Quakers, social justice and revolution

Youth Taking Environmental Action

Posted on February 10, 2017 by Jeff Kisling

Yesterday I wrote about the powerful message from RezPect Our Water, asking us to educate all children and youth about the importance of our environment, our water, and the threats to it. Although this comes after the Republican administration’s final approval of the easement, and construction of the Dakota Access pipeline under the Missouri River, it is a broader appeal to engage and promote the voices of youth in decisions that will significantly impact their future. The RezPect message makes the excellent point that the administration has already heard the adult voices.

I believe youth voices are the hope for the future.

I have noticed a number of youth were brought to each of our #NoDAPL events over the past year. Ezra and Ella, of North Meadow Circle of Friends, participated in numerous event related to the Keystone pipeline, and appear in this video about the Keystone Pledge of Resistance.

Along these lines there have been a number of youth oriented environmental efforts here in Indianapolis. It was because of their strong focus on youth and the environment that I first became engaged with the Kheprw Institute (KI).

A Kids Peace rally was held on the grounds of the Statehouse recently.

Earth Charter Indiana and its youth program, Youth Power Indiana, launched, one year ago, a resolution designed to encourage the city of Indianapolis to act boldly about climate change. This Resolution got its first hearing before the City County Council on Thursday, Feb. 9, before the Public Works Committee.

The Climate Recovery Resolution states: “A PROPOSAL FOR A SPECIAL RESOLUTION to reduce carbon emissions, increase energy efficiency and renewable energy use, to create a climate change-resilient City of Indianapolis that will protect the children and grandchildren of the community.”

“Climate change is real and presents a clear and present danger to our nation, our state and our city,” said City-County Council Vice President Zach Adamson, the sponsor of the Resolution. “I’m proud to stand with the next generation to urge immediate action on this crisis. I’m hopeful that our city leaders will hear the voices of those who’ll have to live with ramifications of the choices we make today, be they good or bad. May we have the courage to step up on this issue before it’s too late.”

#noDAPL

Posted in #NDAPL, Arts, Black Lives, climate change, Indigenous, Keystone Pledge of Resistance, Kheprw Institute, peace, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

#NoDAPL Call to Youth Education and Action

Posted on February 9, 2017 by Jeff Kisling

This powerful video from ReZpect Our Water seems to be what is needed now. A call to action, for youth to learn about, and speak out about what is happening to our water and how that will affect their future (transcript below). Bring this message to your schools.

Transcript of ReZpect Our Water video

Hello everyone. If you haven’t heard already, they’re drilling the pathway of the Dakota Access Pipeline underneath the Missouri River. Right now what we’d just like to ask, if you haven’t already spoken to the youth about this, spoken to your younger brothers and sisters, spoken to your nieces and nephews, spoken to the youth, the kids of your family and the community. If you haven’t spoke already with them and let them know what they are doing, and how our water is important, and it is being destroyed now and it can be destroyed as well with these pipelines all over the U.S.

Let them know now. Take action and let the kids know now. Let the youth know now, let the teenagers know now. Teach them the importance of water and how it is important it is to us for everyday life and our survival.

Whenever you go to an action or if you plan an action take them with you. This is important. I know school and education are important, but right now we won’t have education in the future. We won’t be able to send our kids to school if we don’t have any water.

And this is important.

Now is the time to reach the schools. Go to your schools. Let them know how this is going to affect them, and make that change. Let the students make the change as well, because we have to use their voice as well in this fight. We’re in this together. We always say that but we’re still forgetting the youth. We need to take them around with us. Take them with us everywhere and let them speak. Help them use their voice. Let their voices be heard as well.

Let them send the messages. Together, we can send messages together. We’ll do this together, but let them reach out to the government, let them reach out to the Army Corps, let them reach out to Congress, let them reach out to the House of Representatives, let them reach out to the President.

Because they heard our voice already.

But I believe they still need to hear the youths’ voice. Because this is going to affect their future generations as well. They’re going to have to deal with the consequences after we’re done. We are going to have to deal with the consequences after they’re done building it. And that’s only in our present. That’s not in our grandkids’ present and their grandchildren and their great grandchildren, and their grandchildren.

We have to stand together. Now is the time to educate the youth. And let’s see what they have to say.

Please.

Thank you.

#noDAPL

Posted in #NDAPL, climate change, Indigenous, spiritual seekers, Uncategorized | Tagged youth | Leave a comment

A Sad Day

Posted on February 8, 2017 by Jeff Kisling

The news yesterday was that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has made the final approval for construction to move forward on the Dakota Access pipeline. The Republican administration has canceled the environmental impact study, and, despite being required by law, is skipping the two week notification of Congress. The conclusion is they don’t care what the environmental damage will be, and think they are above the law.

The first thing that comes to mind is the quote by John Trudell which appears at the beginning of the music video, “Love Letters to God” by Nahko and Medicine for the People. “No matter what they ever do to us, we must always act for the love of our people and the Earth. We must not react out of hatred against those who have no sense.” Logic, or appeals to justice, or for protection of the Earth for future generations will continue to fall on deaf ears, for “those who have no sense.”

I don’t know what to expect, next. The global environmental justice awakening will continue. The powerful rising of indigenous people around the world in support of the water protectors will likely continue to expand.

I fear for the safety of those at Standing Rock, including my friend Joshua Taflinger who is there now, and Alex Red Bear who planned to travel there later this week.

A number of Quakers at the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) are exploring ways to bring some of these issues before Congress even now.

As a person of faith, I believe the spirit will continue to guide us. What are seen as setbacks are most often necessary steps on the path of justice.

One of my first thoughts was that I am now experiencing what indigenous people have experienced time and again. I have written of how the opportunity to spend time with Native Americans and others supporting #NoDAP and #NOKXL has significantly deepened my spiritual life. I am feeling some shared pain, shared strength, and hoping for some shared wisdom.

It is really important NOW to support the efforts to defund the pipeline. If the funding is jeopardized, that is what will stop the pipeline now. Please, talk to your family, friends and neighbors.

Posted in #NDAPL, civil disobedience, Indigenous, Uncategorized | 5 Comments

Environmental Action

Posted on February 7, 2017 by Jeff Kisling

The Republican war against the environment is advancing. Last week The Senate voted 54-45 to scrap a rule designed to limit the dumping of mining waste in local waterways. The Republicans say this is just the first of many environmental protection regulations they plan to get rid of.

Mainly endorsed by politicians supported by the coal and fossil fuel industry, the justification for these brazen acts is always about protecting jobs. That was also the attempted justification for the Keystone Pipeline, but that collapsed in the face of the fact that less than 50 jobs would be created to maintain Keystone.

This has been the basic narrative for decades, that protecting jobs and owners’ profits must be done, and the damage to the environment ignored. The fossil fuel industry often actually says these regulations are would cost them too much. So, to that way of thinking, the correct thing to do is get rid of environmental protection regulations, and let, for example, mining companies, dump their waste into our water.

Although the fossil fuel industry has, and even admits that it has, spent millions of dollars on propaganda denying climate change, there are too many signs to ignore any longer. A radical reduction in burning fossil fuels has to happen immediately if future generations are to have any kind of livable conditions.

We are seeing a massive, oppressive, increasingly aggressive, militaristic and violent response from the government against people who are simply saying enough is enough, and the Earth can not take much more of this abuse. We have police in riot gear attacking unarmed, peaceful water protectors who are simply praying that our environment be protected, the Earth honored. Who are desperately trying to protect our environment, our water, air and land, for future generations.

People in North Dakota, Iowa, and around the country and the world have gathered to raise awareness, and try to stop the ecocide.

This is personal for me. People I know, like Joshua Taflinger and Alex Red Bear, are heading to the camps in North Dakota. Friend Peter Clay has been there several times.

This is also going to require the reactivation of the Keystone Pledge of Resistance campaign that I worked on for several years. The Rainforest Action Network (RAN) that ran the Keystone campaign has just sent out alerts that we will be meeting again, via conference call, to determine how to proceed. The Dakota Access Pipeline efforts will now be part of this, I’m sure.

I urge you to find ways you can speak out against these attacks on the environment, and ways you can support those trying to protect the environment. Showing up at local events to raise awareness is one way to do so. Talk with your friends, neighbors and legislators. Write letters to the editor, and in social media. This is too important to be silent about. Future generations are looking for us to step up. Close your bank account with the banks that are funding the Dakota Access Pipeline.

Photographs and videos are available here that you are welcome to use in your efforts.

#NoDAPL

Joshua Taflinger and Brandi Heron

Joshua Taflinger

#noDAPL

Jpeg

#noDAPL

Brandi Herron

Pipeline fighter

Stop Keystone Pipeline

Posted in civil disobedience, climate change, Indigenous, Keystone Pledge of Resistance, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Spiritual Deepening

Posted on February 6, 2017 by Jeff Kisling

During Quaker meeting for worship at North Meadow Circle of Friends yesterday, I was moved to share the following message:

“I thought I had been doing a fairly good job of paying attention to my spiritual life, but my experiences over the past year related to #NoDAPL and with Native Americans has deepened, broadened and strengthened my spiritual life in ways it is difficult to express.”

Here are some more photos from the #NoDAPL rally in downtown Indianapolis Saturday.

Posted in #NDAPL, Arts, Indigenous, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Call to Come to Standing Rock

Posted on February 5, 2017 by Jeff Kisling

The following report was sent to me from Joshua Taflinger, my friend who has been the main organizer of our local #NoDAPL efforts. Joshua just returned from Standing Rock.

I am considering whether I can go to Standing Rock myself. I received a very negative reaction when I raised this possibility at work a couple of weeks ago. The context of that is that I’m planning to retire at the end of June, and there is much to be done to train others to take over my responsibilities. I’m hoping the next conversation will be along the lines of a temporary leave.

Alex Red Bear (brown stocking cap below) organized our #NoDAPL rally downtown yesterday. It was fortunate timing that I closed my Chase account Wednesday, so that I would have that experience to share when I spoke to the crowd about defunding the DAPL. After the speeches, we marched to the Circle, past Chase Tower, and back to the Statehouse.

#NoDAPL

Standing Rock Update and rumor control (February 4th, 10:45pm)
**PLEASE SHARE AND SPREAD!!**
We have been in camp all week collecting information face to face directly from camp coordinators and leaders in Oceti Oyate, Rosebud, and the new Black Hoop Camp. **(Didn’t spend time in Sacred Stone, so can’t report facts on that one. Rumor has it that Sacred Stone will be evicted soon, but no one really knows)
All camps agree that Dave Archambault and the SRST are corrupt politicians that have been bought and have bailed on the people that THEY called out to stand and help protect the water, land, and sacred sites.
So All camps are in unification on the stance that You should disregard all reports, announcements, and statements from Dave and SRST council. They have joined the side of the enemy(DAPL) out of greed and corruption and are no longer to be trusted, believed, or regarded as a credible source.
Enrolled tribal members have begun a process to impeach Dave Archambault and other members of the SRST tribal council for their failure to support the people they asked to come help.
The Army Corps announced an eviction notice to Oceti Oyate(main camp) and the sections of Rosebud that the Army Corps has illegally (based on the treaties) claimed for February 22nd. Many are cleaning up, packing up, and heading out.
Many others are dedicated to stay and stand and are praying for you, Veterans, anyone to stand and resist with us on the 22nd!
The numbers in camp are dwindling and with these declining numbers, when police raid on the 22nd, they will have no problem clearing out the resistance. We cannot quit now. If we give them this victory they will just keep taking more and more until there is nothing left to stand for.
Now more than ever, people are being called to camp. It would logistically be much more difficult/improbable for police to clear out camp if there were 1,000’s present on the 22nd.
Come prepared to resist and potentially be arrested. If you don’t come, this will be over!
Rosebud camp is focused on major clean up efforts as well as working out logistics to move their camp up the hill to higher ground to the new Blackhoop Memorial Camp.
This will be an invitation only camp. This will be a peaceful prayer camp. Plan on going to this camp only if you have been invited.
All camps, especially Rosebud, need help cleaning up the grounds to prevent the debris from getting washed into the river if flooding occurs. Please go NOW!! You are NEEDED and encouraged to help with clean up efforts if possible. Many hands make light work.
And this is directly from those who are committed to staying and resisting DAPL. There is a call for the VETERANS to begin arriving before the 22nd, set up, and dig in and prepare. If you do not come in large numbers, the camp will be crushed and cleared out.
Face your fears! Get in your car and get your ass to Standing Rock!! This is our last chance to STAND and kill this Black Snake!

Posted in #NDAPL, civil disobedience, Indigenous, Keystone Pledge of Resistance, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Multimedia Resources for #NoDAPL

Posted on February 4, 2017 by Jeff Kisling

My experience is that art is often the most effective way to illustrate and get the attention of people, related to social justice issues. These are matters of the heart and spirit, more than the head. Education with facts is very important, but I’ve found it is sharing our personal stories with individuals or small groups to be where people seem to be willing to look at things a little differently, and perhaps even change their thinking and themselves.

That is why I have been so impressed with the wisdom and persistence of the Kheprw Institute (KI) in holding open community meetings every month for the past several years, to provide a safe space for people to explore and examine issues and concerns with a very diverse gathering of people who quickly come to know about each other in ways that don’t usually occur in our society today.

As Charles Eisenstein has recently written, “In my work I have discovered that the most powerful gatherings were the ones that were not recorded, as if the shielding from the outside world allowed us to enter a separate reality more completely. These gatherings also seem to ripple their power out into the future beyond the room, despite the lack of any attempt to make that happen. Maybe causality doesn’t work the way we’ve been told.”

The disturbing photos and videos from Standing Rock strongly evoke memories of the abuse of people working in the civil rights movement of the 1960’s, with attacks by dogs and fire hoses. Which is why law enforcement has unconstitutionally seized drones taking video, and jammed live streaming to social media from the camps in North Dakota at times.

The camps are so isolated, and there is almost no mainstream media coverage. It was very fortunate that Amy Goodman and the team from Democracy Now! were onsite to document the vicious attacks with dogs.

Here are some multimedia resources you might use to raise awareness with your friends.

Ra Wyse, Wyse Radio, interviewed me about local #NoDAPL actions:

My online photos related to several #NoDAPL events here in Indianapolis. You have my permission to use them: https://1drv.ms/f/s!Avb9bFhezZpPh6lG9yID1Jj2_jT06A

This new video from Nahko and Medicine for the People is one of the most powerful things I’ve ever seen:

This video, made with the help of my friends Derek Glass and Andrew Burger, is about climate change, tar sands, and the Keystone Pipeline resistance.

Finally, I’ve written a lot of blog posts related to the Dakota Access Pipeline, that may provide more for you to share with others.

https://kislingjeff.wordpress.com/?s=dapl

Posted in #NDAPL, Arts, civil disobedience, climate change, Indigenous, Keystone Pledge of Resistance, Kheprw Institute, revolution, social media, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Return to Chase Bank

Posted on February 3, 2017 by Jeff Kisling

I’ve written several things about my experiences related to defunding the Dakota Access Pipeline. One of the most significant things for me, that day, was how nicely the three people in the Chase bank treated me. At first I thought the lobby officer was just being polite because that was his job, but after a couple of interactions I knew he was being sincere. I also described how very nice the banker was.

I was disconcerted because I wasn’t expecting that. I evidently have some misconceptions. I think I like it better when I’m not the mistaken one.

As it happens, I’ve been reading some of Charles Eisenstein’s writings, which I really resonate with. The idea of ‘interbeing’, of everyone and everything connected to, and influencing each other. So during that visit to the bank, I was very aware of a feeling of spiritual support from both my Quaker communities, and my new, tentative connections with Native Americans, and also with my friend Joshua who was at Standing Rock at this time. I felt a great calm.

And I felt a transfer of goodwill between me and those in the bank. To the such an extent, that I returned to the bank this evening, to drop off three copies of the blog article describing how well they had treated me, and the whole defunding process. I didn’t think the banker who said she supported #NoDAPL would get in trouble for that (which was part of the article), but I was hoping I might give the copies to her, so she could decide whether to share them. Fortunately, she was alone in her office. When she glanced up, she gave me a big smile and waved me in. She got up and took my hand in both of hers again, and asked what she could do for me. I again thanked her for her kindness Wednesday, and told her I had told others that, and written a blog article to share the story. Then I handed her the three copies and told her I hoped there wasn’t anything that might get her in trouble, and she could share them, or not.

She then told me she and her husband had talked about our visit and the pipeline.

This is how our stories spread.

She again thanked me, and took my hand in both of hers when I left.

Just now I was reviewing what else was in that blog post. Now I guess Chase bank employees can see how much has been withdrawn from the banks, and that there have been previous defunding efforts.

I really had not intended to be a Trojan horse.

#NoDAPL Chase bank Indianapolis

Posted in climate change, spiritual seekers, Uncategorized | Tagged defund | 2 Comments

Nahko We Are on Time

Posted on February 3, 2017 by Jeff Kisling

Pure spirit shines

The Indianapolis concert of Nahko and Medicine for the People, supporting #NoDAPL, was the reason our local #NoDAPL group gathered outside the concert site last weekend.

Joshua Taflinger

I’m not going anywhere, babe

This is your home

It’s a safe place

We’re electric

Summer storms

Calm these waters

When a sail is torn

Now I won’t fight you

There’s no need

Such protections

They make us weak

Every compass

Needs a north star

Tame this recklessness

But keep these wild hearts

I am on your side

Pull your trigger

Push my buttons

Aim for reasons

God, we’re so stubborn

Is this patience

Showing grace

When to be close

And when to give space

Oh babe, you ground me

Lightning rods

Come find shelter

In these arms

Sometimes I’m broken

Sometimes I’m mended

On the road

I can cope to get up and do it all over again

I am on your side

I am not drawing a line

Only want what is right

What is best for your life

Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!

So meet me in the streets

In the dark, in your bare feet

Meet in a place like your heart

Drop a phat beat

Wind begins to blow

It’s a sweet validation

Nature has her signs

And they’re clear affirmations

We are on time

We are on time, yeah, whoa

So come, on turn the lights down

Give a little, get a little

Come on, let your guard down

Give a little, get a little

Come on, turn the lights down

Give a little, get a little

Come on, let your guard down

Give a little, get a little

We are on time

I am on your side

We are on time

I am on your side

We are on time

I am on your side

We are on time

Posted in #NDAPL, Arts, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Chase Iron Eyes Statement from Morton County Jail

Posted on February 3, 2017 by Jeff Kisling

The new Republican administration has, unsurprisingly, declared war on our environment. Yesterday the House approved a measure to overturn regulations that prevent coal companies from dumping waste into the water, 228-194. Nine Republicans voted against repeal, while four Democrats supported it. Just think about that. They said it is fine to dump coal ash into our rivers. Isn’t this insane?

How can it be stated more plainly. Corporations rule, and we and the environment suffer the consequences. This threatens the survival of future generations. At a time when greenhouse emissions are out of control, the last thing we need is to be burning more coal and oil.

Added to this is the continuation of the mistreatment, to put it lightly, of Native Americans. One of the most shameful parts of our past history should make us want to address those wrongs, instead of continuing them.

Please share Chase Iron Eyes, statement. Please take your money out of the banks that are funding this pipeline and all fossil fuel projects. You don’t have to take in a sign to make a statement, like I did yesterday. All you have to do is simply close your account. This is the least you could do for your grandchildren’s future. Corporations are of course all about money, not human values, so money is a tool to be used.

Please raise awareness about these attacks on people who only want to protect the Earth, save the water, for future generations. This is a moral, spiritual issue, and it affects every one of us.

Listen to your heart. I don’t think it will be telling you to remain silent.