#122 Deep Medicine Circle: Dr. Rupa Marya, Charlene Eigen-Vasquez & Walter Riley

From a recent SAND Community Gathering (Feb 2025) hosted by SAND co-founders, Zaya and Maurizio Benazzo.

Deep Medicine Circle (DMC), a collective of healers, farmers, artists, and storytellers, is challenging colonial structures by redefining health and wellbeing through practices that heal communities and restore connections to land. Led by Dr. Rupa Marya, Charlene Eigen-Vasquez, and Walter Riley, this visionary group is creating a holistic food and wellbeing model that nourishes both people and land, recognizing the profound interconnectedness of human health within social, environmental, and historical contexts.

Dr. Rupa Marya  is a physician, activist, writer, mother, and a composer. She is a Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco and a co-founder of the Do No Harm Coalition. Her work sits at the nexus of climate, health and racial justice. She is the co-author with Raj Patel of the book Inflamed: Deep Medicine and the Anatomy of Injustice. She works to decolonize food and medicine in partnership with communities in Lakhota territory at the Mni Wiconi Health Circle and in Ohlone Territory through the Deep Medicine Circle. She has toured twenty-nine countries with her band, Rupa and the April Fishes, whose music was described by the legend Gil Scott-Heron as “Liberation Music.”

Charlene Eigen-Vasquez, J.D. is of Ohlone descent, from the village of Chitactac. She is dedicated to land back initiatives, land preservation, land restoration, cultural revitalization and environmental justice because she feels that these initiatives have a direct impact on physical and mental health. As a mother and grandmother, she completed a law degree so that she might better serve Indigenous communities. Today her focus is on regenerative leadership strategies, leveraging her legal skills, and mediation skills to advocate for Indigenous interests, negotiate agreements and build relational bridges. She is an acknowledged peacemaker, trained by Tribal Supreme Court Justices. Charlene is the former CEO and Director of Self-Governance for the Healing and Reconciliation Institute. Charlene also serves as Chairwoman of the Confederation of Ohlone People, Co-Chair of the Pajaro Valley Ohlone Indian Council and Board Vice President for the Santa Clara Valley Indian Health Center. Charlene was recently brought into the Planet Women’s 100 Women Pathway, a cohort designed to increase the number of diverse women leaders at the helm of the environmental movement.

Walter Riley was born in 1944, number 9 of 11 children born to a farming family in Durham County, North Carolina. His family farmed until he was about 6 years old. He grew up in the Jim Crow south and in his early teens, Walter became active in the Civil Rights Movement organizing voter registration, sit-ins, jobs campaigns, and in his late teens became Field Secretary for CORE (Congress for Racial Equality), got married and became a father. He moved to the Bay Area in the 1960s where he became active in the political, social justice movements. Walter is a long-time community activist and civil rights attorney.

Topics

00:00 Introduction and Greetings

00:47 Introducing Dr. Rupa Marya

01:46 Deep Medicine Circle and Board Members

02:36 Charlene's Introduction and Ancestral Tribute

07:33 Walter Riley's Introduction and Civil Rights Work

23:48 Connecting Food Systems and Colonial History

26:40 Healing Through Music and Cultural Awareness

27:43 Addressing Hunger and Malnutrition During COVID

28:06 Farming as a Path to Justice and Resilience

30:26 The Role of Historical Trauma in Land Restoration

30:51 Holistic Problem Solving and Cultural Stewardship

36:13 Youth and Community Engagement in Healing

41:28 The Importance of Ethnic Studies and Solidarity

43:08 Reflections on Historical Movements and Future Change

52:29 Concluding Thoughts on Healing and Unity

Resources

• Farming is Medicine (film)
• Do No Harm Coalition
• Inflamed (Rupa Marya)
• Rupa and the April Fishes
• Boots Riley (Filmmaker and Musician)
•  “I’m a Virgo” (TV Series by Boots Riley)
•  “Sorry to Bother You” (Film by Boots Riley)
•  The Coup (Boots Riley’s Band)

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