Rites & responsibilities

**Restoring healthy* cultural habitat through initiation and rites of passage**

*Notions of what is and isn’t healthy are complex and politicized terms. We use the term in the spirit of the definition put forth by Health Justice Commons: “all that affirms and supports life, allowing us all to live in harmony and dignity with ourselves, one another, and the planet.”

Ages 18+ | July 17-21, 2025

Practices of initiation—conscious crossings from who we have been to who we are becoming--are both ongoing processes for authentic leaders, as well as a set of tools they can offer to their community. This course, a blend of ceremonial process, educational inquiry, and hands-on learning tools, explores what it means to step fully into one’s role in our families, communities, and society, in service to the whole. Over five days, we will consider how to most effectively carry our gifts with responsibility and grace. We’ll dive deeply into questions of lineage, investigating the causes, consequences, and complexities of cultural appropriation, and exploring the co-creation of ancestrally-rooted, culturally respectful initiation rites.

Learning Objectives:

Explore human development from neurological, psychological, cultural and ecological perspectives, and the role of developmental transitions in soulful leadership
Build capacity to design and/or lead healthy passages, for ourselves and others in their community
Dive into key orienting frameworks for personal, collective, and co-liberatory transformation
Explore the disruption of rites of passage over recent centuries and the resurgence of rites of passage today, and how these efforts fit in with the decolonization and other global change movements
Explore and contextualize the role of identity development in rites of passage, and how this impacts our work and those we serve
Investigate the causes, consequences, and complexities of cultural appropriation, and explore the co-creation of ancestrally-rooted, culturally respectful alternatives
To exchange and evolve practices and skills with respect for lineage, supporting their implementation in meaningful projects in diverse communities and organizations.
To develop a relationship with Rites & Responsibilities as a holistic framework through which to engage in the work of restoring cultural habitat and with that, rites of passage for our lives and communities.
To explore practices for living an initiating life on an everyday, ongoing basis

Photo credit: Photos above copyright to David Moskowitz, Darcy Ottey, or Clement Wilson. Used with permission.

PROGRAM DETAILS

Frequently Asked Questions

Ages 18 +
All Genders

July 17-21, 2025

Arrival Time: 11am PST

Departure Time: 4pm PST

River Root Farm, Deming, WA

Participants may camp on-site or arrange their own lodging nearby, and need to provide and cook their own breakfasts and lunch. Dinners will be provided Thursday - Sunday evenings, with food provided by Journeys. There will be a tea station set up at all times.

Bring all that you need to camp & sleep outside in the level of comfort that you prefer. (Tents are recommended as tarp space may be limited) An info/recommended equipment list will be provided

$750-$1995 Sliding Scale
$300 Deposit Due at Registration
Financial Aid is currently available

Please note there is a $100 minimum payment for anyone applying for financial aid and applications must be received at least one week prior to the start date of the program