Ancestral Medicine

On the morning of October 19th, 2020 ten previous members of the Ancestral Medicine practitioner and trainee network along with other anonymous signatories posted an Open Letter Regarding Daniel Foor & Ancestral Medicine on the Medium platform.

In the weeks since the letter was posted, our team at Ancestral Medicine has been focused on generative engagement with the 68 practitioners and trainees in the Ancestral Medicine network. In close collaboration with our primary leadership development advisor since November of 2019, Tovi Scruggs Hussein we’ve held three network-wide circles (a meeting in late October and two restorative circles facilitated by Tovi in November), a survey to those the network inviting input and assessing for impact or concerns, and extensive conversations between me, Tovi, the Ancestral Medicine leadership team, some folks in the network, and our dedicated staff who have been responding to inquiries while honoring our policies on conflict resolution (see below). We take the concerns seriously as we have since they were first raised in late 2018 / early 2019.

I recognize that some who have read the open letter may be left wondering what is true and who is trustworthy. My intent is to make a more thorough public statement responding to specific elements of the letter in early 2021. There are several reasons for this official statement not happening sooner:

First, the Ancestral Medicine leadership team is holding the door open a bit longer for anyone who has previously left the network and who may wish to engage in any restorative process or mediation before it becomes a largely public process on the stage of social media in a way that risks reinforcing an already fairly stuck dynamic. To anyone who has left the network, the same offer that has been present since early 2019 for professional mediation or dialogue in the spirit of resolution still stands; just reach out. We are flexible about the form that could take provided there is any kind of professional container or process that supports the intent of healing and resolution. We are aware that there was no request for any type of engagement in the Medium post, and we are nonetheless holding that door open with sincerity and kindness.

Second, I am on a two-month sabbatical until Jan 18th, during which time I’ll still tend to critical prior obligations (e.g., online courses, basic social media presence via AM staff) but will otherwise anchor in with family and introspection. Although the most substantive organizational changes and accompanying personal shifts happened for me in mid to late 2019, I continue to be fruitfully challenged to refine my leadership and embodiment of both personal and organizational core values. This choice to make dedicated space for reflection was requested by several in the network and also supported by Tovi to be certain I give full consideration to concerns raised before any public reply. During this time, Tovi and our team will still be responsive if anyone reaches out.

Third, almost nothing in the post was new information. I have not spoken with anyone who signed the letter since late 2019 or early 2020 as most signatories either left or were asked to leave the Ancestral Medicine collegial network in 2019. That context is not shared to minimize the nature of the concerns, only to underscore that we dedicated extensive time and energy to these issues as a network and as a leadership team from December 2018 to January 2020, including with numerous conflict-resolution meetings, network-wide circles and attempts at restorative process. Sadly, this means that many who signed the letter may not be aware of the substantial changes and improvements, many of which happened in late 2019 into early 2020 (due in large part to valuable feedback given throughout 2019).

To highlight one way in which this failure to account for positive changes made is negatively impacting those now active with the organization, on the same morning that the open letter was posted on Medium, the fourth cohort of 33 ancestral healing practitioners began their final day of shared ritual and training before bringing their ancestor-focused offerings into the world. The open letter and its timing on the most potent day of their training process has reverberated for many of those individuals in divisive, traumatic, and harmful ways. Many have felt it as an attack on them, not isolated to me. That, too, has been painful to witness in the space of trusting collegial community.

Also with the intent to provide context, not to dismiss or minimize concerns expressed in the open letter, those involved in the larger work of Ancestral Medicine in calendar year 2020 include six full-time staff, the 68 ritualists from eight countries in the practitioner and trainee network as well as their clients in ancestral healing, 40+ part-time paid supporter-ritualists for online courses, and over 4,000 online course participants from 35+ nations. The feedback on our offerings this year from the thousands actively involved has been overwhelmingly positive, again due in part to beneficial changes made. We are learning as we go, and the concerns of the signatories of the letter do not represent all involved.

With respect to the fresh impact on the hundreds of people not in the practitioner and trainee network who are now reading the open letter without context, the reality that many of the concerns were addressed in earnest over a year ago further inclines me to move slowly and with curiosity if anyone who signed the letter wishes to re-engage in ways that could potentially bridge this gap.

Finally, I’m resisting the pull to move at the speed of social media call-outs. This approach lacks a container and feels dysregulated as a way to work in areas where trust has been broken. I’m not convinced it supports the kinds of breakthroughs, healing, and restoration that I want to believe are still possible in some cases. So I am prioritizing those inclined to participate in dialogue, mediation, or other types of restorative process. The door remains open.

Shortly after the open letter was published Ancestral Medicine leadership made a statement in late October (see below) on our policies in the network as they relate to conflict resolution as we felt this could give a bit more context on how we’re navigating the moment. We acknowledge that we have chosen to not get into the details of the open letter with folks outside the network who have asked and that may feel unsatisfying. As we move toward the more substantive public response in early 2021 we’re discerning how much detail is useful and appropriate to share with those not directly involved (beyond reading the Medium post). If anyone encountering the Medium letter feels it would be helpful in your discernment process, we’re able to connect you with individuals from the four practitioner and trainee cohorts (2016-2020) who are willing to speak from their personal experiences with anyone with questions. To make those connections or with other concerns, message our team at info@ancestralmedicine.org.

Thanks for taking the time with this update, for your patience if you are wishing for further details, and for your interest in matters of integrity, cultural healing, and how we can find ways to come together, ideally with the support of the ancestors and powers, in places where trust has been broken.

-Daniel