Hey - if you're here looking for new stuff, you're likely going to be disappointed. Check here instead.
May 20, 2005 A sheepish hello from Porcupine going out to all of you out there. Yes, we are still alive, and maybe even well. I bring you great tidings of green grass!! I have some pictures to prove it (http://www.meyerloewen.net). I guess even an inch or two of rain a month can do it. Last year, the winter was brown as usual, but then April was brown and dry, May was brown and dry, June saw one rain storm but was still brown; many ranchers had to sell more cattle than usual. So everyone here is happy when it rains -- I rarely hear a complaint, not even over the mud which gets plenty of people stuck in their own driveways. As the landscape here is struggling into bloom, I've been thinking about any blossoms that have been pushing through in my own life. Thus far, I compare our time living in Porcupine to the good pain (and sometimes just the painful pain) I used to feel running cross country races. I feel like we're covering so much ground and learning so much, but it's exhausting work! We have to keep pushing ourselves forward and not give up. Living here means taking a very deep look at ourselves and who we are. I often feel like I'm being torn apart inside. But I also feel more and more like this is how I can start on the path to becoming a whole person. The Kingdom of God may not be available to those of us with so much wealth and privilege, unless maybe we do some very hard work with ourselves. I'm trying to stay hopeful anyway. Since my last update, way back in January, let's just say we've gotten really busy. (Apparently too busy to write any updates). I guess it's the second year syndrome. When we first got here we had very few connections and commitments. We found plenty to do, but the discussion each day started with, "Well, what could we do today?" instead of now, which is more like, "aack! Will I be able to get enough done today?!" Some of the busy-ness has been things we've been doing here in the community, and some of it has been MCC travel. We're trying to address the situation by setting some clearer priorities for our work, so we have a better sense of where and when to say "No", whether it's to MCC travel or involvement in a community project. Since we've been doing so much in the last 4 or 5 months, I'm going to give you a summary report of our goings-on. If something looks especially interesting to you, please write us and ask more. You might even send us a "Dear Carlissa" question! (The next issue of Dear Carlissa will be coming your way soon...) Here's a list of some of the things we've done or been involved in since our last update: - The new Lakota School of Liberation held its first three "Unite to Fight" anti-oppression trainings (January 17-19, March 4-6, May 13-15)... These have been held at a camp in the Black Hills, and have been very powerful for all involved. Carl and I were the only "wasicu" (whites) at the most recent one in May. - We've hosted 2 MCC Oglala Lakota Nation Unit Discernment meetings in Rapid City (January 20-21, May 2-4). This group's task is to address the relationship between our unit and the MCC structure, which has gone through many tests of fire in the last decade. After the most recent meeting in May, I am feeling really excited about the possibilities of a new beginning. We plan to meet with the Central States executive committee and other board members here on the reservation this coming July. It should be an intense and fruitful two days of meetings. - Oglala Lakota College (OLC) classes: Carl completed Lakota History I and Lakota language II, I completed Lakota History I. For Lakota History, we put a lot of time into our joint final paper. The assignment was to research our family history, but since we are not Lakota, we were assigned to research the history of the Porcupine community. We ended up doing a lot of work with primary sources -- several interviews with community elders and research into old census records and BIA maps at the OLC archives. We are really happy with our paper, which we were frantically finishing during our supervisor's most recent visit. Our final exams were last week on the 9th and 10th of May. - Volunteering at Porcupine school: I continued to volunteer at the Porcupine Day School during February and March, but I phased out when more permanent aides were hired for the classrooms where I was helping. I really enjoyed the opportunity to get know the teachers, staff, and students there. It was yet another window into the community here. I did try substitute teaching one day -- whew! What a trip! - We attended the MCC Central States board meeting in Mississippi February 25-27. There was a fun collection of young people our age at that meeting -- spending time with other young MCCers really re-energized us. If you're confused about our relationship to Central States, that's because (surprise!) it is confusing. They hold our budget, but we are supervised currently by MCC US Peace and Justice Ministries because of conflicts in the past between our unit and Central States. Thus the Discernment meetings I mentioned earlier. - We made a number of trips to Freeman (5 hours east), home of South Dakota's largest Mennonite community and the MCC Central States Northern Tier office. We did two sessions with a Sunday School class at Hutterthal Mennonite Church (February 20, April 3). We attended the Schmeckfest celebration (yum!) and spoke in chapel at the Freeman Academy (a Mennonite high school). We also attended several other meetings -- the South Dakota annual MDS gathering and a Freeman Peace and Justice meeting. - This summer we are making plans to revive the Learning Tours that Harley and Sue did. This year we are titling it the "Lakota Perspectives Listening Delegation." The idea is to bring a small group of South Dakota Mennonites to the reservation primarily to listen to our partners and to learn about their own history with their Native neighbors in this state. Our hope is that these visits will not only impact the people who come but the communities they return to, so that we can build a network of supporters and advocates in the South Dakota Mennonite community. We coordinated a meeting in Freeman in April of past participants and heard lots of good suggestions and very positive feedback. - We attended "Damascus and Beyond" in Atlanta March 11-13 -- the 10 year celebration of MCC's anti-racism program. We are honored that we've now been asked to serve on the Anti-Racism Table, the anti-racism program's advisory and support group. This involves conference calls and one face-to-face meeting a year. Our first meeting will be in two weeks in Washington DC. - We attended MCC Canada's Aboriginal Neighbours Network meeting in Winnipeg April 5-6. MCC Canada has programs with aboriginal people in almost every province, while we are the only program working specifically with a Native community in the US. - I participated in a Circle Facilitation Training done by the Indigenous Issues Forum in Rapid City May 5-7. - Carl just returned around midnight Thursday night from a trip to New York. The UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues is meeting this week, which brings many different Native groups to the Big Apple. Carl was there to attend a Funders' Briefing on Native Youth Organizing. He was invited by Nick Tilsen from Lakota Action Network (one of our partners here on Pine Ridge). We are pleased that Rolando Santiago, director of MCC US, and Michelle Armster from MCC US Peace & Justice Ministries were also able to attend the briefing. Four native youth organizers, including Nick, gave articulate and inspiring presentations on their work, followed by a conversation between the organizers and the funders in attendance (mostly foundations). Carl also attended the Permanent Forum for one morning and met up with several Lakota friends who were speaking there. - We've been distributing and processing applications for our Partners in Employment grant program since February. We're excited about our applicants this year and hope that the grants we choose to give will make a positive impact on the community. One change this year is that we offered two-year grant commitments to two applicants (instead of just one year). Each year we try to gather feedback on the program so that we can make sure we're meeting the needs of the community to the best of our ability. Longer grant commitments allow our partners to plan ahead further and to use the grants to leverage other funding. As usual, we have been trying to maintain a presence in the community in the midst of all of this -- visiting and hosting neighbors, attending community events and church services, etc. I could probably add a million other things, but by now I'm sure you're thoroughly bored. I will put some new pictures up that I took tonight when Carl and I were working in our garden. More pictures from the last several months will be on their way. We're thinking of all of you and hoping you are finding the strength and good spirits you need to be living well. Many blessings to all of you from Porcupine! Karissa (and Carl)
