Gibrán's Podcast: Episode 23 - Decolonized with Kassie Hartendorp

Gibrán's Podcast

I was born in Puerto Rico. One of the last “official” colonies on earth. I know something about the taste and smell of empire. Today all of humanity is still contending with the reverberations of 500 hundreds years of European imperialism. The indigenous people of the world have a lot to teach us about the genocidal impacts of colonization and about what it will take to decolonize ourselves. Because most of us, indigenous our not, remain colonized by a spell. A spell that tells us that to be human is to stand alone, to extract, consume and accumulate, to be afraid of each other and to confuse economic growth with the developmental growth of our very souls. Here is a conversation with Kassier Heartendorp. One among the Maori people that are successfully participating in the decolonization of New Zealand. Kassie is the Director of Action Station, an independent, crowdfunded, community campaigning organization in her native land. They speak of their mission as: “To tautoko (support) and whakamana (uplift) everyday New Zealanders to act together in powerful and coordinated ways to create what we cannot achieve on our own: a society, economy and democracy that serves all of us - everyday people and Papatūānuku, the planet we love.” Kassie has an audacious intellect and a generous heart. Every time we speak it feels like we sync into a deep, authentic, generative space that must be what happens when we live life with intention. You will find this an inspiring and relevant conversation. Decolonization is not only possible. It is actually happening. It leaves me with a sense of hope and possibility. Kassie holds something that is essential for more of us to learn and remember. I encourage you to listen.