Recently, we discussed our peace and justice work at my Quaker meeting. I explained my vision of creating a Mutual Aid community to guide our justice work. And included examples of what the meeting is already doing that are Mutual Aid. I felt we had a good discussion. I didn’t have answers to some of … Continue reading Paradigm shift
Is working for justice important to you? Are you satisfied with your justice work? Working for justice has been a lifelong focus of mine. Being a Quaker, I have many examples of how people and organizations have worked for justice. But, no, I am not satisfied with my justice work. I don’t believe we can … Continue reading Transforming justice strategies
Don’t you find there are periods of rapid change interspersed among long plateaus in your life? Although those plateaus are becoming fewer and lasting shorter periods of time. The last three years have been a time of momentous change, both in my life, and in the world. I’m trying to explain what has been happening … Continue reading Three Years Later
Every two years the Friends Commitee on National Legislation (FCNL) distributes questions to ask which legislative policies Quaker meetings and churches support. All of these are collected, and FCNL’s Policy Committee distills those responses into the legislative priorities that will determine what issues FCNL’s lobbyists will focus on as they work with Congress. After the … Continue reading Request for Discernment Regarding Reproductive Health and Abortion
Following are stories about the documentary They Found Us by Curt Sipihko Paskwawimostos who is a member of George Gordon First Nation. My friend Christine Nobiss is also a member and has been working to get funds to support the video. The documentary is about the search for unmarked graves at their rez, George Gordon … Continue reading They Found Us
NOTE: I am truly blessed to have many Indigenous friends, many who are involved in the Great Plains Action Society (GPAS), including the founder Sikowis Nobiss. As a White person I’ve tried hard to learn how to appropriately engage with my friends. I’ve made mistakes. I’ve written a lot about my experiences, hoping other White … Continue reading INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES RISE TO RESIST CARBON PIPELINES
TRUTHSGIVING is a term my friend Sikowis Nobiss defined in contrast to the inaccurate myth of Thanksgiving. The Great Plains Action Society she is the founder of created the website: TRUTHSGIVING. The Truth will not be whitewashed. There are many settler colonial mythologies about Native Americans. These widely held but false beliefs are rooted in … Continue reading TRUTHSGIVING resources
Sadly, but importantly, white settler colonists such as me, at least those paying attention, are learning a great deal about the genocide of native peoples, in large part facilitated by the institutions of forced assimilation. Sometimes referred to as Indian boarding or residential schools, though school is a misnomer, an example of whitewashing. The remains … Continue reading Truthsgiving 2022 Pledge
Members of Iowa Yearly Meeting (Conservative) (Quakers) have a long history of involvement with the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL). FCNL is the national lobbying organization that works to promote legislation consistent with Quaker beliefs in the US Congress. Every two years FCNL contacts all the Quaker meetings and churches in the US, to … Continue reading FCNL, Iowa Quakers and Native Americans
Don’t Look Down is a spoof of the recent movie Don’t Look Up in which people refuse to acknowledge a meteor heading for earth. That’s what came to me as I’m praying about what to write this morning. One of the things I heard my friend Sikowis say recently was the earth below the surface … Continue reading Don’t Look Down
Quakers and Mutual Aid 