News & Views of Phillips Since 1976
Saturday December 20th 2025
Reload document 
Open in new tab Meaning What You Say
from the series Peace House Community Journal
By MARTI MALTBY
I recently attended a meeting put on by the Minnesota Interagency Council on Homelessness (MICH). As is common these days, the meeting began with a land acknowledgement, which is a statement recognizing that what is now Minnesota was and is the homeland for various Native American tribes. The wording of a land acknowledgement is up to whoever is speaking, or whoever organized the meeting. This particular acknowledgement caught my attention because of some of the language used. The statement read:
Today, as we gather virtually, it is of the utmost importance that we all recognize the land we are living and working on is stolen land from our Native American relatives. We must seek to understand our place within that history and use that understanding to work towards justice.
The first thing I noticed was the word “stolen”. Of all the land acknowledgments I have heard, this is the strongest language regarding how we reached our current situation. The second thing was the word “relatives”. I have gotten to attend meetings hosted by the Metro Urban Indian Directors for many years, and in those meetings, any Native American is a relative of any other Native American.… Read the rest “Meaning What You Say”
Bus Stop Guardians – The Objective is Keeping Kids Safe
What do you need? What are you willing to do?
By KALI PLIEGO, Crime Prevention Specialist
Residents of the neighborhood have been telling me what they need—someone to look out for the safety of the neighborhood children amid an opioid epidemic and unsheltered homeless crisis.
We are painfully aware of all the areas where we do not have any control, so what can we do?
Bus Stop Guardians is a program that adds protective factors on school bus routes by directing neighborhood volunteers to take intentional walks in the morning hours.
We soft launched the program two weeks ago and are building out the details to 1. Provide uniforms for the volunteers, 2. Inform parents of the program, 3. Ensure that our volunteers are safe people to encounter children as they wait for their bus.
One volunteer has been out walking every single morning since we began and let me know how good she feels by doing something helpful for the kiddos and their families.
Today I walked my route for the first time. It was a beautiful morning! I’m looking forward to building community with the families on my route over time.
We need more volunteers to fill out the schedule, covering the 7am and 8am hours to begin with.… Read the rest “Bus Stop Guardians – The Objective is Keeping Kids Safe”
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