Aretha

 

"of Greek origin, the meaning of Aretha is "excellence; righteous"

Big white flakes of snow fall around us. We are vardo-bound and captive in the soft quiet of winter. Our family living in Hawaii sends photos and videos of full-spectrum sun; the doses of Vitamin D infuse their immune systems with vitality.

This morning I wrapped myself up with as many layers as I had to enjoy the vitality that comes from joy, and sent this along to Hawaii:

Pete and I have lived on Whidbey Island, where we and all who live here, occupy Coast Salish People's land. The true names of the places we live are disappeared, so few if any of us know that the land where South Whidbey Tilth occupies is "the prairie front" an English translation of the Lushootseed name. Or, that the place we lived while in the forest of Forest Lane was "where the Gooseberries grew." 

I am an Indigenous woman (Native Hawaiian and Fiilipino) partnered with a white man. The south end of Whidbey has been our home, and our challenge to live a life in a medically-designed safe home on wheels. Our 'home' is neither legal by most white settler rules (building code, RV-licenseable) nor understood by most who are at home being in their houses. 

Last night I received an email that began:

"Dear friends and community members,

 Much has happened since May 2020 when we launched South Whidbey Radical Community Care. We were thrilled with your response — within three months, 35 white allies re-allocated $16,800 of their COVID-19 economic payment checks to 22 Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) members of our South Whidbey Community. Thank you! This was an inspiring example of how we can come together to start to rebalance our culture and community towards trust, mutual care, and justice..."

I linked to South Whidbey Radical Community Care and read what they are about. This is part of the description I found:

"As South and Central Whidbey community members doing Racial Justice work, we invite an intentional reallocation of wealth and resources by sharing of COVID-19 economic payment checks, or a contribution at any amount, in a hyper-local (Clinton, Langley, Freeland, Greenbank, Coupeville) and equitable manner.

As white allies working toward an anti-racist white culture and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) working toward decolonization, we recognize that relationship and care are antidotes to colonization and an extractive economy. We also recognize that there is an incredible power imbalance that comes with money and access and acknowledge that this imbalance is rooted in systemic racism. We recognize the resiliency of communities of color to survive and thrive in this system, and the beauty of connection, solidarity, and relationship that has been a foundation of that resiliency. We acknowledge that a rebalancing of our culture and society towards trust, mutual care, justice, and liberation benefits us all. We celebrate that this is a radical, transformative act."

As the snow flakes fell during the quiet hours of a Valentine Day Sunday, I read the words and considered the possibility that my island community was reaching a point of white thaw -- a phrase that just came to me as I write. We, Pete and I built a life, together, a mixed heritage Indigenous woman and a Wisconsin-born white man living in a home much like Baba Yaga -- a witch in a house with chicken legs. We experience the challenges, misunderstanding and disrespect of two oddly cobbled elders. One of us can weld a shovel and rake with the best of 'em, philosophize and entangle you in conversation that will make your head spin. The other writes medicine from a tinctured life of contradictions and hard questions. 

We'd really love to be personable and easy to be with. We seek community that would truly welcome us for who we are, with or without masks. The reciprocal nature of change means give-and-take from all angles. Perhaps, we are all in the same boat now thanks to the virus who has come to sit beside (and in) us. 

I wrote back to the folks of South Whidbey Radical Community Care to say I'd like to contribute some money to the "radical, transformative act." 

I wrote that I am an Indigenous woman, partnered with a white man.

I wrote that we don't have extra money, but have enough to get by. Many other Black, Indigenous, People of Color don't have enough to get by. 

I didn't write that my contribution was a form of Aretha and I have always wanted to be allied with The Queen. So I've written that here to weave a collateral thread of meanings.

 

If your heart is so moved, and are a resident of South Whidbey Island, consider what South Whidbey Radical Community Care is doing. 

Opt in, change the rules as this astrologer suggests. 

 

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