Red Lake Nation

[Romy Shovelton]

Dear Pat

Thank you for so clearly expressing the issues around how your community is
hurting at this time. Your feelings are there strongly in your words. I¹m
sure all of our hearts go out to you at this time.

While I do not personally live in an area with similar historic wounds, my
Open Space work in Northern Ireland (Portadown) would lead me to imagine
that people will be eager to come to the circle to talk.... And perhaps your
theme will be connected with ³healing² in some way..... allowing plenty of
time for the grief work to take place. There will no doubt be a need for
many, many conversations over many, many months. Others on this list are
likely to have more specific experience.

In terms of the media... I had a (perhaps crazy) thought...  Wondering what
might happen if they were invited to take part in an Open Space meeting with
a few of the community who were feeling strong enough and willing, to talk
together about what¹s needed for healing in this time or about how the media
might help rather than hinder the process? Ie. with the aim of getting them
to agree to leave the community alone after that. No idea whether it would
work or whether anyone in the media or community would want to take part.

My thoughts and prayers are with you all

Romy

> From: Pat Black <patblack at paulbunyan.net>
> Reply-To: OSLIST <OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU>
> Date: Wed, 23 Mar 2005 05:53:26 -0600
> To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
> Subject: Red Lake Nation
> 
> 
> I live in the larger community where the young man shot all the students. I
> feel a deep loss at this.  We are a small communitiy and everyone is
> affected by this and most people no someone who has lost someone. There are
> many issues coming up related to the loss and how many of our youth feel so
> isolated and how to we reach them before they snap.  But there are other
> issues surfacing because of the racial polarization in this community and
> historic racism.  Red Lake tribal leaders are controlling media access to
> the reservation.  They don't want them harrassing and exploiting people for
> their stories.  Red Lake is one of 2 closed reservations in the US.  Closed
> means that their original land base is intact.  The media interprets that as
> they can control who can come on the reservation.  They of course can
> control who comes in and out if they want but that has nothing to do with
> being a closed reservation.  This business whether intended as overt racism
> or not certainly stirs the historic wounds caused by racism and the
> entrenched racist beliefs that live in the community everyday.  I believe
> some good can grow from tragedy and maybe we can get at these issues.  My
> question to those who live in areas where there are similar historic wounds
> waiting to surface for healing is simply please share your experiences,
> especially about the forming of the question and bringing community to the
> circle.  I feel this will be an opportunity for this community to address
> bigger and older wounds.  I personally feel the need to address the media
> assault and show solitarity with Red Lake Nation for the control they are
> exercising here and offer support and build healing between the community
> and the reservation.  Any thoughts out there?
> Pat Black
> 
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