Just four days before Thanksgiving—a holiday that for many symbolizes the genocide of Native people in the U.S.—law enforcement in North Dakota launched a brutal assault on the Standing Rock Sioux and their allies. Hundreds of people who had peacefully assembled to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline were blasted with water cannons, hit with concussion grenades and rubber bullets, and doused with tear gas. This week, What We’re Reading takes a look at the protests in Standing Rock in the context of 500 years of indigenous resistance to colonization and genocide.
Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb is on the Rabbinic Council of Jewish Voice for Peace and is co-founder of The Muslim Jewish Peacewalk, Mural Arts in Palestine and Young Pacifist and Proud with The Fellowship of Reconciliation. A performing artist, author, and peace activist, Lynn's newest book, "Trail Guide to the Torah of Nonviolence," will be out in April. She is co-author of "Peace Primer II: Quotes from Jewish, Christian and Islamic Scripture and Tradition."
As Thanksgiving approaches and Native people and allies face being assaulted by water cannons and rubber bullets for trying to clear a road on their own land, Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb prepares to travel to the region and offers this reflection on the situation. An AFSC delegation traveled to Standing Rock in September and produced this report reflecting on the situation and on what those who wish to support can do.
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In the wake of a long presidential election season marked by racism and misogyny, movements across the country are working to reformulate strategies, take a stand against white supremacy, and continue the struggle for racial, social, and economic justice. Here’s what we're reading to ground us in this work:
After Trump, by Robin D.G. Kelly via Boston Review