Once a month Vanessa interviews local healers on moving beyond the pandemic and healing from the shared trauma of global events. You can find all our past Tea Time sessions on our IGTV channel.
COMMUNITY ALTAR CANDLE SERVICE
Our altar is an intentional space for the continued care and well-being of our community. Too often self care is a solitary act when the healing needed is connection and witnessing. Since our physical location has closed, Vanessa continues to tend a community altar space at her home office. Since folks can no longer visit the altar and leave offerings and prayers, she invites anyone looking for support and connection to reach out via email and she will light a candle at the altar on their behalf. A community healing ritual + distance healing is also available once a month by donation. Details can be found on our class page.
LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
In 1493 Spain issued a decree stating they were entitled to any newly discovered lands not already dominated by Christians. This "Doctrine of Discovery" became the basis of all European claims in the Americas as well as the foundation for the United States’ western expansion. In the US Supreme Court in the 1823 case Johnson v. McIntosh, Chief Justice John Marshall’s opinion in the unanimous decision held "that the principle of discovery gave European nations an absolute right to New World lands." In essence, American Indians had only a right of occupancy, which could be abolished.
In 1855, the Treaty of Point Elliott was signed banning the Duwamish tribe and it's ancestors from the city to which their leader gave his name, Si’ahl’s.
Still today, the Duwamish are under seige. On July 2, 2015, The U.S. Department of Interior ruled that the Duwamish Tribe doesn’t exist – specifically, that the Duwamish Tribe doesn’t meet all of the criteria required for the U.S. to recognize it as an indigenous nation.
We recognize our benefit from practicing on Coast Salish land and endeavor to align our work towards reciprocity. We believe this land should return to it’s rightful owners, specifically, the Duwamish people.
We recognize that land acknowledgements have become performative institutional acts, and therefore believe in the ongoing learning and education of actual histories, in support of unsettling settler colonialism, and strive to support this land acknowledgement with action and activism towards liberation and sovereignty of Indigenous communities and people. We also support and contribute monthly to Real Rent Duwamishand encourage you to do the same!
RESOURCE LIBRARY
As our physical space is closed we no longer offer books to check out, instead, we are working towards compiling a list of reading materials and resources. (links will be active soon)
We support Mutual Aid Books, a Black led movement to get free books by Black & Indigenous authors to the people. Mutual Aid Books needs logistical help, donations, and help with events. Please volunteer if you’re interested! Mutual Aid Book Volunteer/Donation Form Mutual Aid Books Instagram Cashapp: $MutualAidBooks
sliding scale
The sliding scale can be a tool for social justice and makes room for the difficult conversations of class and economics. This section is a work in progress and will have more information in the future. In the meantime, please enjoy this helpful image of how to best make use of sliding scales.