Mission

Earthkeeper Wisdom School is a fiscally sponsored project of the Holistic Underground a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

Our mission is to catalyze cultural renewal through ritual in these three ways:

1) We catch and co-create original ritual forms that offer themselves as stepping stones towards the more beautiful world seeking to be born.  

2) We offer programs t0 apprentice those called to be sacred space holders and Earth-reverent ritual weavers in service to their local communities.

3) We support community leaders and movement-spaces to craft rituals that nourish community and inspire social change.

By these means, we see ourselves widely catalyzing the revival of a life-enhancing culture—one that both nourishes the human soul and re-harmonizes our human organism with the greater web of life.

Our community is rooted in the following values:

1) Animism + Earth Reverence and Stewardship

Animism:  We affirm the sacredness and personhood of all living beings, elementals, ancestors, and celestial bodies.  And through dreaming, intuition, deep imagination, and solitary time on the land,  we invite this greater web of kinship to guide our rituals and actions.    Furthermore, we affirm that all rituals of enduring potency are in service to this greater web of kinship.   We aspire towards a humble, devotional approach as we beseech the greater life to guide us towards rituals and life ways that are truly life-enhancing.  

Earth Reverence:   Love and devotion to Life is the heart of our community. Earth reverence inspires our commitment to bring our soulful gifts forward on behalf of all beings thriving. 

Earth Stewardship:   We dream of a ceremonial way of living that is deeply woven into place and which grows in intimacy over time.    This is the mission of Slate Creek Sanctuary, a land-based project that we’ve begun in the heart of Missouri.  Slate Creek Sanctuary sustainably stewards an ecologically-rich habitat in the Ozark foothills and hosts ceremonial gatherings, retreats, and land restoration projects.

2) Warm hearted Embrace + Intentional Conflict Tending

“All healing offers a suture to the torn fabric of belonging.”--Francis Weller

Extending  love, belonging, and kindness is core to the culture of our community. We grow our love-muscles through  heart-felt listening and by leaning-in across differences to understand each other's experiences. 

Additionally, we are committed to practicing curiosity around conflict by welcoming conflict as a messenger of growth through practices of intentional conflict tending.   Rather than calling out, we call one another into greater depth of connection and understanding by respectfully sharing our truth.   While doing our best to act with sensitivity and awareness, we expect to make mistakes and practice compassion with one another when we do. 

3) Anti-Supremacy + Radical Welcome

Through internal work as individuals and structural work as an organization, we are committed to seeking  to understand and heal the diverse manifestations of supremacy and to practicing radical welcome.   

To this end, we: 

• Practice oppression awareness, including challenging white supremacy culture, sexism, heterosexism, and gender normativity.  

• Seek a decolonized ritual praxis, and engage in active, ongoing dialogue as we discern what is cultural misappropriation versus consensual sharing.

• Engage in racial caucusing when supportive to challenging oppression and avoiding harm.  

• Practice sliding scale economics to make our offerings accessible whenever possible. 

• Honor the gift of difference in race, class, gender, sexual orientation, physical abilities and life experience.  

• Practice the art of village mind by learning to lead in ways that combat isolation, affirm belonging and uplift the whole. 

4) Honoring Lineages and Reparations:

We honor the many venerable lineages that have grown that include:  Sobonfu Somé, Francis Weller, Joanna Macy, Bradford Keeney, Sherri Mitchell, Martin Prechtel, Liz Rog, Lisa Littlebird, Laurence Cole,  Barbara McAfee, The Last Mask Center, Inpower Institute…

Yet, the teachings and ceremonies of Earthkeeper Wisdom School are more emergent than of lineage. 

An exception is our practice of ecstatic grief ritual which is directly inspired and informed by the Dagara tradition as introduced to the West by Malidoma and Sobonfu Somé.   To honor this lineage,  we have from our inception tithed to Wisdom Spring– a charity begun by Sobonfu located in Burkina Faso.  

As we grow our community we are asking how we can make reparations a core part of our culture and what anti-racist practice looks like for the long haul. Imperfectly, humbly, and with love, we join together in this giant undertaking of reparations and repair.  Let’s call each other in deeper.  Our current steps include tithing to the following organizations whose missions make our hearts sing: 

• Wisdom Spring: A charity started by Sobonfu Somé to bring water to communities of need including but not limited to those of the Dagara tribe.  

• Mama Scraps:  Whose mission is 1) to aid in the healing of black, brown, and indigenous folx by honoring ancestral and indigenous wisdom, 2)  plant seeds of wellness for future generations and 3) to strengthen spiritual connections.