Coming Soon to the Great Lakes Region . . .

The Great Lakes from space

 

The topic of climate migration is very much on my mind. What might this portend for the Great Lakes region?

Here are a few of the posts from the past that have set my thinking in motion:

NJ Sense and Wising Up to the Climate Crisis

NYC + H2O = Uh-oh!

California and Climate Crisis: The End?

Climate: We All Need to Be Futurists Now. 

. . . as well as many more posts on the climate crisis. 

Additional resources

"Responding to Climate Change in Great Lakes Cities" by Angela Larsen, Alliance for the Great Lakes

"These will be the best places to live in America in 2100 A.D." by Peter Hess in Popular Science

"Here’s The Best Place To Move If You’re Worried About Climate Change" by Maggie Koerth onFiveThirtyEight

"Want to Escape Global Warming? These Cities Promise Cool Relief" by Kendra Pierre-Louis in The New York Times

"Every Place Has Its Own Climate Risk. What Is It Where You Live?" by Stuart A. Thompson and Yaryna Serkez in The New York Times

Human Flow -- a film by Ai Weiwei

Church Activities to Repudiate the Doctrine of Discovery

(Originally published in April, 2019, as "News From St. John's" in the Madeline Island Gazette.)

Delegates from the 218 congregations of the Wisconsin Conference of the
 United Church of Christ (UCC) met in Wisconsin Dells on April 5-6, 2019.

Rev. Rachel Bauman and Joe Scarry recently attended the 57th Annual Meeting of the Wisconsin Conference of the United Church of Christ. On April 6, 2019, the Conference voted overwhelmingly in favor of "A Resolution of Witness: Repudiation of the Doctrine of Discovery."

The Doctrine of Discovery and its impact on Native Americans has been a central theme of this winter’s Soup Suppers at St. John’s. Many Christian denominations and faith organizations across the country have also been examining the Doctrine of Discovery and exploring the injustices and negative impact it continues to have on Native American lives.

What is the Doctrine of Discovery?

Pope Nicolas V issued several Papal Bulldums (Bulls) in the 1400’s authorizing and justifying the destruction, killing, and appropriation of lands of Native Americans. These Bulls served as the theological foundation for what became the tragic genocide of American Indians and were regarded as legal rationalization for invading America and debasing American Indians.

From the Resolution of Witness:

"In June of 2013, the 29th General Synod, supported and passed the resolution to repudiate the Doctrine of Discovery. This Doctrine authorized the genocide of Native Peoples and the theft of Native Lands. The Indigenous Peoples were told that God has declared that the Pope rules all people, regardless of their law, sect or belief. This includes Christians, Moors, Jews, Gentiles, or any other sect. The Native Americans were to come forward of their own free will to convert to Catholicism or ... “with the help of God we shall use force against you, declaring war upon you from all sides and with all possible means, and we shall bind you to the yoke of the Church and Their Highnesses; we shall enslave your persons, wives, and sons, sell you or dispose of you as the King sees fit; we shall seize your possessions and harm you as much as we can as disobedient and resisting vassals."

The principle provisions of the resolution are that Wisconsin Conference of the UCC "upholds and affirms the repudiation of the Doctrine of Discovery" and "declares and confesses that the doctrine has been and continues to be a shameful part of the United States and our Church's history."

What happened at the Wisconsin Conference Annual Meeting?

First, it was reported that 91 out of 218 congregations in the Wisconsin Conference had, over the previous 12 months, engaged in exploration and discussion of the Doctrine of Discovery. This surpassed the required 30% threshold that had been established to bring the resolution before the Annual Meeting. [View UCC Wisconsin Conference Doctrine of Discovery study resources.]

Second, we watched a video from the previous annual meeting, in which a member of the sole Native American congregation in the Wisconsin Conference, Larry Littlegeorge of Hocak UCC, introduced the resolution.

Third, there was general discussion on the Resolution. Numerous people spoke out strongly in favor of the Resolution. There were several notable threads of concern voiced:

* that passing the Resolution might require the Wisconsin Conference to "give back" property -- e.g. congregational real estate and/or church camps

*that the Conference should only pass the Resolution if it takes seriously the significant work, over a long period of time, that will be required to honor it

Fourth, general discussion was followed by a vote overwhelmingly in favor of the Resolution.

What Comes Next?

The Resolution of Witness calls for the Wisconsin Conference to:

* "join with ecumenical partners to explore ways to compensate American Indians, Alaskan Natives, and Native Hawaiians for the lands and resources that were stolen and are still being stolen and which are now the United States of America"

* seek educational materials from UCC entities (Justice and Witness Ministries (JWM) and Council of American Indian Ministry (CAIM))

* encourage member congregation to use such materials and "to pursue actions that may arise from their studies"

* call upon the United States government to repudiate the Doctrine of Discovery.

What is St. John’s Doing?

St. John's is working to get connected with others in the Conference who will be carrying forward the work mandated in the resolution.

There will be a two-day immersion experience with the Ho-Chunk congregation (Hocak UCC) on June 7 and 8, 2019.

St. John’s continues conversations about ways to increase awareness about the ways the Doctrine of Discovery negatively impacts all indigenous people and encourage local, state and federal governments to repudiate the Doctrine of Discovery.

If you want more information and want to become involved in taking action, contact St. John's UCC on Madeline Island.

(Supplemental to the article above, the following information was published in May, 2019, as "Understanding History" in the newsletter of St. John's UCC on Madeline Island, The Lighthouse.)

The Resolution of Witness states that “the 29th General Synod, supported and passed the resolution to repudiate the Doctrine of Discovery.  This Doctrine authorized the genocide of Native Peoples and the theft of Native Lands. The Indigenous Peoples were told that God has declared that the Pope rules all people, regardless of their law, sect or belief. This includes Christians, Moors, Jews, Gentiles, or any other sect. The Native Americans were to come forward of their own free will to convert to Catholicism or ... with the help of God we shall use force against you, declaring war upon you from all sides and with all possible means, and we shall bind you to the yoke of the Church and Their Highnesses; we shall enslave your persons, wives, and sons, sell you or dispose of you as the King sees fit; we shall seize your possessions and harm you as much as we can as disobedient and resisting vassals."

The principle provisions of the resolution are that Wisconsin Conference of the UCC "upholds and affirms the repudiation of the Doctrine of Discovery" and "declares and confesses that the doctrine has been and continues to be a shameful part of the United States and our Church's history."

If you would like to learn more about the Doctrine of Discovery, we warmly welcome you to join us  on the last three Tuesday mornings in June (June 11, 18, 25, 2019). Each session will include a short video followed by conversation about the Doctrine, its continuing impact for Native Americans and African Americans, and how we, at St. John's, might respond to what we are learning. All are welcome!

Resource list for  Doctrine of Discovery learning sessions held at St. John's UCC on Madeline Island.

Day by day, visitors to the Wisconsin Conference booth added the names
of their congregations to the poster sharing the news of the resolution
repudiating the Doctrine of Discovery.

(Supplemental to the article above, the following information was published in July, 2019, as "An Update from Milwaukee" in the newsletter of St. John's UCC on Madeline Island, The Lighthouse.)

The UCC General Synod 2019 was a great experience, and particularly fulfilling for me because of progress made on projects to which I am deeply committed.

I had the opportunity to work together with Larry Littlegeorge (Hocak UCC, Black River Falls) on follow-up to the resolution repudiating the Doctrine of Discovery passed recently by the Wisconsin Conference.

Larry and his colleagues have plans to launch an entity to work on legal issues that stem from the Doctrine of Discovery, working in covenant with a range of UCC bodies.

A fascinating profile of Larry Littlegeorge and his work on the Doctrine of Discovery was published during the synod.

My Single-minded Focus: the Elimination of Nuclear Weapons

Lake Superior and the mainland of Wisconsin,
viewed from the south side of Madeline Island.

It is 2019 and I have come to live on Madeline Island.

My hope is that I will be able to use my time here to make progress on the problem that has come to seem to me more urgent than any other: the elimination of nuclear weapons.

It is so easy to be distracted, and, heaven knows, one would like to think about anything else . . . .

But there is less excuse for getting distracted in Madeline Island. Maybe I can make a little progress every day.

*   *   *   *   *   

I am heartened by one fact: during the 115th Congress (2017-2018) a bill to restrict the US president's ability to use nuclear weapons obtained the support of 82 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives and 13 co-sponsors in the Senate. (See: H.R.669 - Restricting First Use of Nuclear Weapons Act of 2017 and corresponding Senate bill S. 200.)

Here's a chart I made showing the growth of that support month-by-month:

Growth of support for HR.669
Restricting First Use of Nuclear Weapons Act of 2017

There was support for the bill across the country -- although by far the strongest support was on the West Coast and in the Northeast Corridor.

*   *   *   *   *   

Eliminating nuclear weapons: more urgent than any other problem. What if all 535 US senators and representatives decided to take on this challenge?

And -- perhaps more importantly -- what if citizens in each of their states and districts became those senators' and representatives' dedicated collaborators in accomplishing this?

I have always believed that constituents had a role to play in influencing action in Congress. But as our departure for Madeline Island neared, I began to think much more deeply about what that role might look like. To put it bluntly: might citizens be co-problem-solvers together with the people serving in Congress, and with their staff? Might there be value in conversation and relationship that goes far beyond ordinary "issue advocacy"? -- especially on a problem of such an existential character?

*   *   *   *   *   

It's been a long week: California, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, and finally Wisconsin. Now it's time to rest.

There will be time to talk more about citizenship tomorrow.