Bemidji State University
Report date
July 2019
What has been most instrumental to your progress?
Aspects: our team dialogues are underway, foreseeable needs were identified, common language was identified, support networks continue, and the invisibleness in the border town of Bemidji and surrounding areas both verbal and physical were discussed and used in problem analysis..
Components: equity, equality, bias, prejudice, stereotype, racism, and systemic institutional racism, (other: environmental pipelines, treaty rights, addictions, etc.). University components: equitable hiring and training, native persons in high level administration- no tokens, and identifying institutional racism as legal oppression.
Activities: Our vision mission statement is still evolving, fleshed out first year activities, looking find ways to support each other socially, culturally and professionally. In addition to: Intercultural Development Inventory training, the Mindful Facilitation's training, developing networks with the International Indian Treaty Council. The training and networking is hands-on activities that were successfully completed.
Key lessons learned
As an Indigenous led team, we are central to the solutions of some of the problems, but we have little power to enact change without allies. Institutional racism has been the greatest challenge to the teamwork.
Failures: 1-2 unresponsive team members, university budget codes are hard to decipher, dollar amounts are accounted for in university language, grant reimbursements process at administrative level is dubious and time consuming for contractors. Examples: team member waiting for August 2018 reimbursement, notes to our team meetings need to be received by several offices to pay for sandwiches, etc., could never get Job Descriptions approved, 3-4 month turn around period to pay contracts, concerned parties do not attend Budget Meetings, and university team members are restricted by their contracts from being paid for professional work and are required complete extensive number of work hours to receive pay.
Reflections on inclusive, collaborative or resourceful problem-solving
Mindful Facilitations (collaborative) was a highly professional seminar training addressing the use of our strengths and how to mindfully interact interculturally in challenging racial situations. We also received (books): “Let’s Get Real: What People of Color Say and Whites Won’t Ask About Racism, 2011. The Art of Mindful Facilitation, 2005.
PI attended: International Indian Treaty Conference (resourceful) to share findings: Urgent Expression of Concern and Call to Action Human Rights Violations Against Indigenous and Other Children. Treaties Are Sacred: Defending Treaty Rights to Land, Water, Food, Health, consent, and self-determination. Gwekendam Team invited (innovative) to the IITC to be part of panel addressing Border Town Racism, December 2020.
PI attended: International Indian Treaty Conference (resourceful) to share findings: Urgent Expression of Concern and Call to Action Human Rights Violations Against Indigenous and Other Children. Treaties Are Sacred: Defending Treaty Rights to Land, Water, Food, Health, consent, and self-determination. Gwekendam Team invited (innovative) to the IITC to be part of panel addressing Border Town Racism, December 2020.
Other key elements of Community Innovation
Yes, we discuss, collect, and analyze data on: institutional racism/racial disparities, death, poverty, and incarceration and Indigenous current events. We have not received any push back from the government offices that provide the data. The state offices have been encouraging and available for any interpretation or questions we may have.
We have come to realize that calling out the problem is the start of this work, thoughtful engagement is necessary, and respect from concerned parties for what we are doing is essential.
We are finding that there is a Global Awareness regarding Indigenous people, the misuse of human rights including cultural appropriations that are protected under the UN Rights of Indigenous People. How to implement these rights require informed and active people. We are still in the process of these engagements and plan to utilize the higher consciousness found in our cultures.
We have come to realize that calling out the problem is the start of this work, thoughtful engagement is necessary, and respect from concerned parties for what we are doing is essential.
We are finding that there is a Global Awareness regarding Indigenous people, the misuse of human rights including cultural appropriations that are protected under the UN Rights of Indigenous People. How to implement these rights require informed and active people. We are still in the process of these engagements and plan to utilize the higher consciousness found in our cultures.
Understanding the problem
Yes, it is clear racism is an age-old problem in Bemidji and for the first time is being openly addressed. With racism related disparities we are finding that one of the greatest challenges is with Institutional Racism. Innovations: have more training and dialogue on Institutional Racism, increase visibility of Indigenous people in key public places, find ways to seek protection, find ways to stand up and be heard, and involve more community including students.
Our potential innovation continues to include open dialogues (courageous conversations led by one of our team members).How that develops and what that looks like requires flexibility in the supervision coming from the institution, we are confused about how to move forward with this type of restriction regarding pay for a team member's work limited by university contract.
Our potential innovation continues to include open dialogues (courageous conversations led by one of our team members).How that develops and what that looks like requires flexibility in the supervision coming from the institution, we are confused about how to move forward with this type of restriction regarding pay for a team member's work limited by university contract.
If you could do it all over again...
Find a fiscal sponsor that is not state affiliated (college/university) currently we are struggling with finding a way to pay for round tables/courageous conversations led by one of our team members. We want to avoid the fear of back lash attacks and teamwork setbacks involving members who are also employees of the university. Find a venue to share our findings locally without punitive action.
One last thought
Most of our challenges to do our work, and make progress, and have an impact are de-railed at the institutional level. There is a tremendous amount of misunderstanding between and among the institutional administrators, our Bush Team consultant and the Gwekendam Team. Having said that, please accept that we are extremely grateful, humbled, awakened and troubled all at the same time. Together we are breaking ground- - the Bush Foundation you have carried us this far.
We need to find a way or words to communicate to the institution that they should not take this personal or control every aspect of our Gwekendam Team work and dialogues. That Indigenous people highly guard their privacy and autonomy and are still dealing with inter-generational historical trauma. We now see that poverty is part of this trauma and why so many aspects of Indigenous life is affected by the culture of poverty and how that overlaps Indigenous culture. We need the dominant society to learn how to interact with people with historical trauma in a non-punitive fashion.
We need to find a way or words to communicate to the institution that they should not take this personal or control every aspect of our Gwekendam Team work and dialogues. That Indigenous people highly guard their privacy and autonomy and are still dealing with inter-generational historical trauma. We now see that poverty is part of this trauma and why so many aspects of Indigenous life is affected by the culture of poverty and how that overlaps Indigenous culture. We need the dominant society to learn how to interact with people with historical trauma in a non-punitive fashion.