MayDay 1974-2019: Tree of Life reflections

Photo by Susan Gust
The 2019 Tree of Life team stands under the ToL on the stage of HOBT. What keeps crew members there for decades are the same feelings and experiences that make MayDay a cherished event.

By CAROL AND DAN NEUMAN, CARETAKERS OF THE TREE OF LIFE

Performing the Tree of Life (ToL) at the Mayday Ceremony is an honor and a responsibility.  

It”™s thrilling and scary.  

While all around thousands of people are cheering and exulting, and the adrenaline is coursing through your veins, you must have intense focus on the job at hand.  

The Tree has a lot of weight way up in the air and the gusty winds (and it seems there is always a gusty wind) billowing the arms like giant sails. As the Tree circles, the force of the wind shifts from one side to the other in an instant, requiring quick, decisive action by the people on the guy ropes, and no interference by any of the celebrants on the ceremony ground. No one on the crew relaxes until the circle and blessing are completed, the streamers come out and we join in singing, “You Are My Sunshine.”

  The ToL crew duties include ongoing repairs, maintenance, and storage of most of the parts.We… Read the rest “MayDay 1974-2019: Tree of Life reflections”

Hennepin County”™s first African American commissioner Angela Conley is a lifelong Southside resident with innovative ideas on how to bring more diverse voices into government.

By Tesha M. Christensen

Photo courtesy of Chris Juhn
Angela Conley (center) is Hennepin County”™s first African American commissioner, and she”™s staffed her office with other women of color who are working on racial equity issues. On the left is Policy Director Cacje Henderson and on the right is District Outreach and Scheduler Cheniqua Johnson.

Editor”™s note: This is the first in a two-part series that originally appeared in the Longfellow Nokomis Messenger.

Angela Conley has yearned to be a Hennepin County Commissioner for 20 years so that she had the power to make changes to the system she worked within.

On Jan. 7, 2019, that dream came true.

The lifelong Southside resident was sworn in as a county commissioner for District 4, and became the county”™s first Black commissioner in 166 years.

“Being in this level of leadership now has really opened my eyes to seeing how the system is set up in a way that perpetuates disparities, that limits people”™s abilities to really live their best lives,” said Conley.

She”™s working to shift the narrative and move into a holistic approach for county business. Conley now chairs the health and human services committee, drawing from her years of experience working in that field.… Read the rest “Hennepin County”™s first African American commissioner Angela Conley is a lifelong Southside resident with innovative ideas on how to bring more diverse voices into government.”

To end all violence

Photo by Monica Nillson
Kalpulli KetzalCoatlicue dancers at the first Indigenous Women”™s March held on May 11. Over 200 people participated in support of ending violence.

Native community gathers for first Indigenous Women”™s March on May 11

By CAMILLE GAGE

2018 was a challenging year for the Native community, but also a time when Indigenous people and their allies came together to form new alliances, friendships and future plans. 

The Franklin Hiawatha encampment and Minneapolis Navigation Center were major catalysts for these new relationships. They brought people together to care for our unsheltered relatives and imagine a future where everyone had access to a safe place to sleep, health care, mental health care, and chemical dependency treatment. 

Many of the people who spent time at the camp, either as volunteers or as employees of groups like Metropolitan Urban Indian Directors, American Indian Community Development Corporation, WiiDooKoDaaDiiWag/They Help Each Other, Simpson Housing, or Minnesota Indian Women”™s Resource Center, were women. And sometimes these women, and their Two Spirit colleagues, faced harassment, intimidation, and threats of violence. 

Working together under such difficult conditions it was natural that these women and Two Spirits began to forge friendships. They came together to support each other ”“ and after months of harassment and threats ”“ to say in a united voice, “No more!”… Read the rest “To end all violence”