Workshop Wednesday: So It Begins!

[Image Description: A black and white photo with a light bulb, two pencils, and an eraser on top of a blank piece of paper. The photo is part of a cover page that is in turquoise, light grey, and dark grey. There are also pyramid shapes in monochrome. The title is “So It Begins!” and the URLs are lukayo.com and patreon.com/lukayo.]
 
Transcript:
 
Mabuhay to Lukayo’s Workshop Wednesday Video Series! For our first episode, I’m going to offer some suggestions about how to begin your workshop, specifically a workshop grounded in anti-oppression.
 
We’re going to look at the following 5 different parts: introducing yourself, land accountability and gratitude, community agreements, checking in with the participants, and icebreakers.
 
Introducing Yourself
 
Basic components involve your name and your pronouns. You can even talk a little bit about yourself, like if you represent an organization, or come from a certain school, or why you wanted to do this workshop.
 
I like to introduce myself in my native language. “Mabuhay! Lukayo ako. Taga-saan Bikol ako.” Welcome, my name is Lukayo, and I am of the Bikol people. My pronouns are “they/them/their”.
 
This is important to me because I want to honour my ancestors and people, as well as show that I don’t completely follow the Westernized way of sharing knowledge.
 
Sometimes, if I know the language of the land, I may say hello in that language to honour the people of that land. For example, if I’m in Anishinaabe territory, I may say hello in Anishinaabemowin.
 
Land Accountability & Gratitude
 
At this point, I like to give thanks in gratitude to the people of the land, and also mention the treaties that that specific area is under. If possible, if I’m presenting on land that I’m not indigenous to, I also try to explain what happened to the treaties and what the responsibilities are that settlers have to indigenous folks. I consider that my responsibility as a settler, especially one sharing knowledge in a gathering.
 
So how do I find out about all of this info? I attend indigenous education trainings from the people of the land I’m currently residing on, put together by Native Friendship Centres or grassroots indigenous collectives. I also check out websites like DecolonialAtlas.wordpress.com and Native-Land.ca.
 
Lastly, I talk about how settler responsibilities have expanded beyond just respecting treaties, especially in areas where the treaties have been broken, or land was outright stolen and no treaties were made. I talk about reparations as a form of accountability, and current ways I am offering reparations in accordance with what has been asked by local Indigenous collectives and grassroots organizations, as well as further ideas for reparations for anyone attending, such as supporting local Indigenous grassroots initiatives in regards to reclaiming sacred areas and land, justice for missing and murdered Indigenous Two spirit peoples, women, and men, and healing initiatives led by Indigenous peoples for Indigenous peoples.

Want to listen to/read the rest of the video? Please subscribe to my Patreon for $5 per month to gain access to anti-oppression workshop tutorials and videos. All funds raised go to healing work among my communities. Original article here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/26879671

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