October 9, 2020
Register now for our special online Learning Right Relations October Gathering! Details below.
Continue reading for related events & news:
Indigenous People's Day Olympia
Monday October 12th 5:30pm PST
Online - Click here for facebook event site
Agenda will be posted on the facebook event site soon!
You are invited!
The Work That Reconnects Us With Our Indigenous Brothers and Sisters
Thursday, October 15th 7:00-9:00pm
Zoom Workshop
Facilitated by Lynn Fitz-Hugh and Carolyn Treadway
Click here to register for this event. Registration is required.
In our Learning Right Relations gatherings, as we listened to our Coast Salish neighbors, we learned that the indigenous ecological wisdom of the presenters themselves and of their communities is integral to their daily life; or perhaps, it is their life way. We have been learning that this closeness to nature is central to being in rIght relations with all life. Reconnecting in this way to the natural world is critically important in this time of environmental and climate crisis. For non-Indian people engaged in learning/living right relations work, it can be particularly painful as we discover the actual history, and learn of the roles of our ancestors in that egregious history.
Joanna Macy, an eco-feminist Buddhist, is founder and root teacher of The Work that Reconnects (WTR), also known as Active Hope. Since the early 1980’s she and WTR have helped thousands of people all over the world reconnect with themselves, each other, and the Earth, thus transforming personal pain into caring action on behalf of our beloved planet.
Carolyn Treadway and Lynn Fitz-Hugh are both white, therapists, environmental activists, and trained WTR leaders. The Work moves through stages of a spiral: gratitude, honoring our pain for the world, seeing with new and ancient eyes, and going forth into action. Lynn and Carolyn will focus this spiral on our relations with Native people. They will lead us through a series of exercises designed to help us process our own feelings about longstanding mistreatment of Native people by white American culture, and to shift out of our “settler”/dominator paradigm into deeper relationship with our Earth--as practiced by Native peoples since time immemorial. (This workshop has been designed to be a space for white allies to address emotions that come up in confronting the injustices perpetuated by our ancestors. This Work does involve sharing of our feelings and emotions. If you are not comfortable with doing so, please consider whether this workshop is right for you.)
The final section of the spiral, Going Forth, will focus on things we can do as allies of Native people. Several leaders of Learning Right Relations will offer some current possibilities. Participants describe the WTR experience as spiritual, insight provoking, unburdening, profound, inspiring, and connecting. Please come join us!
Click here to register for this event. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
CALL TO ACTION:
It is impossible to ignore the impact of wildfires this season, and our hearts go out to the all those who have suffered loss. Devastating fires have deeply affected Colville Tribes. Click here to read in depth stories in this article: Families facing loss from fire
You can support those who are being directly impacted. Morning-Star Means (Syilx, Kainai, Lakota) has organized a GoFundMe to raise funds to help prevent Tribal members from losing their homes, as well as providing for the safety of those who are evacuating. Click here to donate to WA State Tribe Support Fire Disaster Relief.
IN THE NEWS:
The Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan has launched an exhibition dedicated to Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, titled "Boontak! (Stop it!): Stolen Daughters of Turtle Island. Click here to read article: Portrait Project Memorializes Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women
The ongoing effects of colonization are seen playing out in conflict around a Caledonia housing development. Click here to read article: Arrests at Six Nation's Land Back Lane protests against a Caledonia housing development show the ugly face of colonial violence.
For more history on this conflict, Neither Liberals nor Conservatives took action on report on Six Nations land conflict, says former chief