News From Around
Flathead Reservation Human Rights Coalition
Summer youth camps are supposed to be about swimming in Flathead Lake, meals in dining halls, and sleeping in dorms. For 15 students from across the reservation and Kalispell, the camp experience included those fun activities along with workshops addressing topics of globalization and current world affairs.
At the end of June, the Coalition sponsored its annual youth camp at the Blue Bay Campground. There was a wide variety of workshops that the youth attended. They ranged in topic from knowing the importance of food grown locally all the way to the cultural differences between America and Kenya, Africa. There were also discussions concerning the differences and similarities between white and Indian children. One workshop focused on the working conditions in sweatshops all around the world, including the horrible working conditions faced by laborers. Other international topics included free trade and the introduction of the dollar into other countries' economies. Overall, the camp gave students valuable information on racism, the economy and globalism.
Missoula Advocates for Human Rights
The Advocates continue to generate programs that air on Missoula Community Access Television. The Advocates originally began this project in response to the racist World Church of the Creator airing programming on the station. Ralph Stone recently conducted an interview with Julie Cajune for an Advocates' program. Cajune, a member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, is the Indian Education Director for the schools in Ronan. She is also scheduled to be the speaker at the Advocates' event on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day next January.
Bitterroot Human Rights Alliance
The Alliance will have a booth at the Ravalli County Fair again this year. The Fair is held the last week in August and this year's theme is a celebration of the family. Our display will focus on family diversity, whether it is determined by ethnicity or preference. The Alliance will also be hosting a youth workshop presented by Ami Thurber and the National Coalition Building Institute that will focus on youth violence and prejudice reduction.
Helena
The Network and the Helena Human Rights Task Force, in coalition with other community groups, held a "Reach Out, Speak Up" event in late July. The event was held in response to an increase of intolerance and intimidation -- people from India had been targets of harassment and hate crimes, anti-Semitic slurs have appeared on sidewalks, and a Muslim woman was harassed at the airport. The event began during Helena's weekly "Alive at Five" during which the music and dance of India were presented. The evening continued with a forum at the Lewis and Clark Library. About 40 people listened to Ruth Vanita, a professor of Liberal and Women's Studies at the University of Montana and formerly a professor at Delhi University, share her experiences growing up in India and now living in Montana. Participants of the forum also broke down into smaller groups to discuss what actions could be taken to make Helena more culturally inclusive and friendly.