Reclaiming & Decolonizing Bardic Traditions for Grounded Social Movements

Airmid’s Almanac

In this episode, Rue and Mica discuss how we engage with reclaiming storytelling and bardic traditions as queer settlers of Gaelic lineages. Rue recounts the tale of Lughnasadh and Lugh's encounter with the snake, Crom Dubh. We consider the role of the queer bard who tends the spiritual edges of the community and mull over the tensions of engaging with ancestral stories as members of a diaspora.

A few questions we engage with: What role does lineage connection play in grounding and spiritualizing the political action of North American settlers? How shall we engage with our ancestral stories while being careful not to appropriate them or homogenize traditions so strongly rooted in the landscape? How can we honor the original tellings and relationships embedded in the stories without being rigidly conservative or calcifying these cultural practices so impacted by colonial erasure? How can we keep the traditions alive whilst weaving their stories into present relevance?

If you enjoy our podcast please like and subscribe. Also consider supporting us on Patreon. Your small monthly contribution helps us pay for the expenses associated with this podcast. Learn more here: www.patreon.com/airmidsalmanac. A third of the profits go to a LGBTQ and/or BIPOC-led organization doing decolonial healing work. Right now we are partnering with Kunsi Keya Tamakoce of Huntington, so-called-Vermont (Abenaki Territory). Kunsi Keya provides a pathway for Native women from Lakota and other nations to come and reconnect to traditional lifeways. Learn more at: www.kunsikeya.org

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