Ep. 205: Becoming a “Good Relative” with Author Hilary Giovale

EQ: How can individuals of European descent acknowledge their ancestral histories and take meaningful steps toward truth, healing, and repair in their relationships with Indigenous and Black communities?

In this powerful episode, we sit down with Hilary Giovale, author of Becoming a Good Relative: Calling White Settlers Toward Truth, Healing, and Repair, to explore how individuals of European descent can reckon with their ancestral histories and engage in meaningful truth, healing, and repair with Indigenous and Black communities. Hilary shares her personal journey of uncovering Celtic, Germanic, and Nordic roots, awakening to the harms of settler colonialism, and redefining what it means to be a “good relative” in today’s world. We discuss the significance of settler identity, the concept of “white peril,” the role of rituals and spiritual practices in healing, and her ten guidelines for building respectful, cross-cultural relationships. Through honest reflection and a deep commitment to relational accountability, Hilary offers a vision for how white settlers can move beyond denial toward connection, responsibility, and repair.

Do Your Fudging Homework:

• Annie: Do Hilary’s homework–dig into your past/lineage/ways you can

• Hilary: Following this guide, make a personal reparations plan

• Sign up for a monthly contribution to a Land Tax program (all those I know about are listed on this page)

• Read An Indigenous People's History of the United States, by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

• Hope: Support Tacoma Reparations