This Saturday: Amah Mutsun Speaker Series - The Spirit of Resilience in the Face of Oppression5/6/2014 Amah Mutsun Speaker Series The Spirit of Resilience in the Face of Oppression This Amah Mutsun Speaker Series will be held on May 10 at the UC Arboretum from 12-5pm. The event will also be followed by a social where people can enjoy food and socialize with each other. Two native hip hop groups will also be present: Redstar (Wicahpiluta Candelaria) and AlmasFronteriazs. The guest speakers include: Lisbeth Haas, Professor of History and Chair of Feminist Studies, UCSC. Elias Castillo, author of the forthcoming book, A Cross of Thorns: The Enslavement of the California Indians by Spanish missions. This book presents irrefutable evidence regarding the brutal treatment of the Indians by the Franciscans. And the final guest speaker Lucio Ramirez, PhD Candidate at the University of Michigan Social Psychology program. This event is free for anyone to attend and we hope everyone can make it. Did you know that there are 8 varieties of native California potatoes? Or that the grazing grasses we see all alongside the road and hillsides is not native to this region? Amah Mutsun tribal chairman and elder, Valentin Lopez, and Rick Flores, curorator of the native California plant collection at the UCSC Arboretum shared this wisdom and more with UCSC students, CASFS Apprentices and community members during a special night of Cultivating a Daily Revolution at Kresge College. The Amah Mutsun are dedicated to protecting mother earth and all of the living things. They pray for balance in the relationships that exist between the plants, bees, birds, soil, and all living things on earth. But first they must relearn their knowledge and heal relationship with one another as a tribal community. Through Wellness Meetinfs and Talking Circles they seek to heal seven generations of historic trauma and re-teach lessons of love, optimism, & self worth, values that have been hindered by the discrimination the Native community faces. Shifting their focus to survival, these families were not able to pass on these lessons. Despite drawing links to the mission period to Mission San Juan Bautista and Santa Cruz, the Amah Mutsun receive no government assistance. Valentin described one practice exercised by missionaries to lure indigenous peoples to the missions: women would be tied in a chain by their thumbs, then taken to the mission only to be soon followed by children and men Although Mission Santa Cruz’s priests’ were notorious for their cruelty, the U.S. holds that there is no evidence of the Amah Mutsun’s mistreatment by the Catholic church. While this relationship might be tense, the tribe has successfully partnered with researchers and science to restore health to the bad. Through the discovery of native varieties and explaining traditional land stewardship practice and their history through the translation of historical documents of which there are a ton! The Amah Mutsun partner with organizations to protect Mother Earth through the new Tribal Land Trust. Partners include the UCSC Arboretum and Pinnacle National Park. Together they re-learn land stewardship practices like when native resources were used to make baskets, homes, food, etc. Some closing notes:
FoCAN, CASFS, and UCSC would like to extend all of our thanks and heartfelt appreciation to Valentin and Rick! THANK YOU to all those who came and participated in our "Beyond Organic: Narratives of our Local Food System" event! Beyond Organic: Narratives of our Local Food System was the Friends of the Community AgroEcology Network's (FoCAN's) first Local Intercambio that focused on facilitating a space for dialogue surrounding fair labor practices and transparency in our local food systems. Our vision was to include representatives from across the food system, including farm supervisor Bear from Swanton Berry Farm, farm workers Adilene, Jennifer, and Francisco from the Out of School Youth organization in Monterey County, Eloise, a female farmworker from the Center for Farmworker Families, and Victor Escobar owner of Chelitos' restaurant. The goal of the panel discussion was to clarify misconceptions about the meanings of organic production. This space provided a unique opportunity for the Santa Cruz and UCSC community to highlight the untold experiences, feelings, and ideas for innovation in the treatment of these people who work tirelessly to make our food available for consumption. Swanton Berry farm manager, Bear, shared how many times the resources of organic farms do not allow the owners to improve labor conditions such as providing restrooms that are close to the work areas or better wages than their conventional counterparts.The community was shocked to discover that although fruit on organic farms are firmer--making harvesting easier--the danger to pesticides exposure still exists. Another worker shared her story of jumping to pick blackberries, hoping that she did not damage them on her way down highlighting the mistreatment of those who practically feed us. Consumers of all ages eagerly requested information on where they could be part of the move to expand the conversation from simply how and where our food is grown to include who is producing our food. The FoCAN student team is entirely grateful for having the panel participants share their stories with the group and would like to let them know that this is just the beginning of the conversation. The insight from these diverse members of the community truly represents and highlight the amount of human power that exists in our food system. We would also like to thank Nancy Vail, co-founder of Pie Ranch, as our guest speaker who provided excellent insight on how to take a "holistic approach to food systems by ensuring fair treatment of workers, fair pricing for farmers, and fair business practice through Food Justice Certification". Also thank you to our collaborators: El Centro, Campus sustainability Council, Common Ground, India Joze, and the Community Agroecology Network for their full support. |
Header Photography:
Diego Leon De Jesus Archives
November 2018
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