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CLIMATE JUSTICE NEWS

SATURDAY, APRIL 27, 2024

Phil Maynard, member of the Landscaping & Climate Justice Committees, will lead two walking tours.

At 9am,  see the birds of UUCB. You might be surprised &  amazed.

At 11am, learn about UUCB’s plants, both native &  invasive & everything in between.

We have the privilege of stewarding this beautiful land high in the East Bay hills, where nature is in abundance, & fascinating wildlife & plants share the space.  Experience it with us April 27!

At 7pm, watch the film, “The Letter.”  This film will be shown in our UUCB Sanctuary.  The film will be followed by Q&A and Snacks!

ARCHIVED INFORMATION BELOW

A Thanksgiving Day Letter

from UUCB’s Honoring Indigenous Peoples Group (HIP)

As we enter this autumn time of rustling leaves, chillier evenings and softening light, HIP offers the following for our Thanksgiving celebrations, as we both celebrate the warmth of our gatherings and honor our Indigenous communities:

• include—dishes that feature traditional Indigenous ingredients, including corn, beans and squash, like Three Sisters Stew or recipes from Turtle Island. Order foods from a local Indigenous-owned store or restaurant, e.g. Wahpepah’s Kitchen in Oakland,  Cafe Ohlone in Berkeley

• create—a spirit plate—before eating, place small portions of each dish onto a ceramic plate or bowl, describing each food and honoring your ancestors and the generosity of the land

• acknowledge—begin your meal with a land acknowledgement (UUCB’s is below), honoring the Indigenous peoples on whose land you live (Ohlone for much of the Bay Area; see this link for a map) and share Ohlone history and the history behind the holiday

• support—beyond Thanksgiving
  • donate to those in need
  • continue learning about “What it means to be on someone else’s home”*
  • consider giving Shuumi, in support of the Sogorea Te’ Land Trust

• hold—the dichotomy of the holiday
  • the warmth of gathering with family and friends, enjoying love and gastronomical fare and
  • the myth of harmony between settlers and Indigenous peoples, obscuring the actual history of genocide and land theft

For more info, check out—

*Is celebrating Thanksgiving disrespectful to Indigenous people?

One Way to Honor Indigenous Peoples this Thanksgiving

In the Land of My Ancestors, video

Ohlone Perspectives: The Thanksgiving Holiday, Zoom talk by Vincent Medina and Louis Trevino, sponsored by the Berkeley Library, 11/15, 6-7 pm, click here for details.

In Beloved Community,

The Honoring Indigenous Peoples Group

https://honoringindigenouspeoples.group/

* * * * *

UUCB’s Land Acknowledgement

As we begin, we want to acknowledge that this church occupies land in Huchiun, the unceded territory of the Chochenyo-speaking Ohlone people. May we have the humility and courage to do our part to restore what has been broken, and the wisdom to live into a new solidarity with indigenous communities and the earth.