CROSS CULTURAL PROTOCOLS (CCP) WORKING GROUP MANDATE AND PROCESS

WHY THE CCP?

The Youth Passageways network is comprised of practitioners and communities from various ethnic and cultural traditions. As we began our first gatherings, we found that the shadows, unconscious patterns, and tension that are the result of histories of oppression showed up at our meetings. People from settler societies, gathered on the lands of indigenous people, stirred up old tensions, and revealed ongoing patterns of domination. There were disagreements over the proper use of time: should we stick to schedules and agreements written on paper, or should we allow processes to take the time that they needed to take? Whose ceremonial and cultural ways and protocol would be heeded and respected? What were the unspoken norms in our gatherings and how could we make them conscious and question them?  Other questions arose as whether initiatory process should be culturally specific or cosmopolitan. Could guides reach youth from different backgrounds? The questions and struggles were and are many.

All of these experiences led YPW to recognize that it is imperative that we as a network develop skillfulness, sensitivity, historical knowledge, and present day awareness of the needs, challenges, tensions, and potentials that exist within and between the many communities that make up the network. The CCP working group helps YPW stay in alignment with its commitment to diversity, and articulate and embody practices that support healthy, fruitful and dynamic relationships and representation of all that comprise our network. The brokenness between peoples is part of how initiatory processes for youth were lost, and reconciliation and healing are central to their reclamation.

WHAT WE DO

• Navigating and transforming intercultural/ethnic and gender based conflicts internal to YPW as an organization – We strive to name and disrupt dynamics based on entrenched power relationships and histories of oppression as they arise. We recognize and name hegemony where it is present and work to de-center it. We advocate for individuals or communities that may have experienced marginalization within the organization, listening for the voices of all parties and redirecting organizational attention and behavior towards alignment the principles described in the CCP document. We do this when invited, serving in a consulting/advising role for network leadership, working groups and partners.
• Think tank/Researchers – The CCP actively researches, documents and articulates the historical choices, actions and patterns that led to the destruction/loss of transmission of rites of passage and initiatory processes among indigenous, contemporary and emergent peoples. We seek out practices to redress oppression and cultural amnesia, collaborating with elders and wisdom keepers, activists, scholars and professionals in the field. Through our contacts with an increasing number of practitioners and elders (particularly indigenous), this group is a growing a body of eldership pertaining to cross cultural awareness, redress, and the reancestralization of rites of passage work. Our members also engage in critical and creative self reflection about our own social locations, values and experiences within and beyond the network. Arising out of this research, the CCP provides resources for the larger network.
• Vigilance aspect of group- The CCP tracks cross-cultural issues, dynamics, and patterns within the movement equipped with a social justice lens, sharing our observations in order to cultivate awareness and foster dialogue throughout all levels of network.

CCP CONSULTING, TRAINING, AND EDUCATIONAL OFFERINGS:

• Training/Consulting incorporating these protocols into your organization and/or developing culturally-relevant rites of passage.
• One hour free consulting for YPW partners annually.
• Contact us for dates and registration information for the next 6-part Right Relations in Rites of Passage digital workshop series
• How much do you know about the indigenous peoples where you live and work? Consider learning more and getting further involved in their efforts toward sovereignty and justice.

You can see the CCP Protocols Living Document HERE or view a webinar from close to our beginnings HERE

HOW WE OPERATE

The CCP working group meets remotely approximately once a month. In our meetings we establish objectives and divide tasks between members, usually accomplished between meetings. We also hold yearly in-person retreats, where we deepen our relationships and research, share practices and resources, realign with our shared goals and protocol, review challenges and growing edges of YPW in these matters, and establish an overall direction for the coming year as a working group. We share meeting notes with the YPW Stewardship Council. As with all parts within YPW, members of the organization outside the CCP are welcome listen in on our meetings as witnesses. We make decisions by full consensus. From time to time the CCP recognizes the need for outside consultants to help the larger YPW organization take fresh steps and deepen our commitments to cultural competence, anti-oppression, cultural protocol and historical context. As needed we contract with and recommend trainers, educators, elders, facilitators and activists whose work in areas of cultural literacy is aligned with the field of youth initiation and rites of passage.

Current Members

Our current working group consist of three members. At present our group is comprised of Sobey Wing, and Darcy Ottey.

 

Member Term:

Members serve for a minimum of two years, and renew their commitment annually at our in-person meeting. There is no term maximum.

Criteria for Participation:

• Attended at least one YPW gathering or retreat
• Network partnership at any level
• Attended at least three CCP meetings as witness/guest
• Relevant experience in cross-cultural healing, reconciliation, and/or social justice
• We strive to include individuals from a variety of social identity groups including indigenous peoples, POC, intergenerational representation, and gender balance/ diversity (LGBTQIA).

We are currently seeking additional members. If you feel called to join, would like to learn more, or would like to recommend someone else, please contact Sobey Wing