Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
In the midst of growing hunger from colonial academia we reflect on the need to right our relationships with the Indigenous and other racialized peoples with whom we work in Nicaragua.
The capacity of societies to hold spaces for making sense of complex social issues and analyze them from different perspectives is in most countries under attack and dissipating.
A socialist-feminist approach cuts through this technical complexity by demanding that the work of reproduction, of caring work and domestic responsibilities, typically undertaken by women and girls, be recognised and valued in equal measure to that of production.
Geopolitics — the relentless struggle for control over foreign lands, ports, cities, mines, railroads, oil fields, and other sources of material and military might — has governed the behavior of major powers for centuries.
And even if you are not an alliance builder, protester, organizer, or ready to take on an entire system, there is much you can do in the democratic wetlands to improve the democratic environment in ways that help support and sustain the overall work of change.
Yollocalli helps young people in Chicago discover their talents and expose them to careers in the arts. Using a model without standardized content or grading, Yollocalli emphasizes creativity as a tool for youth to learn to express their needs, share their ideas, and influence their environment—all while learning 21st-century skills.
“We do not want our children and people who come from other communities to see indigenous exploitation as a normal thing.”
What are the seeds we need for a new story for humanity and the Earth to become fully alive? This future, although it seems so far away, is in the ground under our feet, and in the love we have for each other, for our communities and for the Earth Herself.
Sherri Mitchell is the Founding Director of the Land Peace Foundation, an organization dedicated to the global protection of Indigenous land and water rights and the preservation of the Indigenous way of life. She addresses the question of “What Could Possibly Go Right?”
In this hopeful and frustrating year, contributors to the Island Press Urban Resilience Project celebrated our collective progress, while highlighting how far we have yet to go.
Deliberation is key to public engagement work as well, enabling people to discuss the consequences, costs, and trade-offs of various policy options, and to work through the emotions that tough public decisions raise.
Indeed, this is where Jesus’ and Christianity’s teachings are so relevant: living simple lives—one might dare say “impoverished” lives at least when compared to the aspirational American lifestyle—in service to others and to Creation (i.e. Gaia) is an essential part of this transition.
