The reason a feeling of deep unease, unrest and disorientation grips us these days in the US, is not merely because of the current political climate or the pandemic.
Those are merely symptoms of a deeper sickness. Underneath these obvious crises, deeper wounds have always been lurking.
We are a nation in need of trauma healing.
And on a collective and national level it is about recognizing the trauma passed on from the very land and it’s people. Land that was stolen, communities that were dislocated and uprooted and destroyed.
Our indigenous brothers and sisters and their ancestors have suffered unspeakable pain. We can’t ignore this pain and simply move on.
Their grief is also our grief.
Their trauma is also our trauma.
A true, deep and tenable sense of belonging comes when all aspects of our personal and collective history have been recognized, healed and transmuted. And without honoring the journey of those who walked, lived and created on this land we stand on today, we cannot fully know joy, freedom and belonging.
For me, this has meant educating myself on the tribes and communities that lived in the central Florida area. To learn about and honor their culture, traditions and lifestyle. To visit their burial sites and grieve for their losses.
To read, learn, listen. And repeat.
Without including them and their journey into our consciousness, we will always feel incomplete, untethered and unanchored on this land.
Today is not the day to celebrate a man who represents the violent colonization in the Western Hemisphere. Let’s start there.