Weekly Email Update 10.11.21
“It’s always been an affront to me that we would celebrate someone who had committed such atrocities as Columbus did. And so by having an Indigenous Peoples’ Day, perhaps the whole truth would come out, perhaps the whole history could be taught.”
Beverly Little Thunder
Huntington, VT resident and an enrolled member of the Standing Rock Lakota Band, in North Dakota
This Monday, October 11th, 2021, Vermont will again formally recognize Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Earlier this month, President Biden became the first president in history to formally recognize the day with a presidential proclamation...a small step in the right direction as we aim to center Indigenous People throughout the land now known as the United States and North America. Recognition honors Indigenous Peoples' continued presence and contributions to our shared society, as well as attempts to reconcile a history of injustices such as mass genocide, forced removal from land, forced sterilization of women, forced assimilation and murder of Native American children, and subsequent income, health, and education disparities (which we, at WeCAN, acknowledge can never truly be reconciled).
The Wabanaki are named for the area in which they lived and continue to live called Wabanahkik or “Dawnland” in the traditional language, Algonquian. This region stretches from what is now called Newfoundland, Canada down to what is now called Massachusetts, US and was home to the first peoples of this territory—Wabanaki or People of the Dawn—which include Mi’kmaq, Wolastoqiyik, Abenaki, Penobscot and Passamaquoddy tribes.
We encourage you to attend one of the Indigenous Day events listed below, if you are able, and to take some time to visit the resources we have provided. These resources will hopefully give you a much clearer picture of what present day life is like for the Wabanaki in what we now call Vermont as well as the history of this area's earliest inhabitants long before European settlers invaded. Happy learning, friends!
Podcasts to Check Out
-Anthropology Meets Oral History and Intersects With Living Abenaki Culture
In this episode, Moccasin Tracks talks with Anthropology Professor Robert Goodby who is publishing a new book with the help of The Harris Center and Cheshire County Historical Society in New Hampshire. His students from Franklin Pierce University in Rindge, NH. have been part of his historical digs and findings.
You can find the podcast HERE.
-Indigenous Food Sovereignty in Vermont: A Podcast from Root Words and Vermont Farmers Food Center
Vermont officially recognizes four Abenaki tribes today: the Nulhegan Band of the Coosuk-Abenaki, the Elnu Abenaki, the Abenaki Nation at Missisquoi, and the Koasek Traditional Band of the Koas Abenaki Nation. Up until industrialization, and throughout much of the world today, a community’s access to food is tightly woven in with that community’s access to land.
On this episode of Root Words, we talk with Chef Jessee Lawyer, Professor Fred Wiseman, and Chief Don Stevens. And we’ll hear little about the Abenaki community’s connection to this land, game animals, and traditional food ways, and we’ll hear how these living traditions have continued to evolve and grow through contemporary times.
This episode was produced by Stephen Abatiell. Special thanks to Jessee Lawyer, Professor Fred Wiseman, and Chief Don Stevens.
Root Words is produced in the heart of Rutland County Vermont and is made possible by generous support from the National Endowment for the Humanities. You can support Root Words by visiting us online.
You can find the podcast HERE.
Continuing Your Education
-The Abenaki Experience Speaker Series at Morrill Homestead
On Sunday afternoons during September 2021, the Friends of the [Justin] Morrill Homestead in Strafford, VT hosted “The Abenaki Experience: Prehistory to Present,” a speakers’ series designed to foster an understanding of the long and complicated history of the indigenous people of this area.
The series looked not only at the conflict and misunderstandings of the past but also the vibrancy of the Abenaki community today. Discussions include “Archaeological History of the CT River Valley” with Vermont State Archeologist Jess Robinson, “The Vermont Abenakis: Unwriting History” with Professor Fred Wiseman, and “We Are Still Here” with Joseph and Jesse Bruchac of the Nulhegan Abenaki Nation… and “Our Stories Remember”- Abenaki musicians and storytellers sharing traditional stories for the whole family.
All of the presentations were recorded and are archived on YouTube, linked individually on this website.
Links may also be found in the top option menu on the Friends of the Morrill Homestead website.
For more information, please go to:
Elnu Abenaki Community Initiative:
https://www.atowi.org
The Wabanaki Collection:
https://www.wabanakicollection.com
Native Land Interactive Maps:
https://native-land.ca/maps/territories/wabanaki-confederacy/
The VT Indigenous Heritage Center:
https://www.alnobaiwi.org
VPR on Indigenous Peoples’ Day in 2019
Abenaki Flag
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HAPPENING TODAY:
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 10th, 2021
Outside Windham County
1st Annual Indigenous Peoples’ Celebration
hosted by the Shelburne Historical Society
Sunday, October 10th, 2021 at the Shelburne Falls Historical Society (33 Severance Street, Shelburne Falls, MA). 11am-4pm.
This event is free to the public! For more information, please reach out to [email protected]. The museum offers free refreshments for the public event.
Shelburne Historical Society is hosting their first Indigenous Peoples' Celebration recognizing the native history and modern presence throughout the valley.
We have a number of talented artisans for the day from 11am-4pm.
The museum will be open throughout and the surrounding grounds will host crafter tents and a wigwam.
Take a moment to reflect upon the many traditional waterfall gathering places in our area.
These places of peace provided members of many tribes a haven at which to meet in harmony, to fish while celebrating and connecting as a larger family.
Salmon Falls at Shelburne was one of these places and we hope that Sunday, October 10, will be such a day of connection and celebration!
Come to watch, listen, interact, taste, and dance in the tradition of communities gathering in the time of harvest.
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HAPPENING THIS WEEK:
MONDAY, OCTOBER 11th, 2021-SUNDAY, OCTOBER 17th, 2021
Outside Windham County
Indigenous Peoples’ Day: Erasure and Reclamation
Monday, October 11th, 2021 at Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum (18 Highlawn Road, Warner, NH). 1pm-3pm.
A panel will discus our erasure in New Hampshire and how we are reclaiming our history and celebrating our persistence. The event will end with concrete actions people may take to help us meet our goals.
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Indigenous Peoples’ Day Gathering
hosted by the Atowi Project
Monday, October 11th, 2021 at Retreat Farm (45 Farmhouse Square, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 2pm-5pm.
Elnu Abenaki and the Atowi Project invite the Wantastegok-Brattleboro community to join them in observing Indigenous Peoples' Day at Retreat Farm, Oct. 11th , 2021 from 2pm-5 pm.
We will celebrate with song, storytelling, demonstrations, traditional foods to sample, language lessons, local history, and community affirmation. Kolipaiôba - you are all welcome! Free and open to all.
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Student Survival and Sharing, Not Shopping Brainstorm
hosted by Brattleboro Common Sense
Monday, October 11th, 2021, Online. 3pm.
Zoom link can be found here: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86337212115. For more information, contact [email protected] or call 802 490 9363.
Scientific research shows children around the world are highly anxious and depressed -- not just about the climate, but about their parents and governments doing nothing about it. Isn't it weird to talk about it and see it looking so calm and harmless in a screen or paper? If you really think about it, you can get very very upset in a few moments. As a serious active work it will make you anxious and depressed. And now we know, when we do nothing, children feel betrayed. The crisis is unthinkable. But doing nothing is NOT an option. We must act.
The Student Survival Resolution will be model legislation that helps students, teachers and parents learn and act for climate rescue. The WSESD school directors will consider it next Tuesday (October 12, 2021). It requires a plan-based diet for the schools and one day a month for faculty development on climate and another day for students to focus entirely on climate. That helps students and teachers, but how can families discuss the climate crisis together? After you summon the strength, who has the time ?
BCS will also propose that Thanksgiving and Christmas vacations be renamed as Climate Vacations and focused on climate rescue, not on shopping. Guidance will be available through the parent-teacher associations, and people will have time for sharing real concerns about the climate with their loved ones. Call it SHARING not SHOPPING. Isn't that more what the holidays are supposed to be - SHARING ? This SAVES money, it reduces shopping stress and pollution from un-needed merchandise. Most importantly it makes the time for feelings and planning about the absolutely most important thing in the world with the absolutely most important people in your world. It could be the way for our whole country to get real about the crisis. Let's aim for that. Would you like to help ? We will meet 3PM Monday, October 11 by Zoom >>
The school directors Zoom meeting is the next day (6PM October 12): https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82778988165?pwd=OVBuM3crdXNZbGpGTzh4SFBycDRtQT09#success People may speak when the board discusses the proposal, or if the board is not going to discuss it, people can speak at the beginning of the meeting.
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History for Homeschoolers: Abenaki History and Oral History
prepared by the Vermont Historical Society
Wednesday, October 13th, 2021 or Thursday, October 14th, 2021, Online.
History for Homeschoolers programs are recommended for children ages 7 to 12. Space is limited; pre-registration is required. $8.00 per child or $6.50 per child for VHS members and families with 3 or more participating children.
Also available as a virtual class. For more information, contact [email protected] or call (802) 828-1413.
Learn about Abenaki history through stories which have been passed down through generations.
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Milk with Dignity Tour
Wednesday, October 13th, 2021 on the Retreat Farm (45 Farmhouse Square, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 10am-11:30am.
Questions? Contact [email protected]
This event is outdoors and masked. Limited number of chairs available. Please bring a chair or blanket to sit on. Light beverages & snacks provided.
On Oct.13th, 2021 farmworkers from Migrant Justice will be at the Brattleboro Common from 10am-11:30am to spread the word about their groundbreaking Milk with Dignity program. It's been four years since Ben & Jerry's joined Milk with Dignity. In that time, the program has meant pay raises, paid sick leave, new health & safety standards, improved housing, and protections against sexual harassment, discrimination, and unjust firings for hundreds of workers on farms in Ben & Jerry’s supply chain. Through the program’s worker-defined standards and binding enforcement mechanisms, workers have become frontline defenders of their human rights.
But the work doesn't end there! Many farmworkers remain outside the protections of Milk with Dignity, living and working in unjust, unsafe, and undignified conditions.
Migrant Justice farmworkers are fighting to expand Milk with Dignity and calling on Hannaford Supermarkets to join. This event in Brattleboro is part of a 3-week northeast speaking tour to build support for the Hannaford campaign. Learn more about how you can get involved and help bring this powerful program to Hannaford’s dairy supply chain.
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Marlboro Community Food Share
hosted by the Marlboro Community Center
Thursday, October 14th, 2021, and every Thursday, at the Marlboro Community Center (524 South Road, Marlboro, VT, 05344). 4:30pm-5:30pm.
Every Thursday from 4:30pm-5:30pm the Marlboro Community Center invites you to fill a grocery bag with non-perishables and fresh local produce. No registration or eligibility required. This weekly opportunity is available for anyone who could use an extra bag of groceries or knows someone who does.
Food will be set up in the entry-way to the Marlboro Community Center. For proper social distancing, please enter one person at a time. Bring a grocery bag or use ours. Masks are required. Deliveries will be made through Marlboro Cares for those needing assistance. Please call Marlboro Cares at 802-258-3030 in advance to arrange a delivery.
To donate food:
Leave non-perishable food in the donation box at the Marlboro Post Office. It will be collected on a weekly-basis. (Please note that this box previously supplied the Deerfield Valley Food Pantry, which is now distributing food exclusively from VT Food Pantry)
Gardeners and farmers are welcome to donate produce. Wear masks and wash hands when harvesting and handling food. Fresh produce can be dropped off at the Community Center on Thursday between 1pm and 4pm. (Any leftover produce will be taken to FoodWorks the following morning)
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Guilford Cares FoodPantry
Thursday, October 14th, 2021 (and every Thursday) at the Guilford Fairgrounds (163 Fairground Rd, Guilford, VT 05301). 5pm-6pm. If you have questions, concerns or would like to donate groceries or monetary gifts please contact Pat Haine 802-257-0626. For additional questions or more information call 802 579 1350 or email [email protected].
Guilford Cares Food Pantry has moved! The Pantry has moved to the First Aid building at the Guilford Fairgrounds. We will be fully stocked with all our usual grocery items.
The Fairgrounds are on Fairground Road, just off Weatherhead Hollow Road. From Guilford Center Road turn onto Weatherhead Hollow Road. Travel 1.7 miles down the road. The Fairgrounds are on the left and there will be a sign directing you up the hill for about .2 miles. The red building is on the left with a sign out in front. Please remain in your car; we’ll greet you, and give you a shopping list as we have been doing for the past year.
If the Pantry will be closed for any unexpected reason, the closure will be announced on WKVT, WTSA, and Front Porch Forum.
If you cannot come to the Pantry due to illness or high risk, you can call also call Pat to arrange for food delivery by a volunteer.
We know that supplemental food can make such a big difference in one's budget. That is why we are stocking our shelves for our neighbors. All are welcome to come and take home fresh produce, staples, meat, dairy.
Guilford Cares welcomes anyone in need of supplemental food for themselves or their families.
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Solidarity Fridays
Friday, October 15th, 2021, Pliny Park (corner of High Street and Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 5pm-6pm. Please observe Covid 19 safety protocols and social distancing. Brattleboro Coalition contact: [email protected]
You may have seen the Solidarity Friday demonstrations on the Pliny Park corner that began last Summer and continued into the Fall. In-person actions were paused due to COVID restrictions, but we continued meeting via Zoom, learning about our shared concerns and building our coalition. In the ongoing work to gain more participation in and deepen the understanding of our actions, the involved organizations wanted to explain our purpose for Solidarity Fridays in preparation for starting again.
Four Brattleboro-based organizations - Brattleboro Solidarity, The Root Social Justice Center, Lost River Racial Justice, and The Tenants Union of Brattleboro came together last summer during the Black Lives Matter uprisings. Later, we were joined by 350 Brattleboro, the VT Debt Collective, Youth 4 Change, and Out in the Open (supporting remotely). Together, we recognized that, while we were witnessing the streets come alive across the country against police brutality, the streets must stay alive in order to enact the level of broad changes across struggles that are urgently needed - for humans, animals, and the planet.
The coalition acts with these shared principles:
- Everyone should have what they need.
- People’s lives over profit.
- All of our struggles are tied together.
We believe that the basic necessities for a healthy life are non-negotiable. There is no excuse for hunger, homelessness, or death from curable diseases anywhere in the world. All of our struggles are tied together. We believe that the struggle for Black liberation and against police brutality and racism is also a struggle against the exploitation of poor working people. We see how those with power benefit from the divisions that they sow amongst us. We acknowledge and address our diverse struggles while we assert that we have more commonalities than differences. We are stronger together.
We are on the street on Fridays because we believe that being united in our struggles is important in paving a new path forward. We choose not to fight against or react to those who disagree with us, but rather invite them to talk with us so that we may find our common interests and beliefs. Being on the streets together raises our spirits, breaks isolation, and helps build a network of people who want to do this work together. We invite you to join us weekly on Fridays to make connections - both with other people and between struggles! - and to take a stand for a more just world.
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Brattleboro Out of the Darkness Walk to Fight Suicide
hosted by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention-Vermont Chapter
Saturday, October 16th, 2021 at the Brattleboro Common (Park Place, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 9am-12pm.
Register, start a team, or make a donation TODAY at www.afsp.org/brattleboro
Join the movement turning HOPE into ACTION!
Walk with us at the first annual Brattleboro Out of the Darkness Walk to Fight Suicide.
Once registered, keep an eye out for an invitation to our PRIVATE walker facebook group!
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Putney Foodshelf Weekly Open Hours
Saturday, October 16th, 2021, at 10 Christian Square, Putney, VT, 05346. 9am-10:30am.
Message us on our FB page HERE, call 802.387.8551, or email [email protected] with questions. www.putneyfoodshelf.org.
Curbside Open Hours. All are welcome - we just ask you to provide your town of residence and number in household for our data tracking purposes.
Stay in your car, please. Volunteers will take your order and bring out boxes of food, including nonperishable items, fresh produce, paper goods, meat, and dairy products.
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Brattleboro Families Rise Up Meet-up
a project of 350VT
Sunday, October 17th, 2021, at Wild Carrot Farm (511 Upper Dummerston Rd, Brattleboro, VT 05301). 10am-12pm.
Questions? Contact [email protected]
* Snacks and childcare support provided
* Masks recommended when not eating or distancing
Join us for another in-person, outdoor meet-up! This month, we'll be meeting at Wild Carrot Farm and joined by farmers Caitlin, Jesse, and their awesome kids.
We'll share gratitudes, do a somatic grounding exercise, talk about parenting amidst the climate crisis and the COVID pandemic, learn about ways to take action with 350VT's Just Transition campaign, and end with a song.
This is a project of 350 Vermont bringing together families to talk about the tough realities of climate change and to participate in the transition to a healthier and safer world. What Joanna Macy calls the “Great Turning,” or the third revolution, is this unprecedented time where we are called to stop the destruction of our world, to build new life-sustaining practices and ways of being, and to shift our collective consciousness. We especially wish to engage young parents in this vital discussion of how we can make positive changes to protect our planet for our children's future.
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Share the Harvest Stand
a project of Edible Brattleboro
Sunday, October 17th, 2021 and every Sunday until October 31st, 2021 in the garden at Turning Point Recovery Center (corner of Frost Street and Elm Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 11am-1pm.
Fresh produce available at no cost thanks to local farmers, VT Foodbank and local gardeners. Donations accepted with gratitude. If you have surplus from your garden, please drop them off on Sundays between 10:30 and 11:15am, or by appointment (call or text Marilyn 516-298-9119).
Edible Brattleboro’s Share the Harvest Stand Needs Volunteers
Sign-up here: https://signup.com/client/invitation2/secure/245496458026/false#/invitation
Please consider offering the gift of your time. Time Traders, Brattleboro Food Co-op shareholders, and students can log their hours for community service credit.
We always pair up a new volunteer with an experienced one, so if you have never volunteered, don't worry. You will have guidance from an experienced person and detailed written instructions. If you value this service, I urge you to please sign up for a time slot (or two or three) so we can continue to offer fresh free produce to our neighbors through October. More on how to volunteer below.
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Author Discussion: Imbolo Mbue on “How Beautiful We Were”
hosted by Windham County World Affairs Council and the Brattleboro Literary Festival
Sunday, October 17th, 2021, Online. 4pm.
Register for the event here: https://us02web.zoom.us/.../481.../WN_4ub2kj_VRQeAs-0XTMecmA
Please join WWAC as we team up with Brattleboro Literary Festival to host author Imbolo Mbue discussing her work of fiction, "How Beautiful We Were."
Imbolo Mbue’s powerful second novel, How Beautiful We Were is set in the fictional African village of Kosawa and tells of a people living in fear amid environmental degradation wrought by an American oil company. Pipeline spills have rendered farmlands infertile. Children are dying from drinking toxic water. Promises of cleanup and financial reparations to the villagers are made—and ignored. The country’s government, led by a brazen dictator, exists to serve its own interests. Left with few choices, the people of Kosawa decide to fight back. Their struggle will last for decades and come at a steep price.
Mbue will be in conversation with our own Clare Gillis who is the Chair for Windham World Affairs Council Board of Trustees, an international correspondent, and professor at Landmark College.
And check out more Brattleboro Literary Festival events here: https://emamo.com/event/brattleboro-literary-festival
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UPCOMING EVENTS
Vermont Food Bank’s Veggie Van Go Upcoming Schedule
The First and Third Mondays of Every Month in the parking lot across the street from the main entrance to Brattleboro Union High School (131 Fairground Road, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 10am-11:30am.
Veggie Van Go is a program through the Vermont Foodbank that gives out free produce and local food for people to take home.
Monday, October 18th, 2021
November 1st, 2021
November 15th, 2021
December 6th, 2021
December 20th, 2021
January 3rd, 2022
Important information:
- Drive through model- please stay in your vehicles
- If you are walking there: see a Vermont Foodbank associate but please make sure to stay 6 feet back.
- There are no income requirements, registration or paperwork to participate
- You do not need to be present to get food: you may ask someone to pick up on your family's behalf.
For questions, please contact the WSESU VVG Program Coordinator:
Kira Sawyer-Hartigan, WSESU
53 Green Street
Brattleboro, VT
[email protected]
(802)254-3730
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Harvard Postcolonial Theorist Homi K. Bhabha in Conversation
presented by SIT as part of the Fall 2021 SIT Critical Conversations Webinar Series
Monday, October 18th, 2021, Online. 12pm-2pm.
Join the free Fall 2021 SIT Critical Conversations Webinar Series for a discussion with Harvard Prof. Homi K. Bhabha on conceptual imaginings of society in an era marked by "the governance of the unprepared," "the fragility of democracy," "tribal nationalism," and racism. Dr. Bhabha is the Anne F. Rothenberg Professor of the Humanities in the English and Comparative Literature Departments at Harvard and is considered one of the most influential voices of the past 100 years.
This free SIT webinar series is taking place throughout the fall and features SIT faculty, guest speakers, alumni, and other experts from around the world. Visit the SIT website for more information and to register.
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Dedication of State Historic Marker for Abijah and Lucy Terry Price: Early Landowners and First Known African American Poet
hosted by Brattleboro Words Project
Tuesday, October 19th, 2021 at the Guilford Welcome Center ( South of Exit 1 off of Interstate 91). Time TBD.
Save the date! October 19th at the Guilford Welcome Center we will be dedicating the VT historic marker commemorating the contributions of early African American landowners Abijah Prince and the first known African American poet Lucy Terry Prince.
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A Silent Vigil of Loving Kindness
Thursday, October 21st, 2021 at Wells Fountain (298-250 VT-30, Brattleboro, VT 05301). 4:30pm-5:30pm.
For further information and to be on the mailing list for future vigils, please contact Tim Stevenson, [email protected].
Under a banner that reads, “Holding a Space of Loving Kindness for All Living Beings,” we conduct a silent vigil on alternating Wednesdays and Thursdays, every other week, 4:30pm-5:30pm, @ Wells Fountain across from Brooks Library and the Municipal Building, downtown Brattleboro.
Our purpose is to serve as a living reminder of the inherent goodness of each of us, as well as our inextricable connection with one another.
For a few minutes or the entire hour, all are welcome to join us in extending sentiments of loving kindness to all living beings: to family and friends, neighbors and strangers, kindred spirits and adversaries, human and non-human beings, alike. And to ourselves, as well. People may choose to stand, kneel, or sit in a chair they bring (there are stone benches circling the Fountain).
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Milk with Dignity Tour
presented by Migrant Justice and hosted by All Souls Church
Friday, October 22nd, 2021 at All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church (20 South St., West Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 6:30pm-8pm.
Questions? Contact [email protected]
On Oct. 22 farmworkers from Migrant Justice will be at the All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church, 20 South St., West Brattleboro from 6:30 p.m.-8:00 p.m. to spread the word about their groundbreaking Milk with Dignity program. It's been four years since Ben & Jerry's joined Milk with Dignity. In that time, the program has meant pay raises, paid sick leave, new health & safety standards, improved housing, and protections against sexual harassment, discrimination, and unjust firings for hundreds of workers on farms in Ben & Jerry’s supply chain. Through the program’s worker-defined standards and binding enforcement mechanisms, workers have become frontline defenders of their human rights.
But the work doesn't end there! Many farmworkers remain outside the protections of Milk with Dignity, living and working in unjust, unsafe, and undignified conditions.
Migrant Justice farmworkers are fighting to expand Milk with Dignity and calling on Hannaford Supermarkets to join. This event in Brattleboro is part of a 3-week northeast speaking tour to build support for the Hannaford campaign. Learn more about how you can get involved and help bring this powerful program to Hannaford’s dairy supply chain.

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Red Cross Blood Drive at the Winston Prouty Campus
Saturday, October 23rd, 2021
Saturday, November 27th, 2021
Saturday, December 18th, 2021 at the Winston Prouty Center for Child and Family Development (Austine Drive, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 9am-3pm. To help make these events possible by volunteering, please contact Lisa Whitney at [email protected].
Winston Prouty and the American Red Cross are hosting monthly blood drives throughout 2021.The Red Cross has over 135 years of experience providing humanitarian aid including more than 75 years of supplying blood to those in need. Each pint of blood we collect can help save up to three lives and will touch the lives of so many more. What a great way to pay it forward and make an impact on people in our community and across the country.
You can participate by donating blood or by volunteering to help support the event (set-up/clean-up, registration, parking, etc).
Sign up to DONATE blood here:
https://www.redcrossblood.org/give.html/drive-results?zipSponsor=
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How are Racial Justice and Climate Justice Connected?
hosted by 350VT
Saturday, October 23rd, 2021, Online. 10am-1pm.
Ticket price: Sliding scale. Pre-register here.
Join 350VT for an online workshop! This workshop is designed to support individuals and groups to dig into the roots of the climate crisis and explore how and why working for climate justice necessitates the dismantling of racism and white supremacy culture.
This is for anyone who wants to think more about how these issues are connected… AND it’s especially important for anyone who is new for 350VT or to climate organizing. This is a key piece of how we work and we want you to be a part of it!
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350VT’s Eighth Annual Convergence: Nourishing Our Roots
hosted by 350VT &
sponsored by Natural Mattress Company and Seventh Generation
Saturday, November 6th, 2021, Online. 2pm - 6pm.
Click here to register today!
Pricing: $5-$30 Sliding scale. No one will be turned away for lack of funds; email [email protected] if you'd like to reserve a ticket without paying.
Join 350VT online for our eighth Annual Convergence: Nourishing our Roots. Be inspired, build connections, get active! We are thrilled to be featuring keynote speaker Vic Barrett, one of 21 youth activists between the ages of 10 and 21 suing the government to take action on climate change in Juliana Vs. United States. Vic is a powerful and inspiring young organizer who will talk about the importance of centering justice in climate organizing and what's next for the climate movement.
Join us to learn how our statewide Just Transition fits into the broader context; find out about how to get involved in our upcoming campaigns; reconnect with our community; and be re-energized to build a strong and vibrant statewide movement!
Thank you to our sponsors for making this event affordable for participants!
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COMING IN 2022
Lucy Terry Price: Witness, Voice, and Poetics within the American Tradition
presented by Vermont Humanities
Wednesday, February 2nd, 2022, Online. 7pm.
Register for this talk at www.vermonthumanities.org/stjohnsbury
Beginning with Vermonter Lucy Terry Prince, the first known African American poet in the US, poet Shanta Lee Gander explores creative lineage within poetics. Surveying the work of Phillis Wheatley, Laurence Dunbar, Rita Dove, and slam poet Dominique Christina, Gander considers the poetic arc from the past to the modern moment.
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The Poetics of Girlhood and Womanhood in America
presented by Vermont Humanities
Wednesday, April 6th, 2022, at Brooks Memorial Library (54 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 7pm.
Poets and writers Diana Whitney and Shanta Lee Gander join Christal Brown, associate professor of Dance at Middlebury College, in a conversation that explores how girlhood and womanhood in America are manifested across the boundaries of poetry, dance, and lived experience.
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COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS
Covid 19 Pop-Up Testing
Testing is available for all.
If you need testing, there are a variety of options available to you: your primary care provider, pop-up test sites and pharmacies. The Test Site Finder below can help you find other testing near you.
HEALTH DEPARTMENT POP-UP TESTING LOCATIONS
Here are the steps to set up a testing appointment at a pop-up testing site:
- Register to get an account
- Receive an email with your patient ID and use that to confirm your account (check your spam folder if you don't see the email)
- Log in with your patient ID
- Set up an appointment
Register for Pop-Up Testing Here
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FREE HEALTHY AND NUTRITIOUS FOOD IN WINDHAM COUNTY
Brigid’s Kitchen, St. Michael’s Church, 47 Walnut Street, Brattleboro 802-254-6800 or 802-558-6072
Grab-and-go lunches and fruit/nuts on Mon, Weds, Thus, and Sat, 11:30am-12:20pm.
Loaves and Fishes, Centre Congregational Church 193 Main Street, Brattleboro (802) 254-4730
Grab-and-go lunches on Tuesdays and Fridays at 12pm.
VT Foodbank and Veggie Van Go will be at Brattleboro Union High School (Fairground Ave, Brattleboro, VT, 05301), in the parking lot, on the 1st and 3rd Monday of the month, from 10am-11:30am. Drive up, touchless pickup. Walkers welcome, too. Call VT 211 for more information.
Foodworks, the food shelf program of the Groundworks Collaborative https://groundworksvt.org (802) 490-2412, [email protected]
Households in need of food are asked to call or email to coordinate delivery. There is an urgent need for volunteers, and Foodworks has set up protocols to keep staff, volunteers, and clients as safe as possible. Please email us at [email protected] if you are able to help.
Guilford Food Pantry
Every Thursday at the Guilford Fairgrounds. 5pm-6pm.
We know that supplemental food can make such a big difference in one's budget. That is why we are stocking our shelves for our neighbors. All are welcome to come and take home fresh produce, staples, meat, dairy. Guilford Cares welcomes anyone in need of supplemental food for themselves or their families.
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ADDITIONAL COVID 19 RESOURCES CAN BE FOUND AT THEIR PERMANENT HOME ON OUR WEBSITE, HERE: https://www.wecantogether.net/covid19_resources
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RESOURCE FOR WeCAN
Rapid Response Text Alert System
When WeCAN began, Song & Solidarity set up a Rapid Response Text Alert System for WeCAN Groups. Directions for signing up are on WeCAN's website, here: https://www.wecantogether.net/rapid_response. We are grateful to Song and Solidarity for providing this service.
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ONGOING EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING
Indigo Radio
Sundays at 12pm on Brattleboro Community Radio 107.7FM. To stream live, visit: www.wvew.org
Indigo Radio, deepening understanding and making connections! IndigoRadio is a group of area educators seeking to learn through engaging with others in our community and throughout the world. We will be talking about educational and social issues both globally and locally and connecting them to our lives and Brattleboro community. Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/indigoradiowvew/. For archive recordings of past shows: https://soundcloud.com/user-654648353.
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Please continue to mask up when you attend in person meetings and lectures, WeCANners! Until next time...
Your Friendly WeCAN Editor,
Joanna
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