Pagsuyo: Courting the Indigenous Soul
The "Pagsuyo: Courting the Indigenous Soul" study circle brings together our Kapwa from across the diaspora for a monthly virtual gathering featuring teachings, presentations, and breakout discussions supported by peer facilitators…
In 2026, Pagsuyo will embark on a journey to re-membering Kapwa through the framework of "Ethnoautobiography."
Ate Leny writes: "Ethnoautobiography is a framework for getting to know our long body; this is a Haudenosaunee concept which is akin to the Filipino concept of kapwa."
The Ethnoautobiography book (developed by Jurgen W. Kremer and R Jackson-Paton) was “midwifed” by Ate Leny by lending her classes to pilot test the framework. Ate Leny, in recognizing that her own classroom pedagogy has been influenced by Filipino Indigenous Psychology, found in the Ethnoautobiography structure a useful tool that is capable of weaving the elements of our long bodies in a clear, gentle, and accessible way. She and Jurgen eventually team-taught an Ethnoautobiography course that became the basis for the published workbook suitable for both academic and non-academic community settings.
Registration for the 2026 Pagsuyo cohort is closed.
Reclaiming our Original Motherline of Love: Book Study on Hilary Giovale’s Becoming a Good Relative
Dr. Leny Mendoza Strobel will join us February 20, Morgan Curtis will join us March 6, Hilary Giovale will join us March 20 and Grandmother Ejna Fleury will join us April 3.
We will get insights from our speakers on the provocative themes of this ground-breaking book and learn from their own life stories. We will have the opportunity to question the speakers and discuss our reactions in small groups and to share with the full group.
“Reading Hilary’s book is a refreshing deep dive into this challenging and wondrous path of healing and repair for white-identified folks... What is beautiful about Hilary’s book is her transparency in writing about the challenges of being on this path — the embodied aspects of the emotional, psychological, spiritual, physical, and cognitive aspects of unlearning whiteness.”
— Leny Mendoza Strobel
Los Cien: Sonoma County Latino Leaders—Roots of Anti-Blackness/Roots of White Supremacy
Los Cien discussed the role of the Latinx community and the existence of anti-blackness in Sonoma County. This conversation was designed to make us feel uncomfortable and open our minds, to change entrenched mindsets that perpetuate racism and anti-blackness within our Latino community and beyond. We hope this topic inspires personal exploration and understanding of one's self and leads a stronger and more diverse movement of community champions and change agents who believe in equity building.