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.  

 

Financial Access: We don't believe in barriers to healing spaces. The cost of this retreat should not be a barrier to you if this space is calling to your soul. That being said, the cost of this ritual is so that the facilitators and organizers may be resourced. We are committed to making this work accessible to a wide variety of communities; especially cash poor and working class folks who are on the front lines of social movements and community work. Limited Scholarships available. 

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: TBD

Ticket Pricing:
Attendees are responsible for arranging their own accommodations and most meals, including a potluck dish for Friday evening. On-site, participants will have access to a space to warm up food and store small amounts. We will provide a shared, prepared meal on Sunday afternoon before departure.

Accommodations/Carpooling:
For those looking to coordinate shared lodging, carpooling, or other logistics, we will provide a self-organizing spreadsheet.
**$15 a night camping is available on the land. If you are interested, please contact Rain at grief.healingattheroots@gmail.com

Sliding Scale: $500-800
Scholarship Request Form

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. 

Refund Policy:
Partial refunds of 50% are available up to 30 days prior to the event date. After this period, refunds are no longer available. This policy helps to hold us all accountable and creates some protection for the facilitators and organizers. We ask that you notify us as soon as possible if you are no longer able to attend. If you can no longer attend, another option is to transfer your ticket to someone else. To do this, send an email to Rain at grief.healingattheroots@gmail.com, requesting that the registration form be emailed to the person you are transferring your ticket to.

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

pre & post care for grief ritual

grief & praise - martin prechtel

spotify grief playlist​