GA Notes Feb. 23, 2014
Announcements
–Israeli apartheid week is march 10-15th. UNM SJP plans to try to get divestment passed by student senate. Possibly have demonstration 3/15 against Soda Stream across from Staples
–Film “5 Broken Cameras” playing Mon Feb. 24th 7pm at Friends Mtg House (1600 5th St NW). Free.
–Cory has no update on local Keystone pipeline actions but Ogala Sioux acting against it and judge in Nebraska ruled in favor of landowners opposed to it–Now is the time for public comment
–Scholar named Jhally coming to ABQ sponsored by Media Literacy Project- speaking at ABQ Academy 4/7 “Advertising and the End of the World” media/race and advertising intersect
Report backs
Meds for the People working group needs volunteers for set up on Fri April 4th evening and then many volunteers needed day of April 5th. Workshops are being organized. Sign up sheet went around. Julie knows someone who does AA/NA/CA work who wants to connect. Monica is point person. evasmomica@gmail.com
FLYER BLAST 3/16 before GA at 11AM meet at Yale Park- need help that day. Also FLYER BLAST 3/29 for Cesar Chavez march 11 AM Hispanic Cultural Center- need help that day
Amalia attended Los Jardines Institute yesterday Black & Brown Coalition event. Good conversation but men spoke more than women and cut off women, which she pointed out to the group. Similar ideas to our cross movement dialogue. Topic that came forward was Freedom Schools- need an analysis of Black Panther schools – what worked what didn’t? Where are they now? UNM needs to be seen as “our” university. What would that look like? What are our fears?
WIPP:
There was a radiation leak in Carlsbad, NM at the WIPP site on Fri Feb 14th, which is less than 20 yrs old and was supposed to be secure for over 1, 000 years. It is a national news story yet a lot of things aren’t known about how it happened, what is happening, etc. Plutonium may have been leaked in the air. Southwest Research Info Center has info at: www.sric.org. We can’t do anything by ourselves on the issue, but we can support groups demanding accountability and clean up. CARD (Citizens Against Radioactive Dumping)
Zapatista event:
Bill will plans to be out of town March 15-23. Amalia agreed to contact Los Jardines about organizing the event before then if possible. LJI agreed to host and help discuss the historical connection of NM and EZLN as well as connecting local issues to it. Bill is open to suggestions from (Un)Occupy about angle of his talk since he doesn’t want to replicate exactly what he did at UNM. Perhaps his perceptions of his visit, 13 guidelines form Zapatistas + NM struggles- historical and present day- + direct democracIs there a connection with Farmworkers children events happening the week of 3/23? week?
Bill met a Mexican Montessori teacher at La Escuelita in Chiapas who is gathering material resources for Zapatista schools. He wonders if this could be an action as part of the event. Lissie wants to be careful not to be part of something that is well intentioned but not what Zapatistas requested. Sayrah will ask Bill further clarification about it.
Decolonize Workshop:
March 13th “Doctrine of Discovery” workshop. Cap is 60 people and 5 from (Un)Occupy plan to attend, and 10 from the P&J Council. Cost $400 to put on; Abq Friends will pay $200, P&J Center $100, and (Un)Occupy consensed to pay $100. There will be a suggested donation of $10 for attendees. Long discussion on the workshop presenter’s suggestion to find who’s native land we are on and invite native people to open the workshop. Amalia attended Indigenous Scholars event at UNM and they said the land is a crossroad where Dine, Apache, and Pueblo people lived. Discussion on tokenism and not wanting to invite native person/people to participate in a white educational event that we have no relationship with and have not included in planning, etc. Sayrah knows indigenous people connected to the physical space of the Friends Mtg house but is not interested in token gestures either. Amalia agreed to participate as an indigenous person whose family has lived on the land and has been involved in the planning. She personally finds some of the workshop problematic and would hesitate to invite other people of color to participate.
This may be a good time for all the groups to consider what relationships they have with indigenous peoples and organizations. Amalia notes that native politics in NM are very difficult, and has heard several Pueblo young women complain about being silenced. Sayrah notes that there are certain issues Pueblo activists have worked on like a pact to prevent GMO seeds on their land; water rights; etc. Suggests developing stronger relationship with Tewa Women United and others.
Intl Women’s Day:
Sat. March 8th. Events happening in Abq: WORD has speak out planned at 1pm at UNM; Indigenous Women’s Health event at UNM (we may want to pass out info about Med4Ppl); religious event with NM Interfaith Power & Light; Natl Hispanic Cultural center theater Hembras de Pluma….not sure what Transgender Resource Center is doing or UNM Women’s Resource Center…Also events at El Chante and Los Jardines Salt of the Earth the same day.
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