“What I’m asking is that you make yourselves uncomfortable at every opportunity. Because unlike your discomfort, mine is not optional.”
― Didi Delgado
This is an invitation to join us in our collective unlearning.
Racism, whiteness and settler colonialism are products of white people; and white people must step up to do the collective work to deconstruct it.
Here at Our Unlearning we are facilitating an accountability network and unlearning space to hold ourselves accountable to this work, to build our skills and to grow our stamina.
We are so glad you are here.
If you are an Indigenous person, a Black person, a Latinx person, an Asian person or any person of colour, of the global majority we know you have shouldered this work on your own far too long and that you have faced white resistance in the form of performative allyship, white fragility, tokenism, microaggressions, gaslighting, overt hatred, nice whiteness, defensiveness and all sorts of other forms of direct and indirect personal and structural violence. We are here to stand together in our own discomfort in the work and practice of truth telling and solidarity. We know we will get it wrong and we are going to try any way.
If you are a white settler person we know that it would be easier to not step in - and this is actually at the root of the problem! We encourage you to find your way to be courageous as this is the next step of rejecting the systemic pressure to silence, invisibilize and deny whiteness, colonialism, racism and violence. As you read this you may…
really want to do things right and feel frozen with fear of getting it wrong;
feel stuck in guilt, shame, and/or sadness as they continue to learn the true colonial history of canada;
want to know what to do next and feel like they can not see a way forward
be worried about saying or doing the wrong thing around Indigenous peoples;
have been called out, or called in by Indigenous peoples or others about your own language or racism;
want to go deeper on their decolonizing journey so they can be present, engaged and effective in interrupting racism in the systems that they live and work in.
are feeling alone and isolated in this work, but also potentially just in general.
We can relate to all of the above - because we are on this unlearning journey as well! We call on other white people to step up, and step into the day to day work of becoming actively anti-racist.
Together we are unlearning defensiveness, hierarchy, ego, guilt, competition, shame, entitlement, righteousness, perfection, greed, hate, scarcity, gaslighting, narcissism, powerhoarding, denial, fear, fragility and individualism - and we can not do this alone.
We do recommend that before white settlers join us in Our Unlearning work that they do the foundational Indigenous Cultural Safety / anti-racism learning. We are co-learners and facilitators on this journey - not teachers. Here is a link to several foundational learning resources for you to begin or continue your learning. We are working on developing a broader scope reference list that includes resources and teachers that address anti-black racism, anti-asian racism, anti-semitism, misogyny, ableism, ageism, homophobia, transfobia, and fatphobia …however the common denominators to all of this fear and violence as far as we can see is whiteness, settler colonialism and patriarchy - and so this is where we have started.
If you have any questions or feedback please Contact Us.
please scroll down to learn more about Our Unlearning Cohorts, Our Unlearning Network, or to book an intro call with us!
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Our Unlearning Cohorts
This transformational learning series, developed in relationship with and accountability to Indigenous scholars, curriculum developers and leaders, will investigate important concepts like whiteness, settler privilege, and decolonizing practices. Through a personal exploration of identity using an embodied approach we will focus on dismantling structures of overculture and increasing our capacity for authentic relationships with ourselves, others, and with the land. This is an experiential process of advanced learning. NEXT COHORTS START JUNE 1st 2023 (sliding scale - no one will be denied access)
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Our Unlearning Network
We are building a co-learning space to support each other in our efforts to disrupt our whiteness, settler colonialism and Indigenous specific racism. This network is hosted on Mighty Networks and there is a monthly subscription cost for white settlers that covers the cost of the group and the facilitators time. The work that happens in this space is specifically designed to center white settler unlearning, so that white settlers can UNcenter themselves and their needs less out in their day to day lives. The network will provide access to key learning and is designed to be used as an accountability space. Please click below to learn more and to sign up for 2 weeks of free access.
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15min free intro call
If you would like to sign up for OurUnlearning community of learning, or are just curious about if it would be a fit for you right now - please book a 15min intro call so we can chat!
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Indigenous Anti-Racism Co-Facilitation
Fiona and Sonya are available at request of Indigenous mentors and peers to co-facilitate Indigenous anti-racism learning sessions, Blanket Exercises and more.
What People Are Saying
“Thank you for your dedication, honesty and support in our process of unlearning, relearning and stumbling through the uncomfortable. I greatly appreciate you sharing your journey and knowing that the process is messy, takes time and sometimes we make mistakes.”
— Megan (participant)
“THANK YOU for co-facilitating this (un)learning ! Even though I've only just begun to scratch the surface of this work (intro- and macrospectively speaking), I can already sense a shift in how I see myself and the world around me. Settler-colonialism is something I can't un-see (let alone "un-feel") but this group has given me the confidence to disrupt the harm and embrace the healing”
— Julie (participant)
“Your ability to model being brave, connect through the heart, and support others to figure out how to do the same is unparalleled. I am incredibly grateful to have this community and am dedicated to carrying what I learn forward.”