Our committee participants were not able to attend all online sessions for the Harvest the Power Justice Convergence & Teach-in on November 22. Libby attended three discussions and viewed several films. One consistent theme was that the entire history of colonizing this country has been the effort to erase Native Americans. Whether through confiscated and dishonestly “purchased” lands, destruction of communities, disease, enforced poverty, broken treaties, forced assimilation such as Indian Schools, Constitutional denial of both citizenship and Native sovereignty, or the concept of “blood,” the European white population has tried to make the First People non-people. Our task is to learn this history and identify how the practice continues today through cultural and political processes. I think we will learn that our own well being on this shared planet is tied to the well being of Native Peoples.
We Still Live Here: Âs Nutayuneân Documentary Screening & Discussion with Jessie Little Doe Baird is a beautiful documentary dealing with the restoration of the language of the Wampanoag people of Nantucket and the connection to their land. Highly recommended! Consider making a contribution to Wôpanâak (Wampanoag) Language Reclamation Project.
Here is the link to watch the film:
https://vimeo.com/84780111
Password: wslh9uumfe9
The recording, the chat history and the closed captioning transcript for the discussion today with Jessie Little Doe Baird and Anne Makepeace are all viewable here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1em1mB6rr0KBWlfuzWchhQ7rbKWspx_gL?usp=sharing
This discussion was also live streamed to Facebook, here: https://fb.watch/1VEu3HA-rW/
And uploaded to YouTube, here: https://youtu.be/9zBepP7ywkE
Submitted by Libby Earle
Social Justice Committee, HUUC 