“The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story.”
~Ngozi Adichie
| |
In “The Danger of a Single Story”, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichi powerfully explores how stories shape our perceptions of the world and reveals the profound impact of limited, one-sided narratives. This issue of the WE RISE and WIN Together Digest lifts up the often untold–or unheard–stories and contributions of indigenous communities to building a just and abundant world.
Read the story and recent report of the role of an U.S. policy of removal of indigenous children into church-run residential boarding schools as part of a strategic tactic to force cultural assimilation of indigenous people–acknowledged officially for the first time in a recent report by the Department of Interior. Listen to how this kind of policy showed up in the life of a person and community as told by Dr. Ruby Gibson, and the ways in which these policies have impacted future generations. Explore tools from the practice of Somatic Archaeology© to heal from historic and generational trauma. https://somaticarchaeology.com/
Discover how indigenous worldviews and knowledge systems–ways of knowing and being–have made profound contributions in science, health, environment, community stewardship, literature, and faith. Then join us for a Better Ancestor circle
As we walk along this journey to be better ancestors to reclaim the stories and solutions of communities that have been marginalized as part of our journey to create a future built on all our stories, gifts and solutions.
|
Reclaiming The Past
Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative Investigative Report
Between 1819 and 1969, the U.S. federal government operated over 400 Indian boarding schools to forcibly assimilate Indigenous children into Euro-American culture. These schools removed children from their homes, banned Indigenous languages, and imposed Western norms and religion.
Read the Investigative report to the Secretary of the Interior Hon. Deb Haaland about what had happened during the Boarding school movement.
| |
Honoring the Past to Chart a Path to the Future | |
In a symposium about moral courage and civic muscle on September 29-30th, 2024, hosted by the Leading Causes of Life, WE in the World, and Hold Health (formerly Stakeholder Health), authors of the newly released Handbook on Religion and Health: Pathways for a Turbulent Future owned the role of faith in colonization and the historic trauma that ensued. Click here to grab your copy.
“Looking at humanity as a living system invites us toward an integrative generative practice that does not collapse into the simplicities of upstream-downstream instrumental intervention. This posture of always being both recipients of blessings we did not create and stewards of the blessings that will flow through us is what the Leading Causes of Life call inter-generativity, or simply blessing”
-Stakeholder Health
| |
|
Integrating Indigenous Knowledge into Federal Decision-Making
On December 2, 2022, the White House released groundbreaking guidance on the integration of Indigenous Knowledge (IK) into federal research, policy, and decision-making. This marks a significant step in recognizing the value of ancestral wisdom and Indigenous approaches, particularly in areas such as environmental stewardship, climate resilience, and biodiversity conservation. Indigenous Knowledge encompasses a broad spectrum of observations, practices, innovations, and beliefs developed over centuries through the close relationship between Indigenous peoples and their environment. Read the detailed guidance here.
| |
The First Peace: A Story of the Boarding School Movement
By Dr. Ruby Gibson, Freedom Lodge
| |
In this heartfelt video, Dr. Gibson shares the harrowing story of her friend who endured unimaginable suffering in an Indian residential school in 1962. From physical and mental abuse to cultural genocide, this powerful account highlights the devastating role religion, and the government played in colonizing Indigenous people.
Join us as we explore the resilience of those who survived and the ongoing fight for justice and healing
| |
|
As WE RISE together to WIN, we tap into the power of storytelling to inspire change through trauma healing. We invite you to be a part of this conversation by contributing your thoughts, ideas, and insights. Pick from the fun questions below
Record a video (most preferred) or write your responses.
| |
Share Your Voice with Changemakers!
Submit written responses, a picture of you and your social media handles to marion.olang@weintheworld.org.
For recorded videos, upload the responses here. We will need your picture to accompany the text.
We’ll share your contributions on our LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook pages, tagging you in the post to keep the conversation alive!
| More questions will be posted and shared on our LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram pages. Follow and share. | |
Let’s work together to advance the Better Ancestor vision —one story at a time. | |
Why connecting to tribal culture matters for retention of indigenous students in colleges and universities
Marquez, who plans to study nursing, said she applied to a handful of colleges both in- and out-of-state before deciding to attend the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque.
“I knew when I wanted to go to college that I wanted to be somewhere that had resources for Native students,” she said. “I will be in Albuquerque, so I can still be able to go out to places like Laguna.”
| |
Telling a New Story: How Indigenous Communities are Charting a Path Forward for a Turbulent World for All of Us
How might historic trauma be healed?
Explore Dr. Gibson’s work at https://freedomlodge.org/ and find tools to use in your own and your community’s journey of healing.
| |
#ChangemakerSpotlight #WE4Equity #WEWINTogether #Equity #Change #realchange #betterancestor #ARISE | |
|
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: The danger of a single story | TED
“The Danger of a Single Story” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, may be an older talk but it’s timeless gold.
In it, Chimamanda powerfully explores how stories shape our perceptions of the world, drawing from her own lived experiences to reveal the profound impact of limited, one-sided narratives.
| |
Leonard-Litz LGBTQ Foundation: LGBTQ+ Community Grants (New Hampshire)
Type: Foundation
Due Date: Rolling
Match Required: No Cost Share
Overview: The purpose of this program is to help LGBTQ+ people fulfill their potential by funding nonprofit organizations that advance the interests and well-being of the LGBTQ+ community through advocacy and with programs and services that meet the needs of LGBTQ+ people. Funding will be provided for life-affirming services that address one or more of the following focus areas:
- Health and wellness
- Crisis intervention
- Racial justice
- Advocacy and community engagement
- Social assistance and programming
Huntington National Bank: Charitable Grant Program (Wisconsin)
Type: Foundation
Due Date: Rolling
Match Required: No Cost Share
Overview: The purpose of this program is to contribute to the development of healthy, vibrant communities. Funding will support projects that improve self-sufficiency and quality of life, as well as advance social and economic equality, in communities served by the funding agency.
Support will be provided for projects in the following focus areas:
- Community revitalization and stabilization
- Community services
- Affordable housing
- Economic and community development
- Racial/social equity
| | | | |