We seek to be  guided by and rooted in the Ancestral Knowledge from both our Motherland and the Diasporic lands we occupy. 

We walk into the work in a dynamic, fluid, provisional, non-dogmatic way of understanding each situation.

In everything we do, we hold sacred the manner and quality of approach (“lapit”) with all our relations (both human and non-human). 

We relate to kin and to all experiences with a Decolonizing lens, working with all our relations to transform dynamics that have been shaped by systems and legacies of domination (including those influenced by capitalism, racism, and patriarchy) and replace them with Kapwa relationships of mutuality, respect, humility, and reciprocity.

We recognize Ancestral Wisdoms as dynamic, adaptive, and ever-evolving according to the call of Spirit, collective discernment, and the times we live in. As such, we don’t purport to create spaces of “purity” or mandate a one-size-fits-all canon of “authentic practice” intended to police what is or is not “indigenous” for our communities.   

We take Study seriously (as the word “Studies” indicates in our name). We seek to ground our practice in a keen awareness of the histories, communal stories, material conditions, ways of being, and diverse influences on the lands and peoples from which we draw inspiration. Thus, we deem there to be no divide between “Intellectual” and “Spirit” work; all is spiritual; all is sacred. 

We affirm the importance of discernment in seeking guidance and wisdom in all our endeavors. We resist all forms of authoritarian dictates and exercise of power that are not honoring of Kapwa and respectful of equitable relations.

We value intergenerational experience and perspectives.We honor the wisdom and contributions of both Elders and Youth.   

We value intersectional experiences and perspectives. We honor our human-, earth- and spirit-shaped identities and value the plurality of unique wisdoms and experiences.   

We honor the complexities of both our given and  human-formed/constructed identities and the ways that we create self in relation to Sacred Creation. We seek inclusion and open ourselves to conversations of inclusion that help us to expand our understanding of "identity" in our communities.

• In relation to the conversation of Gender and Sexuality, we follow in leadership of those in our community that identify as Queer and seek their guidance of how to walk the right way beside,  in alignment and in service of their larger global movements related to social justice and social change and liberation. 

We relate in a visionary vs. reactionary way-- thinking forward and drawing from the foundations built up by our communities’ collective work throughout the years.

We honor Source. While understanding that no one owns any universal knowledge or practice,we seek to trace as best we can where a certain practice, story, wisdom, etc.  has surfaced and was channeled in order to honor those that invited us into awareness and understanding of the wisdoms and truths that we adopt to guide us and make meaning of our existence. We seek to give each other capacity (vs. stealing). 

We honor all those we come into contact with, trusting that they walk in integrity with us. We hold each relation with expansive perspectives that see the complexity of their being with love and compassion. 

We listen to the collective wisdom of our communities. The articulation of any one individual doesn’t constitute complete knowledge; we  come together and talk and share reciprocal knowledge, thereby creating a mutual space for us to expand what we know and learn from each other.