Dragon Letters #15
Capricorn Moon Edition
December 5, 2021
Hola my dear friend,
On this Capricorn moon as I complete my decolonial Yoga YTT300 training with Susanna Barkataki, 13 days from my 50th dance around the sun on December 18th, I am sharing some decolonial readings around science, mainly the centering of Indigenous ways of knowing, decolonizing anthropology, archeology, and geoscience that has been so harmful in the collecting of “artifacts”.
In sensing the coming “market” downturn for a few weeks now, I was going to explore the crypto world. But now that things have been shaken up a bit, I’ll wait for a future moon for that.
We’ll cover a couple of books and articles this month. Keep scrolling to see them. The deep Time medicine of the Giant Sloth caves of the Amazon was haptic. And below that I’ve shared ways we can work together with links.
Stay wild, love fiercely. Your presence is golden.
xo Ixchel
P.S. tl;dr
Read an excerpt from The Dawn of Everything here.
David Graeber
I was recently introduced to Grarber’s work and was sad that I hadn’t known it before he passed from complications of long-Covid. Except. I then I discovered I did know him well in the Occupy movement and Strike Debt work (90 second video showing the burning of debt bought for pennies on the dollar) he was behind. When I read about the purchasing of debt to forgive it my body shook with delight and sorrow as someone in choking debt, imagining what lives would be like if this happened more.
During the Occupy movement, I was on City Council and navigated being in the Occupy space and working on deescalating and de-militarizing police response at the local level. The space holding that I learned in those circles was life-changing.
This article, What David Graeber, ‘Dawn of Everything’ Author, Left Behind, is a reflection on his BTS life. I’m struck by his lineage of scholar activist parents and how he did decolonial work from the shadows in a way that risked his privilege. It’s commendable. And he is still doing if from beyond.
The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity by David Graeber and David Wengrow
“A dramatically new understanding of human history, challenging our most fundamental assumptions about social evolution―from the development of agriculture and cities to the origins of the state, democracy, and inequality―and revealing new possibilities for human emancipation.”
Decolonizing Prehistory
“Decolonizing “Prehistory” combines a critical investigation of the documentation of the American deep past with perspectives from Indigenous traditional knowledges and attention to ongoing systems of intellectual colonialism.”
This book was a breath of fresh air. For anyone that has exoticized Mayan spiritual practices without connecting the roots to Indigenous Mayan people struggling to protect their lands today, this is a must read. The book covers many Indigenous cultures in the Western Hemisphere.
“Indeed, as expressed by Māori scholar Linda Tuhiwai Smith, the scientific research on Indigenous peoples has generally been related to Western imperialism and its constant will to convert Indigenous knowledge into Western “discoveries” (120). One of the main colonialist and imperialist ideas perpetuated by science regarding the Maya is that they all disappeared after the so-called Maya collapse at the end of the Classic Period (250–900 CE). The archaeologist Patricia McAnany sees in this recurrent idea the evidence of archaeology’s deep-colonial roots (4).”
To further explore decolonizing of geoscience, in this article Max Liboiron argues, “colonial relationships with Indigenous land and knowledge in geoscience disciplines must be acknowledged to address harm and change how science is done.”
Decolonizing “Prehistory”
Deep Time and Indigenous Knowledges in North America
We have so much to learn from Time
If you follow me on IG or have heard me talk about where I live, you know I’m grateful for the perezoso (sloth) medicine. We are blessed to be a sanctuary for the local perezosos who come to eat the all-spice leaves, mangoes and pau ‘d arco leaves. And occasionally they climb down and leave us piles of adorable poop pellets, signaling how safe they feel to be so vulnerable on this land. It’s a badge of honor for me.
So when a friend recently shared this article about giant sloth burrows, I was floored. I could literally feel the depth of Time described by their work over generations.
“It wasn’t until 2015 that Amilcar Adamy of the CPRM had an opportunity to return to that strange cave in Rondonia. It turned out to be the first paleoburrow discovered in the Amazon, which is notable, but not the coolest part. It also turned out to be one of the largest ever measured, with branching tunnels altogether tallying about 2,000 feet in length. The main shafts — since enlarged by erosion — were originally more than six feet tall and three to five feet wide; an estimated 4,000 metric tons of dirt and rock were dug out of the hillside to create the burrow.
“This wasn’t made by one or two individuals,” says Adamy. “It was made by many, over generations.”
I leave you with this thought and encourage you to embody the haptic experience of deep Time when you are feeling rushed, chased or fighting with Time. Remember we are all part of a vast continuum doing our important work, little by little, and breathe.
How we can work together:
Stellar Strategy 1+1 90-minute session and Rest Revolt Handbook (shorter choose-your-adventure session)
Decolonizing Time + Rest Revolt Dec 27 – 31st
(virtual collective sit-out to go deeper in practices to (un)busy your life)
1+1 1/2 day Boundless Vision Retreat with 1 prep and 1 follow up sessions (Foundational planning session to center Flow, rest and play)
1+1 1/2 day Stellar Strategy Retreat with 1 prep and 1 follow up sessions. (Longer choose-your-adventure session)
Wild Presence Year-long 1+1 coaching program (alchemical, non-linear, agile process to bring you back to re-membering how to live with Wild Presence)
✨ Client Love ✨
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Land Lineage
I was raised and bore children on the traditional, unceded and stolen lands of the Coast and Central Valley Miwok (colonized as Petaluma, CA) and Nisenan (colonized as Sacramento and Fair Oaks, CA), past, present and future. I also write, work and live in the highland jungle, the traditional, unceded and stolen lands of the Matagalpa, past present and future, in what is known as Matagalpa, Nicaragua.
P.S. I do not live or consent to the colonial impositions regarding the construct of Time. I also practice honoring rhythms of work, play, and rest, so that I can serve you with embodied presence and with loving care. This means I may take several days to respond to your requests and questions. (h/t Eva Glamaris)
P.S.S. A mention is not necessarily an endorsement of someone. It’s an acknowledgement, a citation, of the origin of information in my process of understanding. (h/t Kelly Diels)
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I was raised and bore children on the traditional, unceded, and stolen lands of the Coast and Central Valley Miwok (colonized as Petaluma, CA) and Nisenan (colonized as Sacramento and Fair Oaks, CA), past, present, and future. I also write, work, and live in the highland forest of the traditional, unceded and stolen lands of the Totonac, Nahua, and Mexicah, past, present, and future, in what is known as Coatepec, Veracruz, Mexico.
P.P.S. I do not live or consent to the colonial impositions regarding the construct of Time. I also practice honoring rhythms of work, play, and rest so that I can serve you with embodied presence and with loving care. This means I may take several days to respond to your requests and questions. (h/t Eva Glamaris)
P.P.S. A mention is not necessarily an endorsement of someone. It’s an acknowledgment, a citation, of the origin of information in my process of understanding. (h/t Kelly Diels)
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Copyright © 2026, Cheyenne, WY, and Veracruz, Mexico, All rights reserved. Sharing your lineage of knowledge is decolonial. When iterating, please cite me. Not citing is epistemicide.
