writing
Ancestry
ANCESTRY AS A DOORWAY TO GROUNDED LAND STEWARDSHIP
A site analysis isn't complete without slowing down to learn the full story of the land we’re on and how we got there.
The Tending Alive project believes it is important to look backward to look forward. We frame our pathway into land stewardship with a wider awareness of how ancestral trauma and oppressive systems influence the way we see and relate to land.
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Without a rooted lineage at our back, it is easy to appropriate and replicate patterns of domination. We must reach far enough back into our own lineage to remember the ancestral ways of relating to land that can ground and nourish us as we find a new way forward.
The ANCESTRY doorway offers a series of invitations to support participants to think critically about their ancestors' way of relating with land as they learn about the plants and cultural ecosystems of Salish Sea. We do not shy away from the truth of genocide and forced displacement in the story of the land. Nor do we close our eyes to the systems of oppression that challenge Indigenous sovereignty to this day.
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Bearing witness—to the land, to the people, and to our own ways of seeing— is where we begin.
an important note for 2024:
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In all of our land stewardship programs this year, ancestry offerings will take an invitational and resource-based approach as community relationships unfold organically.
The hope is to step into a deeper web of minds that over time can widen this doorway into a set of practices and learning opportunities that adapt to meet the rich and varied cultural stories that walk through it.
And, we are where we are for now.
With Katie’s positionality (as a white settler-descended person of mixed European heritage), we are piloting additional new offerings this year for those of similar lineage.
These workshops will center in Old Europe ethnobotany and land-tending practices, as well as ceremony. They are intended to evoke memory of plant-human relationships prior to Greek and Roman colonization of Europe. All offerings are rooted in a lens and prayer for settler responsibility.
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Scroll to learn more below.
offerings
EVOKE
this is a ceremonial space and immersive art experience for people of mixed European descent to reconnect with Old Europe plants and/or land-tending practices.
what happens:
we meet once a month and sit with one plant as our teacher.
beginning in ceremony, our time opens with didactic learning about this one—their ecology, native range, food, medicine, ethnobotany, etc. we allow ourselves to be nourished by the plant, using all our senses to take in their medicine.
then, we sit in deep listening to await any messages or memories this plant wants to evoke in us for personal or collective healing. we close with sharing and/or other creative expression to honor of our time with this plant.
a few plants we may learn from:
medlar, fig, cornelian cherry, rosemary, crampbark, rose, st. john's wort, rowan, motherwort, mugwort, linden, sweet violet, agrimony, peony.
dates + time:
fridays • 6:30-9pm
mar 22, apr 26, may 17
july 19, aug 16, sept 20
oct 28, nov 15, dec 13
location:
we will meet at a private home outside Duvall. details provided upon registration.
cost:
$35-90/person. Limited to 10 people.
more info:
This space is for anyone with ancestral connection to a European lineage, holding the intention of lineage healing toward decolonial futures.
Participants of mixed racial identity are very welcome to attend, and do know that the space is held by a facilitator who does not share this experience and likely will not track or speak to the complexity of the mixed race experience in connecting to ancestral European plants. The space will likely include participants of European descent who are not tracking the complexities of a mixed race experience. To discern if this is a space you want to join, please reach out with questions.
Katie intends offer more informational versions of this offering (more learning, less ritual) for all people in the future.
