STAND TODAY
STAND TODAY
STAND TODAY
GRIEVING WHITE SUPREMACY
<> hole <> whole <> holy <>
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.
THE WEAPON & THE WOUND
"White bodies traumatized each other in Europe for centuries before they encountered Black and Red bodies. This carnage and trauma profoundly affected white bodies and the expressions of their DNA. As we'll see, this historical trauma is closely linked to the development of white-body supremacy in America."
Chart by: Ahlay Blakely | I am open to feedback and further expansion of this idea
RITUAL
The grief points to the longing.
We will grieve collectively, internalized white supremacy, how we (and our ancestors) have perpetuated (intentionally and/or unintentionally) these harms and grieve our own ancestral losses resulting in a range of sorrows from spiritual starvation to unbelonging.
We've gotta start somewhere and we have a long, long way to go.
January 24-26, 2025
Bellingham, WA
(Caucus work for folx who identify as white)
Facilitation:
- ahlay blakely (she/her) (communal grief tender/songstress)
Ancestry - Scandinavian, Scottish, Irish, English, Ashkenazi
- Siena Tenisci (she/her) (communal grief tender/therapist)
Ancestry - Abruzesse Italian, Greek & Balkan, Celtic, German
- Briana Herman-Brand (she/they) (healing justice/somatics facilitator)
Ancestry - German, Swiss, Scottish, Irish, French, English
Advisory team:
Modalities:
We will be using the Dagara Ritual for communal grieving, introduced to the West (read more about the lineage here) in the 1990s by Malidoma and Sobonfu Somé from Dano, Burkina Faso. In his book "Of Water and the Spirit," Malidoma writes that Western civilization faces a "sickness of the soul," stemming from the violent erasure of traditional lifeways under colonialism. Though ahlay and Siena did not study directly with Ancestors Malidoma or Sobonfu, they are second-generation students, learning from teachers who worked closely with them. While concerns about cultural appropriation and neocolonization are valid, the ritual—offered by Dagara Elders to address the harms of unmetabolized grief—feels essential. We believe the need to practice it outweighs the risk of not doing so. We are open to dialogue with communities most impacted by neocolonization about these concerns.
Somatics:
We will also utilize embodiment practices from the lineages passed through generative somatics and Staci Haines. These lineages integrate healing and justice through the body. From a somatic lens we understand that individual and systemic transformation are interdependent and we practice towards liberation from the body-up.
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:
Please be aware that attendees are responsible for their own accommodations** and food. We will have a potluck together on Friday AND Sunday afternoon before departure. Additionally, we will provide a self-organizing spreadsheet for attendees to coordinate shared accommodations, carpooling, and other arrangements. On-site, participants will have access to a place to warm up food and store small amounts of it.
**if you are interested in staying on site either in the ritual space or as a camper, please contact Rain: grief.healingattheroots@gmail.com
Sliding Scale: $425-650
Scholarship Request Form
Tithing: 20% of facilitation fees will be fundshifted to the Dagara community through two initiatives overseen by community elders. Both 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
Suggested (not required) prerequisites:
reclaiming our indigenous european roots
pre & post care for grief ritual
ahlay blakely
facilitator
An artist, singer-songwriter, and community organizer committed to healing intergenerational trauma through relationships, song, and ritual. With training in decolonization and anti-racism, her community singing projects aim to inspire collective healing and transformation.
Siena Tenisci
facilitator
Siena, MA, LMHCA, is a therapist and founder of Northwest Grief Tending, reviving ancestral keening traditions to support community healing. She integrates Internal Family Systems, body-based methods, and anti-oppression frameworks, guiding clients through grief and personal transformation.
Briana Herman-Brand
facilitator
Briana has been working with youth and adults for over 20 years at the intersections of healing and justice. She provides facilitation, training, and counsel in the realms of conflict transformation, embodied trauma healing, social justice leadership, and youth empowerment.
