Good things, my friends, good things, indeed.
The festival itself is just ok for so many reasons, but this was a very good year for so many others.
We had a booth in The Gathering tent, and performed A Tribute to Native Authors four times on Friday, three on Saturday, and they are still going strong over there today. I particularly enjoyed hanging out with Carol, and thanks, to her, our readers theater adventures went well. In case you missed it, imagine Waiting for Guffman as directed by Fellini and produced by David Lynch. One of the highlights was the custodian rolling through with the trash bin between the audience and the stage during the afternoon reading of "The Clicks." Sadly, no midgets.
We read from soaking wet scripts on Saturday. Matt gave a very "thorough" telling of the story of how FNTRC got its funding in the afternoon, and I nearly matched his "thoroughness" that evening. Adrienne joined us on-stage on Saturday evening, as a ringer from the audience for the early show and as an on-stage performer for the late one. Our nieces were there for one of the performances, and Connie and Marty even made an appearance at the late one.
I got to catch up with Tom Metz, which is always a good thing. Hung out with Anne TC over at the Ho-Chunk Nation booth. Matty and Xong arrived after the last reading - great timing my friend. Richie and Lily were there, and we got to visit a bit, which was great, of course. There was even a Waubano sighting! He's doing well recovering from his stroke. He uses a wheel chair these days and was sharp enough to tease me. "I know who you are, but have no idea what you are talking about. I never do, so that's the same." I was too glad to see him to even fire back.
Grama Greene arrived on Saturday, and I always enjoy seeing her. Ran into Kalana and the girls, and everyone is doing well. Spent quite a bit of time hanging out and catching up with Forrest over at his booth, which was great. His dad, John Mohawk, has long been one of my heroes, so I always enjoy hearing stories about him. Had a brief visit with Sheri Mousseau, too.
There's some big news, and potentially, some very exciting developments that will come from all this. First, there are some discussions with Tom Metz about several of us taking over the HONOR Resource Center, which would mean buying up the inventory and becoming responsible for selling books at conferences and powwows around the area.
Second, and I learned this on stage on Saturday, is that there is interest in our project from the Oprah Winfrey Show. Grama Greene, as only she can, was apparently chatting with a woman who stopped by the booth about who we are and what we do. As it turns out, the visitor was a producer for Oprah and she was going to talk with the big boss about our project. We'll see what comes of it, but the recognition of the worth of our efforts is really gratifying.
Be well, all.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Friday, August 20, 2010
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Thursday, August 5, 2010
What Yoda Means to Me, Or How To Organize This Work Using Anarchist Principles
Our Elder from the Dagobah System, Yoda, reminds us, "Do. Or do not. There is no try." To me, this means we must actively choose to do what we do because we value that work and we value those we choose to work alongside. If we don't value the work and our fellow workers, then maybe it is just not worth doing.
As I struggle to balance work, school, and just being a person in various contexts, this is emerging as my guiding principle. Peter Block asks us to consider what refusals we have been putting off, and that if we do not accept our own freedom to say no, then our agreements and decisions to say yes mean nothing. Our Elder Dot Davids reminds us that "We are human beings, not human doings," and we sometimes need that reminder that it is good to take time to just be. Adrienne sometimes puts it to me this way: "Take your cape off." Sometimes that is what needs to happen. Choosing to become involved carries a level of commitment that a real or perceived obligation to become involved does not.
I hope that projects we might choose to take on will be those we are committed to and opt into. We will not all have the same energy, interest, or availability for everything, so there is no expectation that we will become pulled into those things that we would not otherwise choose to become involved with. Opting in means no waiting each other out, no foot dragging, no half-heartedness nor half-stepping. We gve it what we can when we can because we can and because we care. A decision to sit one out, to say essentially, see you down the road on the next project, is a better answer than a reluctant yes.
Our Elder Rosemary Christensen refers to this as personal sovereignty, or the ethic of non-interference, and I am coming to understand this on a deeper level lately. To our philosophical anarchist friends, this is about non-coercion and voluntary association. These can be powerful organizing principles, and they certainly are stronger than those that come from a bureaucratic org chart. They are definitely more honest.
We have in various combinations and settings talked about next steps for our ongoing collaboration, for continuing to do good work with good people. We work well together for summer institute and we have good outcomes. Many of us work together on Wisconsin State Human Relations Association conference and special projects, some of us collaborate on the Widening the Circle conference, and we take on various other projects together. Thanks to Carol, First Nations Traveling Resource Center is becoming another great, ongoing opportunity for continued collaboration. One key question addresses how we can continue to create those opportunities to work together for positive change.
This is the last thing I will send about the blog. The intent is for this to be a venue for keeping each other informed about what we are doing, especially as we might be looking for ideas, support, or assistance, in a way that mirrors the vision into action process. We'll see what emerges organically as what we, individually, in combinations, and colelctively, choose to do will shape what we collectively might do in a way that flows from individual choice. I hope that you will opt in and commit to continued collaboration outside of summer institute itself. That said, I respect your right to refuse, and your decision to opt out, or opt back in at any time.
Be well, all.
As I struggle to balance work, school, and just being a person in various contexts, this is emerging as my guiding principle. Peter Block asks us to consider what refusals we have been putting off, and that if we do not accept our own freedom to say no, then our agreements and decisions to say yes mean nothing. Our Elder Dot Davids reminds us that "We are human beings, not human doings," and we sometimes need that reminder that it is good to take time to just be. Adrienne sometimes puts it to me this way: "Take your cape off." Sometimes that is what needs to happen. Choosing to become involved carries a level of commitment that a real or perceived obligation to become involved does not.
I hope that projects we might choose to take on will be those we are committed to and opt into. We will not all have the same energy, interest, or availability for everything, so there is no expectation that we will become pulled into those things that we would not otherwise choose to become involved with. Opting in means no waiting each other out, no foot dragging, no half-heartedness nor half-stepping. We gve it what we can when we can because we can and because we care. A decision to sit one out, to say essentially, see you down the road on the next project, is a better answer than a reluctant yes.
Our Elder Rosemary Christensen refers to this as personal sovereignty, or the ethic of non-interference, and I am coming to understand this on a deeper level lately. To our philosophical anarchist friends, this is about non-coercion and voluntary association. These can be powerful organizing principles, and they certainly are stronger than those that come from a bureaucratic org chart. They are definitely more honest.
We have in various combinations and settings talked about next steps for our ongoing collaboration, for continuing to do good work with good people. We work well together for summer institute and we have good outcomes. Many of us work together on Wisconsin State Human Relations Association conference and special projects, some of us collaborate on the Widening the Circle conference, and we take on various other projects together. Thanks to Carol, First Nations Traveling Resource Center is becoming another great, ongoing opportunity for continued collaboration. One key question addresses how we can continue to create those opportunities to work together for positive change.
This is the last thing I will send about the blog. The intent is for this to be a venue for keeping each other informed about what we are doing, especially as we might be looking for ideas, support, or assistance, in a way that mirrors the vision into action process. We'll see what emerges organically as what we, individually, in combinations, and colelctively, choose to do will shape what we collectively might do in a way that flows from individual choice. I hope that you will opt in and commit to continued collaboration outside of summer institute itself. That said, I respect your right to refuse, and your decision to opt out, or opt back in at any time.
Be well, all.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Sustenance
From the New Zealand-based reggae band, Fat Freddy's Drop, the chorus from their song "The Raft"
"And though my people may not be many, we are ready for the storm to come
And though my people may not be many, we are ready to be strong as one,
And though my people, travel light, they are willing to fight the fight
And though my people may not be many we are ready
We have got to find a way, let it be done, let it be done (ooh)
Do you want to keep the faith until the storm has broken?
We have got to find a way to rise above the pain... "
"And though my people may not be many, we are ready for the storm to come
And though my people may not be many, we are ready to be strong as one,
And though my people, travel light, they are willing to fight the fight
And though my people may not be many we are ready
We have got to find a way, let it be done, let it be done (ooh)
Do you want to keep the faith until the storm has broken?
We have got to find a way to rise above the pain... "
Monday, July 12, 2010
The Answer to How is Yes
I have been reading this book off and on for about two years now. It's not very big, less than 200 pages and large print, so it seems the issue might be more about being ready for what the teachings are. It's really resonating with me and seems like something else that provides us with justification-after-the-fact for how we do summer institute.
Here's the blurb from the publisher:
Modern culture’s worship of "how-to" pragmatism has turned us into instruments of efficiency and commerce—but we’re doing more and more about things that mean less and less. We constantly ask how? but rarely why? We use how as a defense—instead of acting on what we know to be of importance, we wait until we’ve attended one more workshop, read one more book, gotten one more degree. Asking how keeps us safe—instead of being led by our hearts into uncharted territory, we keep our heads down and stick to the map. But we are gaining the world and losing our souls. In The Answer to How Is Yes, Block places the "how-to" craze in perspective and presents a guide to the difficult and life-granting journey of bringing what we know is of personal value into an indifferent or even hostile corporate and cultural landscape. He raises our awareness of the trade-offs we’ve made in the name of practicality and expediency, and offers hope for a way of life in which we’re motivated not by what "works," but by the things that truly matter in life—idealism, relationship, intimacy, and engagement. In his classic book Stewardship, Block showed how to free our organizations from stifling, control-obsessed bureaucracy and redesign them so that they are governed by the ideals of service, responsibility, accountability, and meaning. In The Answer to How Is Yes (inspired by a chapter in Stewardship), Block helps us realize similar ideals in our individual lives. Block offers a new way of thinking about our actions that helps free us from being controlled by the bombardment of messages about how we should live and act. He inspires us to say yes to our ideals and aspirations.
Interested? I am hoping to get some copies, so please let me know if you are interested so I can get an order in.
Here's the blurb from the publisher:
Modern culture’s worship of "how-to" pragmatism has turned us into instruments of efficiency and commerce—but we’re doing more and more about things that mean less and less. We constantly ask how? but rarely why? We use how as a defense—instead of acting on what we know to be of importance, we wait until we’ve attended one more workshop, read one more book, gotten one more degree. Asking how keeps us safe—instead of being led by our hearts into uncharted territory, we keep our heads down and stick to the map. But we are gaining the world and losing our souls. In The Answer to How Is Yes, Block places the "how-to" craze in perspective and presents a guide to the difficult and life-granting journey of bringing what we know is of personal value into an indifferent or even hostile corporate and cultural landscape. He raises our awareness of the trade-offs we’ve made in the name of practicality and expediency, and offers hope for a way of life in which we’re motivated not by what "works," but by the things that truly matter in life—idealism, relationship, intimacy, and engagement. In his classic book Stewardship, Block showed how to free our organizations from stifling, control-obsessed bureaucracy and redesign them so that they are governed by the ideals of service, responsibility, accountability, and meaning. In The Answer to How Is Yes (inspired by a chapter in Stewardship), Block helps us realize similar ideals in our individual lives. Block offers a new way of thinking about our actions that helps free us from being controlled by the bombardment of messages about how we should live and act. He inspires us to say yes to our ideals and aspirations.
Interested? I am hoping to get some copies, so please let me know if you are interested so I can get an order in.
Momentum
Momentum is an important thing. I really love how people leave summer institute feeling revved up, inspired, connected, and ready to do great things. What happens once everyone gets home and re-enters everyday life? Does that momentum carry forward, or does it become just another fond memory?
We need to get action plans loaded up and sent out (Connie and I are working on it), the slide show completed (Chris is working on it, and I need to get her some pictures) and downloadable soon, and get people re-inspired. It's harder to get re-started once things fall by the wayside.
I hope you are all well.
We need to get action plans loaded up and sent out (Connie and I are working on it), the slide show completed (Chris is working on it, and I need to get her some pictures) and downloadable soon, and get people re-inspired. It's harder to get re-started once things fall by the wayside.
I hope you are all well.
Friday, July 2, 2010
Thinking ahead to Rice Lake
Matt and Xong and I will be doing a 4-day workshop up in Rice Lake as part of an event called "Facilitating the Future." (This is a repeat of last year's "I'm doing WHAT?! a week and a half from now" workshop that Dot and I whipped together at her kitchen table.) In many respects, it was one of the best sessions I have ever been involved with, thanks in no small way to Matt, Xong, and Dot.
There is a piece that misfired just slightly because I had not thought it through all the way. We distributed the American Indian "Culture Card" from SAMHSA and asked the group to do some analysis. I had hoped they might recognize the contradictory nature of so many would-be tools, but we had to spell out the fact that ultimately the answers on the card boil down to "learn something" and "build relationships with those who can help you." Any thoughts on how to do this?
A pdf version of the card can be found at http://download.ncadi.samhsa.gov/ken/pdf/SMA08-4354/CultureCard_AI-AN.pdf
There is a piece that misfired just slightly because I had not thought it through all the way. We distributed the American Indian "Culture Card" from SAMHSA and asked the group to do some analysis. I had hoped they might recognize the contradictory nature of so many would-be tools, but we had to spell out the fact that ultimately the answers on the card boil down to "learn something" and "build relationships with those who can help you." Any thoughts on how to do this?
A pdf version of the card can be found at http://download.ncadi.samhsa.gov/ken/pdf/SMA08-4354/CultureCard_AI-AN.pdf
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Welcome
We have been talking about organizing to continue our work together, individually, collectively, and in different combinations. I have several purposes in mind:
- To develop an umbrella organization (if we determine one is needed) to run programs such as summer institute and widening the circle
- To enable us to continue to inspire and support each other through a sort of ongoing vision into action process
- To plan future work
- To keep in touch
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