In episode 02, I’m joined by guest Medina Maitreya in a discussion about our process of reconnecting with our indigenous cultural roots, our ancestors and the layered politics of the “Indian card”. Medina and I share how we’re working to decolonize our mental health, our medicine and our relationship with our chronic illnesses. Plus we talk personal accountability as well as action items for our fellow BIPOC and our non-POC allies alike.
You can find Medina & her work at: http://www.medinamaitreya.com/ https://www.instagram.com/medinamaitreya
You can support this podcast at: http://www.patreon.com/revolutionarymystic
00:00:55 – The story of how Medina Maitreya and I met, and the way our hearts crave to connect with our cultural roots.
00:10:05 – What’s Good? The contributions of incredible people who’re keeping old languages and precious cultural practices alive by teaching them to new generations. Medina learns her native languages to be happy.
00:18:04 – As for me, learning about new people while creating the interview list for this podcast has made me more hopeful about the world. There are so many badass women of color and marginalized folk who are fighting colonialism through their work and life. Following them on social media has changed the way I view the world.
00:26:36 – Medina’s experience with reconnecting with her ancestors. How learning about her roots helped her own her identity as a persona of color who has always belonged to this land. Also, the layered politics of the “Indian card”.
00:37:50 – That moment when someone wants to know “what kind of Brown” you are.
00:42:02 – Why Medina feels that it’s her responsibility to be visible as an indigenous person and how taking off the colonial lens helps to take control of our more authentic life.
00:48:20 – How transitioning to working for ourselves has caused a deprogramming in our mindset. We discuss the difficulties of being self-employed. How we get autonomy over our time, yet the work is much harder when you’re in charge of all departments. (Freyja, my lovely dog, makes her opinion known at this point.