Equity
& Justice
Journey
I acknowledge the Widjabul-Wiabul people of the Bundjalung nation as the traditional custodians of the unceded land where I live, dream and work, and pay my respects to the Elders past, present and emerging.
I acknowledge the revolutionary Black and Indigenous feminist foremothers (bell hooks, Audre Lorde, Gloria Anzaldua to name a few) who have made so much way-finding possible for all women.
In 2020 upon embarking upon my ancestral healing work, I became aware of the lineage of white settler colonialism existing within me while simultaneously witnessing the horrific ongoing deaths in custody of black and indigenous people here in Australia and in the US. In this convergence of awareness I knew it was my responsibility to actively unlearn the racism that is internalised within me, as well as do everything I can to resist the systemic racism in our social and cultural institutions.
As a white cis-het woman facilitating rites of passage programmes and circles with women, I take it as my responsibility to create safe and brave containers based on equity and justice that everyone can feel welcome in.
I believe that when we approach our unlearning with curiosity, courage and compassion we can find our way to create a world where racial, gender and species equity is the norm. It is important to me to create sacred spaces for women that don’t perpetuate white privilege or engage in cultural appropriation of indigenous knowledge and practices.
As a contemporary rites of passage guide I am committed to facilitating programmes and mentoring that are actively anti-racist, decolonising and LGTBQ+ inclusive.
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I will offer accessible pricing and payment options for BIPOC participants and I will donate 5% of my programme profits alternatively to two organisations supporting indigenous and marginalised women,- Djirra and Sisters Inside.
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I commit to ongoing lifelong unlearning and so far have completed programmes facilitated by:
-Blackcard Cultural Capability by Mundara Bayles, based on the work of Dr. Lilla Watson and Dr. Mary Graham Aboriginal Elders and Educators and course developers for the University of Queensland.
-Rachel Ricketts, Anti racist educator via her online Spiritual Activism 101
-Annie Gichuru, Racial Equity Coach
This is a journey that is ongoing and I know that there will be times that I will make mistakes because I am human and I commit to be accountable for repair when I do. I am always available to be called in around my own unconscious bias and blind spots.
In addition I’d like to make share my values around both gender and womanhood, and the socialised role of motherhood.
If you are someone whose identity is marginalised by the rules of patriarchal womanhood please know that you are welcome here. My work is based on unlearning the invisible gendered socialisation and cultural constructs that keeps us feeling like we aren’t worthy based on the dominant narrative of the good girl/good woman. I know that gender is a construct, for humans and our other than-human kin gender is fluid and yet I teach and facilitate gendered Rites of Passage programs because I know that reflecting and unlearning this conditioning is our pathway to reclaiming and liberating the mature feminine within us and in our world. I welcome all who identify as women and non-binary folks.
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If you are a mother who identifies outside the rules of patriarchal motherhood (with an identity other than a white, cis-gendered, heterosexual, biological, physically able mother) please know that you are welcome here. My commitment is to support mothers in ways that resist those rules and for us to unlearn the socialisation that keep us feeling like we aren’t enough or doing it 'right', to liberate mothers from the ideals of motherhood. Acknowledging diversity of mothering and the journey of matrescence is a foundation of my work with mothers. It is key to how we reclaim our mothering for each of us, our families and communities, and the wider web of kinship on our animate earth.
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"If you have come to help me,
you are wasting your time.
If you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together."
Dr. Lilla Watson, “Recognition of Indigenous Terms of Reference,” Keynote Address at “A Contribution to Change: Cooperation Out of Conflict Conference: Celebrating Difference, Embracing Equality,” Hobart, Tasmania (September 21-24, 2004). She identifies this slogan as a collective statement from activists working in Queensland in the 1970s.