Remembering, Weaving, and Diving into Right Relations
The grounding and launching of Phase Two
By Michaela Nee
“We believe Creator intended all of us to be in relationship with each other.. People are remembering and awakening to who they are.”
These are some of the words imparted to our latest Right Relations cohort at our kickoff event by Gregg Castro, Culture Director at the Association for Ramaytush Ohlone. It’s a grounding reminder of what our Right Relations program is meant to do–change hearts and minds on a deep level, so that we can better connect with ourselves, the living environment around us, and the people inhabiting it with us.
Our newest Phase Two cohort gathered yesterday in San Francisco at The Women’s Building, in the heart of Yelamu and the edge of the American Indian Cultural District. Participants dove right into what every gathering should really begin with, we’ve decided: a cultural and hands-on basketweaving lesson with Rose Hammock, Manager of Community Outreach at Redbud Resource Group. The rustling of weaving throughout the rest of the day’s activities was a tactile reminder of how physically building something and learning a new skill can bring a sense of play, creativity, and coming back to ourselves, not often found over Zoom calls or screen-based work.
We were also joined by two guest speakers throughout the day, who each taught us something new about how to better know ourselves, the systems we’re operating in, and how to move forward in right relations together:
Gregg Castro grounded us in the history of his work as a long-time organizer and now Culture Director at the Association for Ramaytush Ohlone. He talked about the importance of allies in helping to make space for the skills, strengths and worldviews of Native people, and how critical it is that we all remember and tap into who we each are on a deep level to do this work.
We then heard from Geneva E.B. Thompson, Deputy Secretary for Tribal Affairs at the California Natural Resources Agency. In conversation with Sheridan Noelani Enomoto, Resource Specialist at Redbud Resource Group, Geneva shared about the importance of looking back to history to better understand what is happening today, and how we can seek creative solutions for better tribal partnerships and systems change.
"We are acknowledging that our state of practices are born out of a history of trying to destroy tribal communities. What can we change, and what are the authorities we have? If we don’t have the authority to change something, what is the pathway for something else?"
The Phase Two cohort will meet in person and online over the next 7 months to learn about pathways to land return, get immersed in local Native American culture, collaborate to solve problems, identify ways to create opportunities, and ask how we can get in right relation to the land we call home.
Applications for the next Phase One cohort of Right Relations will be launched soon! Beautiful, deep work is happening in the movement towards Indigenous sovereignty, land back, and better relations across Native and non-Native communities. Thank you to our partners at Redbud Resource Group for doing this work with us–it is more needed than ever.
