Born abroad in Germany, raised in South Korea and the daughter of a Black Vietnam War veteran father and a South Korean immigrant mother, Benu Amun-Ra (we/our/ours) is a generational farmer, seed-keeper, eco-feminist activist, and one of the communal founders and CEO of the indigenous diaspora non-profit organization, S.A.C.R.Ed (Seeding Ancestral Community Relationships Education) Eco-Center. Our organization is dedicated to re-centering on community healing through indigenous ways of being and knowing. We know as Black and Brown Indigenous diaspora that all of our healing is rooted in belongingness and coming together to heal our wounds, physically, emotionally and spiritually. We emphasize the importance of reciprocity and being in right relationship through reinvigorating indigenous practices of co-existing with nature and each other. We navigate the intersectionality of being identified as a BIPOC, single mother, an LGBTQ+ community member, and an individual living with disabilities.
Our work centers on food security (culturally relevant food pathways), mental health access (spiritual practices through Elder mentorship, ritual and ceremony), and advocacy (creative activism using our voices, art, dance, music, textiles, etc.)—crucial elements that make up our cultural roots that have been threatened or erased by centuries of oppression, inequity, colonialism’s cycle of trauma, the not so far off pandemic as well as the actions of the new incoming government administration. Currently, we are pursuing our Ph.D. in Transformative Studies at the California Institute of Integral Studies to advance the narrative of ancestral healing through our Indigeneity and reclaiming our Indigenous souls. Ase!