Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself. source: Jalaluddin Rumi image: Eddie’s Garden, Eddie’s Photos, February 2015
Source: Today
Author: Mike Spencer
I am a Native Hawaiian of mixed race born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. I am currently the Presidential Term Professor of Social Work at the University of Washington and the Director of Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, and Oceanic Affairs at the Indigenous Wellness Research Institute. I teach courses on diversity and social justice, intergroup dialogue, community organizing, and community development.
Wk 2…heading down the rabbit hole…
With permission, I’m re-blogging an entry from one of my students who is of Abenaki heritage on the class readings for the week. I loved it and hope you do as well!
After reading Laenui, I attempted to relate the process of decolonization to my life, specifically to my history, experience, and culture as Abenaki.
My people are a lost people with a lost history. We first encountered colonialism in the early 1600’s when French then English settlers moved into the regions of Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire, and Canada. There was reciprocity of resources in those years when European immigrants would rely on First Peoples for survival and trade. There was peace with the French as resources were abundant.
Then, as is the experience of most indigenous people, the Abenaki experienced biological devastation when exposed to diseases, and the population decreased by 75% in the late 1600’s. Additionally, we were pawns and soldiers in territorial disputes between the English and French; the Abenaki sided with the French immigrants.
Slowly, as the English pushed French settlers out of New England, the Abenaki and…
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Activist, writer Shaun King challenges notions of humanity’s progress
In front of a sold-out Rackham Auditorium, writer and civil rights activist Shaun King took the stage and told the audience he was not there to inspire them. ‘I believe that in a lot of ways, you’re already inspired — that you’re frustrated, that you’re angry, that there’s still hope in you. I don’t think you need me to inspire you. Tonight, I’m really here to teach you a lesson that I think will give you a new lens to see the world,’ he said Monday night. That lesson came straight from the philosophy of German historian Leopold von Ranke.
Source: Activist, writer Shaun King challenges notions of humanity’s progress
Delicate Words
If you truly loved yourself, you could never hurt another. source: The Buddha image: Eddie’s Garden, Eddie’s Photos, October 2016
Source: Delicate Words
Climate Change is real for the coastal people of Bangladesh
“Climate change is a global phenomenon, with local impacts. But action must be taken globally. We are all in it together, either we all swim or all sink. There is no plan B, there is no planet B, this is all we have.”
~Dr. Atiq Rahman, Executive Director of Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies, excerpt from the New Zealand documentary film, “30 Million.”
Just Living 808 