February 27, 2020
Our next Gathering will be a trip to the acclaimed Suquamish Museum on Saturday March 28th.
We'll carpool to Suquamish on Saturday morning, March 28th, leaving the Olympia Unitarian Universalist Congregation (2315 Division St NW, Olympia 98502) parking lot at 11am. Please be there by 10:45am. It will be close to a 2 hour drive.
We will visit the acclaimed museum for an hour or so on our own, as there is no tour guide available on the weekend. However, after our visit, we will have meet with two members of the tribe who will tell us about their heritage and answer questions for about an hour.
Museum admission is $3/person for the day, a special group rate. Please bring a car lunch, or food to snack on during the day.
Click here to visit the Suquamish Museum website
Continue reading for related events and news:
Mark your calendars!!
Netse Mot Day
March 21, 2020
North Steps of the State Capitol
Olympia, WA
Save the date! Join with Tribes, First Nations, faith organizations, non-profit groups, activists, elders, youth and concerned individuals gather to show that we are all Netse Mot, or "one heart and one mind," for Xw'ullemy (the Salish Sea). We will show our elected officials that we support Indigenous leadership, and request that Washington State adopt the principles outlined in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).
Click here to find out more: https://sacredsea.org/
YOU are welcome to join us for our next
Learning Right Relations Action Team Meeting
Wednesday, March 11th 6-8pm
Olympia Unitarian Universalist Congregation
2315 Division St NW, Olympia
LRR Action Team meetings have been chnaged to the second Wednesday of the month. We welcome more members who want to become allies of our local tribes and support special projects like our Gatherings, the Acknowledgement of Tribal Territories, Canoe Journeys, Blanket Projects, Since Time Immemorial Curriculum in Public Schools, and Repudiation of the Doctrine of Discovery. If you are interested, please contact Elizabeth Rodrick at erodrick@comcast.net
IN THE NEWS:
DAPL --
The North Dakota Public Service Commission has allowed an expansion doubling the oil flow through the Dakota Access pipeline. The Lakota People's Law Project released a video from the original hearing, which shows oil industry engineers dissembling about the impacts of this change. Click here to watch the video from Lakota People's Law Project website.
WET'SUWET'EN --
On Friday, February 21st, Wet'suwet'en Hereditary Chiefs met with the Mohawk People of Tyendinaga at the Council House in Tyendinaga to discuss the path forward for the Wet'suwet'en people to be able to end the illegal occupation of the RCMP and CGL on their lands. Click here to watch video of this press conference
Click here to read article from The Guardian: Canadian police had 'no authority' to search pipeline activists, says watchdog. As protests in Canada and around the world continue, a nine-page letter written by Michelaine Lahaie, chair of the Civilian Reivew and Complaints Commission for the RCMP, harshly criticizes tactics used against Indigenous people.
Unist'ot'en is calling for supporters to come out to the front line. People who can stay at least two weeks and can take direction from Indigenous leadership are needed. Supporters who have never been to camp before are welcome. Click here to find out more & apply.
Canadian Pacific CEO calls for talks between Wet'suwet'en and Trudeau immediately:
Ongoing actions demonstrate solidarity with Wet'suwet'en, including shutting down the streets in Seattle around the Chase Bank regional headquarters. Click here to watch video of this action.
Thank You for supporting 2019 Paddle to Lummi!
A note from Beth Brownfield:
In total UU Congregations raised over $10,853 from 38 congregations in OR, WA, and ID. Your gifts were more impactful than you can ever know in what it provided all attending indigenous peoples and non-native guests. It was the most hospitable, inspiring, moving, healing, and beautiful five-days imaginable. A special call of gratitude to Olympia UU Congregation for their ongoing efforts to raise funds for the Tribal Canoe Journey through their Blanket Project. You can take a peek in the links below to see some of the protocol that happened almost around-the-clock for 4 days in order to give all 80 visiting Indigenous Nations their time on the floor.
Finale @ paddle to lummi 2019: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6UiqgpsJ4I
Warrior-Lummi youth canoe family 2019: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrRhMWSBpUM
Nearly 100 canoes arrive at final stop of Paddle to Lummi: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6npXAtflg4