Feeling stressed about post- election chaos? Here’s ways to engage peacefully

Anxiety. Fear. Anger. These emotions and others are coming up for many of us in the run-up to the election. These emotions emerge in part from a sense of powerlessness.

Here’s what to expect and ways to claim your power.

News and events: Updates on DAPL, Keystone XL, winter gear drive for Fond du Lac children and more

In this blog:

• Standing Rock, other Native nations, try again to shut down DAPL
• Judge denies Native nation’s bid to halt Keystone oil pipeline work
• Tanka Fund raising money to return buffalo to Native lands
• Winter gear drive for Fond du Lac children
• Students at the U. of M. Forest Resources Dept. sign-on letter to address systemic racism 
• A look back at Native vote suppression

MN Council of Churches to launch community process for truth telling, repair around the historic harms done to Native American, African American communities

The goal: To build a structure for racial equity in the church and the state and make repairs

The Minnesota Council of Churches (MCC’s) Board of Directors this week approved a Racial Justice Vision Statement and Rationale to begin a decade-long process to engage faith communities — and the community at large — in truth telling, education, and repair around the United State’s twin sins of slavery and Native American genocide.

Bemidji burning?

How a dubious terror threat against the city never materialized, and transferred white fear to Native American residents

Part 2 in a series.

Fear is contagious and it spreads in different ways, depending on your race.

News: David Smith’s death 10 years ago echoes George Floyd’s; key PolyMet decision expected Thursday, and more

In this blog:

• Washington Post: How Minneapolis police handled the in-custody death of a Black man 10 years before George Floyd
• WaterLegacy: Key PolyMet decision expected this Thursday, Sept. 3
• The Intercept: Trump Supporters Rush to Defend One of Their Own Who Killed Protesters in Kenosha
• The Koncow Maidu’s Trail of Tears in California
  

News: MN gets federal office for MMIW cold cases; ski resort changes name derogatory to Native women, and more

In this blog:

• Feds to open seven cold case units to investigate Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, including one in Minnesota
• California ski resort says it will changes its name, which was derogatory to Native women
• Oglala Sioux Tribe declares state of emergency in response to suicides
• RNC passes resolution backing Columbus Day
• From the files of “Really crazy things federal law enforcement does”

News: AIM has new leadership; U.S. tries to force Indian schools to reopen during coronavirus, and more

In this blog:

• American Indian Movement (AIM) has new leadership
• U.S. Bureau of Indian Education tries to force Indian schools to reopen, despite coronavirus concerns
• Indian Country’s take on Kamala Harris
• California Tribe sues Trump administration, saying border wall would desecrate traditional burial site

Native American organizations “alarmed” by decision to end U.S. Census count early

The Trump administration has done a lot to undermine our core democratic institutions and values. Trump has politicized the U.S. Justice Department. He’s undermined citizen confidence in our voting system and the free press. He’s used his office for personal gain. He’s doled out pardons as political favors. And now he’s messing with the U.S. Census.

His administration is shutting down the Census one month early, a decision that will lead to undercounts of black, Indigenous and other people of color. It will have significant consequences, from Congressional representation to school funding.

Unelected Charter Commission poses a structural barrier to systemic changes in Minneapolis policing

It’s been two months since the Minneapolis police murdered George Floyd, a black man, sparking protests locally, nationally, and around the world.

This moment felt different. Black Lives Matter was getting broader community support. More people seemed open to a structural overhaul in Minneapolis policing. Minneapolis City Council members responded, approving a plan to eliminate the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) as a free-standing entity. It would replace it with a new Minneapolis Department of Community Safety and Violence Prevention, which could include police officers as part of its operations.

Now, the irresistible force of community demands hit the immovable object of political process. The hope for big change is teetering in the balance.

Sierra Club commits to truth telling about its racist past, elevate voices of people of color within the organization

The Sierra Club, the nation’s oldest and largest grassroots environmental organization, announced today that it was in the process of truth telling about the organization’s racist past, making plans to take down or reinterpret monuments to early Club leaders, and making institutional changes that reflect its commitment to racial justice.