Review by Liz Dexter
I was immersed in a white settler myth that had always allowed me to perceive them [her ancestors] as innocent bystanders rather than oppressors.
I’ve been interested in settler colonialism (the practice of people travelling to so-called “empty” lands and taking control of them, either directly or through unbalanced “treaties”, think of Australia, Canada and the United States) for a while, and find it useful and interesting to read about the experiences of people who realise their family has been implicated in colonialism in general and slave-owning in particular, such as Thomas Harding’s White Debt which I reviewed for SNB back in 2021. So I was attracted by this tale of a woman realising that her quiet and fairly insignificant family still held the responsibility for taking land from Indigenous American people and indeed also finding out that one of her ancestors owned people. Married into a well-off and philanthropic family, she started to work on discovering her place in the world, how to redistribute money (and attention and care) fairly, and how to make reparations and apologies to those her family had damaged, in her case Indigenous and Black people in North America.
This has global implications, of course. People are struggling with these issues in Australia and New Zealand and Canada, too. Giovale takes a particular approach to it which involves a lot of spiritual work and practices which might seem a bit strange at first, but it’s worth bearing with her and going along with the flow. She also shares practical examples and advice, for example on how best to engage in cross-cultural learning without imposing emotional labour on others or organisations to support, with links (there is a website, https://www.goodrelative.com with up-to-date information). There is also history of what happened to Indigenous people in North America – including the fact that forced removal of children to “boarding schools” was imposed there as well as in Canada and Australia. She makes some points about how Indigenous organising is different to Eurocentric organising, which was very interesting.
Giovale is at pains to not centre herself, sharing processes anyone can do and making sure she amplifies particularly Indigenous voices, sharing quotations, links and organisations, but ensuring she doesn’t share too much of the ceremonies she is clearly honoured to be invited to take part in. She includes a Foreword by West African Diaspora Elder Yeye Luisah Teish and Closing Words by Lyla June Johnston, PhD, an Indigenous musician, scholar and community organiser. She does dream work and ancestor work. As part of this, she discovers her ancestry to be Celtic – Scottish and Irish – and explores what that means in terms of people and their ancient rituals. She also takes us through the processes of blame, shame, vulnerability and reparation, not necessarily monetary.
There is no pressure in the book to do what she has done: Giovale shares her practices and learning journey and encourages readers to do what they feel inspired to do. Even if you don’t go into dream practices and fasting in the desert, it’s worth having a think about the underlying issues and ways of reparation that she shares. Even if you’re “just” English (as I am, mostly, with Spanish undertones), many people of limited means held shares in slaves or went out to work on plantations. None of us are probably free of these associations and it’s worth considering that in our lives or just having a think.
As well as incorporating many spiritual practices and examples of practical work people can do, the book is really well-referenced, with explanatory footnotes on immediate issues, endnotes, a glossary of terms, a bibliography and an index.
It’s worth noting that proceeds from the sales of the book are going to the Decolonizing Wealth Project and Liberated Capital as well as Jubilee Justice, both organisations which are involved in reparative justice and the moving of funds to support Black, Indigenous and other Global Majority People communities.
Liz Dexter has a keen interest in settler colonialism and Indigenous issues. She blogs about reading, running and working from home at https://www.librofulltime.wordpress.com.
Hilary Giovale, Becoming a Good Relative: Calling White Settlers Toward Truth, Healing, and Repair (Green Writers Press, 2024). 978-987663172, 334 pp., paperback.
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