The world was never meant to be ruled by men alone

Part four: Colonialism

There is a story that has been told so many times, we have mistaken it for truth.

Men have always been in charge.

Women have always been secondary.

This is just how the world works.

But this is not truth. This is conquest disguised as fate.

Before they told us that power was a throne to be seized, before they taught us that strength was a weapon and not a birthright, the world was different.

The world was whole.

There was a time when power was woven through communities, where leadership was a shared prayer, where wisdom did not need permission to rise. A time when women were not feared for their gifts but honored for them. A time when governance was held in council, not by force. Where leadership was rooted in devotion, in care, in the well-being of all, not the wealth of a few.

These are not myths. They are memories. And the earth remembers.

What Colonialism Took From Us

Before patriarchy, before conquest, before borders and empires, there were societies built on reciprocity, matrilineal wisdom, and reverence for the divine feminine.

The Iroquois Confederacy—one of the oldest democratic systems—was matrilineal. Women had the power to appoint and remove leaders.

Among the Yoruba in West Africa, gender was not tied to leadership—pre-colonial Nigeria had female rulers, warriors, and spiritual leaders.

In the Pacific Islands, pre-colonial Hawaiian society recognized Māhū (third-gender individuals) and honored feminine leadership in land stewardship.

These societies were not anomalies. They were thriving. And then, they were taken.

Colonization did not just claim land. It claimed the way we understood power itself.

It silenced the voices of women and replaced them with kings, bishops, and governors.

It outlawed Indigenous spiritual traditions and burned the temples where the Goddess was still worshipped.

It turned matriarchal societies into male-dominated ones, enforcing this hierarchy through the Bible, through law, through war.

They told us this was progress. They told us this was civilization. But it was actually control.

The Colonial Mindset Didn’t End—It Became Policy

Colonialism was not just a moment in history. It was a blueprint. A set of systems designed to concentrate power in the hands of a few and disguise control as order.

The systems that once burned women as witches, outlawed Indigenous governance, and erased the Sacred Feminine did not disappear. They evolved.

They became law.

They became policies designed to control land, bodies, and power—dictating who governs, who is protected, and who is not.

And today, those in power are not just preserving this system—they are expanding it.

The Hyde Amendment & reproductive control—For nearly 50 years, the Hyde Amendment has blocked federal funds from covering abortion, disproportionately stripping bodily autonomy from Indigenous, Black, and low-income women. Trump’s administration expanded these restrictions, ensuring that those without wealth had fewer rights over their own bodies. This is not just about abortion—it is about who is allowed control over their own future and who is forced into submission.

Erasing LGBTQ+ protections—Trump’s administration removed gender identity and sexual orientation from federal anti-discrimination laws, rolling back decades of civil rights progress. This echoes the colonial imposition of rigid gender norms and the criminalization of those who exist outside them.

Criminalizing transgender healthcare—Trump signed an executive order banning federal funding for gender-affirming care for minors, cutting off essential medical access for trans youth. This is part of a long tradition of patriarchal control over bodies—one that once criminalized midwives, healers, and nonconforming identities.

Undermining Indigenous sovereignty for corporate gain—Through executive actions, Trump fast-tracked projects like the Dakota Access Pipeline, violating treaties and endangering Native lands and water. This is the same extractive colonialism that has stolen land for centuries, treating Indigenous people as obstacles rather than sovereign nations.

Stripping racial and gender equity from federal policies—Trump revoked diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) requirements in federal agencies, ensuring systemic inequalities—especially in healthcare and economic policy—could no longer be formally addressed. This is the colonial playbook in action: erase the language of injustice, and you erase the ability to fight it.

These are not just policies. They are a continuation of conquest.

Decolonizing Our Minds & Systems

Colonialism is not just something that happened in the past. It lives in our institutions. It lives in our laws. And it lives in us.

It is the voice that tells us to shrink, to defer, to stay quiet.

It is the fear that rises in our throats when we think about speaking up.

It is the exhaustion that tells us that this is just how things are.

But this is not how things have to be.

Reclaim the Histories That Were Erased

The first step in decolonization is remembering.

What Indigenous governance systems existed where you live before colonization?

What matriarchal traditions have been erased from your lineage?

Who were the women leaders, healers, and visionaries that history books left out?

Unlearn the Hierarchies You Were Taught

The colonial mindset teaches us that power is top-down—that there must always be a ruler, a hierarchy, a structure of domination. But Indigenous governance models teach us that power is collective.

Where do you still assume leadership must be male, white, or Western to be “legitimate”?

How often do you default to male authority over female or Indigenous wisdom?

Where in your own life have you internalized the idea that women must fight for scraps rather than build new systems entirely?

Examine How You Relate to Power

Where do you silence yourself out of fear of being “too much”?

Have you ever dismissed or distrusted a woman leader in ways you wouldn’t question a man?

How does the fear of stepping outside the norm hold you back from making the impact you know you are capable of?

If you were no longer afraid of disrupting the system, what would you do differently?

The colonial mindset does not just live in laws—it lives in us.

We have been conditioned to fear our own power because power outside the colonial structure is unpredictable. It is uncontrollable. It is disruptive.

But disruption is necessary.

And love is the most powerful disruption of all.

How do you want to be?

Imagine you grew up in a world where colonialism never happened. Where indigenous culture was at the forefront of society. Where women have always led alongside men. Where principles that supported the Earth were centered…

How would you act? 

How would you guide your life? 

How would you feel about your power? 

How would you spend your time?

Now, can you reverse engineer this vision to bring clarity to the difference between your authentic expression and how you’ve been trained to act?

How can you start expressing yourself more authentically today? And what do you feel called to create so more people feel free? 

What Comes Next

Colonialism didn’t just strip women of leadership—it took away their ability to provide for themselves.

When women lost the land, they lost their freedom.

That pattern never ended.

The enclosure of common lands forced women into economic dependence, and today, we’re seeing a modern version unfold. Under Trump, public lands—our last remaining commons—are being handed to private interests. Protections for sacred Indigenous sites have been stripped, national parks gutted, and oil drilling fast-tracked.

In our next thread, we’ll explore how land theft has always been a tool of control—and how reclaiming what was taken is key to restoring true sovereignty.

With love and fire,

Sarah & Kelly

How to Join Us in Ceremony

Our upcoming full-day Ceremony, REMEMBER, at Old South Church in Boston is happening April 28. A gathering of 800 women, reclaiming what was lost. Join us.

ICYMI:

Introduction: An invitation to Remember

Part one: When God became a man — the first erasure

Part two: The witch hunts — the weaponization of fear

Part three: Mary Magdalene — the Feminine Christ they erased

Dear [First Name],

There is a story that has been told so many times, we have mistaken it for truth.

Men have always been in charge.

Women have always been secondary.

This is just how the world works.

But this is not truth. This is conquest disguised as fate.

Before they told us that power was a throne to be seized, before they taught us that strength was a weapon and not a birthright, the world was different.

The world was whole.

There was a time when power was woven through communities, where leadership was a shared prayer, where wisdom did not need permission to rise. A time when women were not feared for their gifts but honored for them. A time when governance was held in council, not by force. Where leadership was rooted in devotion, in care, in the well-being of all, not the wealth of a few.

These are not myths. They are memories. And the earth remembers.

What Colonialism Took From Us

Before patriarchy, before conquest, before borders and empires, there were societies built on reciprocity, matrilineal wisdom, and reverence for the divine feminine.

The Iroquois Confederacy—one of the oldest democratic systems—was matrilineal. Women had the power to appoint and remove leaders.

Among the Yoruba in West Africa, gender was not tied to leadership—pre-colonial Nigeria had female rulers, warriors, and spiritual leaders.

In the Pacific Islands, pre-colonial Hawaiian society recognized Māhū (third-gender individuals) and honored feminine leadership in land stewardship.

These societies were not anomalies. They were thriving. And then, they were taken.

Colonization did not just claim land. It claimed the way we understood power itself.

It silenced the voices of women and replaced them with kings, bishops, and governors.

It outlawed Indigenous spiritual traditions and burned the temples where the Goddess was still worshipped.

It turned matriarchal societies into male-dominated ones, enforcing this hierarchy through the Bible, through law, through war.

They told us this was progress. They told us this was civilization. But it was actually control.

The Colonial Mindset Didn’t End—It Became Policy

Colonialism was not just a moment in history. It was a blueprint. A set of systems designed to concentrate power in the hands of a few and disguise control as order.

The systems that once burned women as witches, outlawed Indigenous governance, and erased the Sacred Feminine did not disappear. They evolved.

They became law.

They became policies designed to control land, bodies, and power—dictating who governs, who is protected, and who is not.

And today, those in power are not just preserving this system—they are expanding it.

The Hyde Amendment & reproductive control—For nearly 50 years, the Hyde Amendment has blocked federal funds from covering abortion, disproportionately stripping bodily autonomy from Indigenous, Black, and low-income women. Trump’s administration expanded these restrictions, ensuring that those without wealth had fewer rights over their own bodies. This is not just about abortion—it is about who is allowed control over their own future and who is forced into submission.

Erasing LGBTQ+ protections—Trump’s administration removed gender identity and sexual orientation from federal anti-discrimination laws, rolling back decades of civil rights progress. This echoes the colonial imposition of rigid gender norms and the criminalization of those who exist outside them.

Criminalizing transgender healthcare—Trump signed an executive order banning federal funding for gender-affirming care for minors, cutting off essential medical access for trans youth. This is part of a long tradition of patriarchal control over bodies—one that once criminalized midwives, healers, and nonconforming identities.

Undermining Indigenous sovereignty for corporate gain—Through executive actions, Trump fast-tracked projects like the Dakota Access Pipeline, violating treaties and endangering Native lands and water. This is the same extractive colonialism that has stolen land for centuries, treating Indigenous people as obstacles rather than sovereign nations.

Stripping racial and gender equity from federal policies—Trump revoked diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) requirements in federal agencies, ensuring systemic inequalities—especially in healthcare and economic policy—could no longer be formally addressed. This is the colonial playbook in action: erase the language of injustice, and you erase the ability to fight it.

These are not just policies. They are a continuation of conquest.

Decolonizing Our Minds & Systems

Colonialism is not just something that happened in the past. It lives in our institutions. It lives in our laws. And it lives in us.

It is the voice that tells us to shrink, to defer, to stay quiet.

It is the fear that rises in our throats when we think about speaking up.

It is the exhaustion that tells us that this is just how things are.

But this is not how things have to be.

Reclaim the Histories That Were Erased

The first step in decolonization is remembering.

What Indigenous governance systems existed where you live before colonization?

What matriarchal traditions have been erased from your lineage?

Who were the women leaders, healers, and visionaries that history books left out?

Unlearn the Hierarchies You Were Taught

The colonial mindset teaches us that power is top-down—that there must always be a ruler, a hierarchy, a structure of domination. But Indigenous governance models teach us that power is collective.

Where do you still assume leadership must be male, white, or Western to be “legitimate”?

How often do you default to male authority over female or Indigenous wisdom?

Where in your own life have you internalized the idea that women must fight for scraps rather than build new systems entirely?

Examine How You Relate to Power

Where do you silence yourself out of fear of being “too much”?

Have you ever dismissed or distrusted a woman leader in ways you wouldn’t question a man?

How does the fear of stepping outside the norm hold you back from making the impact you know you are capable of?

If you were no longer afraid of disrupting the system, what would you do differently?

The colonial mindset does not just live in laws—it lives in us.

We have been conditioned to fear our own power because power outside the colonial structure is unpredictable. It is uncontrollable. It is disruptive.

But disruption is necessary.

And love is the most powerful disruption of all.

How do you want to be?

Imagine you grew up in a world where colonialism never happened. Where indigenous culture was at the forefront of society. Where women have always led alongside men. Where principles that supported the Earth were centered…

How would you act? 

How would you guide your life? 

How would you feel about your power? 

How would you spend your time?

Now, can you reverse engineer this vision to bring clarity to the difference between your authentic expression and how you’ve been trained to act?

How can you start expressing yourself more authentically today? And what do you feel called to create so more people feel free? 

What Comes Next

Colonialism didn’t just strip women of leadership—it took away their ability to provide for themselves.

When women lost the land, they lost their freedom.

That pattern never ended.

The enclosure of common lands forced women into economic dependence, and today, we’re seeing a modern version unfold. Under Trump, public lands—our last remaining commons—are being handed to private interests. Protections for sacred Indigenous sites have been stripped, national parks gutted, and oil drilling fast-tracked.

In our next thread, we’ll explore how land theft has always been a tool of control—and how reclaiming what was taken is key to restoring true sovereignty.

With love and fire,

Sarah & Kelly

How to Join Us in Ceremony

Our upcoming full-day Ceremony, REMEMBER, at Old South Church in Boston is happening April 28. A gathering of 800 women, reclaiming what was lost. Join us.

ICYMI:

Introduction: An invitation to Remember

Part one: When God became a man — the first erasure

Part two: The witch hunts — the weaponization of fear

Part three: Mary Magdalene — the Feminine Christ they erased