I live, work & study on stolen land. In acknowledgment of this, I organize with Jews on Ohlone Land (JOOL) to direct Jewish financial and other contributions to Sogorea Te’ which is an Urban Indigenous Women-led Land Trust. Sogorea Te’ invites people who are not Indigenous to Huichin (aka the East Bay) to pay Shuumi.

In gratitude to the work of Resmaa Menakem, Ramon Grosfoguel, Lyla June and many others, I understand whiteness, white supremacy and colonialism to be out-growths of unhealed traumas that originated in Europe. Part of the process of dismantling these oppressive systems, is for white, whitened and/or European descent people to reconnect with their ancestors, the ability to somatically regulate, grieve collectively and other essential functions of healthy cultures. I engage in this reconnection work to both heal myself/my people and to sustain resistance to systems of oppression that materially privilege me and harm BIPOC communities.

“I” am not just myself. “I” am an amalgamation of many threads of wisdom, teachings, lives and experiences from many sources from both the human and more-than-human world. The gifts “I” have been given are meant to serve something bigger than me - my community, the land, my ancestral lineages. And, I wouldn’t know how to identify and bring my gifts into the world without the support of teachers. It is my intention to acknowledge my ancestors and teachers through reciprocating with gifts of crafts, time, attention, care, listening and respect.