Native American Women Writers’ Retreat Hosted by Hedgebrook in Partnership with Cultural Survival
“Only stories help us break through old roles that normalize domination, and Hedgebrook is a global campfire.”
~ Gloria Steinem, Hedgebrook alumna
Cultural Survival is excited to announce a partnership with Hedgebrook bringing together six Native American women writers for a residency on November 10-17, 2018, on Whidbey Island, WA.
Hedgebrook is a center that supports women storytellers through its writers in residence program at its peaceful campus on Whidbey Island, located north of Seattle, WA. There, women and gender non-conforming writers are given the time and space to create. The alchemy of solitude is rare: to live and work in one’s own handcrafted cottage in the woods by day, and to share supper around the historic farmhouse table with five other writers each evening. In-house cooks prepare meals harvested from Hedgebrook’s organic garden and local farms. Hedgebrook’s residency experience has been called “radical hospitality” - because even today it is a radical act to nurture and support a woman so she can give full focus to her creative work. Over 30 years, Hedgebrook’s community has grown into a global force of women authoring change.
Cultural Survival is an Indigenous Peoples rights advocacy organization that supports Indigenous communities’ self-determination, cultures and political resilience, since 1972. Led by Suzanne Benally (Navajo and Santa Clara Tewa), Cultural Survival envisions a future that respects and honors Indigenous Peoples inherent rights and dynamic cultures, deeply and richly interwoven in lands, languages, spiritual traditions, and artistic expression, rooted in self-determination and self-governance.
Last year, Hedgebrook piloted its first Global Campfire Convening (based on the Gloria Steinem quote above). The program fosters notable women writers selected in partnership with social justice-focused organizations. This year, Cultural Survival and Hedgebrook came together to host a group of six Native American writers. The participants were nominated by Cultural Survival, then jointly selected with Hedgebrook, with the criterion that they be cross-generational, at different places in their writing careers, from various parts of the country, and writing in a diversity of genres.
By supporting prolific and brilliant women whose stories have historically been underrepresented, we chisel away at the “old roles that normalize domination,” so more voices will rise. Stay tuned for stories from the convening.
Photo by Jill Friedman.
