Core Curriculum

At Weaving Earth, we approach our work with a belief that Earth Intimacy is accompanied by a responsibility to understand the intertwined social and ecological history of land and how that history shapes the present.

The United States is not and never has been a land of equal opportunity, despite the version of events that many history textbooks tell. Colonization, white supremacy, cis-heteropatriarchy, and many other forms of dominance are major roots of U.S. society — these roots remain fundamentally unchanged. So while it is true that many things have changed over the generations, these ever-present roots continue to shape the nature of what grows and flourishes in this society. The “land of the free” has never been truly free for those who are targets of the systems of dominance at the foundation of this nation.

Eco-social co-Liberation is a multifaceted response to this truth — it is radical in the sense that it is concerned with the roots, with up-rooting what is sick, and with seeding the soil anew for the sake of fundamentally different outcomes. It is liberatory action in both environmental and social ecosystems, because repair of human relations and repair of ecosystems are fundamentally intertwined — humans are a part of the ecological whole, not apart from it. It is action that moves from a place of understanding the interconnectedness of life on this planet.

We cannot heal ourselves without healing the earth, and we cannot heal the earth without healing ourselves. We must unravel notions of human body supremacy that manifest as cis-heteronormativity, patriarchy, white supremacist racism, extractivism and unchecked consumption in order to liberate our home (eco) and ourselves (social) from systemic oppression and destruction. This is liberation as earthling relational praxis.

Cultivating an authentic relationship with place in this context requires that we address the collective wounds caused by these legacies. As we educate for action to care for the planet, we must also educate for action to fundamentally change the social systems that shape our lives and the opportunities that accrue to some but not others. What values and cultural mechanisms would be in place to support this flourishing?

Recognizing the interdependence of all peoples and all freedom struggles, eco-social co-liberation propels the understanding that every person has distinct work to do on behalf of the whole, based on how protected they are within the social hierarchy they live in. Those who are more protected have a responsibility to get involved, to act, and to follow the leadership and wisdom of those who are less protected. Why would a protected person take action? Because eco-social co-liberation asserts that liberation is essential and beneficial to the oppressor, too. The priority is the power and resilience of the system as a whole.