JUUstice Washington

A Unitarian Universalist State Action Network

LUMMI FISHERMEN RETURN TO ANCESTRAL FISHING GROUNDS

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Lummi tribal fishermen harvested salmon from Whatcom Creek in August, for the first time in at least 100 years.

The chinook salmon were released as juveniles in 2017 from the Bellingham Technical College’s Fisheries and Aquaculture Science program’s hatchery, which works in partnership with tribal and state fisheries managers. When the chinook returned as adults, they congregated below the waterfalls in the creek beside the hatchery.

Whatcom Creek travels from Lake Whatcom through the city of Bellingham to Bellingham Bay, where a pulp and paper mill operated on the waterfront from 1926 to 2007.

“When they decided we could catch these fish for ceremonial and subsistence, my name came up, and they asked if I’d go fishing,” said Lummi fisherman Troy Olsen. “I said I’d love to do that.”

Read more here.

If you don’t know treaties and sovereignty, you don’t know history

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There’s a widespread notion that “tribal sovereignty” and “Indian treaties” are legal, historical, practical and correct terms. Actually, sovereignty is sovereignty, and treaties are treaties, nation to nation is between and among sovereigns; the use of “tribal” or “Indian” or any modifier is both misleading and belittling.

A two-year research project, Reclaiming Native Truth, released its final report in May on a number of topics, including sovereignty, and found**:** “Sovereignty was poorly understood across all stakeholder groups in our study — from elected officials and policymakers to influencers from other fields to the general public. There was added confusion about the concept of more than 600 sovereign nations within the United States and about how tribes can be both sovereign nations and ‘reliant on the government.’”

Read more here.

Webinar on Agriculture, Food and Climate

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On September 15 a webinar on agriculture, food and climate will cover issues of land use, soil policies, food supply, environmental justice and climate change. The webinar is sponsored by the EU Delegation to the U.S. (European Union Embassy) in DC. Registration is free, at https://events.euintheus.org/events/bringing-farmers-to-the-table-agriculture-climate-economy-and-equity/?sf128592465=1

General Assembly Workshops on Climate are Online

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Three workshops from the 2020 General Assembly are now available online. They were presented under the title “Learning from Providence,” based on the original location of the “live” General Assembly that had to be moved online. The three workshops are:

  1. Providence, Rhode Island, has an ambitious climate plan that explicitly enlists people of color in its planning and execution. The workship presents the plan and describes the involvement of frontline communities.
  2. Strengthen Local Climate Commitments is a program of the UU Ministry for Earth, and a number of local programs including King County in Washington are discussed. Bill McPherson is one of the presenters.
  3. The UU Ministry for Earth has a number of other programs described in a workshop on climate justice.

General Assembly Ware Lecture, by Naomi Klein, Features Green New Deal

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The 2020 General Assembly Ware Lecture, held online, featured remarks on the Green New Deal by Naomi Klein. She has authored books on the economy and climate change, including This Changes Everything, and attended the 2015 Convention of Parties of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, which negotiated the Paris Agreement.

Klein’s Ware Lecture noted that the COVID pandemic has changed many people’s orientation to change, and opened possibilities for addressing climate, economic and racial issues. The Green New Deal is designed to address these issues on a multi-tasking basis, Klein notes, and would provide a framework for government policy in a post-COVID world.

Klein commends UUs for our “respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part,” our Seventh Principle. Although she does not explicitly mention it, UUA has endorsed the Green New Deal and our actions will fulfill many of its goals.

The Ware Lecture by Naomi Klein can be viewed at https://vimeo.com/showcase/7462757/video/433421388