How to Connect with Your Ancestors (And Why)

Environmentalist face devastating burnout rates - 96% experience high or very high exhaustion levels from working on environmental issues. BIPOC communities bear this burden even more heavily, standing on the frontlines of climate destruction.

For this Earth Warrior Challenge we are looking on how Indigenous wisdom offers a powerful antidote: connecting with your environmental ancestors.

What You'll Experience:

• The exercise from Dr. Sue Bell Chiblow's Indigenous science class
• Why connecting with environmental guardians in your lineage sustains planet work across generations
• Why this practice transforms climate anxiety into ancestral strength

The Connection Process:

• Identify family members who shaped your environmental calling - the bird watcher, the hiker, the gardener
• Interview relatives who knew them if they've passed on
• Learn their names and stories (names hold power)
• Honor them through daily practices and sacred space
• Spend time with them, experience nature together 

Resources Referenced:

• NPR Article: "How to make an ancestral altar: A cross-cultural guide"
• Climate Burnout Research Report (96% statistic)

Special Thanks:

• Frank's mother for sharing the water diviner grandfather story
• My awesome cousin Joenna for the English translation
• Dr. Susan Bell Chiblow for the Indigenous wisdom classroom practice

Connect with Indigenous Earth:

• Website: indigenousearth.org
• Newsletter for more Earth Warrior Challenges

Topics: Climate burnout, ancestral connection, environmental activism sustainability, Indigenous wisdom practices, water divining, intergenerational environmental calling, BIPOC climate trauma, spiritual ecology, activist resilience