[Iswg3906.organizers] ISWG Working Group Update - November 3rd / 2013

[Jessica Foran]

Thanks for the update Tony. I will be getting to my tasks in the next day
or two, but for now, I could do Sunday at 1. I could also do Sat at 1, but
Sunday would be better for me.

j.


On Sun, Nov 3, 2013 at 11:26 PM, Marguerite Marlin <
chiefsteward_tas at cupe3906.org> wrote:

> Hello All,
>
> This Sunday at 1pm works great for me, but Saturday the 9th would be okay
> too.
>
> Best,
>                Marguerite
>
>
> On Sun, Nov 3, 2013 at 6:58 PM, A.R.J. Gracey <graceyar at mcmaster.ca>wrote:
>
>> Hello folks:
>>
>> Just a quick update about our previous working group discussions on
>> Sunday, October 27th, 2013. It's a bit long, sorry in advance. These are in
>> effect the meeting minutes.
>>
>> (1) The first item we discussed was the group's ongoing budgetary
>> discussions setting out how we can better define budget lines to reflect
>> our group's overall vision and concerns. We talked about prioritizing
>> solidarity actions and donations with local, grassroots groups and
>> organizations that are largely excluded from accessing institutional
>> funding. In prioritizing our efforts, a discussion the group must recognize
>> as being one of ongoing concern and negotiation, we are able to make some
>> distinctions in budgetary and other support requests, providing us with a
>> set of guidelines for decision making.
>>
>> (2) With this in mind, and in the interest in facilitating ongoing
>> relationships with individuals and groups we work with, it was thought that
>> support requests which reflect these qualifications and which speak to how
>> the group seeking support meets them, will help build stronger
>> relationships between ISWG and potential allies. In addition, requests for
>> support should also address two questions guided by the ongoing, negotiated
>> vision for the working group's relationship-building strategies and
>> practices. These two questions which we are asking those requesting our
>> support to answer include: (1) How is this particular kind of work
>> decolonising? (2) How do you envision your actions taking on structures of
>> power such as colonialism and racism? Answering these questions may reveal
>> other ways ISWG could potentially support allies, and it will create spaces
>> for analyzing issues together, to reflect on issues together, ultimately
>> building better relationships between the working group and groups seeking
>> our support.
>>
>> (3) We also talked about potentially creating a web-based presence for
>> our work, building on past discussions of such a presence.
>>
>> (4) We discussed an issue from last meeting regarding a statement and
>> potential actions in regards to missing and murdered Native women in
>> Canada. A public inquiry is needed and we talked about how a statement from
>> the union and potential actions by the working group could support the
>> requests for an inquiry. People at the working group meeting decided it was
>> best to first reach out to people in the community doing such work to gauge
>> what is being done and what work may be in need of support. We wondered if
>> CUPE Ontario or CUPE national had undertaken any work on this issue, and
>> more importantly what organizations and groups within the community may be
>> doing and what kind of support they require.
>>
>> (5) Finally, we talked about our ongoing efforts to revisit the workshops
>> that are an integral part of our work. We talked about producing a small
>> pamphlet or piece of literature based on the first workshop hosted by Peter
>> and Devon and the counter-stories or counter-histories they discussed. What
>> would such a document look like if it were tailored for Hamilton
>> specifically and perhaps this region more generally? Would we focus on the
>> Treaties governing this area? Could it perhaps be the first in an ongoing
>> series of resources dedicated to such counter-histories? It would certainly
>> reflect some of the reflections from the workshop, provide questions for
>> future workshops, and function to advertise future workshops.
>>
>> In terms of the actual next workshop, we talked about going back to the
>> original idea to focus on Thomas King's 'The Truth About Stories.' We
>> thought it was important to maintain this as the theme to the next workshop
>> because participants would most likely already be familiar with the piece
>> so we decided to move forward with organizing the next workshop based on
>> this theme. In order to do so, we thought it would be best to draft a
>> message to workshop participants to recap just briefly the ideas and events
>> from the first workshop, to remind participants what the second workshop is
>> about, to direct them to the online resources to read prior to the second
>> workshop, and to provide a road-map detailing what the second workshop
>> would entail.
>>
>> The timeline for the workshop would be as follows: (1) Announcement of
>> the workshop would go out next week (November 11th-15th) (2) Summary of 1st
>> workshop and road-map for 2nd workshop the following week (November 18th-
>> 22nd). (3) Final reminders of workshop (Nov 25th-29th) (4) Second ISWG
>> workshop Saturday, November 30th, 1 p.m. at the Artbar Wordbar (primary
>> choice) or some other venue.
>>
>> If you are interested in helping out, please come out to our next ISWG
>> meetings. We are looking to have two meetings before the workshop on the
>> 30th. The first meeting would be either this Saturday, November 9th, at 1
>> p.m. or Sunday, November 10th, at 1 p.m., and the second would be either
>> Saturday, November 23rd, at 1 p.m. or Sunday, November 24th, at 1 p.m. What
>> days work best for folks? It seems as though a lot of people like the early
>> afternoon on Sundays. Shall we stick with that day and time for now?
>>
>> Sorry for the long email.
>>
>> Take care,
>>
>> Tony
>>
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