Welcome back! This week's article in focus is brought to us by Samara Almonte, and describes her experience of empowerment through reconnecting to the women in her family.

Samara Almonte is part of the Michoacan diaspora, raised between the lakes and tierra caliente regions of Michoacan and occupied Coast Salish territory or the Pacific Northwest Coast. Samara identifies as a P’urhepecha descendant reconnecting with her ancestors, which has greatly influenced her work as storyteller and urban planner. She grounds her work in a decolonial framework that uplifts Indigenous self-determination. Samara holds a B.A in Urban Planning and Sustainability Development, with a specialization in Environmental Justice and Education, from Western Washington University. Outside of her professional life, Samara is the creator and host of the podcast Raíces Verdes (Green Roots), a platform dedicated to validating, archiving and sharing the experiences of racialized peoples reconnecting with their “green roots”. Green roots are defined as our ancestral connection to the earth that embodies our relationships with all living and spiritual beings. To learn more about the podcast visit nuestrasraicesverdes.com

What can you do?

• The Sogorea Te’ Land Trust has a powerful and accessible Rematriation Resource Guide on their website for those wanting to learn more.
• There are several organisations, at least in the United States, that you can support to sustain these efforts. Indigenous Women Rising, Indigenous Women Hike, The Sunlight Media Collective and Native Women’s Wilderness (NWW), are a few that I follow closely.
• An intersecting movement that supports the sovereignty of Indigenous women is the Missing Murder Indigenous Women (MMIW) movement across so-called North America, but really it’s a movement across the world.
• NWW published an article about MMIW on their website as a resource for those living in the United States. You can find a local group by searching “MMIW + [city or state you live in]” to find actions taking place near you.

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