woman, a Gaelic Scot born into the colonizer agenda, the great Empire-building project, "the grand and glorious experiment” on Turtle Island. And at the same time that I am a product of the status quo, life choices have given me an acute awareness of colonial oppression. I consider myself blessed to be thriving in the traditional homelands of the Mississauga Anishnaabe, and I battle with cognitive dissonance and the dismantling of my whiteness every day. For example, the “acknowledgment of territory” so popular in white spaces can only go so far, when it is Indigenous flags that should be flying on municipal buildings, and the land repatriated and returned to First Nations.

I woke up from a childhood cushioned from reality and blind to the walls around me, walls that separated people of color from those privileged by Empire. Yet with each new layer of whiteness and coloniality I unpack within myself, my personal obligation and responsibility to tear down those walls grows in equal measure.

Back in the 1980’s I was a teenager living in various regions of British Columbia, traveling here and there as the impulse struck. With my young husband, we eventually put down roots in the Similkameen Valley, just before the first wave of First Nations resistance and resurgence began to rise. Day after day we witnessed members of the Smalqmix community arriving at the bar, where the cheap beer kept flowing and the cowboys kept singing. “Welcome to the Hotel California. You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.” In those days we offered many rides home, giving “safe passage” to our native friends, taking them back to their dark and broken shacks, with no running water or warmth in the winter. I hold the despair etched into the actions of this devastation.

One day we found ourselves drifting through Hope B.C. and decided to sleep under the stars on the bank of the Fraser River. We approached a circle of Stό:lō folk beside their nets and liquor bottles, and in the common way of vagrants everywhere, were immediately made welcome. Language and cultural differences were definite barriers, but at the moment the need to set the nets and harvest the salmon took priority. As the evening wore on, the drinking took center stage. Farther down the rocky shoreline, I fell asleep listening to the sing-song Stό:lō speech. Screams in the night woke me, as inebriated people ran back and forth along the riverbank as a Stό:lō man became caught in the current. His body washed up downriver many days later, and I hold the despair etched into the actions of this devastation.

Fast forward through a kaleidoscope of cultural events; teachings from the Elders; pow wows; Indigenous arts, books, film, theatre and music; and First Nation friends who sparked my life for decades. Deep in the canyon of city streets, I pass a crouching woman with long black hair hidden in the corner where bus shelter meets skyscraper wall. Urgent with my own necessities and agendas, I feel helpless in the face of such obvious need, and press on. What happened to this Indigenous woman? Her Toronto was not my Toronto, and I hold the despair etched into the actions of this devastation.

A few years later I am working in an art gallery in a mall, and an Indigenous artist appears day after day to take his cues from the paintings. Over coffee, I hear he has a terminal illness, in addition to PTSD. What is PTSD? It is being pushed beyond one’s physical, emotional, mental and spiritual limits not once, not twice, but repeatedly: over and over and over. I see the dark spirits circling above this man, both from his own Ojibway heritage and the other chthonic realms. I hold the despair etched into the actions of this devastation.

In recent times I have reached middle age. Empowered by the words of Haudenosaunee and
Anishnaabe Elders, I
notice the cultural appropriation rampant
in my own community,
mostly by my white
sisters who practice
New Age Spirituality.

I distance myself immediately and learn all I can about white privilege and Allyship Theory. I hesitantly enter solidarity spaces and become bolder as confidence grows. From both native and non-native people, I encounter hostility, denial and confusion. I hold the despair etched into the actions of this devastation.

I continue to do anti-racism work on principle, and as a Settler-Ally, I know I have no right to speak. Then, a prominent academic tells me that keeping silent is an extension of the colonial agenda to infantilize us all, and I try to stay in middle ground. I learn how kind words can change lives. But in the shadows, the tears of Indigenous people continue to flow, and my care is yet another burden, another misguided platitude that does not fit the healing pattern. I hold the despair etched into the actions of this devastation.

I am listening. First Nations have called me the enemy, and it’s absolutely true. My people have been the carriers of genocide and slavery, and are the worst disseminators of racism the planet has ever known. I am privileged, I am white, and I carry the same colonial patterns of violence endured by my Ancestors, that were then forced on everyone else. No longer can I pretend that white people are the authority on human nature, and I need to just sit, beyond redemption, with the harm that was done. It may be beyond my power to remove the burden of history or the trauma of POC, but I can be accountable and make amends. I can continue to change my own beliefs, and decolonize my inner and outer reality. And with the agency that belongs to me alone, (i.e. the "power of one") I can fight for the rights of Indigenous people and the land - as writer, ally, friend. And as I dismantle my whiteness, I know that my life’s work is to honor the Earth in all I think, say and do. And above all, to reject the patriarchal ethics that dominate our humanity and the land.

Suddenly, in the midst of the activism, rallies, discourse and friendship, an idyllic vision rises in my heart. Should I speak of it? Do I dare? My vision touches on “inclusivity,” which is linked to neo-liberalism, white privilege and power. And yet regardless of blowback, I continue to hold a vision of hope. It will not go away. It is based on mutual healing. Without pretending we are all the same, my vision is of a thriving collective of diverse folk bonded to the Ancient Spirit of the land.

Can we allow the Earth to heal us? That is the vision, and the rejuvenation of our ancient and timeless connection to the land in the face of massive change, as our way forward. Can we hold on to this vision with all of our might?

VISIONING

Pre-colonial and Indigenous societies all over the world know Mother Earth as sacred, and the source of all life, enchantment and joy. Without exception, the wisdom and cultural traditions of all people emerge from the land. Not to know this is to remain disconnected from the Earth, the source of our spiritual ecology, and to perpetuate the goals of Empire that separate us from our embeddedness in the natural world.

How do we bypass the dominance of modernity and go directly to the source of our eco-being? We – eternal reflections of the Great Mother – red, yellow, black, brown and white – all of us, People of the Earth – are sacred vessels for spirit, ever loving, ever perfect, always blessed. We are strong in our bones as the Earth is strong! When we reclaim our true power, our circles form in bonds of protection, and we speak for the green realm, for all beings.

We align ourselves with natural law and care
for Earth Community,
and when we return to the source of all knowing
– an intimate and humble interaction with the land - experiences in companionship with the elements, spirits, and
forces in nature are
available equally to all.

Recovery from colonialism has no timeline, yet our urgent task is to reclaim the sacred essence that spirals us back, to our deepest and most ancient connection. Nourished by the web of life that sustains us all, we become re-rooted in our own earth-emergent heritage, our own ancestral traditions, and our own rites of passage. And in a true coming-together of hearts and minds in emotional integrity and right relationship, we find our way home to peace, and then, to peaceful co-existence.

The love of the land is the only true wealth we have – we are part of the Earth and the Earth is part of us! And in this fledgling love, a small fire in the darkness, the spirit is luminous in every person. Before time and before place, there is something we all share. We are each a spark of the Great Mystery, in our primal being we are whole, and nothing has ever been broken. Knowing our true heart’s home on the land, we hold ourselves gently, in perfect love and perfect trust.

"Love from the Earth" originally appeared in Confluence: Youth
Passageways Journal Volume II, Issue 1, Spring/Summer 2017.

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The Problem with Far-Away Ecotherapy and Nature Connection Retreats

2/28/2018

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BY PEGI EYERS

At this point in history, with late-stage capitalism and climate disaster events coming at us in waves, how can anyone justify going on nature-bonding trips to exotic locations? This activity is particularly absurd when it applies to members of the Ecopsychology community, who could be providing important role models for other folks. If a particular demographic or professional group focused on nature connection fails to take a stand on reducing our carbon footprint, why should anyone else feel motivated to change?

Travel to exotic locations is a privilege, not a right, and in terms of carbon impact, a typical 747 aircraft burns 4 litres of fossil fuel each second! A flight to Australia from Europe creates 4.5 tonnes of carbon. By comparison, traveling 2000 km by car emits less CO2 than one transcontinental flight, and the average emission per capita globally is around 1 tonne. In the face of these devastating statistics, it may be a good idea to ask ourselves if we care enough about the Earth to just STAY HOME!

Going on "retreat" from the ecosystem where we actually live is a strange phenomenon, coupled with the promise that we will make a "special connection" with nature that somehow doesn't exist at home. The lure of exotic experiences is a big draw, such as "enjoying rhino tracking" or “respectfully encountering dolphins in the wild." Yet isn't it possible to find the magic and mystery of nature, and the beautiful creatures of Earth Community, right in the ecosystems of our own home places, that need our care and attention?

Travel to exotic destinations is made possible by socioeconomic privilege, and especially the wealth accumulated by the boomer generation. We hold a lifetime of conditioning from society that tells us to enjoy our wealth and privilege, with exotic travel being one of our most popular normalized pleasures. (Next to body care, fancy clothes, restaurants and live entertainment, that is!) We have also been indoctrinated to admire the ultra-rich and emulate their jet-setter lifestyle (whether or not we will ever be ultra-rich). We have to ask ourselves if members of the nature-relatedness field really want to follow these aspects of the capitalist paradigm, that promote the excess consumption of both material goods and experiences?

Another diversion that often comes up with "nature retreats" is the option to "meet with the local indigenous people." From our positionality in the west as members of the dominant society, this suggests a number of ethical considerations. Is the meeting superficial or based on long-standing relation-ships? Meeting with the more enterprising of the local people can be seen as "tokenism," as one or two individuals do not speak for, or represent the concerns of the entire Indigenous community. And even if a local tourism industry has sprung up to accommodate western travelers for economic development (often under the guise of "intercultural sharing") there is still an underlying consideration (and a macabre one at that). How ethical is it to normalize the subjugation that our own Colonial ancestors created in the first place? The eco-tourism or "teachings to outsiders" industry is one way for Indigenous people to recover from Colonialism, but coming in with paternalism or white saviorism can be perceived as just more neo-colonialism. Adding insult to injury, in all our variations the presence of white westerners obstructs the sovereignty of indigenous societies, and their right to live free of colonial pressures within their own landbase and epistomology.

Instead of fleeting encounters with Indigenous folks, a better approach may be to contribute to the cultural survival of specific indigenous nation from afar, and practice good Allyship to support healthy boundaries and the principles of non-interference. As have the Indigenous people in Hawaii, the Kogi in Colombia have recently asked North Americans to JUST STAY HOME. Their beleaguered ecosystems are becoming more and more fragile, and it is increasingly seen as an extension of socioeconomic privilege to assume we can travel anywhere just because we feel like it, and insert ourselves into the precious homelands and narratives of peoples in other places.
.
If you are a member of the Ecopsychology community and decide against traveling to an exotic location for nature connection, a public statement outlining your objections, including your assessment of the carbon that has been offset, would be most welcome. And thank you for your inspiration!

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Earth-Emergent in the City

2/20/2018

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BY PEGI EYERS

The Ancestral Arts are on the rise today, as we embody a more harmonious way to live, interconnected with nature, the other-than-human world and Earth Community. And yet depending on where we live, it may be impossible to fully re-create the vibrancy of an earth-wise culture. In places of urban sprawl, the environment may be in an eroded condition, or we may find our access to wild nature denied. The challenge then, for those living in the city either by choice or necessity, is to reclaim or enhance the aspects of a foundational bond to the land that gives rise to our spiritual ecology, and find our kindred spirits and community links in the process.

There are many ways to practice our ancestral wisdom and reclaim the wonders of nature in the city! As we explore the green commons, public parks, planted spaces, borders, cemeteries, quiet corners, abandoned lands and (so-called) wastelands, we can revere urban space just as much as wild or semi-wild ecosystems. Strolling around city neighbourhoods, or wayfaring and hiking through woods and parks (with or without an agenda) has obvious health benefits, and enhances the intimacy and detail of a more grounded, grassroots perspective. And as we get to know the landforms and ancient cultures that were there before urbanization, we find that the magic of the earth is ever-present in the older landscapes beneath the surface of the city. As they always have, the genius loci - the ancestors, spirits of place, primordial forces and beings of myth and mystery - are willing to communicate with us, if we are open to their messages.

All land is sacred, but places that embody "genius loci" can be said to be more highly charged with spiritual energy or healing power from natural formations such as ley lines, songlines, wellsprings or forest groves. Known as “numina” to the ancient Romans, these special places are home to the numen - ancient earth spirits, intelligent entities, orbs or deities - or are sites that still resonate with culturally-significant historical events.

In today's world, places that evoke "genius loci" can be sites of human architecture imbedded in the land, that hold deep meaning to our personal mythology and cultural history. Consciously or not, the effects of natural locations play a role in our psychogeography, which are the emotions, memories, behaviors and epiphanies we hold in response to special places. Even sites in the city that are often overlooked or neglected can be approached with an attitude of reverence and reciprocity, which helps to re-enchant these green zones and contribute to the remediation of marginalized spaces.

Paying attention to the tree people, stones or birds in the city, and bringing elements and natural objects from the wild into our urban interiors, are all ways to stay connected to the land. Marking the seasons and cycles of the moon, celebrating the quarters and solstices, and coming together with like-minded community in ceremony and ritual are ancient practices that express our earth-rooted beliefs in urban spaces. Rewilding, re-greening the commons, urban herbcraft, natural medicine and community farming are all ways to create deep connections to the actual and spiritual gifts of the soil.

Earthing is another wonderful practice available to us in the city. Walking barefoot on the grass or at the beach, sitting or reclining on the ground in parks, gardens or private yards accesses the healing and energizing properties of the earth, which has been identified by science as the transfer of electrons (the earth’s natural, subtle energy) into our bodies. "Earthing" gives us strength from the healing frequencies of the land, and promotes the vitality of the mental, physical, emotional and spiritual aspects of our being. The most amazing thing about the soothing, grounding and cleansing practice of "Earthing" is the simplicity and access, and it certainly gives new meaning to the term "earth-connected!"

Without a doubt, it is our immersion in green spaces and our bodily contact with the Earth that promotes tranquility, reflection and restoration for the human spirit. Even in the city, the movement of waters and stars, or the growth of plants and animals, imply the presence of indwelling spirits. Stones, trees and other aspects of the natural world are self-aware, autonomous and willful beings who possess their own traits and dispositions. A spiritual force pervades all of nature, and the other-than-human world embraces a host of endlessly expressive and individualistic living entities. The Earth is aware, and even in the city, green zones hold elemental forces inhabited by sentient beings and creatures. As we reconnect deeply with these wonders and our eco-selves in the city, our re-landing will sustain the sacred ground of our collective being, for generations yet to come.

photograph © Milissa Mulligan

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Voices of Earth ~ Archaic Whispers

11/30/2017

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PEGI EYERS

hands in earth, green growing
cavern sweet with flowers and leaves
(diving deep)
earth that is her body
ten thousand things rise and fall

Ancestors!
Ancestors!

the deepest sound is silence
next to hard rock she can remember

listening ~
not with the ear with the spirit

Ancestors!
Ancestors!

the trail is cold
cave walls echo

………..

summoning
blissful hallowing
voices of earth, archaic whispers
guided, protected and inspired

rhythmic drums and sacred songs
homelands etched on the heart

Ancestors!
Ancestors!

diving deep
earth that is her body

] [

(wings to fly)
rising up to meet the light

"Cave Painting" by Elaine de Kooning

Excerpt fom Ancient Spirit Rising by Pegi Eyers
"Ethnic Memory & Connecting with the Ancestors"
Do You Remember?

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Good Allies BY PEGI EYERS

11/3/2017

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Allyship Theory provides an excellent framework for correct protocol, ethical interactions and solidarity with First Nations. To explore the guidelines for cross-cultural relationships in your own community and beyond, access "Good Allies: A Synthesis of Contemporary Ally Theory" by Pegi Eyers here:

good_allies_by_pegi_eyers.pdf
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Song of the Ancestors

10/30/2017

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"Ancestors" by Black Dicefish

BY PEGI EYERS

With deep pre-Christian roots, the Celtic fire festival of Samhain (an old Gaelic word meaning “harvest at summer’s end”) celebrates the beginning of the Pagan Year in many traditions, and marks a liminal time when the Wheel of the Year turns from light to dark, and winter is coming. In Celtic Reconstructionism, Celtic Spirituality, Avalonian, Druidic and Pagan traditions today, Samhain or All Souls Day has been revived as an important holy day for solitary ritual or “gathering of the tribes,” with practices emulated the ancient traditions and rituals of lighting the sacred fire, divination, masquerades and costumes, feasting, dances, songs, storytelling and practical jokes.

At Samhain, when the veil between the worlds is thin, spirits, deities, fairies (the Fair Folk or “aos sí”), or souls of the dead may choose to visit, and with offerings, rites or libations, much can be accomplished in communing with our Ancestors or interacting with the gods, goddesses and spirit beings. The borderline time of Samhain is excellent for remembering our Beloved Dead, receiving their wisdom and guidance, and acknowledging the cycle of life, death and rebirth according to our own specific ancestral traditions.

“In many non-western cultures, the Ancestors have an intimate and absolutely vital connection with the world of the living. They are always available to guide, to teach and to nurture. They embody guidelines for what is most valuable about life.” (Malidoma Somé)

All during the year and especially at Samhain, we can keep the connectivity to the Ancestors alive by invoking their memory on a daily basis, with prayer and gratitude, making offerings, and politely asking for assistance and guidance. Contact with the ancestral realm brings rewards of empowerment, resilience and strength, and we may find that our ethnocultural path is meaningless without the recognition of the Ancestral Spirits. The best way to revive the magical potency of Ancestral connection and receive their blessings and wisdom, is to give them an honored place in our hearts and homes.

Designing ancestor altars with special objects such as photography, artwork, poetry or heirlooms that represent our Beloved Dead, create a vibrant channel or “portal” between the living and the spirits. At Samhain, candles, flowers, incense, fragrance, and offerings of food and drink can be arranged to honour and welcome the spirits back home. Portable Altars are great for travel, pilgrimage, offerings, outdoor installations, creating sacred space or visiting grave sites, and also function as containers for our grief, respect and honor.

Indigenous and earth-emergent societies worldwide practice Ancestor Veneration with altars, ceremonies, processions, celebrations, offerings and elaborate burial grounds. Honoring the Ancestors at Samhain and keeping them close creates a powerful link between the past and the present, and can bring us great joy, peace and good fortune. As we become more comfortable with interacting in the continuum of nonmaterial reality and honoring the Council of Ancestors - politely engaging their help with visualization, prayer, song, offerings and ceremony - we are participating in the ancestral veneration that is at the heart of all indigenous societies.

Also, honoring the Ancestors opens a valuable channel of knowledge that travels back and forth from the Ancestors to ourselves. The Ancestors are waiting to make contact! As much as we want to communicate with our Ancestors, they are willing to communicate with us.

Waking Memories are the sudden realizations and "epiphanies" that arise from spending time with the memorabilia and myths of our Beloved Dead, and travel to the geographic places of our our ancestral heritage. Tapping into the reservoir of "epigenetics" or ancestral messaging that resides in our physical essence can affirm the vitality of the unseen worlds, and the deep sense of belonging that dwells in our hearts and souls.

Dreamwork and Intentional Dreaming allows us to deliberately create the conditions for the Ancestors to meet us in the dreamtime, and to return to the exact same dream for more information. The process of Dream Archaeology is the extensive research that can be done to validate the symbols, messages, and direct communications we receive. In addition to paying attention to our dreams - guided meditations, visualization and pathworking are other kinds of spiritual modalities that can bring us closer to the spiritual realm of the Ancestors.

"Motherline" by Ulla Anobile

Constellation Work is a deep healing process whereby participants "stand in" for the members of one's extended family circle. Magically and spontaneously, from the deep inner knowing of the participants (or possibly the Ancestors themselves?) gestures and simple words indicate the residue of family blessings or intergenerational trauma. These often cryptic messages are interpreted by an experienced professional, and are then acknowledged and incorporated into present-day reality. A deeper awareness of family dynamics leads to the healing that is possible for both the subject and the Ancestors themselves. The experiences and stories of our relations do not need to hold us back, as we can transform our family legacy and grow into our best selves with inner work and other modalities such as meditation, therapy, journaling, poetry, expressive arts and dance.

“With prayer, you may be offered help by those who have crossed over into Spirit. Many cultures make invoking the wisdom and assistance of the Ancestors a part of their daily spiritual practice. The spirits of the Ancestors live on and can connect to us, and they are there to help us everyday.” (Sonia Choquette)

As we become more attuned with our heritage, both our own stories and the memories we hold from the family soul, can become a rich source of guidance and strength. Any healing work that we do in our lives heals our ancestors as well, as they continue to send us their blessings, and cheer us on! Samhain is the perfect time to renew our respect for the Ancestors, reconnect with their energy, and receive their gifts, support and spiritual guidance.

Working with the Ancestors and reviving the magic of ancestral veneration is vital to the re-enchantment of our world, and is an organic part of the recovery process for the reconstruction of earth-rooted societies. By honoring our ancestors on All Souls Day, we acknowledge that these “wise mentors,” “special messengers,” “spirit elders” and “loving spirit guides” are there to help the living. As they shaped us, and passed on the gift of life with their intentions, sacrifices and achievements, thanking the ancestors is an extension of gratitude for our entire Earth Community.

“We call upon those who have lived on this earth, our Ancestors, who dreamed the best for the future generations, and upon whose lives our lives are built. With gratitude we call upon them to teach us and show us the way.” (Chinook Blessing)

~ BLESSED SAMHAIN! ~

Pegi Eyers is the author of Ancient Spirit Rising: Reclaiming Your Roots & Restoring Earth Community, an award-winning book that explores strategies for neurodecolonization, social justice, ethnocultural identity, building land-emergent community & resilience in times of massive change.
Amazon.com www.stonecirclepress.com

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Decolonization ~ Meaning What Exactly?

10/5/2017

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With all the dialogue happening on decolonization today, a reminder on baseline definitions can be helpful, before widening out to other personal/collective interpretations and actions. There are movements happening right now across ethnic and cultural lines (including the dominant white society) that use "decolonization" to describe a wide array of practices. Do we need to re-examine how we use the term? What does “decolonization” mean to you? The following definitions can offer starting points for discussion, and for action going forward.

(1) Break Free
The first and most basic meaning for “decolonization” is when a nation seeks to become free of the oppressor/oppressed regime imposed on them by a colonial power, and to physically and legally undo the colonial state, or Empire, that has dominated their society. Dependency can be transformed to independence through nonviolent revolution, or national liberation wars, and there have been several active periods of decolonization in modern times. For example, the breakup, or dissolution, of the Spanish Empire in the 19th century, the German, Ottoman and Russian Empires following WWI, and the Soviet Union following the October Revolution.

(2) Settler Removal
The next profound meaning for “decolonization” is for the colonizer to “de-colonize” - that is, withdraw and leave the lands of the oppressed they have taken by stealth or force. Here in the Americas, there is a justified belief among First Nations that the colonizer (folks of European descent) must return to our lands of origin. So far, there are a few progressive Settlers who are exploring their own removal, yet for the majority this is far beyond our capabilities, or even our desire. Everyday life in the homogenous American or Canadian nation-state does not support this kind of yearning, or any substantial link to a European homeland. And the trail to Europe has grown very cold, if your motherline has been on Turtle Island for over 12 generations. So, if it is impossible to leave the Americas (as much as we want to) it may be helpful for Settlers to think of this directive symbolically, and to ask ourselves what exactly an America or a Canada would look like, if we were able to reduce our Eurocentric imposition, dominance, supremacy and power? And what would a re-indigenized society look like, if First Nations and POC were in the ascendant position?

In the face of these realities, we can be grateful for alternative approaches being offered by First Nations leaders such as Robert Lovelace (Tslagi/Algonquin).

“Indigenous peoples and Settlers have our own histories, where those histories have led us, and where the possible futures might lie for us together. Because guess what? We are here and now, and we’re not going to change that fact, but what we can do is change the possible futures that we face.”

To maintain cultural continuity, and to show up for common causes with our diversity intact, the most we can hope for is to practice good intercultural competency skills, tolerance for "the other," mutual respect, and peaceful co-existence. Throughout human history, these are the elements that have been missing.

(3) Return the Land
For Indigenous freedom fighters, scholars and community peoples, decolonization cannot happen until the ancestral lands are returned. As the source of epistomologies, cultural keystone(s), TEK (traditional ecological knowledge), food sources and medicine for good health, the land is deeply embedded in the communal heart and soul. At the root of Indigenous community, the priority to care for and protect the land is for the Web of all Life, and the Seven Generations yet to come. In marked contrast, Empire has failed miserably in the protection of pristine ecosystems. Now, all people, including Settlers, who reject the paradigm of endless growth and recognize the value of IK (Indigenous Knowledge), can support the repatriation of lands to the original Earthkeepers and First Nations of Turtle Island.

In the truest sense of the word, for the recently colonized (Indigenous and POC) "decolonization" is not a metaphor. Those in the dominant society are being asked to avoid using "decolonization" to refer to ideas or actions that do not hold indigenous resistance, sovereignty, land restoration, and other repatriations at the center.

(4) Resistance & Resurgence
As a baseline here in the Americas, for the recently colonized (Indigenous and POC) "decolonization" is the active principle that attempts to undo the Settler State on a daily basis, both from within and without. Eurocentric dominance, white supremacy, racism, ethnic cleansing, genocide, slavery, land theft, imposed treaties, broken promises, relocation, forced assimilation, government manipulation, corporate control, psychic violence and all the associated forms of oppression that continue to impact Indigenous people and POC in the Americas are identified, confronted, called out, and resisted. One step at a time, and marking the victories along the way, decolonization attempts to undo the colonization of the individual, the community and Earth Community with protest, social justice activism, civil disobedience, education, cultural projects and legal battles.

At the same time that the Settler State is challenged, the necessary recovery and rejuvenation of pre-colonial heritage, language and tradition is taking place, with further preservation of culture ongoing. A focus on health and healing translates into relationships that realign individuals and entire communities with their Original Instructions. The majority of references to "decolonization" by BIPOC and their allies refers to the active principles of resistance and resurgence, and the ongoing education that supports and empowers these actions.

From the PhD dissertation by Ioana Radu (Cree) ~ "Healing in Chisasibi"

(5) Neurodecolonization
The minds of ALL people who navigate within Empire have been occupied, or colonized, by the memes and values of the Settler State. In today's era of massive change and climate disaster, root causes such as monotheism, imperialism, white superiority, hetero-patriarchy, capitalism, corporatism, resource extraction and binary political systems are rapidly being exposed as outdated frauds. Even if we have learned to thrive within the simulacrum of these human-created systems, the fact remains that Empire is toxic to all life, including our own. The conditioning and domestication we have received over millennia has translated into many artificial beliefs, habits and behaviors. Here is a sampling - what others come to mind?

Placing human entitlement and humancentric needs above Earth Community,
a disconnect from nature and the normalization of urbanity,
control and domination showing up in our own lives with "Me" instead of "We" behaviors,
implicit or overt judgement of people who don't fit the white cisheteropatriarchy ableist "norm,"
intense competition and the "cult of the individual" resulting in narcissism linked to low self-esteem,
a measure of personal value situated on a hierarchy of wealth or class,
a reliance on consumerism to provide "fulfillment" with fleeting pleasures, experiences and material things,
developing self-identity from the workplace, commercial enterprises and other disconnects from the real,
a lack of rites of passage, low emotional IQ and infantile behavior throughout the adult years,
a fear of the natural cycles of life such as birth, adolescence, aging and death.

The process of neurodecolonization gently challenges the memes of Empire (western thinking) in our individual or collective consciousness, and replaces that ideology or action with pre-colonial, or Indigenous thinking. For ourselves, our families and our communities, the move toward life-enhancing and creative patterns, and compassionate and inclusive solutions, can be a life-long undertaking.

The key thing to remember when engaging with the ongoing neurodecolonization of our psyche is that "humans are not fundamentally flawed creatures. That is a myth perpetuated by industrial capitalism in order to naturalize the behavior of violent imperialists. They are the insane." (Derrick Jensen)

(6) Re-indigenization
Neurodecolonization and the reprogramming of the psyche can naturally lead to an interconnection with the evolving processes of all life, and return us to our essential bio-lineage. We are invited to learn from, and emulate the values of IK systems without indulging in cultural appropriation, and a natural extension of this work is to recover specific indigeneities based on our own ethnoculture, as suggested by Zainab Amadahy.

“If the aim of decolonization is to rid ourselves of colonial mindsets why not centralize our own wisdom traditions when they enable us to think and act in ways that support our communities, including Mother Earth, Our Relations and the Great Spirit?”

Decolonization insists that we understand ourselves as we existed before modern civilization, and that implementing holistic solutions and traditional earth-emergent ways of life are vital to the survival of the human race. In these times of unlimited access to information, reclaiming our own root ancestral heritage(s) or EIK (European Indigenous Knowledge) has become a real possibility. The most exciting movement of our time is underway to Reject Empire and its toxic hegemonies, and to shift toward rewilding, economic alternatives, food sovereignty, spiritually-based ecological wisdom, decolonized community, bioregionalism (if possible), and inclusion in the Sacred Circle of all Life.

To recover our pre-colonial eco-self we must stop taking our cues from the dominant society, and become spontaneously directed by the natural world.

(7) We Have All Been Colonized
By the time our Ancestors arrived on the shores of Turtle Island, honoring natural law and living in balance with Earth Community had already been outdated concepts for centuries in Europe. They were part of a social organization based on hierarchy and control, and instead of taking their cues from the Indigenous civilizations already thriving in the “new world” our Ancestors went on to repeat the colonial pattern. For our generation today, the question remains - what are we going to do about it?

Here are a few questions to consider, as we look at how we use the term "decolonization."

Where do you see yourself on the decolonization continuum? Do you belong to the historic colonizer Settler Society or the colonized group?
How can reparations be made to First Nations?
Are you recovering your connection to a landbase that has nurtured your people for generations?
Do you center Indigenous and POC resistance in your decolonization work?
How are you educating your own cohort on issues of racism and oppression?
Do you consider the recovery of your own heritage part of the decolonization process?
What habits in your thinking, or daily life, can be decolonized?
How can you dedicate more time to the rewilding of both soul and place, and the protection of wild nature?

At the local level, the popular "acknowledgement of territory" before public events provides a solid foundation for the decolonization of self, family, community and the wider world. After decades of denial and ignorance, the unadorned truth of this "first step" declaration centers Indigenous reality, and is integral to the decolonization journey.

"I acknowledge that I am living in the traditional territory of the Michi Saagiig Nishnaabeg, stand in solidarity with First Nations land claim processes, support First Nations sovereignty and cultural recovery efforts, and respect the traditional values of the Curve Lake, Hiawatha and Alderville First Nations."

Pegi Eyers ~ Nogojiwanong (Peterborough, Ontario, Canada)

Find out whose land you are on, and honor it ~ https://native-land.ca

"Decolonization ~ Meaning What Exactly?" was published by Unsettling America: Decolonization in Theory & Practice October 11, 2017 >link<

Quotes in Order of Appearance
1) Robert Lovelace (Tslagi/Algonquin), "The Architecture of a Decolonized Society: Reindigenizing the Self, Community & Environment," Kawartha World Issues Centre (KWIC), Trent University, Peterborough, January 18, 2013
2) Derrick Jensen, Deep Green Resistance, comment on social media
3) Zainab Amadahy, “Why Indigenous and Racialized Struggles will Always be Appendixed by the Left,” Unsettling Settlers: Where We Talk about Unsettling Our Settler Selves, August 1, 2012
Resources
Joyce Green and Michael Burton, 12 Steps to a Post-Colonial Future," Rabble http://rabble.ca/news/2013/12/12-steps-to-post-colonial-future
Pegi Eyers, Ancient Spirit Rising: Reclaiming Your Roots & Restoring Earth Community, Chapter 19 "Rejecting Empire: Re-centering Indigenous Values /The Psyche & Myth-Busting," Stone Circle Press, 2016
Pegi Eyers, "Rejecting Empire 1" and "Rejecting Empire 2" Academia.edu
https://independent.academia.edu/PegiEyers
Jürgen Werner Kremer and R Jackson-Paton, Ethnoautobiography: Stories and Practices for Unlearning Whiteness, Decolonization, Uncovering Ethnicities, ReVision Publishing, 2013
Eve Tuck and K. Wayne Yang, "Decolonization is Not a Metaphor," Unsettling America: Decolonization in Theory & Practice, September 26, 2012
https://unsettlingamerica.wordpress.com/2012/09/26/decolonization-is-not-a-metaphor

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Finding Our Long-Lost Ancestral Traditions

PEGI EYERS

Our Struggles Are Not the Same

Ally Mistakes - Oops ~!

PEGI EYERS

Love from the Earth

The Problem with Far-Away Ecotherapy and Nature Connection Retreats

Earth-Emergent in the City

Voices of Earth ~ Archaic Whispers

Good Allies BY PEGI EYERS

Song of the Ancestors

Decolonization ~ Meaning What Exactly?

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