Windham County Action Network (WeCAN)

"When the last tree has been cut down, the last fish caught, the last river poisoned, only then will we realize that one cannot eat money."
-Alanis Obomsawin b.1932
Award-winning Abenaki American Canadian filmmaker, singer, artist, and activist primarily known for her documentary films

     As October comes to an end, WeCAN friends, we would like to bring your attention to two events beyond Windham County that aim to amplify Native American and Indigenous voices here in (what we now call) New England and abroad in (what is now known as) Canada. 
     The first event, Dawnland Storyfest 2021, is New Hampshire’s annual Native American Storytelling Festival that features 45-minute storytelling performances focusing on sharing traditional Native American lesson stories. This year's festival is happening exclusively online. The second event is the 2021 Native Cinema Showcase. Hosted by The National Museum of the American Indian/Smithsonian, the Native Cinema Showcase is an annual celebration of the best in Native film and is also available online. This year's showcase focuses on Native people boldly asserting themselves through language, healing, building community, and a continued relationship with the land. We hope you will enjoy these programs and bring these viewing experiences into your activism work here in Windham County. We look forward to seeing you at an event soon! 

Dawnland Storyfest 2021
hosted by Strawbery Banke Museum, Portsmouth, NH
Saturday, November 13th, 2021, Online. 10am-6pm.
The festival is free to attend, with a $10 suggested donation. Preregistration is required via StrawberyBanke.org/events/dawnland-storyfest.cfm. For more information, storyteller bios, and to preregister, visit StrawberyBanke.org and https://www.strawberybanke.org/dawnland.cfm.
Strawbery Banke will virtually host Dawnland StoryFest 2021, New Hampshire’s annual Native American Storytelling Festival, in connection with the Museum’s permanent “People of the Dawnland” exhibit.
The daylong festival invites attendees to hear traditional Indigenous storytellers from New England and Canada.
This year’s virtual festival is dedicated to the memory of the life and work of Wolf Song, a well-respected and much loved Vermont Abenaki traditional storyteller who influenced several of the participating storytellers. 
The festival features 45-minute storytelling performances focusing on sharing traditional Native American lesson stories. Designed to be both entertaining and educational, each story has a compelling narrative, but also some subtle—and overt—life lessons. Storytelling sessions occur in blocks, which allow participants to hear from each storyteller. 
Participating traditional storytellers include: Louise Profeit-LeBlanc (Tse Duna - “The Beaver Woman”), Na-Cho Nyak Dun First Nation; Anne Jennison, Abenaki; Darlene Kascak, Schaghticoke Tribal Nation; HearsCrow (Nootauau Kaukontuoh - “She Hears the Crow”), Narragansett; Deborah Spears Moorehead (KutooSeepoo - “Talking Water”), Seaconke Pokanoket Wampanoag; Jonathan Cummings.
Additionally, attendees hear a keynote address by Louise Profeit-LeBlanc, the co-founder of the Yukon International Storytelling Festival. Participants are invited to engage in breakout room conversations, Q&A with the storytellers, and a “Swapping Grounds” story-sharing session facilitated by Jonathan Cummings when audience members are invited to share traditional Native American lesson stories.

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2021 Native Cinema Showcase
hosted by the National Museum of the American Indian/Smithsonian
Friday, November 12th, 2021-Thursday, November 18th, 2021, Online.
Available on demand November 12th-18th, 2021: https://nmai.brand.live/c/native-cinema-showcase
The National Museum of the American Indian's Native Cinema Showcase is an annual celebration of the best in Native film. This year focuses on Native people boldly asserting themselves through language, healing, building community, and a continued relationship with the land. Activism lies at the heart of all these stories. The showcase provides a unique forum for engagement with Native filmmakers from Indigenous communities throughout the Western Hemisphere and Arctic.
Showcase Schedule
All films and filmmaker panels are available on demand; please check individual listings for dates and times of availability. Short-format films are grouped into programs. Closed captioning is available for some films; please check individual listings for availability.
Features
All films are available on demand; please check individual listings for geo-blocking restrictions.

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HAPPENING THIS WEEK:
MONDAY, OCTOBER 25th, 2021-SUNDAY, OCTOBER 31st, 2021

A Deep Presence: 13,000 Years of Native American History
a presentation of the Atowi Project and Brooks Memorial Library
Tuesday, October 26th, 2021 at Brooks Memorial Library (54 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 6:30pm-8pm.
A just-released book from Dr. Robert Goodby about his life's work affirming Indigenous relationships in this landscape:
Almost 13,000 years ago, small groups of Paleoindians endured frigid winters on the edge of a river in what would become Keene, New Hampshire. This begins the remarkable story of Native Americans in the Monadnock region of southwestern New Hampshire, part of the traditional homeland of the Abenaki people.
Typically neglected or denied by conventional history, the long presence of Native people in southwestern New Hampshire is revealed by archaeological evidence for their deep, enduring connections to the land and the complex social worlds they inhabited. From the Tenant Swamp Site in Keene, with the remains of the oldest known dwellings in New England, to the 4,000-year-old Swanzey Fish Dam still visible in the Ashuelot River, A Deep Presence tells their story in a narrative fashion, drawing on the author’s thirty years of fieldwork and presenting compelling evidence from archaeology, written history, and the living traditions of today’s Abenaki people.
Robert Goodby is Professor of Anthropology at Franklin Pierce University. He earned his PhD in anthropology from Brown University and has over thirty years of experience excavating Native American archaeological sites in New England. He is a past president of the New Hampshire Archeological Society, a former Trustee of the Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum, and served on the New Hampshire Commission on Native American Affairs. He has directed over three hundred archaeological studies authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act and his work has appeared in anthropological journals and in anthologies published by the Smithsonian Institution Press and University Press of New England. He has presented more than one hundred talks on his archaeological research for the New Hampshire “Humanities to Go” program, and every fall speaks to students at the Keene Middle School about the Paleoindian Tenant Swamp Site. Visit his website at http://www.monadarch.com.

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Addressing Anti-Semitism in Vermont
Tuesday, October 26th, 2021, Online. 7pm. With Covid's Delta variant still raising health concerns, this meeting will be held online.
This is a public offering but attendees are asked to register beforehand to receive the Zoom link, by emailing [email protected]
Rev.Lise Sparrow and Rep. MIke Mrowicki will be hosting an Online Event; Addressing Anti-Semitism in Vermont on October 26- 7pm, and will be joined by Vt. Senate President Becca Balint, who will introduce the event.
With Anti-Semitic acts ongoing and continuing to rise, far and near, recent local incidents are inspiring this effort to raise the profile of the experience of our Jewish friends and neighbors here in Vermont. 
This event will begin with introductions and then a video presentation of the first part of the PBS Documentary, VIRAL- 4 Mutations of Anti-Semitism.
Following the video, there will be breakout rooms for discussion, including space for any of our local Jewish friends and neighbors, to share their experience of being Jewish in Vermont.
The next part will be time for further discussion and next steps for how we, as a caring community committed to Social Justice, can respond to Anti-Semitism.

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Marlboro Community Food Share
hosted by the Marlboro Community Center
Thursday, October 28th, 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 28th, 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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Share the Harvest Stand
a project of Edible Brattleboro
Sunday, October 31st, 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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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-11am. 
Veggie Van Go is a program through the Vermont Foodbank that gives out free produce and local food for people to take home.
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.

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Rural Caucus Public Hearing
Tuesday, November 2nd, 2021, Online. 5pm-7pm.
Register at the link below to join us via Zoom and/or submit written testimony to [email protected]
https://www.eventbrite.com/.../vermont-rural-economic...
Do you have ideas about what can be done in the legislature to support our rural economy? The Rural Economic Development Working Group (REDWnG) of the Vermont House of Representatives wants to hear from you on November 2 between 5pm-7pm.

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LEAD Vermont: Candidate Night School
hosted by Vermont-NEA, Rights & Democracy Institute and Rights & Democracy VT
Starting Tuesday, November 2nd, 2021, Online. 6pm-8pm
Have you ever thought about running for office?
It’s hard to believe, but the 2022 elections are just around the corner - starting with Town Meeting Day in March - and now is the time to think about how you can get involved.
Leadership Education and Development Vermont (LEAD-VT) was created to demystify the process of running for office. And, we’re excited to announce that LEAD-VT is holding a three session “Candidate Night School” this fall.
The training will provide you with the skills and knowledge needed to run an engaging grassroots campaign, and to build leadership in your community.
Apply here >>> https://forms.gle/KhKe5xu4gnkr7pp77
Candidate Night School will take place over three consecutive weeks:
6-8pm on Tuesday, November 2nd
6-8pm on Tuesday, November 9th
6-8pm on Tuesday, November 16th
If you are interested in running for office, we encourage you to be a part of LEAD-VT!
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Please note that this training is only available to people considering running for office, it is not open to people who have already announced their candidacy for elected office. Additionally, participation in the program does not guarantee endorsement by any of the participating organizations in any future electoral campaigns.
LEAD-VT is a collaborative training opportunity organized by Rights & Democracy, Vermont-NEA, VPIRG, Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, Vermont Conservation Voters, and Let’s Grow Kids.

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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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Youth 4 Change Open House
Saturday, November 6th, 2021 at The Root Social Justice Center (The Whetstone Studio for the Arts, 28 Williams Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 2pm-4pm.
Youth 4 Change invites youth and their families to join us for our Fall Open House!
Youth 4 Change (Y4C) is a youth led activist group that focuses on racial justice and community organizing, we're open to ages 12-22. Y4C is very centered around historically marginalized groups, for example LGBTQ+ and BIPOC. 
Come meet youth members of the program, eat food, win prizes, and learn how you can get involved with Y4C.

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Coffee with Coffey Hours
Tuesday, November 16th, 2021
Tuesday, December 2nd, 2021, Online. 6:30pm-7:30pm.
Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87653733300?pwd=c0pDdk9EcHJKUnUzQjY0cm0wbEw3Zz09
Communication with my constituents is a high priority for me, especially as we prepare for the 2022 session. I want you to know what I'm working on and I want to hear from you. I encourage folks to join me at one of my monthly coffee hours. I will be holding coffee hours on third Tuesday of the month.
If you would to receive my newsletters or have questions about the legislation we passed in 2021 or to talk about your priorities for 2022 please email me at: [email protected] 
Your feedback is critical to my legislative work, so please do not hesitate to reach out anytime. 
Take good care,
Sara Coffey
State Representative, Windham-1

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Red Cross Blood Drive at the Winston Prouty Campus
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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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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     Thank you so much for taking the time to read through this entire email, WeCAN supporter. Now, we humbly ask you to scroll back up to the top and make a call to Governor Scott to ask him to extend the General Assistance Emergency Housing Program, if you haven't done so already. No one deserves to be sleeping out in the woods or on the street at any time of year. No one. Please help if you can. Thank you. 

Your Friendly WeCAN Editors,

Joanna and Sam