Announcements, free resources, and more

September 2026

Dear circle,

Harvest season is upon us! I am feeling that energy over here, as we complete scheduling for our final set of offerings for 2026. If you'd like to join us, we have created a diversity of spaces that are meant to be as inclusive as possible.

This coming month, for example, you can join us for a drop-in circle, a low-commitment offering that is especially supportive of those who wish to learn within in a caring community. If you are a leader of an organization or community group, you may be interested in our Matriarchal Governance practitioner course, which gives you a chance to refresh a current operating document to be more aligned to your organization's core values. If you are one of our many male readers, you may be interested in our exploratory session for men, where participants will learn more about a 2027 men's cohort and with an opportunity to meet facilitator gkisedtanamoogk, before making a commitment to a series of sessions. For those who are more interested in exploring these resources on your own, I am happy to share we now have a kindle version of my book, and an audible version on the way. You may also take interest in our updated resources page, which is now organized by self-governance, family governance and community governance; with links to the work of modern matriarchs and articles on the many themes we explore in our circles. You will find more details on these offerings, below.

In the meantime, on the eve of the Fall Equinox, I wish for each of you a chance to sit with your own harvest ~ the fruits of your labor, your care, and your commitments; each brought back into your heart with awareness and gratitude.

With care, Maija

Maija has availability for one new organizational client for 2027

We have an opening for a new organizational client in 2027, working directly with Maija. We offer services that support a culture of trust by building accountable leaders and systems.

Learn more
 

Announcements & New Resources

Matriarch Makeover Book Now Available on Kindle

We are very excited to announce that the Kindle version of Matriarch Makeover: A 30-Day Invitation is available. Stay tuned for the Audible version later this month!

 
Check out the Kindle version

Liberated Capital's Remembering Our Roots: A European Lineage Recovery Journey

Next week! September 14, 2026

Facilitators: Maija West & Hilary Giovale

Discover how reconnecting with European ancestral lineage can deepen the work of repair and reciprocity.

Join us for the Info Session to learn more about the four-session healing course for those white-identifying folks. *Part of the Decolonizing Wealth Project

Sign up for 9/14 Info Session

Community Service Award and Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition presented to Maija West

Maija received this recognition in late July and you can listen to her acceptance speech below:

Listen to Maija's acceptance speech

SIGN UP: Exploratory Session, Leadership Cohort for Men

October 8, 2026

Rooted in Indigenous governance teachings, matriarchal consciousness, and lived experience, this exploratory session offers men a chance to learn more about the upcoming 2027 cohort for men. All are welcome! Facilitated by gkisedtanamoogk and Maija West

Sign up for Oct 8 Exploratory Session

DROP-IN: Monthly Book Circle

October 8, 2026

We hope you'll join us for the next drop-in session on Thursday, October 8 at 12pm. We will weave our community, together, to help illuminate and discover what it means to be a Matriarch during this time.

October topic: Community, Culture, and Right Relationship

Sign up for October 8 Book Circle

Matriarchal Governance Design Course for Practitioners

October 9, 2026

The last course in August was so popular that we're offering it again!

This course is for attorneys, mediators, and governance practitioners ready to examine their own documents and draft something more accountable, relational, and rigorous.

Reserve your spot for October 9

NEW Free Resource:

Divorce Circles –– A Witnessed Alternative to Conscious Uncoupling

A peacemaking circle, built with sacred agreements, a neutral peacemaker, and witnesses who reflect rather than judge — a space to say what needs to be said before anything is final. Some marriages will still end. But they'll end witnessed, not just dissolved.

Read the full letter from Maija

Modern Matriarch Highlight:

Annette McGivney & Her Book Plastic Shaman

 

This month we are proud to highlight Modern Matriarch Annette McGivney and her new book Plastic Shaman: The Story of a Deadly Self-Help Retreat and America's Misguided Quest for Wellness, which will be released this month.

Annette is an investigative journalist and author who has pent more than two decades reporting on the Southwest, the environment, and Indigenous issues, and who isn't afraid to turn that same unflinching scrutiny on herself.

Her new book, Plastic Shaman, digs into America's long, uncomfortable history of appropriating Native identity and ceremony for profit, tracing the deadly consequences of a self-help industry that markets "wellness" wrapped in stolen spiritual costume. It's the kind of reckoning that rematriation and lineage work asks all of us to sit with: whose stories, whose land, and whose sacred practices are we borrowing from, and what does it mean to return them?

Image Credit: annettemcgivney.com

Learn more

Important Dates

September 14, 2026 - Decolonizing Wealth Project course begins ~ for members of Liberated Capital [Find out more here]

October 8, 2026 - Next Session of the Monthly Drop-In Book Circle ~ Community, Culture, and Right Relationship

October 8, 2026 - Offering for men Exploratory Session drop in session, Information on the 2027 Leadership Cohort for Men

October 9, 2026 - Matriarchal Governance Design for Practitioners Course

(2027)

August 26-29, 2027 - Annual Matriarch Retreat on the California Central Coast

How to Start Your Matriarch Makeover ~

1. Free Resources

Every month we are adding new resources related to Modern Matriarchs, self-governance, family governance and community governance. Begin your journey by clicking below:

Browse all free resources

2. The Matriarch Member Circle

Our circle is growing! We now have 150+ members in our Matriarch Member Circle. It is becoming a powerful and inclusive place to connect and share resources. Its also the place where new offerings are shared, before public announcements. There are no membership dues or fees for this circle.

Join the Member Circle

3. The Book - 30 Day Invitation

These 20-minute journaling exercises were inspired by my own self-leadership journey. Many of the free resources (Step #1 above) are based on the exercises in this carefully crafted book.

Learn more

Copyright © 2026 Matriarch Makeover, All rights reserved.

www.maijawest.com

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