Becoming the Liberation Ecosystem

Over the last 24 years, at the end of September, the YWCA Madison has hosted the Racial Justice Summit. I always look forward to this gathering as an opportunity to engage with changemakers who are dedicated to creating the world we all want to live in.

This year’s theme, “Get Together: Becoming the Liberation Ecosystem,” was compelling to me. The theme invited us to deepen our practices of coming together as an interconnected, inter-communicating, inter-dependent and ever-changing ecosystem.  By strengthening this ecosystem, we can disrupt the escalating violence and attend to the harm in our country and planet, while re-imagining and seeding for the liberated and racially just future we dream of.

As I write this blog in the final days of September, it is 86 degrees in Madison. The “normal” average September temperature from 1991-2020 has been 62 degrees. The connection between people and planet is undeniable. We humans have irrevocably altered the planet and we are capable of reversing our ways, ushering in a new era of healing, interdependence and generosity. The interdependence between all people and all lands is a truth that we are invited to re-member and re-connect as Native wisdom teaches. Sacred wisdom relies on all of our intelligences, not just our mind (but also our spiritual, emotional and heart intelligences). 

The opening keynote circle hosted Robin Wall Kimmerer and Dekila Chugyalpa. Robin is a scientist, celebrated author of Braiding Sweetgrass and an enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. Dekila is the founding director of Loka Initiative, committed to undoing 500 years of social, environmental and climate harm. The goal of Loka Initiative is not just to energize pro-environmental action now but to manifest a post-growth vision of interdependence and joy-centered resilience. 

This keynote rooted the Summit experience in the wisdom of interconnectedness and offered a powerful foundation for envisioning a relational, land-based, ecosystem-centered and liberatory future.

I left the keynote with the following insights:

Everything exists in interdependence. Humans, animals and plants share the precious resources of water, land and air. No one being can dominate or the entire system will collapse.

All beings are kin. In native language, there is no objectified pronoun of “it”. All beings have the same importance as humans. Mother Earth, Grandmother Maple Tree. There are no “weeds” in Menominee language. We as humans decide whether a plant has value or not, instead of being in right relationship with that plant to understand what it is trying to teach us.

It is easy to get co-opted by the system of growth and economic development. We need to step out of the urgency and think more long-term. We need to slow down, be in nature, connect with the earth, and respect seven generations of beings on this planet in our practices.

We slow down through the power of story; story evokes the motivation to change. Restoration, or Re-Story-Ation is intergenerational, learning from elders, passing these teachings to change the narrative from extraction to love and commitment for young people to carry forward. Creating these stories will take us into the future of kinship.

 

 

Sacred Wisdom Sacred Earth Premiere

On the second day of the Summit, I had the honor of attending the premiere screening of the documentary Sacred Wisdom Sacred Earth. Sacred Wisdom Sacred Earth is a compelling feature-length documentary on how the efforts of Wisconsin’s Native American tribes to restore their spiritual, cultural, and environmental resilience is rooted in their sacred connection to the land and waters of the Great Lakes. As stated on the website:

This is not just a documentary—it is a visual prayer, a meditation, a teaching, and a love song to the Earth and to the Indigenous youth who will carry this wisdom forward.

As the movie began, it seemed like something was wrong; the audio seemed too fast. It turned out that the speed was set at 1.25x. The movie was stopped and reset to 1.0 speed. It was an incredible metaphor to remind everyone in the audience that we must slow down and listen to reconnect to the messages of our ancestors. The movie was a 5-year collaboration between the 12 tribes of Wisconsin, that began with deep listening.

At the end of the dialogue, one of the culture keepers, Roxanne DeLille offered a prayer to support the attendees in exploring pathways for solidarity with movements for Indigenous sovereignty, resistance and resilience as well as mutual aid for Wisconsin’s tribes. She closed with, “Go before us, like the smoke. What one thing can you do?”