[Image description: A Two Spirit pride flag which features a black and white feather on a Progress Pride Flag. The Progress Pride Flag expands on the classic rainbow flag by adding five colors — black, brown, light blue, pink, white — to represent marginalized LGBTQ+ communities, including people of color, transgender people, and intersex people.]
With the national political landscape and efforts to censure dialogue and work supporting equity and social justice, I started opening myself up to what might be possible for myself as a sustainable way forward. I stepped down from Pride in Numbers at the beginning of the year as I navigated burnout from overwork and embodied trauma from the rise of authoritarianism, fascism, and coordinated attacks from the federal level against people like me. My resilience has also been wearing down as the broader community works through how to break out of their comfort zones and processes their own complicity in what brought us to this moment in history.
And even in the midst of uncertainty and crisis, there are moments of serendipity and joy. Sometimes the universe provides in the most unexpected ways, and I find myself with the opportunity to live into my deepest held value of collective liberation.
A large part of my consulting work in the past few years has been to support ongoing Two Spirit and Native LGBTQ allyship work in Warm Springs. It has truly been my most nourishing work and when the opportunity arose to secure stable funding, resources, professional development, and support, we knew we had to try. The Warm Springs Community Action Team, Papalaxsimisha, MMIR Warm Springs, Gender Hive, and Allyship in Action successfully applied to become an Oregon Health Authority Regional Health Equity Coalition (RHEC) to continue our on Two Spirit and Native LGBTQ allyship work in Jefferson, Crook, and Deschutes counties.
One requirement of becoming a RHEC is a full time position to coordinate the work as a RHEC, and when the team asked me to hold that role, I had to say “yes.” It is with great pride and gratitude to share with the Central Oregon community I will join the Warm Springs Community Action as the Director of the Central Oregon Two Spirit and Native LGBTQ Health Equity Coalition on February 2nd. (Yes, that coalition name is a mouthful… we’ll figure out a more accessible name for ourselves soon!) My hope — which I want to name here — is to support this coalition in getting established and grounded, provide mentorship, and create a path for leadership that comes from within the Native community, however long that takes. And when the time comes to step aside for Native leadership, I’ll stay on as a coalition member.
What does this mean for Allyship in Action in the meantime? I’ll be prioritizing my most values-aligned work at Allyship in Action, whether it is supporting additional Tribal Learning Series for the community, researching the untold stories of local BIPOC community members, or continuing work grounded in long-standing relationships. I’ll be saying “no” to most everything else because these times call those of us who have been in equity and social justice work to create space to rest and support our own thriving.
In solidarity and resistance (also chinga la migra),
LeeAnn
ACTIVE ALLYSHIP FOR COLLECTIVE LIBERATION 