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indigenous people & the intentional community movement
Do some intentional communities rely on cultural appropriation? How do ICs empower indigenous activism? Should you get bison? (yes)
Jasper Lydon
October 14, 2024
Dearest earthlings: another week, another newsletter!
today's table of contents
happy indigenous people’s day!
When I was traveling across the country visiting a wide array of intentional communities, it was really interesting to me to see how different groups did/didn’t engage with issues around indigeneity.
In the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, Wild Grace community members stopped to thank indigenous ancestors for preserving the land and did a make-shift blessing of the earth with some essential oils. The leader of the tour said, “You know, they want their land back, but I don’t think that’s going to happen.”
But with 80 lush, sprawling acres to their name, I wondered what action they had taken? Had they reached out to leaders of the indigenous groups who had historically stewarded their land? Perhaps giving up their land would be out of the question, but what about inviting native groups to visit, host gatherings on their land, or organizing co-learning workshops?
Bison grazing in Central Alabama after being reintroduced at Ekvn-Yefolecv
community highlight: a maskoke ecovillage!
one of the coolest ecovillages i’ve heard about is Ekvn-Yefolecv, a Maskoke-led Ecovillage working to revive Maskoke land, culture, and language all at the same time! they are just really cool. and a great example of how ICs can serve to uplift indigenous goals
Visiting Ekvn-Yefolecv made me realize that all my life as a Diné woman, I have never truly known what it feels like to be in an Indigenous space. A space beyond reservations, border towns, white-owned towns and cities. The expansiveness of hundreds of acres of pure Indigenous renaissance, that answers to no one except the prayers and values of our ancestors, is a truly liberating feeling.
Meanwhile, most ICs can do a lot better. let’s go beyond half-hearted land acknowledgements & build mutual aid!
here are some accessible, mutually-beneficial actions you can take:
Look up indigenous groups to contact
Invite current leaders of the tribes native to your land
Check out potential native partners in your region, like with this directory of indigenous farms
Reach out to nonprofits like the Indigenous Environmental Network for their recommendations of groups to work with
Ask what you can do to create a mutually beneficial relationship, but here are some ideas I’ve heard about
If you host workshops or visitor programs, consider offering a discounted rate to indigenous people
Consider inviting native leaders to host talks and workshops, like on the traditional roots of regenerative agriculture
Offer up your communal spaces as sites for native gatherings and ceremonies
A workshop at Ekvn-Yefolecv
but i don’t live in an IC, & i don’t have any land?
here are some steps anyone can take:
learn about whose land your on with this interactive map
purchase from indigenous businesses - including CSAs! - through the american indian foods directory
learning about foraging? aren’t we all. consider taking your classes on foraging, backyard gardening, tracking, etc. from an indigenous teacher
supporting indigenous businesses creates reparative cash flows from the ground up
updates on my work~
this past weekend, we had our first big rain since I’ve moved to the West Coast, and it’s leaving me feeling REVITALIZED 🙂
our GIVEAWAY is still open for another few weeks if you wanna get free homemade art in exchange for sharing the newsletter with friends <33
thank you to everyone who’s reached out! i’m so excited to have you here.
much love,
jasper
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