Definitions
These definitions are based on my life experience and the work of scholars and activists I have learned from. These are but a few of the key terms in the world of relational repair. I welcome other interpretations of these words as they are often complex and nuanced.
Ableism
Not meeting the needs of everyone in our physical and digital spaces.
Colonization
A process of stealing land from people, removing or murdering those people, extracting wealth from the land and people & developing a rationalization of why this behavior is acceptable.
People with Privilege
Groups of people who are valued in dominant culture for attributes they have no control over like skin color.
Settler-Colonization
Similar to colonization with the addition that the people who arrive in the new land rationalization why they are “better” stewards of the land than the initial inhabitants and they stay in the land.
White Supremacy
A system of oppression that rationalizes privileging people with lighter skin, often of European descent, and marginalizing Black, Indigenous & People of Color.
Affinity Groups
Groups of a shared identity. People with privilege will: learn, process emotions & take actions accountable to marginalized people. Marginalized people will: build safety, process emotions & identify shared needs.
Internalized Oppression
Believing the negative messages about a group that you belong to/identify with.
Relational Repair
Healing the relationships between ourselves, each other and the earth that have been damaged by systems of oppression.
Support Groups
Support for people with a shared identity or life experience. May or may not have an external facing aspect like taking actions.
Rooting in our Lineages
Identifying aspects of our biological and non-biological heritages that we are proud of, inspired by and support us in living our values today.
Systems of Oppression
All of the systems that make up our society (legal, educational, financial, etc.) that privilege certain identities (white, male, able-bodied, cis-gendered, wealth, etc.) and marginalizing other identities (BIPOC, women, trans, queer, disabled, etc.).
Queer
An identity & political orientation that often includes re-imagining how relationships, family structures, and belonging are created.
Council
A process of sharing and witnessing in a group.
Marginalized People
Groups of people who are not valued in dominant culture for attributes they have no control over like skin color.