Resources
Welcome!
Here you will find a wide range of materials to help you dive deeply into themes explored in Rites and Responsibilities.
Do you see something missing that needs to be on this list? We welcome your feedback! Please contact us: outreach.rites@gmail.com
Introduction
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READ
#Being13: Teens and social media
Stay Solid! A Radical Handbook for Youth by Matt Hern
Always Running by Luis Rodriguez
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READ
Coming of Age the Rite Way: Youth and Community Development through Rites of Passage by David Blumenkrantz
Youth on Fire: Igniting a Generation of Embodied Global Leaders by Melissa Michaels
Deeply into the Bone: Reinventing Rites of Passage by Ronald Grimes
Crossroads: The Quest for Contemporary Rites of Passage by Louise Carus Mahdi, Nancy Geyer Christopher, and Michael Meade
Of Water and the Spirit: Ritual, Magic and Initiation in the Life of an African Shaman by Malidoma Patrice Some
The Circle of Life: Rituals From the Human Family Album by David Cohen
Coming of Age: African American Male Rites of Passage by Paul Hill
Betwixt & Between: Patterns of Masculine & Feminine Initiation by Louise Carus-Mahdi, Steven Foster, & Meredith Little
Chapter One: Packing a Bag for the Journey
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Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Turn this World Inside Out: The Emergence of Nurturance Culture by Nora Samaran
The Colonizer and the Colonized by Albert Mememi
An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong by James Loewen
A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn
Radical Dharma by Lama Rod Owens
Characteristics of White Supremacy Culture by Kenneth Jones and Tema Okun
Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paolo Friere
As We Have Always Done by
Leanne Betasamosake SimpsonWATCH
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The Way of Council by Jack Zimmerman & Gigi Coyle
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Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Spiritual Ecology by Joanna Macy
A Branch in the Lightning Tree: Ecstatic Myth and the Grace in Wildness by Martin
Shaw
LISTEN
For the Wild Podcast
On Being Podcast -
At the Center of All Beauty: Solitude and the Creative Life by Fenton Johnson
Belonging Podcast with Becca Piastrelli
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Youth on Fire: Igniting a Generation of Embodied Global Leaders by Melissa MichaelsThe Art of Activism by Stephen Duncombe, Steve Lambert
The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron
WATCHShake the Dust (Film)
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LISTEN
“How Trauma & Resilience Cross Generations” Interview with Rachel Yehuda
READ“Fighting the Spiritual Void: Trauma is a moral and spiritual issue as much as a psychological or chemical one” by David Brooks
In an Unspoken Voice: How the Body Releases Trauma and Restores Goodness by Peter Levine
Peace From Anxiety: Get Grounded, Build Resilience, and Stay Connected Amidst the Chaos by Hala Khouri
The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel vander kolk
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Shadow Culture: Psychology and Spirituality in America by Eugene Taylor
The Fruitful Darkness: A Journey Through Buddhist Practice and Tribal Wisdom by Joan Halifax
Shadow Dance: Liberating the Power and Creativity of your Dark Side by David Richo
Owning Your Own Shadow: Understanding the Dark Side of the Psyche by Robert A. Johnson
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Women Who Run with the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes
Trickster Makes the World: Mischief, Myth and Art by Lewis Hyde
Living Myths: How Myth Gives Meaning to Human Experience by J.F. Bierlein
Scatterling: Getting Claimed in the Age of Amnesia by Martin Shaw
Your Mythic Journey: Finding Meaning in Your Life Through Writing and Storytelling by Sam Keen
Chapter Two: No Longer a Child, Not Yet an Adult
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The Four Shields: The Initiatory Seasons of Human Nature by Steven Foster and Meredith Little
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“The Skill of Dying in a Death Phobic Culture” Interview with Steven Jenkinson and Jesse Mendes
The Wild Edge of Sorrow by Francis Weller
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Brainstorm: The Power and Purpose of the Teenage Brain by Dan Siegel
Nature and the Human Soul: Cultivating Wholeness and Community in a Fragmented World by Bill Plotkin
“Why Are Teen Brains Designed for Risk-taking?” article by Joe Magliano Ph.D.
“The Teenage Brain: Peer Influences on Adolescent Decision Making” article by Dustin Albert, Jason Chein, and Laurence Steinberg
Chapter Three:
Restoring Cultural Habitat: Rites of Passage for Justice and Healing
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READ
Truth or Dare: Encounters with Power, Authority and Mystery by Starhawk
Intersectionality, Positionality, and Privilege - University of Michigan
What’s Disability got to do with it? - SURJ
ENGAGE
Fierce Allies -
READ
Playing Indian by Philip Joseph Deloria
“Wanting to Be Indian” by Myke Johnson
“What is Cultural Appropriation?” by Pegi Eyers
WATCH -
ENGAGE
Indigenous Resistance Homework by Catalyst Project
UnSettling Ourselves: Reflections and Resources for Deconstructing Colonial Mentality
WATCH
Deep Adaptation and Climate Justice 2019: Climate Change and Inequalities (Video)
“Decolonization is not a metaphor” by Eve Tuck and K. Wayne Yang
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ENGAGE
Moving Beyond a Politics of Solidarity towards a Practice of Decolonization by Harsha Walia
READ:The Red Deal--Indigenous Action to Save our Earth by The Red Nation
As Long as Grass Grows:
The Indigenous Fight for Environmental Justice
by Dina Gilio-WhitakerRestoring the Kinship Worldview by Wahinkpe Topa and Darcia Navarez, PhD
What Does Justice Look Like? The Struggle for Liberation in Dakota Homeland by Waziyatawin, PhD
Alliances: Re/Envisioning Indigenous-non-Indigenous Relationships by Lynne Davis
Decolonization: Indigeneity, Education, & Society
LISTEN:
“Decolonization & the Long View of History,” with Carlos Saavedra & Fhatima Paulino, Irresistible Podcast
Chapter Four: Sex, Drugs, and Rites of Passage
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My Body, My Limits, My Pleasure, My Choice - Generation 5 Youth Zine
What You Really Really Want: The Smart Girl’s Guide to Sex and Safety by Jaclyn Friedman
Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good by adrienne maree brown
Uses of the Erotic by Audre Lorde
All About Love by bell hooks
Queer: The Ultimate LGBT Guide for Teens by Marke Bieschke and Kathy Belge
Reclaiming Afrikan. Queer Perspectives on Sexual and Gender Indentities by Zethu Matabeni
Yes Means Yes!: Visions of Female Power in a World Without Rape by Jaclyn Friedman and Jessica Valenti
WATCH“The School of Consent,” videos by Betty Martin
“The demise of guys” Philip Zimbardo ted talk
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In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction by Dr Gabor Maté
How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence by Michael Pollan
Natural Highs: Feel Good All the Time by Hyla Cass, MD, and Patrick Holford
This is your Mind on Plants by Michael Pollan
WATCH
The Power of Addiction and the Addiction of Power: Dr. Gabor Maté TedTalk
Everything You Think you Know about Addiction is Wrong: Johann Hari TedTalk
ENGAGE
Natural Highs (Organization)
Chapter Five: Who Am I?
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The Body Is Not An Apology: The Power of Radical Self-Love by Sonya Renee Taylor
The Good Body by Eve Ensler
LISTEN
Finding Our Way Podcast with Prentis Hemphill
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Growing Whole: Self-Realization on an Endangered Planet By Molly Young Brown
The Unfolding Self: Varieties of Transformative Experience by Ralph Metzner -
Soulcraft: Crossing into the Mysteries of Nature and Psyche by Bill Plotkin
Care of the Soul: A Guide for Cultivating Depth and Sacredness in Everyday Life by Thomas Moore
Inner Work: Using Dreams and Active Imagination for Personal Growth by Robert A. Johnson -
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The Evolution of Identity Politics: An Interview with Eric Ward
ENGAGE“Indigenizing Love: a Toolkit for Native Youth to Build Inclusion” by Western States Center
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In a Different Voice by Carol Gilligan
Seeing Gender: An Illustrated Guide to Identity and Expression by Iris Gottlieb
Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls by Mary Pipher
Wild Feminine: Finding Power, Spirit, and Joy in the Female Body by Tami Lynn Kent
The Wonder of Girls by Michael Gurian
The Wonder of Boys by Michael Gurian
Men and the Water of Life: Initiation and the Tempering of Men by Michael Meade
“Transitioning into a Decolonized Masculinity” by Dr. Shay Akil
Beyond the Gender Binary By Alok Vaid-Menon
Written by the Body: Gender Expansiveness and Indigenous Non-Cis Masculinities by Lisa Tatonetti
A Guide for Straight and Cisgender Allies in LGBTQIA+ Spaces
“Beyond the Human” by So and Pinar Sinopoulos-Lloyd
“Gen Z goes beyond gender binaries” by Innovation Group
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READ
My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies by Resmaa Menakem
The New Jim Crow by Michelle Anderson
The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. Du Bois
Living in the Tension: The Quest for a Spiritualized Racial Justice by Shelly Tochluk
Me & White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad
The Racial Healing Handbook by Anneliese Singh by David Sue, Tim Wise
Women, Race & Class by Angela Davis
The Case for Reparations by Ta Nehisi Coates
From White Racist to White Anti-racist: the Lifelong Journey (Tema Okun’s developmental “Ladder”, 16 pp)
White Women doing White Supremacy in Nonprofit Culture by Heather Laine Talley
WATCHRace: The House We Live In (California Newsreel; video, 6 min)
Moving the Race Conversation Forward (Race Forward; video 4 min)
The Hate U Give (movie)
LISTENOpening the Question of Race to the Question of Belonging - On Being podcast interview with John A Powell
“Racial Imposter Syndrome” - Code Switch, NPR
“Seeing White” - Scene on Radio
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WATCH
“On Intersectionality” BY Kimberlé Crenshaw, Keynote Address, -
READ
African Diaspora Identities: Negotiating Culture in Transnational Migration by John A. Arthur
Circle Works: Transforming Eurocentric Consciousness by Fyre Jean Graveline
Complexities of Jewish identity - collection of articles
Decolonizing Jewishness: On Jewish Liberation in the 21st Century by Benjamin Steinhardt Case.
“Identity Mapping: Your Identity Map,” Teach Indigenous Knowledge
WATCHJeanette Armstrong "Indigeneity" Tedx Talk
Chapter Six: Who are My People and Where Do I Come From?
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Healing Haunted Histories: A Settler Discipleship of Decolonization by Elaine Enns and Chet Myers
Trace: Memory, History, Race, and the American Landscape by Lauret Savoy
The Caliban and the Witch by Sylvia Frederici
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Connected Fates, Separate Destinies: Using Family Constellations Therapy to Recover from Inherited Stories and Trauma by Marine Selenee
Pod Mapping Worksheet, by the Bay Area Transformative Justice Collective
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Connecting to Our Ancestral Past: Healing through Family Constellations, Ceremony, and Ritual by Francesca Mason Boring
Voices from the Ancestors
Xicanx and Latinx Spiritual Expressions and Healing Practices by Lara Medina (Editor), Martha R. Gonzales (Editor)Medicine Stories by Aurora Levins Morales
The Horse, the Wheel, and Language: How Bronze-Age Riders from the Eurasian Steppes Shaped the Modern World by David W. Anthony
The Suppressed Histories Archives by Max Dashu
Witches and Pagans: Women in European Folk Religion by Max Dashu
LISTEN
WOMAN STANDS SHINING (Pat McCabe) on Humanity's Homecoming - For the Wild Podcast
Healing our Indigenous European Ancestors - Lyla June - Medicine Stories Podcast
A History of English podcast ( relevant to folks of Celtic, Slavic, Germanic, and other European ancestral traditions)
ENGAGE
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Recovering the Sacred: The Power of Naming and Claiming by Winona LaDuke
Ancient Spirit Rising by Pegi Eyers
Ancestral Medicine: Rituals for Personal and Family Healing by Daniel Foor
Calabaza: Placing out a Spirit Bowl for Our Ancestors of the Pueblo Revolt by Brandy Clabaza
Soul-Force: African Heritage in Afro-American Religion by Leonard E. Barrett Sr.
ENGAGEOrphan Wisdom, Stephen Jenkinson
Calling Ourselves Home, Rain Crowe
Healing from Whiteness, Tad Hargrave
In the Bones of Our Ancestors , Boston Workmen’s Circle Center for Jewish Culture & Social Justice
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The Universe Story: From the Primordial Flaring Forth to the Ecozoic Era—A Celebration of the Unfolding of the Cosmos by Brian Swimme and Thomas Berry
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Wildness - Enrique Salmon on "kincentric" ecology , Center for Humans and Nature
Chapter Seven: Where Am I Going and How Do I Get There?
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The Journey of Soul Initiation by Bill Plotkin
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The Thundering Years: Rituals and Sacred Wisdom for Teens by Julie Talla Johnson
Of Water and the Spirit: Ritual, Magic, and Initiation in the Life of an African Shaman by Malidoma Patrice Somé
Entering the Healing Ground: Grief, Ritual, and the Soul of the World by Francis Weller
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Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds by adrienne maree brown
"Healing Justice is How we Sustain Ourselves" by Prentiss Hemphill
Healing Justice Is How We Can Sustain Black Lives
World as Lover, World as Self by Joanna Macy
Heart and Hands: Creating Community in Violent Times by Luis Ridriguez
Medicine Stories by Aurora Levins Morales
Youth Activist Toolkit by Advocates for Youth
ENGAGE
Chapter Eight: Initiation
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The Ritual Process: Structure and Anti-Structure by Victor Turner
Ritual: Power, Healing, and Community by Malidoma Patrice Somé -
The Mentee's Guide: Making Mentoring Work for You by Lois J. Zachary
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How to Prepare for Your Vision Fast Ceremony by Betsy Perluss
Wilderness Vision Fast and The Four Shields of Human Nature by Meredith Little
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Edith Kusnic, Fostering Thriving Communities through Rites of Passage: A Manual for Getting Started (Bothell: Rite of Passage Journeys, 2016). You can access this manual by contacting info@riteofpassagejourneys.org.
Chapter Nine: Return
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Incorporation- Embodying the Vision by Silvia Talavera
Living the Practices- applying the bare bones by Nancy Jane
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Your Mythic Journey: Finding Meaning in Your Life Through Writing and Storytelling by Sam Keen
The Red Thread by Dr. Scott Eberle
Chapter Ten: Living an Initiated Life
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“Choosing the Story We Want for Our World” by Molly Brown and Joanna Macy,
“Apocalypse Prophecies: Native End of the World Teachings,” Indian Country Today
Coming Back to Life: The Updated Guide to the Work That Reconnects by Joanna Macy and Molly Young Brown
Hospicing Modernity: Facing Humanity’s Wrongs and the Implications for Social Activism by Vanessa Machado de Oliviera
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Everyday Spiritual Practice: Simple Pathways for Enriching Your Life by Scott W. Alexander
The Art of Living by Thich Nhat Hanh
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Work Won’t Love You Back by Sarah Jaffe
“Rest is anything that connects your mind and body,” The Nap Ministry, February 21, 2022,
Sacred Economics by Charles Eisenstein
The Soul of Money by Lynne Twist
Money and the Meaning of Life by Jacob Needleman
WATCH
Money and the Soul’s Desires by Stephen Jenkinson
Money and Life
ENGAGE
Ride Free Fearless Money: Real Talk on personal finance, relating to money and progressive politics
LISTEN
Bottom Lines, Top Dollars
Upstream Podcast -
Color of Fear (Lee Mun Wah and a great cast)
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Fierce Vulnerability: A Colored Girl's Truths, Trials and Triumphs by Sophie J Casey
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The Way of Paradox; Spiritual Life as Taught By Meister Eckhart by Smith, Cyprian
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Sacred Instructions: Indigenous Wisdom for Living Spirit-Based Change by Sherri Mitchell
WATCH
Bradley Dick - Honouring Tradition Tedx Talk
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Rooted: Life at the Crossroads of Science, Nature, and Spirit by by Lyanda Lynn Haupt
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Turn this World Inside Out: The Emergence of Nurturance Culture by Nora Samaran
How to Be Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi
“What Is/Isn’t Transformative Justice,” by adrienne maree brown
“How to Think about Implicit Bias” by Keith Payne, Laura Niemi, John M. Doris
The Case for Black Reparations by Boris Bittiker
Fumbling Towards Repair: A Handbook for Community Accountability Facilitators by Miriam Kaba & Shira Hassan
On Stolen Land: Thoughts on Rewilding, Decolonization, and Allyship
LISTENIbram Kendi: On Being an Antiracist
Uprooting Racism: How White People Can Work for Racial Justice by Paul Kivel
WATCHBarnard Center for Research on Women “What is Accountability?”
Walking Across Difference in Collaborations and Partnership
Whiteness Competency with Dr. Jacqueline Battora and Michael Kilman
Francesca Ramsey
ENGAGE