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As we collectively shift to a more decolonial way of relating to place, what are some examples currently evolving in your understanding of that shift in your daily life?

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As we collectively shift to a more decolonial way of relating to place, what are some examples currently evolving in your understanding of that shift in your daily life?

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My mother is a first-generation immigrant. My paternal ancestors of unknown white European descent. My adopted paternal ancestors are Polish immigrants. My ancestral relationship to place has been one of leaving behind racial and religious persecution and economic instability, and coming to the US seeking prosperity, safety, and acceptance.  Being a second-generation immigrant in the place I currently call home, as well as a 'transplant' to a new state has shaped my relationship so I feel a sense of gratitude for improved conditions the moves have afforded, and a persistent sense of being a guest here. I don't feel the sense of ownership or patriotism I sometimes perceive others as having. Having the history of calling a place home that my ancestors have not provides me with a sense of respect for people for whom this is their ancestral home.

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My relationship to these stolen Coast Salish lands is one shaped by violence, dispossession, forced migration, and a relentless commitment to hope. My mother’s family has roots in Mexico City, and my great, great grandmother Esperanza immigrated to California as a young adult. My grandparents would eventually meet in San Diego, and head North to Washington for my grandpa’s work as a tradesman. Theirs was an interracial relationship, which was not popular in their families, and this too influenced their desire to make their own way. My father’s family has its roots in Louisiana, and deeper South into Haiti. I hope to learn more of our African connections if I can, though records have been hard to find. My grandparents fled Jim Crow South as young adults, and my grandpa’s military career as a nutritionist led to opportunities in Colorado then eventually Washington where they raised their sons and built strong community ties throughout Rainier Beach.

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Prior to both of my grandparents’ decisions to uproot themselves, their families were deeply connected to the land as farmers and ranchers in San Diego and Opelousas, respectively. Those relationships however were marked by unjust and coercive labor conditions, untenable costs, hostile neighbors, and underdeveloped communities. My grandparents would ultimately decide to abandon their intimate relationships to the land and leave the rural places that raised them in hopes of greater economic opportunities, more tolerant communities, and fresh starts. I see it as the work of many within my generation to now consider how we reforge those connections in a spirit of transformative justice and liberatory, cross-cultural healing. That healing requires a mass reckoning with the violent ways many of our ancestors have been forced to flee their land and subsequently view it as a site of trauma and loss. This is compounded by the ways Black folks’ very sense of safety is critically compromised in natural spaces, and all spaces. These histories, present realities, and hopes for the generations to come have had a profound impact on my passion for this work in co-creating joyful, safe(r) outdoor learning opportunities with our young people, and within my family. It is in this work that we reclaim our true connection to this soil, to one another, and to ourselves.

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I think I was socialized to have a more transactional relationship to place. This is where I work, where I learn, where I eat, where I buy food, where I sleep, etc. My relationship has evolved as I became more connected to growing food and with that a greatly expanded respect for the land, and the dynamic forces and hands that have shaped this place to exist as I know it. As I learned about my family's history I learned that my paternal grandparents tended a vegetable garden to sustain the family as a result of the Great Depression. The arid climate of my maternal homeland didn't lend itself to vegetable growing, but when I visited family in South Africa as a little one I recall seeing my aunt's house, walls and seating sculpted by hardened mud, grass, and cow dung and being in awe of the way they sculpted the earth around them for shelter.
I now think more deeply about available resources, where does the water come from, what is in the soil, what is the story of this tree or park? What birds and animals live here? What creatures used to live here and how has their presence changed? How is the land sustaining the beings and how are the beings sustaining the land?

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In northern and western Canada my exposure to other races was limited to those 1st nations people, Inuit and Metis who existed on this land long before the first European settler arrived. I did not much consider who was here first until adulthood when as a horticulturalist learning of the ethnobotany of plants in BC and WA state. I was enthralled. It was an eye-opening experience into what life must have been like for 1st Nations Peoples as well as the plants and animals who lived together. I think my families connection to the land helped to draw me to my career path. My work and personal life choices provide opportunities to help shift my relation to place.

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My maternal and paternal ancestors immigrated to Canada from England (only 3 generations ago) and France (6 generations ago). My parents relocated from Central Northern Canada to Western Canada to escape the hardships of climate, lack of employment and racial tensions in northern Canada. Their move re-connected them with other family who had previously made a similar move. They continued to maintain a connectedness to the land by purchasing property where they could tend a large garden and support livestock, both the primary sources of food for our family. As I began my own family we again chose to move to a place that represented greater prosperity, we immigrated to Seattle. Despite now having lived in Seattle longer than any other place on earth I still refer to Canada as my home as it still holds my childhood memories and all of our extended family.

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1. Review Question 1 and Question 2 (has two parts)
2. To submit an anonymous response, click a "+" white button to add your response. You may use an empty response column, or add your response below another existing response. You'll need to scroll down on a shared post to view your entry.
3. You may name your entry anything you'd like, or feel free to use a symbol such as *, ~, or # then type your response in the field below. This prevents the entry from having very large text.
4. You may change the color of your post by selecting the oval tab that default says "white" you may change your post to any of the provided colors.
5. Feel free to read over others' responses and reflect on other peoples answers. This activity is an opportunity for us to reflect on our own personal and ancestral relationships with Place and get a glimpse into our networks experiences and frameworks. Sharing our stories and making space for stories in outdoor education can be a wonderful way to expand our understandings, and remember that we are each unique individuals with unique stories and gifts we bring to our work.

If you have any questions, email SelfHelpProjects@seattleschools.org

THANK YOU!

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I was born in Guyana, South America and immigrated this country with my mother and sisters. My connection to the land comes from a history of growing food and the natural beauty and bounty of the land. My mother was a gardener and grower and loved to cook. As an immigrant, I watched and learned from her as she grew wiri wiri peppers in her window and eggplant and long beans in her yard. I saw her embrace North American plants and trees and finding space for her marigolds. I also saw her struggle with a new country and raising a family in a new place and finding space to grow. I saw the joy that working in the garden brought her through difficult times. I learned that your garden can be anywhere and good food is about community, family, recipes and healthy and whole foods. As a teacher in NYC, I found that growing communities through green spaces, collective gardening and sharing culture through food was empowering and valuable to connecting to each other. I saw students find that joy and find their place (cultural) in the garden.

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Both my families went through major wars, though in different countries. One survived a communist regime though my father had to escape, and my grandmother partly died because of it. Other people died after that. Every major home space wrecked with unexpected tragedy. We have been immigrants all of our lives, moving from place to place. I grew up with no flag, persistent denial of nations of origin, and successive escapism. I found great beauty in borderlands and felt most connected to those in exile. My ancestral relationship to place is grounded in the garden work I did with my grandparents and the walks by the sea I took with my mother as a child. For me place is rooted in people, our bodies connected to land (not necessarily nation) beyond our understanding.

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Both my families went through major wars, though in different countries. One survived a communist regime though my father had to escape, and my grandmother partly died because of it. Other people died after that. Every major home space wrecked with unexpected tragedy. We have been immigrants all of our lives, moving from place to place. I grew up with no flag, persistent denial of nations of origin, and successive escapism. I found great beauty in borderlands and felt most connected to those in exile. My ancestral relationship to place is grounded in the garden work I did with my grandparents and the walks by the sea I took with my mother as a child. For me place is rooted in people, our bodies connected to land (not necessarily nation) beyond our understanding.

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My ancestral relationship to place is connected to both sides of my family immigrating from Germany escaping the Austro-Prussian war (where extended family still farm today) and Ireland (because of the potato famine). My maternal ancestors were subsistence farmers in Pennsylvania and Ohio. My grandmother told stories about growing up and working on the farm. My mother is an avid gardener and we grew vegetables in our backyard, as one way she connected with my grandmother. As an adult, I moved quite a bit. In each place, vegetable gardening has been a source of comfort, food, and a way to connect to community in a new place.

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I've almost always understood my relationship to place as a connectedness to my surroundings. I am sure that I have viewed some places as resources, some as places to admire the beauty of nature, some as a personal or spiritual connection. In the past I probably thought that urban natural spaces were less important than a national park or natural area was. I have since come to understand and view that very differently. Nature, place, and connection can happen anywhere - every place has value and importance and an opportunity to connect to place as it is there. As a gardener, I have also come to view my role as not the only one who makes decisions in the garden, or that my decisions are the most important. I have a better understanding and respect for the connections in the garden space and what certain actions may mean for others.

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Gardening, hiking, teaching, and designing collaborative art making workshops with widely diverse communities has helped me explore connections with place and foster safe spaces for those conversations to welcome other people in thinking and creating their relationship to place. No formal setting for socialized ways of doing this was provided when I was little but my being was hungry to find a way through to talk, garden, and create artwork about the communities I have lived in and encountered in my life so far.

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Gardening, hiking, teaching, and designing collaborative art making workshops with widely diverse communities has helped me explore connections with place and foster safe spaces for those conversations to welcome other people in thinking and creating their relationship to place. No formal setting for socialized ways of doing this was provided when I was little but my being was hungry to find a way through to talk, garden, and create artwork about the communities I have lived in and encountered in my life so far.

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I was born and raised in the town that I teach in, and went to the same high school that my students garden in!

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I was born and raised in the town that I teach in, and went to the same high school that my students garden in!

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My ancestral history related to place is connected to Louisiana, Kentucky, Tennessee and Illinois which some of this I did not know until much later in my life. Being Black I know my ancestral history related to place goes beyond the US but this is something I have not been able to up uncover.

I had always been drawn to Louisiana and its history. Later as an early adult my father learned he was adopted and my biological paternal grandfather was from Louisiana. I leaned that my biological paternal grandmothers family came from Germany.

As an adult I have moved throughout the country and have had ties to the upper peninsula Michigan, the Midwest, South, and now PNW. All of these places have had a profound impact on how I see myself in the world and how place can change our souls.

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I am connected to historically and familially with Washington state (family ties to logging, apple industry, forest, fishing and more) and with lands and waters in Switzerland and Croatia (and more

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Place is a touchy subject for me esp as I age. I face difficulties because of racial inequality and these will only grow more acute as climate impacts multiply.

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Place is a touchy subject for me esp as I age. I face difficulties because of racial inequality and these will only grow more acute as climate impacts multiply.

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I think it is particularly unfair that there are very few safe places just to hang out and meet people w/o having to pay something. I think that is one reason we have become so polarised. What happened to town squares? O/c i could be romantizing that too.
Also, places need bathrooms. We all gotta go. So unfair that bathroom access is restricted to many.

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Most of my family lives near each other in the Midwest which I believe we were socialized to live near family. Me and my sister are from later generations and decided to move farther from out family. Me on the West Coast and her on the East Coast.

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I am from a family of immigrants from Northern Europe and Canada. I am here on the Coast Salish land after living in several areas of the country and in Europe. I have always been a student of nature, with my hands in the earth- whether soil, sand or in water (ocean, lake, river or creek) beds. Following this curiosity and passion has led me to become an outdoor student and educator as an adult.The histories of places lens is one that resonates with me...I am curious to learn more and incorporate it more with my work. 

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I am from a family of immigrants from Northern Europe and Canada. I am here on the Coast Salish land after living in several areas of the country and in Europe. I have always been a student of nature, with my hands in the earth- whether soil, sand or in water (ocean, lake, river or creek) beds. Following this curiosity and passion has led me to become an outdoor student and educator as an adult.The histories of places lens is one that resonates with me...I am curious to learn more and incorporate it more with my work. 

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My work with Beacon Food Forest has made me realize how important community is to agriculture. Al of us are better off with joint efforts. Growing food consistently, year after year is hard. It is even more difficult doing it alone, with resources or knowledge to fall back on.
I think it is something are society needs to learn or relearn, soon!