Misadventures in the 785

Anxiety. Fear. Anger. These emotions and others are coming up for many of us in the run-up to the election. These emotions emerge in part from a sense of powerlessness.

Here’s what to expect and ways to claim your power.

People gathered Sunday, June 7, at the site where George Floyd was murdered.

Four years ago yesterday, July 6, Philando Castile was shot dead by St. Anthony police after he was stopped for driving with a broken tail light.

One of the officers asked Castille for his drivers license and registration. Castile informed the officer that he had a firearm (which he had a license to carry.) When Castile reached for paperwork, an officer shot him seven times at close range.

Castile joined the growing list of black men killed by police.

Hundreds of people gathered at Luther Seminary for a Service of Prayer and Lament honoring Castile’s life, one of many such services. A particularly moving part was a reading by Afro Christian scholar Rev. Yolanda Pierce called “A Litany for those who aren’t ready for healing.”

I came across it again today. Given George Floyd’s murder and the…

I am pleased to announce that my new book, 4 Steps to the Future, is now available on Amazon.com!  The book is intended as a field guide for managers, providing them the process and tools to conduct their own basic foresight process within their own organization.  It was fun to write and I’m looking forward to learning how it helps individuals create foresight!

As mentioned in the book description, the book is:

…a practical, straight-to-the-action guide for creating foresight in your organization. Written for today’s attention-stressed and resource-deprived manager, 4 Steps to the Future provides an easy-to-understand process for creating insight about the future that individuals can immediately begin applying in their organization.

The book comes complete with exercises to conduct in your own workshops and includes worksheets designed specifically for the 4 Steps process.  Full size versions of these worksheets will be available for readers to download on…

Aerial view of the Northrup Mall on the U. of M. Campus. Photo by Ben Franske, posted on Wikimedia.

The University of Minnesota is one of the country’s original land-grant institutions and proud of it, its website says. Yet where did the land for the land grant come from?

Colorado-based High Country News has created a detailed on-line database that tracks how “the United States funded land-grant universities with expropriated Indigenous land.”

On this day in history, May 8, 1906, Congress passed the Burke Act, which became another vehicle for white settlers to get Indian-owned lands.

Healing Minnesota Stories member Bob Klanderud passed along this beautiful reflection on ceremony by Megisikwe, originally printed in the newsletter DrumBeat under the heading “Voices From Our Elders.” Bob got permission to reprint it. Some of the original formatting couldn’t be replicated. We added the photos. Thank you DrumBeat and Megisikwe.

Ceremony is not a series of memorized steps in a set choreography of stifling repetition.
Ceremony is not a strict protocol held only by a chosen few.
Ceremony is not an argument or debate over who has more authority and thus more control.
Ceremony is not about control.
Ceremony is not about authority.
Ceremony is not a bludgeon.
Ceremony is not a script.
Ceremony is not dead.

So many folks were caught in situations where they didn’t have a supply of emergency food, medications, baby items, first aid supplies, etc.   Now, it’s very hard to get some items.   I’m not a homesteading, off-the-grid prepper, but I do have back-up supplies on hand.  These items are basic for storm prep, and general having back-up if the unexpected happens (illness, unemployment, etc).   Here are some basics for how to start to stock up without breaking the bank.

Make a list of common household products you use- cleaners, paper goods, laundry items, dishwashing soap, and a bin to store them in.   Try to spend %5-20 of your grocery/supply budget on stocking up (for all goods, including food). Prioritize water (including purifying), food, cleaning supplies, toiletries, medications and first aid items.

Make a list of shelf-stable foods that you like. There’s no point in getting…

With the coronavirus dominating the daily news, with much of the country in virtual lock down, with the federal government struggling to coordinate an effective pandemic response, the Trump administration is quietly attacking Indigenous rights and the environment.

On this day in history, March 24, 1999, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa had treaty-protected rights to hunt, fish, and gather on the lands the Band ceded to the U.S. government by an 1837 treaty. It’s known as the Treaty of St. Peters (present day Mendota), the first treaty in which the Anishinaabe people ceded significant lands in what would become the state of Minnesota.

This treaty — and the 1999 U.S. Supreme Court decision — have particular relevance today. The Red Lake and White Earth nations have opposed the Enbridge Line 3 crude oil pipeline through northern Minnesota based on treaty rights to hunt, fish and gather along Line 3’s proposed route. They cite the 1999 U.S. Supreme Court case as precedent.