Discussant: 5-255 The Good Way, the Good People: Reflecting on (Forgotten) People, Histories, Relationships, Places and Methods

Drawing from our individual and our collaborative endeavors and life projects, we reflect candidly on the transitional contexts of anthropologists' decolonial, action anthropological and collaborative inquiries in connection with the ways these have informed our theories, writing, relationships, and institutional engagements to do work 'in a good way'. We ask, what was, is and can be the role of timely actioned, engaged, and/or relational anthropology during these uncertain and turbulent times? What can our trans-disciplinary past and especially some of its forgotten, ostracized, ignored, subjugated, yet influential ancestors teach us about critical and enduring legacies for the present and future? We reflect critically on mentors, Elders, peers, and teachers who offered transitional gateways, portals, and re-imaginings of anti-colonial, decolonized, and alternative anthropologies through which we are, in turn, inspired to consider real transitional tools towards ethical, reciprocal, and powerful alliances and approaches for addressing the immense contemporary challenges facing anthropology now. By invoking gifted people and ideas who already transitioned or provided alternative transitional paths towards a decolonized anthropology, we aim to identify radical pathways and alternatives that many of us routinely pass over, ignore, refuse to see. We offer a set of protocols, principles, and insights to inspire the ghosts, contemporaries, and future generations of those interested in working together through transitional contexts of critical decolonial reception histories, reconciliation, climate change, education, and social justice.
Part 2 builds directly, organically and practically on the foundational work done in the first session (please see Part 1) and provides evocative ethnographic, grassroots and community cases and examples of a 'good way/good people' research approach.