Grounded Hope –
In Land and Wisdom
Part 3 of a Weekly October Series on Hope

Some of my shirts don’t tie to elections or protest, but to grounding. They remind me that hope isn’t only about pushing forward—it’s also about healing and reconnecting with what sustains us.

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We Are On Native Land

This colorful shirt supports Waḳan Ṭípi (Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary), named to honor the significance of Waḳan Ṭípi Cave as a Dakota sacred site. It is also a healing place for many, including my family, who have walked its trails, skated on its frozen ponds, and had heart-to-hearts while wandering its paths.

Now, Waḳan Ṭípi is being honored with a new interpretive center—a space for cultural healing, truth-telling, and inspiration. At a time when so much history is being erased or censored, Waḳan Ṭípi offers a place where truth is spoken and accessible to all.

The shirt also reminds me of the Indigenous-centered meditation practice, Breaths Together for a Change, Creating a World of Feeling and Seeing No Stranger created by Cinamon Kills First of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, and multicultural educator Tommy Lee Woon. In community, white participants hold the pain of racism as they build the inner resources to reckon with it, heal from it, end ongoing perpetration, and move toward repair—so that whole, honest relationship becomes possible.

As Dr. Resmaa Menakem says: “Most Americans—Americans of all skin pigmentations—have racialized trauma stuck in their bodies.” Together, participants practice feeling it, so we can heal it.  And then, from there, attempt the deeper work of repair.

This shirt gives me hope—for both personal and collective healing, and for the possibility of a world made more whole through truth, repair, and connection.

👉 Reflection: What practices or places help you feel grounded and hopeful?

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When They Go Low, We Go High

One practically threadbare shirt carries deep meaning for me. It bears MichelleObama’s words: “When they go low, we go high,” from the Becoming book tour I attended with a dear friend. That night felt like a gift—the wisdom Michelle Obama imparted, the joy of being in a room full of people who believed in better, and sharing the experience with someone I trust deeply.

Michelle Obama’s words have been my anchor in more moments than I can count. Whispering them under my breath, deep breathing, steadying myself: they keep me connected to purpose. When facing conflict, or when cynicism tempts me to lash out or give up, they remind me that hope doesn’t mean ignoring harm; it means choosing another way to respond—one rooted in dignity, courage, and persistence.

This shirt doesn’t just call me back to Michelle Obama’s wisdom. It reminds me of the precious community I get to walk alongside—friends, colleagues, co-conspirators. People who remind me of my values when I forget, who challenge me when I slip, who believe that we can live differently and love differently, even in the hardest moments.

Hope lives in those relationships. Hope grows stronger when we refuse to go low – together.

👉 Reflection: Who are the people or communities that remind you to live with dignity and hope?

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Grounded hope steadies us for what comes next. Next week, I’ll close the circle with the kind of hope we practice every day—through family, faith, service, and grace.