Decolonizing Ancestral Memory with Hilary Giovale

In this episode, Hilary Giovale, shares her experiences with ancestral apology, decolonization, and finding our indigenous heart-ways. Apology is a catalyst for healing and forgiveness which helps to build our capacity for wholeness and restoration. When we ask for forgiveness, we engage in authentic relationship and open the possibility of healing for all peoples, the Earth, and all beings (seen and unseen). What does it mean to live as a settler on Indigenous lands? How can settlers honor our ancestors to rekindle memory of the rich, diverse, Earth-connected cultural lineages from which we are all descended? How can we build heart-centered relationships with Indigenous communities and Earth, to create pathways toward healing the harm inflicted by colonialism? Hilary Giovale is a ninth-generation American settler of Scottish, Irish, and Scandinavian descent. She lives at the foot of a sacred mountain, a being of kinship, that stands within the traditional homelands of Diné, Hopi, Havasupai, Hualapai, Yavapai, and Paiute Peoples, as well as several Pueblos. Her relationships with this land and with Indigenous peoples inform her life as a mother, dancer, community organizer, writer, and philanthropist. In 2015, Hilary became aware of her ancestors’ longstanding presence as American settlers. Since then, she has been living a process of decolonization including ancestral repair, solidarity with Indigenous-led movements, reconnection with Earth, apology, forgiveness, and restoration. She is the author of a forthcoming book that shares about this healing process. To read more about her work, please visit www.goodrelative.com. Support the show