Decolonizing the Heart

Working from the scar not the wound – empathy for self and empathy for others as a way to be more effective social justice activists.

DATE: Saturday, February 11, 2012

TIME: 10:00 A.M. to 2:00 P.M.

(Doors open 9 – 3 for set-up and take-down and socializing)

LOCATION: Steelworkers Hall, 25 Cecil Street, Toronto

(one block south of College between Spadina and Beverley)

"Social action devoid of a well-developed inner life can easily result in frustrated activism, just as a well-developed inner-life that is not concerned for or involved in social action can degenerate into futile pious worship."

--- Gita Badiyan, Heidi Last

Social justice grass roots activists

Building a movement of allies and not just coming together over issues requires the personal work of decolonizing one’s own heart. Colonization writ large and small requires decolonization solutions large and small. We must start by decolonizing ourselves in order to build decolonized communities, and from there, begin to decolonize the state. Mama D works on the principal that emotion and spiritual well-being are interconnected but not interchangeable.

Through the telling of personal stories, by way of "genogramming" [not just knowing who your ancestors are but their experiences], we will face some of the challenges and moments of truth that we all experience in our colonized states. From there we can do the work of decolonizing our hearts.

Geno-grammer/Moderator: Mama D

Diem Lafortune (Mama D) - artist, activist, author, educator, healer, and ADR specialist, first wrote of decolonization and decolonizing the heart in 1989 while completing a graduate course in anthropology. Her focus as a scholar was, and continues to be, in psychoanalytic anthropology and the importance of healthy grief processes to our happiness. She retired as a constitutional appellate lawyer in February 2008 and is a certified specialist in Alternative Dispute Resolution (University of Windsor), and a recipient of the Roger Fisher Negotiation Award (Harvard University). Some participants in past workshops are: Victoria Freeman [Auther: Distant Relations: How My ancestors Colonized North America]; Rebecca Johnson (Aboriginal Justice Project, Christian Peacemaker Teams); Judy Rebick (Author and activist); and, Bob Lovelace (Professor of Indigenous Education; Activist).

Diem is also a professional musician and has just released BEAUTY AND HARD TIMES.

You can catch her music and more info at: www.mamadhorizondancer.ca

Event is wheel-chair accessible and close to TTC. Bring a bag-lunch. Drinks provided.

Price: suggested sliding scale donation $5-$20 or PWYC.

For more info: 416 538 0224 or bigbear3@sympatico.ca

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