The Native Justice Coalition (NJC) is an Anishanaabe-led organization that was founded in 2016. Based in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, this organization was created for Indigenous people, to provide healing and resources. One of the ways they bring healing to their communities is through story telling. Story-telling brings awareness to Native communities and puts focus on Native leaders. Too often are Native voices left out of conversations on racial justice: the NJC is working to change this.
ESTHER has recently entered into partnership with the NJC, which will further elevate Native voices. By partnering with this organization, ESTHER has the opportunity to learn from those on the frontlines of the racial, gender and environmental justice movements.
The NJC had an Anishanaabe Racial Justice Conference coming up from 9/30-10/3. Due to increasing COVID cases in their local community, this conference has been postponed to May 2022.
ESTHER is collaborating with Menominee Tribal Enterprises and area non-profits in celebrating Indigneous People’s Day by dedicating a Peace Tree on October 11 at 1:00 pm. The tree, a white pine from the Menominee forest—symbolizing Great Peace, a new unity together, and changing and growing as a nation—is one of five being planted around the state of Wisconsin. The tree has been planted in the circle of trees next to Ellen Kort Peace Park, adjacent to the Paper Discovery Center on the banks of the Fox River below downtown Appleton. A public ceremony will be held on Monday, October 11, when the tree will be dedicated to the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls & 2-Spirits of Wisconsin. with representatives from the Menominee and Oneida Nations, and featuring Appleton Mayor Jake Woodford and Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers.
The Menominee Forest in Northeast Wisconsin has been sustainably managed by the Menominee Tribe for more than 150 years. It is a premier example of forest management in the world. The Peace Tree project is one part of a Menominee-led program that began on Earth Day 2021 to distribute and plant 5,000 native white pine trees in Wisconsin.
A peace tree was commemorated on October 18, 2021, Indigenous People’s Day, to honor the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two Spirits (MMIWG2S) of Wisconsin. Indigenous People’s Day celebrates Indigenous culture while also educating on the historical inaccuracies that have come along with Columbus Day. This event brought together many people from the Fox Valley and surrounding communities, showing support for the local Native communities of Wisconsin. The peace tree is a white pine from the Menominee Forest, generously donated by the Menominee people. This tree stands tall in our community and was planted adjacent to Ellen Kort Peace Park near the banks of the Fox River below downtown Appleton. This tree serves as a reminder of how we can better treat each other and the land.
The event was live-streamed and recorded. If you missed the live event, you can watch the recording on Facebook here.
From accessibility of public lands to health impacts of burning fossil fuels, examples of environmental injustice are deeply woven into each of the issues that we organize around. To examine these connections, many parts of the Sierra Club in Wisconsin are coming together to organize an Environmental Justice Event Series beginning in the fall of 2021.
We hope that these events can provide an opportunity to explore the inequities rooted within these issues and help shine a light on the critical environmental justice components that exist in our work. Register to receive the link to the Zoom event.
Sponsored by Grass Roots North Shore, Sierra Club Great Waters Group, Wisconsin Anti-Violence Effort, Fox Valley Sierra Group, First Unitarian Society of Madison, 350 Madison Climate Action Team, Wisconsin Interfaith Power and Light, Wisconsin Faith Voices for Justice, ESTHER, Peace Action of Wisconsin, Nearby Nature Milwaukee, Sierra Club Wisconsin
First Congregational UCC, 724 E South River St, Appleton (River Room)
Please join us to view and discuss Sisters Rising. This documentary is an urgent call to action, a stunning portrait of women acting in solidarity, and a demand for tribal sovereignty and self-determination as the necessary step towards ending violence against Indigenous women in the United States.
The film follows six women who refuse to let this pattern of violence continue in the shadows: a tribal cop in the midst of the North Dakota oil boom, an attorney fighting to overturn restrictions on tribal sovereignty, a teacher of Indigenous women’s self-defense, grassroots advocates working to influence legislative change, and the author of the first anti-sex trafficking code to be introduced to a reservation’s tribal court. Their stories shine an unflinching light on righting injustice on both individual and systemic levels.
Discussion will follow, led by Cecilia LaPointe of the Native Justice Coalition.
No charge. All are welcome. This is an indoor, in-person event. Participants are asked to follow COVID-safe protocols, including masking and maintaining social distance. Donations will be accepted at the event for the work of the Native Justice Coalition.
Join ESTHER’s Equity and Racial Justice Committee for a public conversation (on Zoom) with David J. O’Connor, American Indian Studies Consultant at the Wisconsin DPI. He consults with and supports school districts in providing instruction on the history, culture and tribal sovereignty of Wisconsin’s American Indian nations and tribal communities, and about the education of Native American students under Wisconsin’s Act 31.
The conversation will occur on Zoom, and advance registration is required. The Zoom link will be sent to registrants before the meeting.
David is originally from and is a member of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa (Ojibwe) in northern Wisconsin. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin with both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees, he join the DPI staff in 2012. In October 2021, O’Connor received the National Indian Education Association’s (NIEA) Educator of the Year award at the organization’s 52nd Annual Convention and Trade Show in Omaha, Nebraska. The organization presented the award to O’Connor for his work in changing the landscape for all students, with an emphasis on Native American studies and education, in Wisconsin and across the Midwest.
This recent ESTHER blog post describes the epidemic of Murdered & Missing Indigenous Women, Girls and 2-Spirits in this region and shares background on ESTHER’s efforts to be in solidarity with indigenous peoples on this issue and others.
“Standing Together, Speaking Out for MMIWG2S, Land & Water” is the name for our upcoming 3rd annual vigil in Houdini Plaza in downtown Appleton on February 14th. If you are interested in this hybrid (live and live-streamed) event, here is the ESTHER link: Standing Together, Speaking Out for MMIWG2S, Land & Water. The vigil is co-hosted by Kristin Welch’s Waking Women Healing Institute (WWHI) and ESTHER.
Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and 2 Spirits (MMIWG2S) is an epidemic across North America, which is known as Turtle Island to Indigenous people. Indigenous people want an end to molestation, rape, trafficking, and murder. American Indians and Alaskan Natives are 2.5x as likely to experience violent crimes and at least 2x more likely to experience rape or sexual assault crimes compared to all other races. In the United States and Canada, an average of 40% of the women who were victims of sex trafficking identified as American Indian or Alaskan Native. About 85% of Indigenous women experience violence in their lifetime and more than 55% of Indigenous women experience sexual violence in their lifetime.
First Congregational UCC, Appleton, an ESTHER member, invites you to
Save What You Love!
Zoom Webinar on Monday, February 14, 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.
This one-hour webinar explains the likely environmental and social impact of the proposed rerouting of Enbridge Line 5 in the Upper Peninsula near Bad River and describes how to register your opinion with the Wisconsin DNR. The program features a professor of environmental sciences and geology from Lawrence University and an Indigenous activist and Ashland County Supervisor from the Bad River Reservation.
You will learn:
What is included and what was omitted in the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ draft Environmental Impact Statement on the proposed re-routing of Enbridge Line 5
What to highlight in written responses to the WI DNR within the public response period (closing on March 4, 2022)
Resources and toolkits for effective letters to the WI DNR and government leaders
No charge. All are welcome. Advance registration required:
The Native Justice Coalition (NJC) is an Anishanaabe-led organization that was founded in 2016. Based in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, this organization was created for Indigenous people, to provide healing and resources. One of the ways they bring healing to their communities is through story telling. Story-telling brings awareness to Native communities and puts focus on Native leaders. Too often are Native voices left out of conversations on racial justice: the NJC is working to change this.
ESTHER is collaborating with 
Please join us to view and discuss Sisters Rising. This documentary is an urgent call to action, a stunning portrait of women acting in solidarity, and a demand for tribal sovereignty and self-determination as the necessary step towards ending violence against Indigenous women in the United States.
Join ESTHER’s Equity and Racial Justice Committee for a public conversation (on Zoom) with David J. O’Connor, American Indian Studies Consultant at the Wisconsin DPI. He consults with and supports school districts in providing instruction on the history, culture and tribal sovereignty of Wisconsin’s American Indian nations and tribal communities, and about the education of Native American students under Wisconsin’s Act 31.
David is originally from and is a member of the 
Plan to Attend This Powerful Event
This one-hour webinar explains the likely environmental and social impact of the proposed rerouting of Enbridge Line 5 in the Upper Peninsula near Bad River and describes how to register your opinion with the Wisconsin DNR. The program features a professor of environmental sciences and geology from Lawrence University and an Indigenous activist and Ashland County Supervisor from the Bad River Reservation.
