Deep Roots: Showing up to Justice Work with Cultural Grounding

“Sometimes we don't know who we're from, what lands we're from, what culture we're from, what language we're from. But that culture, those ancestors, that language, know exactly who we are.”What happens when we try to do justice work without knowing who we are?Ben Reid-Howells is a Scottish-Canadian community organizer, educator, Gaelic language and culture learner, co-founder of the Centre of Resilience (Bihar, India); the "Vasudhaiva [VAH-SOO-DAY-VA] Ride" Transnational Project Series; and founding director of Deep Roots Alba, an initiative for cultural regeneration, decolonization, healing and solidarity rooted in Scotland and globally connected. Ben is also a musician, wood worker, and lives on the West Coast of Scotland.In this conversation, Ben shares his journey across continents, movements, and communities, and the turning point that shifted everything: being told to go find his own people. From Indigenous land defence movements to reconnecting with Gaelic language and land in Scotland, this is a story about moving from cultural emptiness to grounded belonging.We explore the relationship between ancestry and responsibility, the limits of guilt, and why reclaiming land-based culture is not separate from political work but essential to it. This conversation is about rebuilding cultural roots, holding complexity around whiteness and colonialism, and remembering ways of being that were never fully lost.https://www.benreidhowells.com/https://www.instagram.com/deep.roots.albaRESOURCESDeep Roots Gatherings: https://deeprootsalba.org/Resilient Floating Village Project: https://www.centreofresilience.org/floating-village-projectGrassy Narrows: https://freegrassy.net/Unist’ot’en Land Defense: https://unistoten.camp/Tom Langhorne: www.youtube.com/FandabiDoziLost Together is produced by Marika Heinrichs and Becca Rich. Our music is by Cristoffer Moe Ditlevsen, Mixed by SC Dillon. Sound Engineering and Editing by Marika Heinrichs. Get full access to Feet in the Butter at marikaheinrichs.substack.com/subscribe