This episode attempts to weaves together personal encounters and academic, historical accounts of human and animal relationships. I reflect on my own encounters with so-called "dangerous and dying" animals--Miko, a reactive dog we adopted; and Francie--a hedgehog dying from cancer. I turn to wisdom from Amazon, Singapore, and ocean mammals.
This was produced as a project for a course called Animals and The Unseen taught by Teren Sevea
This episode is dedicated to Michael Nunziato and Miko. Michael, you've been so dedicated to Miko's wellbeing. Miko, you're such a beautiful being, thank you for letting me love you. You two have taught me so much.
Content warning: the storytelling, particularly in the beginning of the episode, includes stories of animals who can be considered dangerous as well as experiences of animal deaths.
Here are some links from sources mentioned in the episode:
I also want to acknowledge Professor Teren Sevea for this opportunity to produce this episode as a class project. Additionally, an earlier draft of this story was inspired by courses and conversations with Professors Michael Puett and Janet Gyatso. Thank you to my community: Amy and Henry, Nat and Liri & Lala, Quinn, Rebeccah, Claudia, Jessy and Scout for walking through this experience with me, and to Michael, Miko, Francie, Rūmī for all your patience and love.
*** To learn more about Palestine from Native American, decolonial perspectives I recommend The Red Nation on Youtube or podcast apps. I have also signed on to this statement as a Ford Fellow, you can find further resources there.
PS: enjoy Rūmī's meowing (and the heater) in the background.
September of 1519 in Yucatan, Mexico. September of 2018 in Denver, Colorado, USA. Copal is a powerful incense across centuries, a scent and ceremonial presence familiar to Indigenous peoples, Mexicans, and Chicanx communities alike. But what happens when copal is stolen from Maya sacred sites and brought to storage in Massachussetts? For over 100 years thousands of bodies from Chichén Itzá have been held in a Harvard museum in Cambridge, Massachussetts, USA. This is a tragic rupture of a relational network.
This is a bonus episode and based on a paper for Seeding Relations Conference March 2022. Here, I articulate some experiences, reflections, and questions that are emerging during my research and relationships with copalli. These are questions I hope to engage in my thesis and future doctoral work. Thank you for listening!
This podcast episode was recorded and produced on the ancestral lands of the Pawtucket and Massachussett.
To support the show and/or Rebecca's PhD applications fall 2022 venmo @Rebecca-Nunziato
On this episode Johanna Guevara of Dropping Seeds joins Rebecca to discuss the ways that we can relate to plants and remember ancestral survival skills and healing practices. Johanna shares her personal journey of Indigenizing her family structure, homeschooling her children, and cultivating herbal medicine. Johanna inspires us to be held by nature and in rooted relationships even in fast-paced urban settings like Brooklyn or Boston.
Please consider purchasing amazing herbal blends for tea, smoking, and more from dropping-seeds.com!
Resources & Recs from Johanna:
This podcast was produced on Pawtucket and Massachussett land. Learn about the Indigenous lands you occupy here: https://native-land.ca/
To support the show and/or Rebecca's PhD applications venmo @Rebecca-Nunziato
About Johanna:
Johanna migrated to America with her family in the 80’s. As a last generation Colombian, her upbringing under the 7 Train in Queens, NYC, was mostly in Spanish. As with many Central, South American and Caribbean countries, both of her Grandmothers were influential and always had a plant for every ailment.
From very young, Johanna’s passion was creating. Her drive and determination lead her to graduate with a BFA from Parsons School of Design, only a couple months before Sept. 11. This global event would not only change the course of history but also propel her freelance design career into a full service branding studio with clients like Time Inc., CUNY, Afropunk, Department of Education, HighTimes and Sony Japan.
In 2008, during the collapse of the housing bubble which led to the Great Recession, she closed up her design studio and decided to travel the world with her then partner SirRoan. These travels very synchronistically turned into studies of sacred plant medicine, Ayurveda & Curanderismo with different masters from Brazil to New Mexico to heal personal emotional traumas. Johanna has also received certification in Reiki Level 2, Integrated Energy Technique Advanced , a Wasteskun Meztli Canada Moon Dancer and a Vision Quester in Atlantida, Colombia.
In this episode Rebecca is joined by Jamee Pineda for a conversation about ancestral healing, traditional medicines, and decolonial approaches to remembering and reclaiming knowledge and practices for collective liberation. Listen for insights about food, fractals, and an invitation to reject ideas of "purity" while embracing decolonial pathways for wellness in daily life.
Support Jamee and QTBIOC healing on Patreon!
https://www.patreon.com/JameePinedaHealingArts
About Jamee
Jamee is a hilot binabaylan, acupuncturist, and Chinese medicine practitioner. With the combination of his lived experience and training, his goal is to help individuals and communities live their fullest lives by offering a decolonizing approach to medicine rooted in traditional and ancestral practices. He is the host The Decolonizing Medicine Podcast! Subscribe & listen now: https://open.spotify.com/show/6dTvGlwkri4s8KvLx5ZNVo
Learn more here! http://www.jamee-pineda-lac.com/
In this episode Rebecca is joined by Diana Morales, Purepecha artist and a graduate student at UCLA. Diana generously shares stories from her family, her community, and from the earth. Tune in to hear Purepecha origins of the sacred tabaco plant, the power of seed memory and planting in community, and Diana's journey of self care and representation through art.
About Diana Morales
Diana is a Purepecha migrant living in Santa Ana, CA Tongva and Achachemen territory. She is an indigenous artist and digital illustrator. She shares her work to highlight Purepecha culture in the diaspora and "to remind us that we are here with our stories, our language and our history. "
Welcome to season 2 of Decolonize Everything podcast!
In this episode Rebecca is joined by Curandera Erika Buenaflor to celebrate her fourth book, Animal Medicine: A Curanderismo Guide to Shapeshifting, Journeying, and Connecting with Animal Allies
Listen to Erika's journey of embracing her gift as a healer. She offers insights and invitations around issues of appropriation and accessibility of ancient and contemporary Indigenous wisdom.
Light a candle and some incense with Rebecca and enjoy a taste of all the profound research and experiences that Erika generously shares.
This is the final episode of season 1 of Decolonize Everything and it's a very special episode.
Rebecca is joined by her sister Sara Nicole Mendoza. Sara Nicole is a life coach who helps highly sensitive people and empaths learn to regulate their nervous system, and ultimately to step into their power and heal.
In this episode Sara and Rebecca share laughter and lament. Sara offers insights and inspiration for those who are often "tempted to stay small," she even does some coaching on the spot and invites us all into deep engagement and work with our egos and energy.
Sara and Rebecca are both first-generation graduate students: Sara is a master student at Naropa in the Mindfulness-Based Transpersonal Counseling program and she has her BA in psychology. They share struggles and successes while considering their privilege and opportunities to change the game. Listen now and be sure to follow and support Sara's work:
Theme Music produced by TheRealPakman for Eating Beatz
All other music comes from Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue)
So much gratitude to all listeners & supporters of this podcast!
More coming soon in Season 2
In this episode Jenny Medrano (she/they) joins Rebecca for a conversation about deconstructing DEI (diversity equity & inclusion) and envisioning "holistic liberation." Jenny offers practical tips, potential rituals, and profound insights for our path towards decolonization.
Also: Join us in celebrating! Jenny has spent the last four years at Building Bridges and when we recorded this conversation she had yet to announce her transition off of the BB team. In addition to turning 30 in May 2021 she also will be focusing full-time on her own business: Jenny Medrano Coaching! Happy Birthday and congratulations, Jenny!
Links from this episode:
Subscribe & follow along here:
Theme music produced by TheRealPakman for Eating Beatz
All other music from Blue Dot Sessions
About Jenny Medrano:
Jenny’s unique experience as a Latina leader in the city of Denver has fueled her passion for holistic liberation. With over a decade of experience in education, youth development and DEI (diversity, equity, inclusion) training, she has equipped hundreds of youth and adults with the tools to uproot systemic oppression in their personal and professional lives. She is especially passionate about supporting women and femmes of color in deprogramming their limiting beliefs, and toxic lifestyle habits.
In this bonus episode I offer critiques of colonial systems and academic assumptions about religion and medicine. I share a bit about my research and experience of an unfolding relationship with copal. The decolonial healing path continues to draw me in. I am deeply grateful and increasingly aware of all that I need to un-learn and re-learn.
This is a project for a wonderful course I took this spring at Harvard Divinity School called "Religion and Healing: An Anthropological Perspective."
I am really grateful for a chance to TALK. IT. OUT. (in the quiet, dark covid-19 cave). Because so much of this year of online school has been in very isolated conditions. So I get a bit nerdy. I'd love to hear what you think!
References in this episode:
Audio features:
Subscribe & follow along here:
Thanks for listening to Decolonize Everything!
Have you thought about the way that our transportation systems are colonial? The violence of our cars?
On this episode, Jonathon Stalls speaks about "unhurried movement" and every-day opportunities for connection and action in the face of a violent car-centric society. Join the sacred circle as Jonathon and I explore how walking/rolling/moving has transformed our experiences of self and relationship with the earth. Jonathon graciously shares his own encounters with life, death, spirituality, and growth.
About our incredible guest:
Jonathon Stalls spent 242 days walking across the United States in 2010 and has continued to move alongside thousands of people for thousands of miles. He is an artist, social entrepreneur, advocate for social, economic, and racial justice, LGBTQIA+, Creator of Intrinsic Paths and Pedestrian Dignity, and Founder/Member of the Walk2Connect Co-op.
Learn more and support Jonathon here: www.Patreon.com/IntrinsicPaths
Photography by Art Heffron
Thanks for listening to Decolonize Everything!
Subscribe & follow along here:
New theme music produced by TheRealPakman for Eating Beatz
All other music from Blue Dot Sessions
In this episode I’m in dialogue with a fellow woman of color podcaster, Natasha Pepperl.
Natasha is a foster mom to a teen girl and as a woman of color, she is passionate about finding and sharing diverse perspectives when it comes to foster care.
On this episode we push the edges of our definitions of family, discuss how to care for one another to sustain good work, and we confront power-dynamics and white-savior complex in foster families!
Go learn more about Natasha and Just As Special:
New theme music produced by TheRealPakman for Eating Beatz
All other music from Blue Dot Sessions
Subscribe & follow along here:
This is a short audio piece from October 2020 that I created for a Harvard Divinity School spiritual practice "pop-up." As you can see from the last two episodes, I learned a lot of this from Maria and Denise and continue to humbly work towards decolonizing my own spirituality through tending to my altar.
As an end of 2020 bonus I want to thank everyone who has come on the show, subscribed, rated, reviewed, listened, and shared!
Thank you for joining me in this creative pursuit to listen well, share practical tips and radical ideas for decolonization, and hold space for a virtual sacred circle with all of you.
Subscribe & follow along here:
Music in this episode:
Static City Drumline by Blue Dot Sessions
Open Flames by Blue Dot Sessions
The second part of Rebecca's conversation with Maria Sierra & Denise Vaughn. To fully engage this conversation go back and start at part one.
In this episode we discuss creating and tending an altar as a sacred space and a practice for decolonizing our healing and spirituality.
Also check out the bonus episode (right after this!) about Rebecca's altar and reflections after learning from this conversation and beginning this practice.
Some of the good stuff referenced:
Subscribe & follow along here:
Music in this episode:
Static City Drumline by Blue Dot Sessions
Open Flames by Blue Dot Sessions
Matamoscas by Blue Dot Sessions
Maria Sierra & Denise Vaughn join Rebecca for a virtual sacred circle to discuss decolonizing our understanding of healing. Denise and Maria have been social work professionals for over 25 years and have started to deconstruct the space from many angles.
In this episode (part I of the series) we talk about social work, healing-centered engagement, and the ways that we have become more embodied and present to our ancestral and spiritual lineages.
Some of the good stuff referenced:
Subscribe & follow along here:
Music in this episode:
Static City Drumline by Blue Dot Sessions
Chilvat by Blue Dot Sessions
Matamoscas by Blue Dot Sessions
Alejandra (Ale) Salemi, MPH joins Rebecca for a conversation on COVID and Colonization.
After graduating with her Masters in Public Health, Ale spent summer 2020 deployed as a contract tracer for the state of Florida during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
We start this show with some time in a virtual sacred circle to breathe and reflect before we dive in to a heavy topic.
Tune in to hear Ale share how the disease disproportionately is harming migrant workers in Florida and gives insights into the way colonialism has affected BIPOC communities and our health and well-being.
She also offers a vision for a world where doctors, researchers, and clinicians come from diverse backgrounds, a future with empowered indigenous heath-care professionals who serve their communities from within. Now as a student at Harvard Divinity School, Ale is committed to bringing this vision to life through her own work bridging religion and public health.
Be sure to give Ale all the love & follow her work here:
Podcast recommendation from Ale: https://www.jhsph.edu/podcasts/public-health-on-call/
You can support the show via venmo: @Rebecca-Nunziato
And join the conversation on social media :
• Facebook
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• Twitter
Should we get rid of the whole idea of tenure? How is the academy a tool of capitalism?
In this episode of Decolonize Everything Dr. Derrick Hudson joins Rebecca in the studio for a conversation about higher education and the institutionalization of learning, wisdom, and knowledge.
We had a blast starting the conversation about rethinking tenure, academic journals, and the framework of "publish or perish" that drives the modern higher education system. Colonization and capitalism have truly affected the way that we show up as students, teachers, and learners and so this episode helps us pull back the curtain on these often unseen forces at play.
Learn more about Dr. Derrick Hudson here: https://hass.mines.edu/project/hudson-derrick/
Note: Since recording this episode in July 2020 I have started my graduate program at Harvard and Derrick is working on the Center for Race, Culture, and Society and Colorado School of Mines. It was such a gift to pause during this moment and capture Derrick's perspectives during the COVID-19 pandemic and the shifting social fabric of our U.S. society.
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Talking to LaQueta McCauley about #BLM in Episode 1 was just TOO GOOD, so I couldn't help but share this rest of this conversation.
In this episode we talk about Denver which LaQueta calls "a place for white people to have fun."
While this is a Denver specific episode, this episode can be seen as a peek into a particular story that has a lot to teach us about the universal reality of urban gentrification and white supremacy in our systems.
Tune in for insights on gentrification + education + entertainment + so much more.
In the wake of the murders of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and countless other black lives lost to police and state-sponsored violence, we have seen a social uprising alongside #BlackLivesMatter. This has been and will continue to be a defining moment in our shared memory of the summer of 2020 and COVID-19. But who is telling the stories of this moment? Capturing the wisdom and insights from marginalized communities? Directly impacted communities must be amplified, so this episode was created to honor the black leaders, teachers, organizers, and everyday people who are regularly erased and silenced.
Today I call up black women in Denver, friends and new acquaintances, to pass them the mic and create a virtual circle to hold stories of strength and suffering and to behold the wisdom of these diverse speakers.
Tune in to listen, learn, laugh, and more. Let's decolonize together.
This episode features the following voices in order of appearance:
***Coming soon: extended interview/bonus episode with LaQueta McCauley on disparities in in Denver from the perspective of a single black mom, entrepreneur, and activist in Denver.
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