Raise Your Voice: Healing Little Earth

By PETER MOLENAAR

Press release from the U.S. Department of the Interior: As established by order 3404 under Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, the Board on Geographic Names has voted on replacement names for some 650 geographic features previously designated by the word sq—. Yet, those familiar with Little Earth are acquainted with the prominent signage there: END PIPELINES, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, TRAFFICKING, HOMELESSNESS, RAPE, ALCOHOLISM, RACISM, GENOCIDE. Certainly, the struggle for reparations must press forward. With this in mind, Elizabeth Royal, attorney for our Urban Farm project, believes we have a very strong case against our city’s intent to concentrate more pollution in the neighborhood… dirty air which imparts asthma, and yes, diminishes the learning capacity of our children.

Moreover, our readers know about the Pope’s recent visit to Canada with intent to heal the historic trauma meted out by the boarding schools there. But oh, Minnesota had its own boarding schools, and yes, this writer has promised to bring you the story of Cecelia (White Earth, Ojibwa). As it happened, we did share a meal at Maria’s Cafe where an interview revealed the story of Cecelia’s placement on a dairy farm, as per a boarding school’s judgment. In essence, she was enslaved as a child into a household totally lacking in parental love.… Read the rest “Raise Your Voice: Healing Little Earth”