ancestral stories
a community + culture building class series for antiracist white folks
“Stories matter, you see. They’re not just entertainment —
Stories matter because humans are narrative creatures.
It’s not just simply that we like to tell stories, and to listen to them:
it’s that narrative is hard-wired into us.
It’s a function of our biology, and the way our brains have evolved over time.
We make sense of the world and fashion our identities through the sharing and passing on of stories.
And so the stories that we tell ourselves about the world and our place in it,
And the stories that are told to us by others about the world and our place in it,
Shape not just our own lives, but the world around us.
The cultural narrative is the culture.”
— Sharon Blackie
What stories are asking to be remembered?
What stories are asking to be shared?
What are the stories we want to pass down?
as people racialized as white, many of our ancestral stories have been forgotten. some of the stories were too painful to share. some were traded in for whiteness. some inspired shame and guilt. others were just lost to time. we may not know these stories intellectually but they live within us. in our bones. in our blood. in our bodies.
there are stories that are asking to be remembered. there are stories that are asking to be grieved. there are stories that are asking to be celebrated. there are stories that are asking to be reconciled. there are stories that are asking to come forth from the shadows of time.
when we share stories, we remember who we are. we connect to a central part of our humanity. when we’re witnessed and held in our storytelling, we create community, we build culture, and move toward healing.
“I am beginning to believe that we know everything,
that all history, including the history of each family, is part of us, such that,
when we hear any secret revealed our lives are made suddenly clearer to us,
as the unnatural heaviness of unspoken truth is dispersed.
For perhaps we are like stones;
our own history and the history of the world embedded in us,
we hold a deep sorrow within and cannot weep until that history is sung."
— Susan Griffin
ancestral stories
this class series is designed for antiracist white folks who are seeking a supportive community to connect with ancestors, explore storytelling, and reckon with the legacy of white-bodied supremacy. we’ll meet once a month, from spring equinox to fall equinox, and share stories about ourselves, the land, our ancestors, and our dreams for a liberated future. we’ll grieve together, we’ll laugh together, and we’ll learn from one another. we’ll share hard things, bringing voice to what’s been kept silent and bringing to the surface what’s been kept hidden. we’ll create community and culture through storytelling that’s rooted in honesty, care, and loving accountability.
we’ll meet on the third wednesday of the month march - august 2025 from 4pm - 6pm EST / 1pm - 3pm PST on zoom. the final class will be on sunday, september 21st from 12m - 3pm EST / 9am - 12pm PST (no wednesday class in september).
we’ll explore a storytelling topic each month we gather: march - opening, april - birth/origin stories, may - stories of the land, june - migration stories, july - stories of the oppressor, august - stories of the future, september - closing.
we’ll choose an ancestral folktale, folk character, or deity to learn about and connect with over the course of our 6 months together.
the class series includes recorded videos, journal prompts, readings, and podcasts between classes as well as 2x 1:1 meetings with Erin.
classes will not be recorded. live attendance and participation is central to creating and maintaining the container of the class series. please review the dates before submitting an application.
space is limited to 7 participants. registration ends on friday, march 14th.
offered at three different price points: $300, $600, or $900 depending on your access to resources. more information is provided on the application. 10% will be redistributed to the Conestoga-Susquehannock tribe.
questions? attend a free info session on zoom to learn more on tuesday, february 25th from 5pm - 5:30pm EST / 2pm - 2:30pm PST. click here to sign-up. this will be recorded.
about me
my teachers Kimmy Johnson and Atava Garcia Swiecicki introduced me to this practice in 2015 and my life was forever changed. suddenly, i felt a deep, loving support and guidance in my life. i learned (and continue to learn) about the practices and belief systems of my celtic and germanic ancestors who lived in close relationship with the natural world. my worldview changed. i began to understand myself as part of a bigger story, one that expands far beyond me. i received support and healing for wounds that were both personal and generational. this practice is what led me to antiracism and liberation work. a lifelong practice that continues to open and change me in profound ways. i am endlessly grateful for the opportunity to support people in building and deepening their relationship with their ancestors and i truly believe this practice is vital to collective liberation.
this class series first started to form in 2019 when i was supporting a graduate ancestral medicine class that my mentor Kimmy was teaching and i led a discussion on a reading that discussed storytelling as a means to heal the generational trauma of colonization and slavery. all of the students were white women and i was struck by their resistance to discuss the material in a meaningful way. it took time but eventually we started to peel back the layers and have an honest conversation. there was conflict that we moved through. there was pain we uncovered. it ultimately was a transformative discussion that sparked in me the possibilities of storytelling and liberation work.
i first offered this class in 2021 and again in 2022. i was (and am) in awe of what’s possible when we come together to tell stories in honest and vulnerable ways. i took a pause after moving back home to pa and i feel really excited and grateful to bring this class series back from hibernation in 2025.
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