Before We Were White is an comprehensive workshop series for white-identified people seeking greater emotional resilience in their work against racism and for a sustainable future. Together we will explore how ceremonial practice and ancestral identity help us challenge white supremacy as whole people.
Each of us belongs to a collective body of people with a story that reaches before us and after us in time. Before we were ever classified as white, our ancestors were distinct peoples with their own unique culture – their own unique medicine. What happened to us? What have our ancestors done? And what can we do, now, to stop the trauma from continuing, repair the harm, and build a better future?
Together we will address these questions, and build our resilience, by connecting with ancestral stories across these four thresholds of remembrance: ancestors who lived as indigenous people, with deep ties to land and place; ancestors who experienced domination and destruction of traditional ways of life; ancestors who participated in violence and subjugation of other people’s (directly or indirectly); and ancestors who resisted all along the way.

Through this workshop series, facilitators will help you:

  • Establish a baseline of understanding of what whiteness is, why it was formed, and how it is impacting our society today.
  • Explore techniques to support the recovery of the Original Instructions our oldest, indigenous ancestors received; mourn and repair the damage that has been done to us and by us; and open ourselves to further instructions for our work at this moment in history.
  • Develop skills for ceremony and ritual that are vital aspects of healing and resilience. Understand cultural appropriation and learn tools for healthy, cross-cultural exchange.
  • Bring all of these learnings out into your life, and draw upon them in your work for racial justice and collective liberation.
Before We Were White is a copyright of WildWise School © 2017-2020