A safe, online space for Indigenous women's voices: Introducing 'Rematriation Magazine'

Reprinted with permission from Indian Country Today

It all started 20 years ago on a crowded subway train in New York City. Michelle Schenandoah, Oneida, was doing her daily commute into the offices of the American Indian College Fund, where she worked. She took a look around the car at her fellow passengers and everyone was reading something. People had their noses buried in the New York Times, businessmen were reading the Wall Street Journal, black women were reading Ebony or Essence magazine and Latina women were reading Latina.

She thought to herself: “Where’s my magazine?”

In the late 1990’s Schenandoah gathered her Native girlfriends together to explore the possibility of a Native women’s magazine. Her efforts stalled when an advisor with the Small Business Administration told her that she would need $30 million to start up a publication.

Now, 20 years later, she is giving birth to an online magazine and a sacred space that has long been percolating in her head. Rematriation Magazine, like many publications in this digital age, cannot be found in tangible high gloss on coffee tables or rolled up in a tote bag. Rematriation will exist in the blue glow of your tablet, smartphone or laptop as an online publication and interactive multimedia platform.

But what exactly is Rematriation?

According to Schenandoah, it isn’t just another women’s magazine about superficial topics such as the latest lip color or anti-aging serum, fashion trends, how to lose those last ten pounds or useless tips for online dating.

As Michelle Schenandoah, the CEO and founder of Rematriation tells it, at its core, Rematriation is an online space for Indigenous women to reclaim their voice, tell their stories, address important issues, and engage in substantive, intimate conversations for the purpose of inspiration and healing, “I had a longing and a need for conversation and the ability to talk about things - things of substance - our traditional roles within our culture, our children and their future” said Schenandoah. Rematriation is about “returning the sacred to the mother.”

The essence of Rematriation is to gather Onkwehonwe (Native/Indigenous) women’s voices in an effort to break through the long-standing silence that surrounds traumas our communities have faced, and to change the pervasive mainstream narratives that tend to focus only on violence, substance abuse, and poverty.

Michelle Schenandoah took a circuitous path in the founding of her digital publication. She went to law school in New York City and quickly realized law was not her thing. She sat on the board of the Seven Dancers Coalition, a non-profit organization based in Akwesasne focused on ending sexual assault and domestic violence in Indigenous communities utilizing Indigenous values. It was through her work with Seven Dancers that she began to gravitate back towards the idea of creating a realm in which she could deal with these serious issues.

Rematriation is not a solo effort. The founding team includes Michelle’s mom Diane Schenandoah, Oneida faithkeeper, is a contributing writer and the team’s resident elder and advisor, Lisa Latocha, Oneida, is the communications strategist and editor who brings her experiences in cultural research and writing to the table. Janet Flores, Guachichil, is the director of platform management and design; she is a social activist and founder of Brown Mujeres Media.

Ultimately, the Rematriation message is that Indigenous women’s stories matter and their voices matter. “If I can share my story, you can share yours too. There is power in making connections with our sisters,” said Schenandoah. “And through those connections, there is healing and inspiration.”

For more information about Rematriation Magazine visit https://rematriation.com/.