Hi Friend,

I was so excited when the book Decolonizing Wealth by Edgar Villanueva came out. After hearing him speak in a packed Brooklyn bookstore, I bought his book and read it quickly. Here was an indigenous man who had worked inside philanthropy for years, offering a powerful critique of it.

His experiences completely resonated with what I had seen from when I was working in international development. Way too often, philanthropy did not ask questions about where its own wealth came from. The field as a whole had a habit of perpetuating the status quo and then commending itself for doing 'good things' (charity) in the world. (This is not, by the way, remotely close to the spiritual meaning of charity). Decision-making remained in the hands of the wealthy, usually with little acknowledgement that they themselves had much responsibility to bear for the state of the poverty of many communities. In contrast, many people who have very little money are often much better at actual philanthropy, if we take the word at its meaning of 'the love of humanity.'

In addition to his critical analysis, he included a few relationships with philanthropists that had been meaningful to him in positive ways. This included a woman who had written him a letter of apology for the actions that her ancestors took towards his ancestors.

Not everyone can pull off writing a meaningful apology around multi-generational trauma and having that lead to enhanced relationships.

Huh, I thought to myself. This woman - a philanthropist, an activist, a mother, someone who pays attention to her dreams - is interesting.

Her name is Hilary Giovale.

When she and I had our first conversation, it was like talking to someone whom I almost already knew. And not just because she had already read (and had loved) our booklet on Land Acknowledgements.

It was a feeling that is similar to when I call up a Quaker (I grew up in a Quaker community) whom I don't know and we can talk for quite some time really easily. There's a lot of shared experiences, language, ways of seeing the world that doesn't need much explaining.

That's because, I think, that in in some ways Hilary and I, while our own stories are very, very different, are listening to a similar aspect of the web of life; some similar threads of the Wyrd/Orlog.

So I was quite delighted when I learned we were both part of the Decolonial Dames Writing Collective (shout out to Louise Dunlap and Morgan Curtis for helping make that group happen!), and that her book, Becoming a Good Relative, was (finally) released. I immediately knew I wanted to have her on the podcast.

Like so many of us, she has been nudged by ancestors and spirit guides to connect the disconnected and to reMember that which has been systematically dis-membered. To look into her own ancestral history with truth and compassion. To work with invisible realms. To give (sometimes literally) so much of what she was taught was "hers". To engage with reparations. To bring together the material and spiritual. To keep finding ways to be of service. To check in, again and again. To weave - and to let herself be woven.

I hope you enjoy this episode of our podcast and the resources that we include in the show notes!