“Singing whales, talking trees, dancing bees, birds who make art, fish who navigate, plants who learn and remember”
The name Our Kith + Kin is derived from Robin Wall Kimmerer’s article Living Beings as Our Kith and Kin: We Need a New Pronoun for Nature. Kimmerer explains the phrase “our kith and kin” as the more-than-human beings with whom we share Earth. “Kith” and “kin” are words of Germanic origin with Indo-European roots that mean friends and family.
“Ki” and “kin” are also pronouns Kimmerer derived from her native language, Potawatomi. Like other indigenous languages, Potawatomi uses the same words to address all living beings as they do their family because they are our family. Bemaadiziiaaki is the Potawatomi word for beings of the living Earth, from which Kimmerer derives “ki” for a singular being and “kin” for plural beings. She offers us these pronouns as alternatives to the English pronoun “it” when referring to nonhumans because “it” objectifies them and reinforces the notion that humans are somehow more deserving of respect than the other 8.7 million species living with us.
”Indigenous ways of understanding recognize the personhood of all beings as equally important, not in a hierarchy but a circle” (Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass). I am grateful for this shared knowledge and strive to keep this wisdom alive in this work.
Our Kith + kin’s Values and Intentions
Multidimensional Liberation and activism
Our Kith + Kin is interested in ideas that will liberate all of us. I believe white supremacy is the foundational structure that upholds all current systems of oppression, including animal oppression. I believe that tackling the logic of hierarchy and domination rooted in white supremacy is how we will liberate ourselves from these systems. In her book Racism as Zoological Witchcraft, Aph Ko writes, “White supremacy impacts many more than just racialized humans. Animals as well as the environment are a part of this project. There are multiple dimensions of the [white supremacist] structure, suggesting that understanding and noticing that such dimensions exist are the first step to bringing down the structure”. This means a commitment to dismantling animal oppression and achieving animal liberation requires the inclusion of all marginalized and oppressed groups because animal liberation is not only about animals. It’s also about rejecting an unjust politics that regard anyone that is not white, male, cisgender, heteronormative, able-bodied, or human as disposable and consumable. From a multidimensional lens then, Our Kith + Kin is entering into the conversation about white supremacy through the dimension of speciesism, the white supremacist logic that assumes humans are superior to nonhumans. If you are interested in exploring these ideas in more depth, I recommend Aph Ko’s books: Racism as Zoological Witchcraft and Aphro-ism: Essays on Pop Culture, Feminism, and Black Veganism from Two Sisters.
Compassion
Our Kith + Kin seeks to create a culture of kindness and radical compassion for those we are advocating for, those we are advocating to, and those we are advocating with. As an anti-speciesist facilitator, I am interested in complex, whole person, imperfect movement generation. I believe the animal liberation movement should be full of people willing to disagree, learn, and grow together in love and care. We are all on our own journeys toward liberation and we are still learning and unlearning all the strategies we need to get there. I won’t always get it right, but I’m committed to the process. I trust that you are, too.
Sustainability
Our Kith + Kin is committed to providing resources that are in alignment with Earth and everyone on it. All products and services are made with low overhead and low impact and can be accessed via purchased downloadable files that can be used either in digital format or in print form. If you choose to print the resources, I encourage you to use paper made from sustainable bamboo or recycled materials rather than regular trees.
Our Kith + Kin is also committed to sustainable movement and personal growth. I believe that large scale change lies in doing deep, slow, intentional work. I recommend reading Emergent Strategy and Pleasure Activism by adrienne marie brown if you are interested in learning more about this. Additionally, I believe animal liberation education cannot sustain itself if it is solely based on images and messages of suffering. If we are constantly creating, speaking, seeing, and listening to distressing information, it will drain and incapacitate us. I believe joy makes movement sustainable and I allow it to direct this work where it should go. I refuse to grow a business based in burn out and my business intentions and practices reflect that.
Accessibility
Our Kith + Kin is committed to making its resources, services, and website available and accessible to as many people as possible. Currently, I offer a free downloadable resource and the Kith and Kin Community Program. For every fifteen guides sold, the Kith and Kin Community Program will send one person one downloadable guide for free. Just email Our Kith + Kin at hello@ourkithandkin.org and I will add you to the list. There is no need to share any personal information or answer any questions.
I am also working to adjust certain aspects of the website to make it easier for users with different vision and movement abilities to access the content. However, I am always looking to improve. If you’d like to share feedback regarding Our Kith + Kin’s accessibility, please email me at hello@ourkithandkin.org.