about us
OUR ACADEMY IS A CHANGEMAKER-MAKER!
"Radical simply means grasping things at the root."
- Angela Davis
Sol, 11, practicing Mindfulness during
Ancestral Alchemy Academy's
Indigo Child Mystery School
Curricular Progam Offering, 2021
Our Vision
Ancestral Alchemy Academy acknowledges Indigenous & Ancestral wisdom as the root to all learning.
Our vision is to apply a diversity of indigenous - ancestral approaches to support our youth’s capacities for fathoming the wonders of existence.
We envision generations rising embodied with great intelligence, liberated imaginations, and invincible esteems, ready to enact positive change via harmonious right relationship with the Nature, their communities, & themselves.
Our Mission
Our mission is to deliver transformative, culturally relevant, awe - inspiring - instruction rooted in deep respect for the Ancestors on whose shoulders we stand.
We fulfill our mission by serving our community as a unique curriculum hub with academic & enrichment youth course offerings that deliver Indigenous Ancestral perspectives to district schools, independent schools, micro schools, and home schools throughout Xučyun (Huichin) · Unceded Ohlone Territory · known largely as the SF Bay Area.
8 values
ancestry
We honor our Ancestral roots and the lineage that walks with every child, grounding learning with respect for the wisdom of those who came before us.
indigeneity
We acknowledge Indigenous traditions as a living template for how to walk in harmony with nature and in service of the preservation of life.
nature
We honor "Land as Pedagogy", respecting nature as the true teacher for how to live in right relation with the Nature, our community, and ourselves.
humility
Humility reminds us to listen deeply, walk with integrity, and remember that we are always learning.
culture
We respect the diverse cultural expressions of humanity, and invite children to deepen their awareness of their own cultures as pathways for growth.
joy
We activate play and joy as an expression of love. Our joy heals radically, and is a means for activating our learning and empowering our children to shine.
mindfulness
We integrate rituals of mindfulness in order to anchor children in their senses so they can perceive the truth in everything.
self-mastery
Inner-confidence & self-love are essential! We empower our youth to completely love and accept themselves and courageously embrace challenge.
Ancestral Alchemy Academy is a changemaker-maker
"Wisdom is not simply knowing. It is remembering. Intelligence becomes sacred when it is guided by the heartbeat of those who walked before us."
~ Intelligence Builds What Fear Cannot,
Neb Naba Lamoussa Morodenibig
meet the maker
Tiarra Asia Omar Allen-Knox
Descended from Griots with Revolutionary Legacy
Tiarra aka Mx.T
Tiarra aka Mx.T, Professional Storyteller and Montessori-Trained Independent Teacher Activist, descends from a long lineage of Griot Revolutionaries and has been of service to thousands of youth.
"The way Mx.T creates and holds a magical container for the youth is such a gift."
AAA Power Parent, Belinda David
Mx.T uplifting youth & community with Griot's Sagas at MLK Day March 2020 "teach-in" Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, Oakland
The Roots Are Strong.
As Mother Creator of Ancestral Alchemy Academy, Mx.T supports our youth in practicing Sankofa - looking to the wisdom of the past in order to re-member an empowered future.
Through unique, culturally-rooted academic and socio-emotional curriculum, she helps young people LOVE LEARNING, cultivate critical strong consciousness muscles, and develop the confidence to realize their cosmic potentials and enact lasting change.
"Ancestral Alchemy Academy is a true blessing for my family. Mx.T is an absolutely gifted light."
- AAA Power Parent,
Shani Wade-Sneed
Mx.T counting with youth of Deecolonize Academy from one to one-million with the Montessori "Geometric Hierarcy of Numbers" Material during a DREAM - Liberation - School offering. Spring 2025
For the Children, & the Children's Children
As a child of young parents, Mx.T carries a rare and powerful perspective shaped by witnessing the brilliance, resilience and becoming of her beautiful Mother Father Fadwa Omar Knox and Father Phillip Westley Knox. Their imprints reason Mx.T & The Academy's work with children today, inspiring a deep commitment towards youth empowerment so our rising generation develop at an early age an impeccable sense of innate mastery, courage, and capacity to radically transform life.
With training in Creative Wrting and Business Marketing from SFSU, over 17 years of culturally-rooted teaching practice, Montessori training, ECE Unit Foundations, and over a dozen accreditations in radical enrichment approaches including Design Thinking certification from Stanford Univeristy's d.School and The Ashoka Changemaker Network, Mx.T's path weaves academic excellence with Ancestral purpose, activating The Academy as a living prayer for love of learning that is our collective birthright.
"Having Mx.T as Ada's teacher early on set her on her path of curiosity and kindness.
We are forever grateful."
- Emily Santiago,
Alumni Power Parent
Forest Fridays' GENERATION ONE
circling in respectful acknowledgement of a young redwood Ancestor Tree.
Fall 2025
“I sustain myself with the love of my Family, the wisdom of My Mother, and the Courage of my Ancestors.”
~ Audre Lorde
coming soon!
AAA Dream Team + Youth Leadership Council Profiles
COMING SOON!