[Iswg3906.organizers] minutes/tasks from today

[Jessica Foran]

hi all, here are the minutes i took on the workshop today. i didn't include
some of our initial conversations about court support, etc., so if folks
would like to add and send them back out that would be great.

tasks are underlined.

see you ll soon,
j.

ps- lemme know if you'd prefer that i send the file. :)



*ISWG Meeting – November 24th, 2013*

Attendance: Niki, Jess, Peter, Tony, Marguerite



Logistics:

-        Space at the James St Bookseller. $5 per person or a lumpsum rate.
Might be able to arrange $70-$80. *Peter will arrange closer to the date*.

-        *Jess will bring bus tickets*

-        Can bring coffe/tea and snacks. Caffeine, sugar, grains. Budget
$50. *Everyone send their list to Peter and he will pick up and
deliver.*So far the list includes:

-        Coffee, tea

-        Fruit

-        Rice crackers

-        Jess – hummus (sundried tomato)

-        Niki – brownies (almond flour, chocolate, nuts)

-        Tony – vegan banana bread

-        We’ll all plan to arrive at the space at 1pm on the 7th



Outreach:

-        How to define who has done similar work? Depends what our goal
is—building and deepening. Want to avoid 101. People who have come to
previous allyship/workshop or who we know are working on these issues. *We’ll
reach out to folks individually*.

-        *Jess will send reminder email this week* (on the 27th) to remind
folks to forward and to RSVP so we can get an estimate on numbers. *Jess
will send one more reminder out before the event*.

-        In terms of numbers to shoot for 15 is ideal. No more than 20.



Content:

-        Goals: Niki wants people think about how stories and metaphors
inform how we think about the world (ie. opening stories)

-        How stories inform how the way that we see the world, or how we do
our work and our organizing?

-        Possible questions: Having read this, does it change anything for
you? Can you think about things you’ve done or ways of behaving (ie. during
organizing) that you would identify as problematic now. What would you
change?

-        J: This speaks to a question he poses: Now that you’ve heard this
story you can do with it what you please. You can use it or you can forget
it. But you can never say you haven’t heard it. The way he conveys this is
suggesting that your choice isn’t neutral—it’s political!

-        M: The idea of ‘stories’ imparts that now it’s your time to
listen.

-        J: And listening as a crucial skill of allyship. One that settlers
have been told they f-up time and time again.

-        P: Cultural assumptions and personal histories, colonial legacy
and how to come to grips with those specific facts. What does it mean to
hear or tell these stories? How do these stories shape you? How do we tell
different stories?

-        N: suggests recording, then transcribing. Could make it into a
future resource (like a zine). Can be a helpful learning tool for us to see
what kinds of questions did or didn’t work. Would give us material for
other people to benefit from.

-        Important for folks to think about how stories have contributed to
their life choices and work… and then move to how does knowing this story
change things for you.

-        T: How do we tell different stories?

-        *We’ll all think about other discussion questions*.

-        Idea of language – we should try to think about keeping this at
the forefront. Importance of indigenous languages. Cultural assumptions
built in the language (static identity, individual separateness). Maybe we
could find some particular examples from the text—could ask John Henhawk as
a possible next workshop facilitator.

-        T: story telling and oral stories in written form

-        And then we need to make time to talk about workshop intentions…
notes from the first workshop is below… to refresh for the 7th





*Workshop Series Intentions: Notes from Niki*



-        Wanted some clarity around inviting people, so we shared how we
were thinking about this

-        What to learn? How? *How do we more deeply incorporate
anti-colonial practice into organizing?* How will we physically make
present what we learn?



-        How to reach out to folks who may want to be an ally/in solidarity
with indigenous people and struggles?

-        Website, resources to make available through

-        How to incorporate what people are involved in



-        *local colonial histories – various accounts, depth, contested

-        *making materials



*Interests/Ideas for future focus:*

-        general currents leading up to where we are now—despite surrounded
in confusion we don’t really know what happened. But we do know there was
mass genocide and ecocide

-        what does it mean when settlers talk about decolonizing?

-        cultural appropriation (peter and amanda’s package re: cultural
appropriation)

-        research projects – local histories

-        local schools: are they standardized or are there local components?

-        exploring more physical space

-        legal system as colonial apparatus (Jason)

-        our own family histories (Dyl)

-        contesting colonial infrastructure

-        dive into the complexity, past is superficial but gets passed off
as anti-colonial

-        bridge conversations between the human/non-human histories

-        how to move through space/interact with space differently
(dominant histories are connected to how people inhabit space)

-        language, understanding based on (Keisha)

-        local focus (Niki)

-        personal is political – sacha – Elizabeth works as a counselor and
indigenous women (Dev)
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