In this issue, we center the images and voices of power as expressed for, through, and alongside water. We center the power of water itself and the power and wisdom of those fighting for the protection of water. We center the wise elders, who, like water, surround us with wisdom and emotional care.
How does Mother Earth speak in the late summer? Meditating on this question, I saw water. Big water. Powerful water. The ocean and rivers. Swirling, warm-water storms and thundering rains—and human voices to match. I heard cries and chanting in the heat of the climate crisis. I also heard soothing voices, maternal voices of care for all beings, welling up with the waters of emotion and release.
In this issue, we center the images and voices of power as expressed for, through, and alongside water. We center the power of water itself and the power and wisdom of those fighting for the protection of water. We center the wise elders, who, like water, surround us with wisdom and emotional care.
I am thrilled to have the opportunity to share the works of this issue’s featured contributors, including climate justice advocates Niria Alicia and Dr. Virginia Necochea, who share their testimonios through words, song, and ceremony; beloved elder Cuauhtli Cihuatl (Maestra CC), who shares a water ritual for releasing grief; and artist-activist Suzy González, who reminds us that “art is not neutral.” I’m also grateful to authors Erika Buenaflor and Marisol Quevedo Rerucha, who have shared excerpts from their recent books. Please read, share, and support their work. I express gratitude for every one of the contributors, for their gifts of creativity, and for the wisdom they openly offer. May you find strength in their words, and may you recognize your own power, especially in the care you offer to the earth.
Marcy Carbajal, Editor in Chief
In this issue, we center the images and voices of power as expressed for, through, and alongside water. We center the power of water itself and the power and wisdom of those fighting for the protection of water. We center the wise elders, who, like water, surround us with wisdom and emotional care.
Web-exclusive articles featuring writers and artists from our community.
Sharing her own recent experience, curandera and Indigenous elder Maestra CC walks us through nine showers that guide the bodymindspirit from shock to reintegration.
“At its essence, philosophy is spirit,” says Saraliza Anzaldua, “and by doing philosophy you exercise a spirit that has been passed along through your ancestors—now living in you.”
Poet Nadine Antoinette Maestas reimagines La Llorona as a protector of water, mourning the poisoning of rivers. Retablo by Rebecca Artemisa.
“I have no doubt in the power of art,” says Suzy González. “Creative thinkers are needed to progress ideas and movements forward. Art is not neutral, and artists have the choice to create for a purpose.”
Honoring salmon, water, and sacred migration: Gavin Van Horn’s interview with Xicana Indígena activist Niria Alicia about the Run4Salmon prayer journey. With audio.
A grounding practice and ceremony of song from Xicana Indígena climate-justice organizer Niria Alicia. With audio.
How might we empower ourselves and even thrive in times of change? Nonprofit leader, consultant, and Toltec energy healer Brenda Salgado says that finding kinship—with both humans and other beings—is key.
“It is the ceremonial teachings that must guide me as I embark on this journey to name, disrupt, and dismantle environmental racism,” says Dr. Virginia Necochea, ED of the New Mexico Environmental Law Center.
What does it mean to be restorative? How can we build a culture of connection, equity, and healing? Educator, writer, and advocate Marisol Quevedo Rerucha shares her wisdom in this excerpt from Beyond the Surface of Restorative Practices.
Poet Salem Islas-Madlo claims her power as the embodiment of the sacred directions, the elements, and other life on earth.
What might nonhuman animals have to teach you, symbolically? What can you learn from them, and how? Curandera Erika Buenaflor shares her instruction in this excerpt from Animal Medicine.
How might rage remind us of our sacred power? What does rage have in common with the ocean? Liberation psychologist Adriana L. Medrano shares her testimonio.
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Sharing her own recent experience, curandera and Indigenous elder Maestra CC walks us through nine showers that guide the bodymindspirit from shock to reintegration.
“At its essence, philosophy is spirit,” says Saraliza Anzaldua, “and by doing philosophy you exercise a spirit that has been passed along through your ancestors—now living in you.”
Poet Nadine Antoinette Maestas reimagines La Llorona as a protector of water, mourning the poisoning of rivers. Retablo by Rebecca Artemisa.
“I have no doubt in the power of art,” says Suzy González. “Creative thinkers are needed to progress ideas and movements forward. Art is not neutral, and artists have the choice to create for a purpose.”
Honoring salmon, water, and sacred migration: Gavin Van Horn’s interview with Xicana Indígena activist Niria Alicia about the Run4Salmon prayer journey. With audio.
A grounding practice and ceremony of song from Xicana Indígena climate-justice organizer Niria Alicia. With audio.
How might we empower ourselves and even thrive in times of change? Nonprofit leader, consultant, and Toltec energy healer Brenda Salgado says that finding kinship—with both humans and other beings—is key.
“It is the ceremonial teachings that must guide me as I embark on this journey to name, disrupt, and dismantle environmental racism,” says Dr. Virginia Necochea, ED of the New Mexico Environmental Law Center.
What does it mean to be restorative? How can we build a culture of connection, equity, and healing? Educator, writer, and advocate Marisol Quevedo Rerucha shares her wisdom in this excerpt from Beyond the Surface of Restorative Practices.
Poet Salem Islas-Madlo claims her power as the embodiment of the sacred directions, the elements, and other life on earth.
What might nonhuman animals have to teach you, symbolically? What can you learn from them, and how? Curandera Erika Buenaflor shares her instruction in this excerpt from Animal Medicine.
How might rage remind us of our sacred power? What does rage have in common with the ocean? Liberation psychologist Adriana L. Medrano shares her testimonio.
Sharing her own recent experience, curandera and Indigenous elder Maestra CC walks us through nine showers that guide the bodymindspirit from shock to reintegration.
“At its essence, philosophy is spirit,” says Saraliza Anzaldua, “and by doing philosophy you exercise a spirit that has been passed along through your ancestors—now living in you.”
Poet Nadine Antoinette Maestas reimagines La Llorona as a protector of water, mourning the poisoning of rivers. Retablo by Rebecca Artemisa.
“I have no doubt in the power of art,” says Suzy González. “Creative thinkers are needed to progress ideas and movements forward. Art is not neutral, and artists have the choice to create for a purpose.”
Honoring salmon, water, and sacred migration: Gavin Van Horn’s interview with Xicana Indígena activist Niria Alicia about the Run4Salmon prayer journey. With audio.
A grounding practice and ceremony of song from Xicana Indígena climate-justice organizer Niria Alicia. With audio.
How might we empower ourselves and even thrive in times of change? Nonprofit leader, consultant, and Toltec energy healer Brenda Salgado says that finding kinship—with both humans and other beings—is key.
“It is the ceremonial teachings that must guide me as I embark on this journey to name, disrupt, and dismantle environmental racism,” says Dr. Virginia Necochea, ED of the New Mexico Environmental Law Center.
What does it mean to be restorative? How can we build a culture of connection, equity, and healing? Educator, writer, and advocate Marisol Quevedo Rerucha shares her wisdom in this excerpt from Beyond the Surface of Restorative Practices.
Poet Salem Islas-Madlo claims her power as the embodiment of the sacred directions, the elements, and other life on earth.
What might nonhuman animals have to teach you, symbolically? What can you learn from them, and how? Curandera Erika Buenaflor shares her instruction in this excerpt from Animal Medicine.
How might rage remind us of our sacred power? What does rage have in common with the ocean? Liberation psychologist Adriana L. Medrano shares her testimonio.