Collective Action
Our core values at Ancestral Medicine include striving to be antisupremacist, international, and accessible. In addition to weaving a commitment to cultural healing through all of our offerings, we also at times participate in more direct, tangible forms of advocacy or activism.
In times such as ours of global upheaval, ongoing as that always is, we feel passionately as a spiritual teaching organization that striving for a kind, just, ecologically vibrant world is at the heart of work with the Sacred. There is only one precious world.
This page is intended as a resource for those seeking further information about our stance on global issues, those interested in ways to find support or resources, and those who wish to remain responsive through these times of accelerated change and upheaval.
News, Updates, and Support Events
SWANA Connection Call | Sun, Oct 27, 2024
- Hosted by: Noor Deen
- Open to: the AM community. This event is semi-private. It’s open to those who have enrolled in a multi-series course in the past. If you have access to the link above, you’re welcome to rsvp and attend.
This offering is an invitation for connection for those in the SWANA region or who are SWANA identifying. Through discussion, sharing, and ritual-guided practice, we hope to create a space of learning and support for this region with diverse cultures, faiths, and practices.
Hurricane Support Gatherings | Five dates in October and November 2024
- Hosted by: five different anchors
- Open to: The public. This event is open access and free.
At Ancestral Medicine, we are committed to anchoring deeply supportive devotional spaces during times of disruption to make room amidst the wasteland of destruction to honor grief so that it may begin to metabolize. To this end, and to support a greater sense of shared and collective resilience, we’re offering five free weekly gatherings to assist those impacted by recent catastrophic weather events especially along the southeastern U.S., including storms that have passed (Helene, Milton) and may yet still come.
For Organizations, Practitioners, and Groups
If you’re in a decision-making role at your organization or have your own practice or business in healing arts, and you’re seeking ways to be more impactful during times of global upheaval and ecological crisis, we applaud this calling. All efforts are sorely needed.
In the spirit of solidarity and to perhaps encourage others who are navigating the complexities of livelihood, values, and calling, here are some ways we’re attempting to move in values-aligned ways in all that we offer to the world as an educational organization:
We offer robust scholarship, sliding scale, and accessibility policies for all of our offerings, from our Practitioner Training to public, one-time talks.
In response to global crises (e.g., earthquake in Turkey, genocide in Gaza), we sometimes produce free teachings, rituals, and fundraising offerings.
We regularly platform and fairly compensate guests who reflect the Global Majority. In 2024 this will include over 60 presenters from over 20 nations.
We maintain a sub-directory of practitioners and practitioners-in-training who offer free ancestral healing sessions to folks in need (see below).
Ritualists in the Ancestral Medicine Practitioner Network get free access to ongoing teachings on decolonization, DEI, and cultural healing.
AM staff and practitioners all affirm anti-supremacist, Earth-honoring values. We hire for these values alongside other important skills and proficiencies.
Since October 2023, AM has given over $7,500 toward Palestinian relief work. This reflects a longer pattern of donations to folks doing good works.
Our founder Daniel Foor speaks to current events through social media as well as in public teachings, podcasts, etc (see resources section below).
Our team is always open to suggestions, feedback, possible collaborations, and ways to more effectively participate in collective liberation work.
Our offerings, in and of themselves, are forms of participation. Every course or event is designed with the intention of personal and cultural healing.
For Individuals Impacted by Global Conflict
FREE ONE-ON-ONE ANCESTRAL HEALING SESSIONS
Since 2017 nearly 200 people have completed the Ancestral Medicine Practitioner Training that empowers folks to bring ancestral healing practices to their respective communities. They are therapists, holistic healers, cultural change-makers, herbalists, ritualists, and kind, skillful human beings of diverse backgrounds. Their offerings are available in over 20 languages and as many nations and most guide online sessions. See the full Practitioner Directory.
Some practitioners and practitioners-in-training offer free/pro bono sessions. All have organizational backing to guide this work and agree to our Practitioner Code of Ethics. Each practitioner decides if this offer extends only to certain groups (those impacted by global conflicts, BIPOC folks, trans clients, etc.) or if it’s available to anyone in financial need. That is specified on their websites (if they have a site) or by contacting them. If you would like to schedule a consult or dive in with session work, select the best fit from the list below and reach out to them directly.
If you’re trying to reach someone and haven’t heared back after several attempts over at least ten days, email info@ancestralmedicine.org and we can forward your message. Otherwise, please direct all communications to the practitioners directly.
Resources
This section will be developed further over time and is intended to encourage ongoing learning and engagement.
Palestine Focus
- All Out for Palestine is an excellent compilation by the Palestinian Feminist Collective. Whatever we might include and more is already there.
- If helpful to learn from Israeli voices, consider the work of the “New Historians” like Benny Morris, Ilan Pappé, Avi Shlaim.
- For spirituality/educational orgs centering Palestinian liberation, consider SAND including their documentary, Where Olives Weep.
Southeastern U.S. Hurricane Focus (Helene, Milton, etc.)
All Hands and Hearts
This organization focuses on long-term disaster recovery, deploying teams for mucking, gutting, and rebuilding efforts in hurricane-hit areas like North Carolina and Florida. They are known for their commitment to staying long after the initial emergency passes to support communities through rebuilding.
BeLoved Asheville
A local nonprofit working on the ground to distribute critical supplies like food, water, hygiene products, and baby supplies. They have mobilized a network of volunteers to assist communities in western North Carolina (including remote areas outside of Asheville) affected by Hurricane Helene.
Information Technology Disaster Resource Center (ITDRC)
This group specializes in providing connectivity and technology support to communities affected by disasters. In the wake of Helene, they are setting up charging stations and restoring internet access, which are critical for communication and coordination during recovery.
This is an unconventional and grassroots disaster response organization composed of volunteers who use their personal boats to rescue people trapped by floods during hurricanes and other disasters. Initially formed in response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the Cajun Navy has grown into a vital part of relief efforts during hurricanes across the southern U.S.
Resources for Collective Liberation (Recs from AM Practitioner Network & Staff)
- Stay tuned! This section is currently under development.
Cultural/Political Oriented Interviews and Offerings by Daniel Foor
- Ancestral Healing and Spiritual Leadership in a Time of Genocide, an interview with Hadar Cohen
- Speaking with the Mother Tongue EP4, an interview with Ebyan Zanini
- Uri Noy Meir in conversation with Sulaiman Khatib and Daniel Foor, ImaginAction Podcast
- Prayer Vigil & Ritual for Palestine/Israel with Rae Abileah, Omid Safi, and Daniel Foor, hosted by Ancestral Medicine
- Daniel’s Instagram account is the main place for his ongoing sharing if it’s supportive
- The Ancestral Medicine course that is most overly political in nature is Inhabiting the Times (created in 2022).
Cultural Healing Offerings by AM Practitioner Network
- Anderson Ream (SF Bay Area, USA) offers accessible gatherings including “Ancestral Reconnection for White People and Action for a Free Palestine”
- For anyone who has taken a course with AM, there are now regular, free offerings in our connection space (e.g., Ancestral Support for Activists)
- Stay tuned! This section is currently under development.
