JUUstice Washington

A Unitarian Universalist State Action Network

US Army Corps of Engineers rejects Pebble Mine permit application, likely killing project

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On Wednesday, 25 November, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers denied the permit application for the proposed Pebble Mine, an open-pit copper, gold, and molybdenum extraction project proposed for the headwaters of Bristol Bay, Alaska – North America’s most prolific salmon habitat.

The Corps “determined that the applicant’s plan for the discharge of fill material does not comply with Clean Water Act guidelines and concluded that the proposed project is contrary to the public interest,” Col. Damon Delarosa, commander of the Corps in Alaska, said a prepared statement, according to Alaska Public.

Seven Native American Chefs Share Thanksgiving Recipes

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To the original peoples of this continent, each day is a day to give thanks to the Creator. Thanksgiving ceremonies have always taken place when Native people have gathered. Food and feasts often serve as a focal point of these ceremonies. This Thanksgiving, we’ve asked seven Native American chefs from different cultural and culinary backgrounds, working in different places around the country, to share holiday-worthy recipes with us.

But first, a little history. The Thanksgiving holiday celebrated in the United States cites a particular feast. According to our national story, in the fall of 1621, a year after the Mayflower landed at Plymouth, William Bradford, the governor of the colony, decided to have a harvest feast of thanksgiving and invited Massasoit, the Grand Sachem of the Wampanoag Federation, to take part.

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Western WA Fellowship of Reconciliation Fall Retreat, November 21, 2020

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What’s Next: Moving Into the Great Turning

WWFOR Fall Retreat, November 21, 2020

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If you have already registered, but have NOT received the login information by email, then click the link above and register again! Computer gremlins have prevented us from tracking registrations between 10/27/20 and 11/11/20.
Participate and listen to leaders working for racial justice, climate action, the end of nuclear weapons, and an equitable, sustainable society. A four hour Zoom schedule is planned, beginning at 9am, running until 1pm with “breakout sessions” and musical interludes included.

Speakers will include:
FOR-USA Director, Rev. Dr. Emma Jordan-Simpson, equity and social justice consultant Dr. Karen Johnson, Backbone Campaign co-founder Bill Moyer, and a panel of young activists from the Mike Yarrow Peace Fellowship.

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As Tulalip elders die from COVID-19, tribes lose more than family

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The coronavirus continues to impact the daily life of people around the world, but two groups have been particularly susceptible: seniors and Native Americans. In May, the Navajo Nation surpassed New York to log a higher infection rate per capita than any U.S. state at the time.

Washington has 29 federally recognized tribes. The Tulalip Reservation is the eighth largest in the state by size and the seventh in terms of tribal population living on the reservation. As of Oct. 22, there have been 49 COVID-19 cases involving a member of the Tulalip Tribes of Washington. So far two people have died as a result of the virus: Geraldine Williams and Christine Enick, Williams’ sister, who died July 16 at 76 years old.

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Eleven Alaska Native tribes offer new way forward on managing the Tongass

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. . .

In the end, Anderson and the tribal official she went with made it to the meeting and were able to hear directly from the Forest Service and speak with the other tribes present. Still, Anderson’s experience exemplifies the federal government’s long-running failure to adequately work with tribes. Alaska’s petition to the Forest Service to increase logging on the Tongass was the latest move in a two-decade battle, including policy changes, court decisions, appeals and injunctions, over the protection of 9.4 million acres of the world’s largest unfragmented temperate rainforest. In response, at the end of July, 11 Southeast Alaska Native tribes, including Kasaan, petitioned the USDA, the agency that oversees the Forest Service, requesting a new rule that would require it to work with tribes to identify and protect parts of the Tongass that hold life-sustaining value for the Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian — old-growth red cedar trees, which are used for canoes; salmon watersheds; and lands with traditional fish camps and burial sites.

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