The Elsewheres was created out of a need to resist and reimagine the systems of colonial education that have historically marginalized and erased Indigenous, Black, and minoritized communities. In her MAIS capstone project, The Table of Power: A Liberatory Praxis Through Indigenous Knowledges, Serina Payan Hazelwood explored how systems of white supremacy and capitalism within institutions like academia maintain colonial hierarchies and perpetuate harm under the guise of inclusivity. The Table of Power metaphor illustrates how these systems tokenize and extract knowledges while keeping communities oppressed. The Elsewheres is a continuation of this work, creating spaces that exist beyond the erasures of coloniality, centering relational accountability, healing, and liberation (McCarty, 2018).

This work is deeply inspired by the Xicanx Institute for Teaching and Organizing (XITO), whose commitment to culturally responsible and rehumanizing pedagogies in Tucson, Arizona, continues to be a guiding light. Despite legislative bans and opposition, XITO's efforts to create vibrant learning environments grounded in equity and ancestral knowledges have set a powerful example. We honor and give love to XITO for their groundbreaking work and their influence on our mission.

At The Elsewheres, we focus on adult learners, the general public, and those who have been assimilated into the U.S. educational system—essentially, all of us. By centering ancestral wisdom, decolonial methodologies (Grande, 2018), and community-rooted practices, Serina and the collective at The Elsewheres are building alongside programs like XITO to reclaim education as a space toward liberation, healing, and transformation. Together, we envision futures where knowledges heal and empower, allowing us to reconnect with what colonial systems have sought to erase.