Humboldt Call to Action, April 29, 2007

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Summary of Talking and Action Circles
Three ‘Working Tables’ reported to the full Circle on priorities from their discussions,
The full Circle’s priorities:

Poverty/Economic Justice
• Housing: Sustainable, Low-impact, low cost 
• Discrimination by class: tax discrimination based on poverty; taxes, fines
• Rights of homeless: tenants not supported

Education/Training
• Voters and Civic Empowerment
• Electoral System: Education on voting, and about the legislative process and how to pursue our rights, including having a voice vs. lack of 
recognition, mutual rejection/refusal to participate. Interest in politics. 
• Need for access through Internet
• Early Childhood Education: dearth of, no support/ money for new schools

Environment 
• Link to sustainable housing
• Caretakers and healers of the earth concerned that the dominant culture is destroying the earth

Health
• Youth on “meth” receive no funds from Medicare for recovery
• Disabled people subject to gender discrimination

Human Rights and Peace
• Taxpayer money should be for community needs, not war.
• 7-year study on Native Americans to address and protect human rights of Aboriginal Peoples has never been acted on.

Media & the Girl Child 
• Need Local Media to create alternative value system for the Girl Child -there is a lack of inner sense of own culture 
• Media-hype brings Militarism into the schools. We need alternative media.

Violence against Women: 
• Sexualized Violence: need for community accountability and groups/network to respond (not just police, institutions)

RECOMMENDATIONS: 
• Hold an Environmentally Focused Call To Action 
• Plan a Humboldt Lobby Day in Sacramento for a voice in California public policies
• Get access for everyone on the Internet
• Follow-up the 1977 Seven Year Study on California Indian Policy

 

Summary of Talking and Action Circles: Table 1

Facilitator: 
Junie Mattice
Circle Group:
Nikki Colegrove
Marilyn Fowler
Mikki Hammons
Debbie Peterson 
Caren Diers
Wave Krohn
Kathie Kelly

Issues Discussed:
• Education for non-natives- everyone needs to be woken up to aboriginal issues. 
• The need for representation for victims of trauma and violence- there is a lack of funding for action. 
• Civic education for the indigenous population- how the system works and how to vote. 
• Problem with massive corruption and how to create different options for people.
• Humble County has a lack of police enforcement on serious issues- problems with amphetamines and alcohol. 
• Peace Safety Dignity and Freedom, Douglas a model for treatment. How the Humboldt County Center for Women Studies at the University can help to promote leadership. 
• Tribal leaders are not helping the girls, feel lost in the culture and lack self a system, not sure where they fit in.

Highlights of Discussion
• Mainstream media
• 90,000 of Indigenous people are not federally recognized.
• Problems with drugs (amphetamines) corruption and complacency.
• Need to go to every reservation to explain the ballet system and how to vote- Civic education. 
• Education- tutoring on library computers

Priority Issues
• Priority of taxpayers money to support community needs rather than the war.
• Neglect to congressional reports on California Indians. 
• The Methamphetamine problem with youths, no detox centers or insurance to help.
• Education of voting, ballots, civic empowerment.
• Need for local media to create an alternative value system for valuing girl child.

Actions you would like to see
• Changing laws for mudical police vicinity due to media. 
• Renewing the tax law or allowing the choice of funds 
• Insurance for youths
• Educating parents accountability of local agencies

Next steps you suggest
• Writing a campaign
• Work with local legislators and the public. 
• Continuing these circles.
• Go to Sacramento on lobby day and set up a Humboldt lobby. 
• Look up the congressional records- Marilyn
• Set up workshops

Summary of Talking and Action Circles: Table 2

Facilitator:
Lauren Oliver
Circle group:
Hilary Mosher
Heather Tucker
Paula Arrowsmith-Jones
Janet W. & Jesse Urban

Issues Discussed:
• Aboriginal- Original peoples of this country
• Indigenous- all of us born in the US
• Child Care/ Pre-school
• Death
• Prohibitory costs: No Zone; need $1,300 just to set up in an add zoning
• Head start \- can take 15 students vs. 12 per teacher
• First five – Humboldt- has starting funds, provide
• Jessie: Gender of Disability, Violence
• Heather: Community accountability group for violence and education on sexual violence.

Highlights of Discussion:
• Stereotype: (see Paula re “gender boxes”
• Classes- 75 hours training to be a volunteer- with 2 presenters- as long as in pre-school volunteer w/o training could team with a trained person
• Ann Alter- grant writing
• Hilary Moser will do grant writing
• Eliminate ones you don’t want; finding the right place to look
• Action: Childcare, early childhood Ed.
• Organized protests: zoning, Planning commission Supes, 1st 5 Hum
• Speakers Bureau
• Lobby State Ed. 
• Utilize recourses of University for research
• “Belonging is better than belongings”

Priority Issues:
• Early Childhood Ed. – safe place for kids
• Sexualized Violence
• Mental Illness and continuity of Care
• Disability and gender : eschews dev. Disabled if not effectively treated
• Housing- low income: eviction
• Legal success of M? Cal: will no longer rep. tenants in court, bias against tenants vs. owners (ACLU)
• Transportation
• Endeavor: no lease extension
• County must develop zone for preschools and support existing quality PS’s offering incentives to expand
• Current regulations regarding pre-schools from the state of CA are prohibitive and deny educators basic rights

Actions you would like to see:
• Zones designated where pre-schools can exist through common. Planning and county board of supervisors.
• First 5 Humboldt (the local card only) organize with funding (from cigarette tax$) focus resources of local issues. 
• Change? of of California Dept. of Social Services Community Care regulations to be more fair for educators.

Next Steps you suggest:
• Plan Organized Protests @ planning commission and county supervisor aimed at focusing media/ community attention on lack of zones, the necessity for the in a viable infrastructure and the coinciding lack of preschools if quality on the community
• Plan organized protests at First Humboldt 5 to pressure them into using funds to deal with these issues
• Schedule a speakers bureau to approach media and community organizations to raise awareness regarding this issue demanding change
• Lobby State Legislators to revamp existing regulations.

Summary of Talking and Action Circles: Table 3

Facilitator: 
Jene L. McCovey
Circle Talkers:
Melody Williams
Jean Doran
Patricia Augustine
Caren Wise
Loretta
Sherry Skillwoman

Issues Discussed: 
• Role of Elders
• Council of Chrones
• Housing
• Sustainablilty
• International Committee for (elder) women
• Women in Poverty
• Women in Government
• Makeup Media (alternatives to Brainwashing, we need a voice, to deconstruct the myth.)

Highlights of Discussion:
• Health insurance for all
• Community group to help support creative was to sustain elder model- counseling, common area, garden, and co-op i.e.National student co-op Berkley. Harmony, Small structure- trailer. 
• Networks, energy efficient, i.e barn raising, co-housing
• HUD: innovative, green
• Tax policies, with current rules people loose their homes
• Poverty and the impact on housing
• Need infornation and a council on aging/ poverty
• Tap unpaid child support
• Educate mothers of young men to not let sons go to war- why are mothers not angrier? need a forum and support for an anti-war rally

Priority Issues:
• Sustainable low income Housing
• International women
• Poverty, deteriorating class issues
• Women in Government: 30%, 51% recognize progression

Actions you would like to see:
• Economic zoning licenses
• Talking Points: penalize poverty taxing define obstacles
• Group Housing Research (city, county, state)

Next steps you suggest:
• Develop awareness talking point
• Micro- business loan
• Resource list

Created by Sarah Cashman on 8/2/2007