Black + Afro-Indigenous
Ceremonialist
Archivist
Curator

The intentional ethnic erasure of the "Black/ African-American/ Afro-Latinx" has never been met with reparation or retribution. I am surviving modern colonialism as the living continuation of my Mvskoke Creek ancestors. My labor includes remembering and maintaining our rituals, ceremonies, knowledge, oral stories, and trades.As a ceremonialist, archivist, and curator, I preserve rituals; I document and protect oral histories, practices, and ancestral knowledge; and I research, interpret, and care for cultural materials so they are accessible—to the cultures from which they were extracted—to aid in the process of reclaiming and remembering.My work is supported through the care of those who choose to fund cultural restoration and art. To offer support, visit the contact page.

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About Me

I’m a Black, Mvskoke woman remembering my indigenous ways through ceremony, ritual, preservation, remembrance, story, and sitting with elders.I share and document oral stories, and learn traditional teachings including sewing, food preservation, baby catching, and herbal medicine.
Labor is not to be given to someone else in exchange for basic necessities. Labor is a part of life. I do not have a career. I have a life, and that includes labor.My artistic mediums include time, memory, breath, movement, sound, touch, and sustenance. Because my medium is not bound to objects, my art can be felt as much as seen.Above, you can experience some images from my journey to remember.Because my labor is communally exchanged, You are welcome to support my work. Your support makes space for this work to continue.

© RickiReign. All rights reserved.

To offer material support, email below. I am uninterested in sales or marketing.

Reviews

Macs Strickland of Macs Entertainment

"I contacted [Ricki] for a business consultation and for guidance... Not only was she prompt and professional in her responses, she completely exceeded my expectations giving me all the right information and guidance ... If you need something done, she is the Jill of trades. Highly recommended!"

- Tarris Batiste of "Don't Let it Smoke You"

Lori Ann Mathews

"When seeking to transition from one entire industry to another, I found a layer of complication that I wasn’t prepared for... I sought out guidance from Ricki as to what my next steps should be... Ricki was able to not only listen to my work history and my assessment of my own abilities, but she also asked me tough questions... I feel I not only gained a greater sense of direction for my continued journey into tech, but I feel I have a greater appreciation for what I can bring to the space... Her advice is spot on, not only because she knows the space well, but because she is invested in trying to learn what makes her clients flourish!"

Support Ceremonial Labor & Artistry

Tracing My Return

• 199X-2008: Lineage Study, Elder Observation, Archiving, Family Reunions, Tradition Keeping
• 2008-2015 Social and Political Science Studies
• 2017-2019 Remembering prayer, song, drumming, chant; Studied Vedic Philosophy in India; Reclamation ancestor veneration, deep grief
• 2020-2021 Rest, Reclamation of Birth, Return to homeland, studying with elders, Learning about art, herbs, migration, storytelling in Southern Louisiana, Study of parteras, pre-colonial indigenous stories, plant medicine, rest as labor and studying with indigenous communities in Colombia, and Peru
• 2024-Present Early development of transition to non-extractive labor, Surrender, Communing with Ancestors, Art as labor

Questions That Guide My Work

• What is worth remembering?
• How do we preserve what can't be written down?
• Can rest be reclamation?
• How to reclaim our language and remain in community with our tribe?
• How to begin, again?
• What happens when birth and death are communal, not medical events?
• How can labor remain remain sacred?

Current Labor

• Communal fieldwork and story gathering
• Anthology compilation
• Writing, storytelling, chant, and song
• Knowledge-sharing with fellow Black and Indigenous folks
• Skill and tradition keeping through communal exchange
• Ceremony and ritual keeping
• Pre- and post-colonial occupation ceremonial and art reflections
• Community activism and engagement
• Transforming labor into visual, written, and sound-based pieces

Material Needs

$6.5k each new moon
Contact below to support!

Management Consulting

One-Time Strategy Consultation

Book a consultation to get started planning a small goal. Best for small businesses who are getting started or feeling stuck with a small project, or need advisement on how to approach obtaining certain resources.

Transformation Strategy

Does your organization need help generating revenue opportunities with your current customer base or improving service delivery? We specialize in large-scale transformation projects to that improve customer satisfaction, onboarding, customer sales funnels, service packaging, retention, contract renewals, and internal product marketing with your current customers.