Where/When: 

An in-person ceremony held on the unceded homelands of the S'Klallam and Twana (Skokomish) peoples, in what is now known as Union, Washington.

February 25-28, 2027
Thursday start time 1pm
Sunday end time 2pm​

 

Address provided upon registration

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Application opens mid September

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What is this?

Grieving White Supremacy is for people of European descent who are aching for a space to grieve both the weapon and the wound of white supremacy. As white people, we are both responsible to dismantle the systems that uphold white supremacist policies, laws and institutions and we are worthy of our own ancestral healing. In fact, the two are not separate. As a people marked by cultural disconnection and deracination, white communities are called to confront and heal ancestral traumas, allowing us to show up with greater dignity and become more effective allies in the work for collective liberation.
 

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What to expect:

We will be on ritual time, meaning time is left at the door once you enter.

Our time together will be a combination of singing, poetry, movement, practice in sacred listening, witnessing and being witnessed and sharing with the whole group and in smaller groups.

Communal grief rituals are a group of people who come together to be witnessed in their sorrows. Through listening to others in their grief we can learn to articulate what has felt ineffable. Here we are invited to destigmatize, metabolize and remove pathological labels of our grief, to co-regulate our nervous systems in village and to be reminded that we are not alone.

The ritual rides the ripples of the footprints of Elders/Ancestors Malidoma + Sobonfu Somé along with the wisdom gifted by teachers and lineages such as Joanna Macy, the professional mourning women of Greece & Italy, the keeners of Ireland and Scotland, the Mikonenet from the Jewish lineage, Francis Weller, Martin Prechtel, Stephen Jenkinson, the immense amount of compounded grief of our times, Whales & so many more.

 

This space is an opportunity to share what is moving through us in whatever shape or form it comes in - perhaps numbness, shame, rage, trembling, stillness, wailing or something else.  

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Sliding Scale:

$1000-1400

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Ticket Pricing:

Your registration includes shared lodging, all meals, light snacks, coffee, and tea throughout the ceremony. Meals begin with dinner on Thursday evening and conclude with our closing lunch on Sunday, with three meals served each full day in between.

 

Financial Access:

We believe the cost of this ceremony should not be a barrier if you feel genuinely called to this work. At the same time, registration fees help ensure that the facilitators, organizers, and the many hands that make this gathering possible are fairly resourced. We are committed to making this work accessible to a wide range of communities, particularly cash-poor and working-class people, and those engaged in community care, social movements, and frontline work. We have five pay-what-you-can spaces available. 

 

Refund Policy:

There are no refunds. This policy helps to hold us all accountable and creates some protection for us as facilitators and organizers. If you are not able to attend for whatever reason after registering, you may find someone else to take your spot. You may try to email Rain to see if there is a waitlist. The person that replaces you must also register and needs to be connected with our registration team at least 7 days prior to the retreat. In the 7 days leading up to the retreat our attention shifts away from managerial tasks and screen time to prepping for our in person time.

COVID Policy:

We ask that everyone test each day before joining the shared space. Most of our time together will be indoors, depending on the weather. Masks will be optional upon arrival.

Land Accessibility:

We want to be transparent about the access limitations of this space so you can make informed decisions about your participation. The location requires moving between the ritual space, dining hall, and lodging spaces, which involves a number of short inclines and declines on dirt, gravel, and cement pathways. There are some stairs throughout the property, as well as wheelchair-accessible routes into the main gathering spaces. The main ritual space is located at the top of the driveway and, for wheelchair users, is most easily accessed by vehicle drop-off. Once inside, the ritual space is wheelchair accessible. The dining hall has ramp access from the driveway, and its ground floor, including two bedrooms and an accessible bathroom, is wheelchair accessible. One guest lodge offers two wheelchair-accessible ground-floor bedrooms, though they also require vehicle drop-off for entry, and another guest house includes two accessible bedrooms. Two of the cottages are unfortunately not wheelchair accessible. We recognize that these limitations may impact your ability to participate, and we hold that with deep care. If you have specific access needs or questions, please reach out—we're committed to doing what we can to support your participation and to continuing to grow our accessibility with accountability.

Carpooling:
For those looking to coordinate carpooling, or other logistics, we will provide a self-organizing spreadsheet as registration begins to fill.

Tithing:

The facilitators are fundshifting $1,000 to the Dagara community through two initiatives overseen by community elders. We invite you to join us in donating upon registration.

Both initiatives were built as a way for Western communities to give back to the Dagara people as reciprocity for the tremendous gifts they sent to the West through Malidoma Somé and Sobonfu Somé and the gifts they are continuing to send through other Dagara leaders.

***The Sonder Project empowers the Dagara community by providing access to sustainable drinking water through the construction of wells, supporting their most essential need.
***The Lawn Ta Council is made up of respected elders and leaders chosen to represent over 500 people in the Dagara community. It was formed in response to the disastrous challenges posed by the climate crisis in recent years, which has significantly worsened food scarcity, housing instability, and medical needs within the community. This council is responsible for distributing emergency aid where it is most needed. 


For questions/inquiries, please contact Rain at grief.healingattheroots@gmail.com

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Suggested (not required) prerequisites:​

before we were white

my grandmother's hands

reclaiming our indigenous european roots

Malidoma Somé: Grief, Ritual and Sacrifice

Sobonfu Some - Grieving and Recovery

pre & post care for grief ritual

grief & praise - martin prechtel

spotify grief playlist​