The 250 Project
In this episode, guests Pixie Lighthorse and Joquina M. Reed discuss their new endeavor: The 250 Project: A Black and Indigenous Reckoning. They share about their new project and why they decided to create a counter-archive and anthology project in response to the United States’ 250th anniversary. We also discuss Matriarchy through a Black and Indigenous lens and how one of our first and ongoing steps in establishing a matriarchal culture must be the continued dismantling of anti-Blackness in ourselves and our systems.
ABOUT THE EDITORS
Pixie Lighthorse (Cherie Dawn Carr) is the author of eight books centered on healing through intimate relationships with nature and reclaiming prayer. She is a tribal member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. She writes as “Lighthorse” to honor the unheard voices of her Choctaw and Cherokee ancestors who were forcibly removed from our homelands on the first of many Trails of Tears.
Her work with The 250 Project grew through kinship with Kina Reed as part of her commitment to cultural stewardship and People’s medicine, while recognizing that part of that stewardship is tending to relationships. One of the most important relationships for her is the reconciliation between the Choctaw people and their African kinfolk. Her devotion to repair is deeply familial, relational and cultural. Her practice is deepened by weaving an extra-large basket to hold in her body all of the realities and results of systemic oppression, as well as within her communities.
Pixie Lighthorse currently raises food and makes medicine for communities in the Pacific Northwest Klamath, Paiute and Warm Springs Territories.
Joquina M. Reed is a J.E.D.I. (Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) practitioner, public scholar, speaker, social entrepreneur, and the author of the book, Loving Black People: A Practice & Discipline.
She is also the curator behind the Divesting from Whiteness and The Anti-Blackness Reader platforms, socially mediated spaces dedicated to helping others dismantle anti-Blackness, divest from Whiteness, and amplify reparative justice. Living and working on the unceded territory of the Houma and Chahta Yakni (Choctaw) peoples, her work is deeply rooted in an understanding of historical and contemporary systems of oppression. Her leadership philosophy is informed by the innovations and resilience of Black communities, particularly the Maroons, whose strategies for resistance and autonomy inspire her approach to building strong, community-centered leadership today.
Every day, Joquina is inspired by the words of her cultural ancestor, Anna Julia Cooper, ‘The cause of freedom is not the cause of a race, sect, or class—it is the cause of humankind,’ she approaches her work with a justice-centered commitment to creating shared humanity for all.
Links mentioned in the episode:
Purchase Pixie’s books: LINK
Pixie’s classes: LINK
Purchase Kina’s Loving Black People
Join Kina’s Newsletter: LINK
Kina’s Substack: LINK
The 250 Project Crowdfunding link: LINK
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