I welcome you to support and pray for the work and ministry of 5 Small Loaves, including our newest project. A Truth Commission: I would like to propose that we begin planning a Truth Commission. A series of national conferences to be held throughout the country that would create space and give platform for indigenous elders and peoples to share their stories and let the truth be known about the abuse, trauma and injustice that they endured. Other countries, such as South Africa and Canada, have held Truth and Reconciliation Commissions that were of a similar nature, but the major difference was the governments and institutions of those countries were compelled through litigation or other circumstances to engage in those conversations. That is not the case here in the United States, and I am hesitant to try and force our government and institutions to participate through lawsuits. For as was demonstrated above, our Declaration of Independence, our Constitution and our Supreme Court are all systemically racist, so in their current form they are incapable of delivering justice regarding these issues. However, I am also not hopeless regarding our leaders or our institutions, and I would propose that at the Truth Commission gatherings we leave “empty chairs” for the leaders of these governments, organizations and institutions to participate. We leave chairs for President Obama, Pope Francis, state governors and members of Congress. We leave chairs for church denomination heads and leaders of academic institutions. I would even recommend we leave empty chairs for heads of state from other countries that participated in the “discovery” and colonization of this land, such as Spain, England, France and the Netherlands. Our nations is in agony, and our people are literally crying out in pain. Our history is dark and the path forward is difficult. As a country we need to give up the false notion of our exceptionalism and accept the fact that we are no better than any other nation around the world. We need to remember that this land was not empty and Europeans did not discover it. We need to acknowledge that Africans and African Americans are human and their labor is not free. We need to accept that holidays like Columbus Day are meant to be mourned, not celebrated. We need to own our history, publicize our apologies and accept responsibility for our actions. Our leaders and our institutions have already demonstrated they are incapable of doing this. So it is up to us. You and me, the citizens of the United States of America, and the indigenous peoples of Turtle Island. I propose that we host the first conference of this Truth Commission in Washington DC in December of 2016. We will have just elected a new President but, President Obama, the signatory of H.R. 3326 and the initiator of the annual Tribal Nations Conference, will still be in office. After all President Obama has done to engage our nation in conversations about race as well as to include the indigenous peoples of this land at the table. I would like to give him an opportunity, as the sitting President of the United States of America, to participate in this dialogue and fill one of the empty chairs. Next Steps: I, my family and my organization (5 Small Loaves) are fully committed to the vision of a Truth Commission. But we clearly recognize this is something that we cannot do alone. We need friends, partners, colleagues, supporters and other leaders in order to make this happen. Because of this, my wife Rachel and I have decided to move our family to Washington DC. Building such an extensive network of relationships and partners is going to require a lot of travel, speaking, writing and collaboration. And Fort Defiance AZ, where we currently live, is a 3 hour drive from the nearest airport. Washington DC has 2 major airports. It is a national, even global, hub and a frequent travel destination for countless organizations, leaders and every day citizens. I already have 3 trips planned in the months of January and early February to speak with people who are interested in partnering in this work and I am positive that is merely the tip of the iceberg. Our plan is to spend the next 6-9 months building a network of support, raising public awareness and gauging national interest. If by August or September of 2015 we determine there is sufficient engagement and interest in a Truth Commission, then we will move into the actual planning stages for the first gathering in Washington DC in December of 2016. An Excerpt from The Doctrine of Discovery- A Buried Apology and an Empty Chair gofundme/5-Small-Loaves *5 Small Loaves does not currently have non-profit status and is unable to provide tax deductible receipts. We are working to establish a fiscal partnership with another organization that will be able to provide us with a 501(c)(3). We expect this partnership to be finalized in the 2015 calendar year.
Posted on: Thu, 01 Jan 2015 00:07:08 +0000
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