The pretty way the word 'displacement' skirts the image of massacre. That's how I wind up standing here.
Peony planet... and a message from Maine-Wabanki REACH.
Peony planet... and a message from Maine-Wabanki REACH.
https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/mainewabanakireach/mailings/1120/attachments/original/Black_Lives_Matter_FINAL__6.4.20-w_logo.pdf
Full text of message from Maine-Wabanaki REACH:
“Black Lives Matter. We are Maine-Wabanaki REACH. We are a collaboration of Native and non-Native people. We condemn police brutality, state sanctioned violence, murder, and the dehumanization of Black people. We recognize that this crisis did not start with police violence, and that police violence is a tool of maintaining white supremacy. We recognize this is a moment of accountability for REACH and that we must do better. It is not enough to take for granted that, of course, a Wabanaki organization is pro-Black, anti-racist, antiwhite supremacy. We need to be vocal, deliberate, and intentional about all those things - in what we say and what we do. By not being vocal, deliberate, and intentional, we allow the killing of Black people with impunity and we are complicit. We acknowledge that Black and Tribal communities are not entirely distinct - many Tribal people are Black and many Black people are Indigenous. We know that Black people and Indigenous people have been impacted in different ways by the same forces of white supremacy and colonization. As Indigenous people, we must stand with our Black relatives and fight for their liberation. We acknowledge that white supremacy exists through strategies of oppression of Black and Indigenous people that benefits White people, particularly those of European descent. We know it is not enough to be passively non-racist, we need to be actively anti-racist, intentionally anti-white supremacy and pro-Black. As White people, we must acknowledge and repair the harms we have done and continue to do/allow to happen to Black people by the colonization of this country, recognize the lasting impact of these harms, and create a more just future through commitments and actions grounded in love, compassion, and generosity. We truly believe there can be no peace without justice, and we follow the lead of Black people, organizations, and communities in this journey of truth, healing, and change. We take responsibility for our own education and we figure out the best ways to act in solidarity with Black people. We act from a lens of decolonization, of undoing the ways in which we have been indoctrinated to devalue Black people and accept their systemic dehumanization. We support the Black Lives Matter movement and organization, we urge you to do the same. Listen to and support Black organizations with donations. Support Black businesses. Believe Black people. Care for each other. Black Lives Matter.”
Maine has quite a history with the KKK and not all in the conveniently distant past...
Maine has quite a history with the KKK and not all in the conveniently distant past. I am not comparing Maine's history with other states, other places. And let me be clear, I think we have to own our history so we can move forward. To examine it. To examine our relationship to race. To ask how this may impact people of color and as urgently ask how this in any way shapes us, shapes me as a white person. To begin to understand how this lives in our lives, in our culture today. I think we need to own our attempt at genocide of indigenous people HERE. To own our history of white supremacy HERE no matter how removed we may feel from white supremacy. So, that's why I post this. Maybe a few others, like me, unfamiliar with this state's history could be informed.
https://maineanencyclopedia.com/ku-klux-klan/
Outside Portland Police Station. Post Protest.
Outside Portland Police Station. All is quiet at the moment. The sun has just risen...
Outside Portland Police Station. All is quiet at the moment. The sun has just risen. There is a bit of trash on the sidewalk. An overflowing trash can. A ripped open package of water bottles near the steps. A news team just finishing taping a segment across the street. And RIP GEORGE FLOYD spray painted on the brick wall of the station.
They wanted to be photographed. But I don't have direct permission to reveal their identities. They were unable to attend the protests yesterday. The feeling, and it is feeling based only on a few sentences of communication, that they wanted to be part of this moment. Wanted to be seen. A certain pride in making this stand, perhaps? An urgency to speak up? A mix of deep distress and relief, like an exasperated unspoken 'Finally...'.
Speculation on my behalf?
I leave their faces blank. Not to rob them of their identity but maybe as a space for us to place ourselves. A space to place ourselves in if we have not already tried on the cloak of our injustices. Our uninvestigated racism. I leave the space. White. Open. Making a stand.
Strip away the privilege. The entitlement.
There is no where to go back to. We are all from away excepting the Indigenous community that has survived our genocide. Yes, genocide. Only here to go from. I wonder and implore, how will we be?
Blood red. Like his. And hers. And theirs. Spilled Native blood supports the land I stand on. Slave blood too. But that makes it sound like it's only in the past. And it is not.
Blood red. Like his. And hers. And theirs. Spilled Native blood supports the land I stand on. Slave blood too. But that makes it sound like it's only in the past. And it is not.
You're so pretty I might get distracted...
You're so pretty I might get distracted. But my black male friend, just like yours, isn't any safer today going for a run. Or being stopped at a light. Or wearing a mask. Or sitting in his apartment. And that is a lifelong pain in my gut. There are genocides being committed as we speak. An epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women. There is systemic rape in this world. Families starving. And have we forgotten the Opioid Epidemic? But I will still look at this pretty flower hold it in one hand and vow not to be crushed by its beauty.
For Maria Girouard. The Heart of Dawn Land. Happy Birthday and Thank you.
For Maria Girouard. The Heart of Dawn Land. Happy Birthday and Thank you.
Happy Birthday Penthea Burns and thank you for who you are in our world.
Happy Birthday Penthea Burns and thank you for who you are in our world.
Think about it. Learn the history we had not been taught.
Think about it. Learn the history we had not been taught. Learn the facts we had not been taught.
Indigenous People's Day in Maine.
This is Indigenous Peoples' Day in Maine.
This is Indigenous Peoples' Day in Maine. We have much to learn about who was here long before colonizers arrived, and about the impact of that arrival. Learn. Find out about The Doctrine of Discovery. Learn about rich native cultures that waaaaaaaaay prexisted our own and continue. Make the effort to hear the Honor Song today at Maine Historical Society.
One resource for information and connection is Maine-Wabanaki REACH.
A river ran through that territory, turned red by bloodshed that the water and the land absorbed and held. In its' cells, it would never forget.
A river ran through that territory, turned red by bloodshed that the water and the land absorbed and held. In its' cells, it would never forget.
Blessings on the resiliency of Indigenous hearts and spirits, and to allies...
Blessings on the resiliency of Indigenous hearts and spirits, and to allies, all involved in making this happen. Thank you. This is the eve of Indigenous People's Day. Let's learn our history.
What we brought to the table. Must have been covered with oil cloth.
What we brought to the table. Must have been covered with oil cloth.
Just to be clear.
Just to be clear.
The public was welcome to be part of this circle at the Maine-Wabanaki REACH 6th Annual Wabanaki Wellness Gathering...
The public was welcome to be part of this circle at the Maine-Wabanaki REACH 6th Annual Wabanaki Wellness Gathering at King Middle School in Portland, Maine. Drumming, singing and dancing were shared generously and my day, my life was made so much better as a result. My heart beat clearer the minute they began. Their voices raised my spirit. The dancing made me so happy. Much gratitude to all involved.
Monday is Indigenous Peoples Day.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/26/politics/maine-indigenous-peoples-day-columbus-day/index.html?fbclid=IwAR13TfDBiCWNtNlSyjKF_IyJswb7uaO8UHZ6qSP7fSRlUkKsj4QbWliUFMI
Monday is Indigenous Peoples Day. — with Penthea Burns.
Wisdom and guidance of the elder...
Wisdom and guidance of the elder, assisting a young boy in making a medicine bag including the four sacred medicines (sage, tobacco, sweetgrass and cedar). I felt honored witnessing this, and they were very generous with permission but I felt I was witnessing the sacred and subtle tie to generations. And it was both extraordinarily beautiful and painful and I am left with greater insights , deeper empathy and a need to hold that brokenness. Thank you Maine-Wabanaki REACH for this beautiful Wabanaki Wellness Gathering at King Middle School yesterday.
Medicine Bag making, four sacred medicines and hands like a prayer.
Medicine Bag making, four sacred medicines and hands like a prayer.
An extraordinary visit to the 6th Annual Maine-Wabanaki REACH Wabanaki Wellness Gathering at King Middle School, Portland Maine. — with Penthea Burns and Maria Girouard.
Donald Soctomah, presenting history and storytelling from the Passamaquoddy...
Donald Soctomah, presenting history and storytelling from the Passamaquoddy in a moving and penetrating presentation at the 6th Annual Maine-Wabanaki REACH Wabanaki Wellness Gathering at King Middle School in Portland ,Maine.
© Joanne Arnold — with Penthea Burns and Maria Girouard.
Truth.
Truth.
At the 6th Annual Maine-Wabanaki REACH Wabanaki Wellness Gathering at King Middle School, Portland, Maine. — with Penthea Burns.