Winona Laduke
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MINNESOTA WOMEN’S PRESS The Climate ’s Press en 20 om 20 W a t o s e n n i M s r e n in w Lo ur ok o inside for the Climate Issue | womenspress.com | July 2020 | Issue 36-7 MINNESOTA The law of evolution is that the strongest survives. Yes, and the WOMEN’S PRESSPOWERFUL. EVERYDAY. WOMEN. strongest, in the existence of any social species, are those who are most social. In human terms, most ethical. There is no strength to be gained from hurting one another. Only weakness. — Ursula K. LeGuin PHOTO SARAH WHITING SARAH PHOTO What’s inside? Editor Letter 3 On the Nature of Being a Doula Tapestry 4-5 An Evolution in Our Ecosystem Politics & Policy 6-7 Kristel Porter: Lobbying for Justice Gaea Dill-D’Ascoli, Page 12 Eco-lution 8-9 Winona LaDuke: Leader of Green Revolution Contact Us MWP team Perspectives 10-11 Climate Generation: Youth Take Action 651-646-3968 Publisher/Editor: Mikki Morrissette Submit a story: [email protected] Money & Business 12-13 Managing Editor: Sarah Whiting Gaea Dill-D’Ascoli: My Movement to Solar Subscribe: [email protected] Business Strategy Director: Shelle Eddy Ecosystem 14-15 Advertise: [email protected] Contributors: Christine Baeumler, Climate How Minnesota Women Are Restoring Earth Our mission: Amplify and inspire, with personal Generation writers, Meredith Cornett, Gaea Dill- D’Ascoli, Kristel Porter BookShelf 16-17 stories and action steps, the voice, vision, and Meredith Cornett: Climate Consciousness leadership of powerful, everyday women. Community Engagement: Siena Iwasaki Milbauer, Lydia Moran, Ryan Stevens, Kassidy Tarala GoSeeDo 21 Our vision: We all are parts of a greater whole. Our Mixed Blood Responds, St. Paul Book Club stronger future will be built from the collective energy Digital Development: Mikki Morrissette of women who shift narratives to effect change. In the News 22-23 Photography/Design: Sarah Whiting Protests, Green New Deal, Women to Congress The Minnesota Women’s Press has been sharing the Assistant Editor: Lydia Moran stories of women since 1985, as one of the longest Art of Living 24 continuously published feminist platforms in the Copy Editor: Mikki Morrissette Christine Baeumler: Shifting Mindsets country. It is distributed free at 500 locations. To find Proofreaders: Lydia Moran, Sarah Whiting From Womenspress.com 39 a copy near you, visit womenspress.com and click Don’t Miss These Digital-Only Stories on “find a copy” or email [email protected]. Advertising Sales: Shelle Eddy, Ashley Findlay, Please note that many locations might not yet be re- Ashlee Moser, Ryan Stevens opened. Subscriptions available. Development Director: Karen Olson Johnson Minnesota Women’s Press LLC Distribution: Sophia Morrissette Specialty guides 800 West Broadway, Suite 3A Health 18-20 Minneapolis, MN 55411 Accounting: Fariba Sanikhatam Climate Grief Cover Photo: Kristel Porter at Theodore Wirth ©2020 by Minnesota Women’s Press LLC Photo by Sarah Whiting Classified Ads 38 All rights reserved. ISSN #1085-2603 Past Publishers: Readers Recommend Winners Mollie Hoben & Glenda Martin (1985-2002) Kathy Magnuson & Norma Smith Olson (2003-2017) You Voted 25-37 Editor’s Letter On the Nature of Being a Doula by Mikki Morrissette reader called to suggest I remind natural resources that unleashes wildfires, people of a column I wrote food instability, and degraded habitats that two years ago for a community lead to a global health crisis. Anewspaper. The first paragraph: ith“W The centralization of wealth in the hands non-white family separations and mass of a few, acquired from both the land and the shootings and escalated police violence in labor of others, leaves everyone vulnerable. the news — does it even matter which week At womenspress.com, we are creating you read this? — the sanctity of life is not a series of stories about “Transforming one of our country’s strengths.” Justice” — deeper looks at police reform, Another woman, in our current reader criminal justice inadequacies, and policy survey, asked us to consider offering more needs, in the words of women of color who How You Can Help light stories, to balance out the suffering are making change happen. she sees in her healthcare work. With this issue, we also commit to Somewhere between our desire to be ongoing coverage about “doulas to the Be part of the attendant to deep pain, and our need next economy,” as Winona LaDuke puts conversation! Sign up to practice self-care, is where we live — it — women who are giving birth to for our newly improved seeking a sweet spot that enables us to do a more sustainable system that values weekly newsletters to what we need to do. We need to take a people and planet. share your ideas. Go to breath while also being starkly reminded — by video footage, a pandemic, and the These stories will appear under womenspress.com and nature of our climate crisis — that being the heading of “Eco-lution,” a click on E-News. able to take a breath is not something term we have created to describe everyone can take for granted. a simultaneous revolution in Join the conversation @mnwomenspress Doulas to Equity and Justice both economy and ecosystems. Our law enforcement system was never Please help us continue to offer the set up to serve justice. That is why four authenticity of diverse voices who disrupt police officers arrived to a call about a $20 the status quo and help us build the future Last month we paid bill and gave George Floyd an eight-minute we deserve. Donate. Share. Subscribe. knee to the neck that killed him. 10 storytellers thanks Minnesota Women’s Press is about to your tax-deductible We see people as commodities, skin color framing new possibilities. In this issue we as a marker of worth, and economic growth hear from an environmental lobbyist, a donations to our as the purpose of life. This cancerous generation of youth, a leader in the green COVID-19 fundraiser. propensity places too many people in a revolution, a consortium of women taking perpetual state of destabilizing stress and land into their own hands, and individuals agitation. It also leads to an erosion of who are making change in their backyards. Find a tax-deductible option to support our storytellers Minnesota Women’s Press | womenspress.com | July 2020 | 3 tapestry An Evolution in Our Ecosystem commentary about how women connect with the environment Catherine Fleming: Project Sweetie Pie and Beyond Angela Davis: Supporting Black Farmers I am the treasurer I got into food of Project Sweetie Pie security and cooperative (PSP), which began as economics in 2003 when an urban agriculture- I helped organize food COURTESY PHOTO COURTESY based group focused co-op meetings in North PHOTO COURTESY on providing low- Minneapolis. I have longed income folks and for a co-op model that minorities with free serves the needs of my access to healthy food. community. In 2019, a Over the years, we have group of us Black farmers evolved to become a and business owners recognized voice for put our financial and environmental issues social capital on the line to create Forty Acre Co-op, a that disproportionately nationwide organization with a mission to support socially impact our community. disadvantaged farmers. PSP’s primary I am a third-generation farmer, and went into farming goal has been to provide access to healthy food, healthy full-time after a long career in academia, public health environment, adequate housing, living-wage jobs, and research, and legal writing at a university. At Forty Acre opportunities to build generational wealth. I want to educate Cooperative, we conduct research, collect data, and publish the African American community about how climate change research reports. We are in the process of developing our disportionately impacts our people. Many studies confirm own Minnesota tolerant hemp seed strain. that low-income and minorities are primarily impacted by We started with the goal of helping Black farmers enter climate change. the hemp business with technical and financial resources. White folks are the direct beneficiaries of slave labor. We have the additional issue of the criminalization of Although they may condemn racist behavior, they enjoy Black people as it relates to hemp and cannabis, and the the benefits of white privilege. White folks need to be active presumption, by some, that we are growing illegal plants participants in addressing racial and economic inequality. and we are not a legitimate business. This excludes us from Providing access to healthy foods is even more critical, with some banking access. the current pandemic. PSP’s partnerships with Safe Routes We were able to launch the co-op without a lead funder, to Healthy Foods, the Minneapolis Foundation, The Family the USDA, SBA, or any government grants, which for of Trees, Northside Green Zone, the Environmental Justice middle-class Black people is rare. Our vision is grand, and Coordinating Council, and others, enables us to continue to our mission is imperative, especially when we examine inform our community. the dynamics that play into significant health and wealth It is critical that our community stay focused and united. disparities in Black communities. Agriculture and food Stay safe, stay informed, stay alert, and continue in love. security impacts our quality of life on a daily basis. We are a women-led co-op and are training members around Minnesota. We are working with tribal members in northern Minnesota who need technical and financial August Topic: Body & Soul assistance to take their business to the next level. We have How do you nourish your body and soul? farmers as far south as Halifax County, Virginia. One client is Send up to 300 words by July 10 a physician with a specialty in pain management.