Ancestral Medicine: Healing the Streets
A groundbreaking documentary exploring how ancestral wisdom and plant medicine are creating new paths for healing trauma and addiction in urban communities. Premiering Fall 2026.
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Watch the Trailer
Experience a glimpse into our documentary exploring ancestral healing practices in urban communities.
Film Panel Discussion & Community Sangha
September 30th - October 1st 2025, we hosted two days of ancestral healing, political liberation, and community care in Oakland, CA. We brought the documentary vision to life through storytelling, ritual, and healing. Followed by Solestial Sangha, creating a space where the movement for liberation embodies the freedom we seek via sound healing, breathwork, and meditation.
The Story Behind the Film
Authentic Voices
Our documentary follows real individuals confronting trauma and addiction amongst the formerly unhoused and formerly incarcerated, centering perspectives often marginalized in mainstream health narratives.
Personal Journey
Inspired by lived experiences and ancient healing traditions, we capture the raw, transformative power of reconnecting with cultural roots to address modern suffering.
Untold Stories
Through intimate storytelling, we bridge worlds between ancestral wisdom and contemporary urban life, revealing healing pathways hidden in plain sight.
Facing the Crisis: Trauma & Addiction Today
Community Healing
Breaking cycles through collective action
Limited Resources
Inadequate treatment options, lack of access
Intergenerational Trauma
Cycles of poverty and systemic oppression
Rising Addiction Rates
Urban communities in crisis
Many urban neighborhoods face escalating addiction and mental health challenges with few effective solutions. Traditional treatment often fails to address the deep roots of intergenerational trauma.
Rediscovering Ancestral & Plant Medicine
Plant Wisdom
Sacred botanicals used for centuries in healing rituals
Scientific Validation
Modern research confirming traditional knowledge
Community Connection
Healing through belonging and shared experience
Ritual Practices
Ceremonies that address spiritual and emotional wounds
Journeys of Discovery / Tales of Recovery :
1
Homelessness, Addiction & Trauma
Addiction and homelessness are deeply linked by trauma and systemic neglect. Nearly 38% of unhoused people struggle with alcohol use disorder, and over 25% with other substance use. In California, 65% report facing addiction while unhoused, often without access to treatment or healing spaces. Overdose is now the leading cause of death among unhoused communities. Behind these stats are people-often navigating childhood trauma, incarceration, and disconnection from culture, care, and community.
2
Integration Challenges
Traditional 12-step programs have helped many—but they're not the only path to healing. Recovery is not one-size-fits-all. For some, especially those impacted by systemic oppression, healing requires more than meetings and abstinence. It requires access to housing, community support, cultural reconnection, and ancestral medicine. In fact, only about 25% of people who begin 12-step programs remain continuously abstinent for a year or more.
3
Ancestral Connection
Across cultures and generations, communities have turned to ancestral medicines for healing—long before Western models of addiction treatment existed. From Ayahuasca in the Amazon, to Iboga in Central Africa, to the Temazcal and curanderismo traditions of Mesoamerica, these medicines have helped people reconnect to spirit, purpose, and community. Today, many are reclaiming these practices as vital pathways to recovery and remembrance.
4
Transformation
Stories of profound healing and identity reclamation through sustained practice and community support. From Addicts to Activists and Dealers to Healers these stories chronicle each phase of the journey.
Wisdom Keepers & Expert Voices
Indigenous Voices from Turtle Island to Africa
Ancient lineage practitioners and stewards of knowledge from Nigeria, Gabon, Mexico, Brazil, Peru and more sharing healing traditions preserved for generations.
Community Activists
Grassroots leaders and frontline activists bringing ancestral practices to facing addiction and trauma. Sacred and elemental activism transform Re-activists into change makers grounded in the movements of the past to shape the movements of tomorrow.
Bridge Builders
Utilizing principles and practices from conflict resolution and transformative justice to building long bridges between science, spirituality, and ideas that may seem worlds apart.
Watch, Learn, Act
Experience the Film
  • Request a community screening
  • Stream online (available Fall 2025)
  • Host a discussion group
Access Resources
  • Download healing guides
  • Find local practitioners
  • Educational materials for organizations
Join the Movement
  • Share your healing story
  • Support community initiatives
  • Connect with our network
Healing is sacred. Recovery is resistance. Ceremony is survival.