Skip to main content

ckan516's blog

Reflections on the May 13 Blanket Exercise: Remembering (unforgetting) 450 years+ of Indigeneous History

Posted in

Indigenous Peoples’ Blanket Exercise

The Blanket Exercise acknowledges what has been buried by honoring the truth.

Blanket Exercise Participants“Opening our eyes and unforgetting the past” was the theme of the recent Blanket Exercise, designed to help participants understand how colonization of the land has impacted the people who lived here before Columbus and other settlers arrived.

On May 13 at First English Lutheran Church on Ballard Road, nearly 70 participants gathered for the Blanket Exercise to build understanding about our shared history as Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. Blankets arranged on the floor represented the land before the arrival of Europeans.  Everyone stepped onto blankets that represent the land, and took the role of the Indigenous peoples. As I listened to the history from pre-contact, treaty-making, colonization and resistance, I could see the people and the land disappear. At the end of the exercise only a few people remained on the blankets. Going through this visible history of eliminating people and stealing land was an intellectual and emotional experience.

WISDOM update November 17

ACTIONS you can participate in this week with WISDOM

There is a lot going on this week in the WISDOM statewide network! It feels heavy, but... This is the reason we build social justice organizations! There are some very serious things going on in Burlington, and in our prison system, and we have some real opportunities to take a stand on the side of those who are fighting for justice and compassion.

Public Transit and the Future of Our Community

A Vision for the Future

The members of ESTHER’s Transit Task Force have a vision for a better world and a stronger community tied together by a multimodal transportation system that provides options for everyone. Options include biking, walking, public transit, and personal car use. 

What makes a vibrant transportation system?  It has an assortment of transportation options that are attractive, efficient, and affordable.  Such a system attracts new riders and the existing riders have more and hopefully all of their needs met. Good public transportation helps build a better quality of life.

New trends require additional investments

Wisconsin is facing changes that will create new needs for our transportation system to address. 

Syndicate content