Our conversation was quieter than many gatherings, but was still as wide-ranging as ever. As we extended from the starting point of a mid-point reflection in our June to June commitment to gather, I began by sharing that I had come across the term heterarchical mentorship as an apt description of what we are doing. Others appreciated our circle as a space to be with whatever is coming up, a place for story, to listen and be heard, share emotions, ask important questions and heal ruptures. For future ideas, we explored co-planning possibilities, the hope for sharing book recommendations, and seeing our group as a space to convene listeners for “confounding issues” coming up in decolonizing practice.
We also revisited definitions of decolonization, since it is such an abstract and academic term which benefits from interfacing with experiential reality. My favourite definition that emerged was “decolonization is allowing the connection between everything to exist… it’s like believing in magic.” This brought a podcast recommendation for On Being with Krista Tippett speaking with James Bridle about the intelligence of the more-than-human world, and such innovations as “queering the internet through non-binary code.” We also spoke about our love for Tyson Yunkaporta’s book Sand Talk, which brings infinite angles and adventures regarding decolonization.
We also book-ended our conversation with reminders that time in nature is always healthy, and helps us to hold love, grief and responsibility relative to protecting the land and water. We aired frustration about oil and gas lobbyists having a very prominent presence at the COP summit underway at the time. Grief came up about the ongoing tragedy of Site C going ahead despite all opposition, and we received the sobering reminder to protect the water here that is still “wild and loud,” since “all the water in Europe is restrained.” We also held and valued the memory of community coming together with determination over years to protect Cottonwood Lake park and recreation area. When collective action brings success as in that case, it also feels like magic to believe in.
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