A Letter from the Founder

Growing up my parents were active in surrounding my siblings and I in the beauty of the Pacific Northwest. We frequently went inter-tubing, ziplining, hiking and camping. Much of my childhood summers were spent outdoors. As such, I cultivated an intimacy with the wilderness that marked it as mine long before I became aware of it as a locust of generational trauma. My immersion in nature at a young age formed an eco-memory that subverted and preceded the narrative of the wilderness as a place of harm and terror, and shielded me from the estrangement that many people of African descent experience given the history of the transatlantic slave trade, middle passage, debt peonage, the great migration and colonialism. 

As such, in working with Black youth and young adults, learning of Black bodies and their displacement from and avoidance of the natural world, especially as it is juxtaposed against the rich ecological history of Afro-Diasporic peoples is a longstanding source of grief; as has a lack of sustainable efforts to restore people of African descent in America to their relationship to the land in a way that involves resourcing communities or repairing the damage done. Hence, we have Braided Seeds. My ancestors braided seeds in their hair as an act of resistance, resilience and commitment to survival and connection.  

Braided Seeds’ mission is to provide opportunities for rest, restoration and repair through connection with the land. We are a Black-experience-centering organization, committed to the thriving and resilience of all BIPOC. In a world that seeks to distort our beauty, we assert that it is natural and right for us to root ourselves in the wilderness and wildness of our existence. We know that rest is an essential part in reclaiming our dignity and humanity, and are deeply invested in resourcing BIPOC rest experiences. So go outside! Play! Be! And embrace your inner wildness.

With Great Joy and Delight,

Ashleigh Shoecraft

Executive Director/Founder of Braided Seeds