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Indigenous people are — and have always been — at the frontlines of resisting colonization. In the spirit of Truthsgiving, we want to use this space to lift up Native-led stories and resources that demonstrate that another way of life is possible. For more general resources decolonizing the myth of Thanksgiving, see this guide from the Center for Racial Justice.
Stories From the Field
“Remaking the Economy in Indian Country”: This webinar, hosted by Nonprofit Quarterly, highlights Native-led initiatives to decolonize the economy, including projects to build food sovereignty, restructure markets, and develop co-ops so that Native artisans and producers earn the true value of their labor. Watch the recording and see more resources.
Sogorea Te Land Trust: Indigenous women are reclaiming stolen land in the Bay Area (Chochenyo and Ohlone territory), through a community land trust and voluntary land tax. Read more about how they are building a land-base for their community, and how you can support the project.
Mainstream Media Could’ve Been Doing This for Years: There has always been a rampant problem of ignorance in media on Native American issues. The emergence of pieces like “The Invention of Thanksgiving” are making headway but we would like to lift up Indian Country Today’s resurgence and recent partnership with The Associated Press. New Economies Reporting Fellow Valerie Vande Panne writes about how Indian Country Today is bringing Native voices to mainstream media.
Community-owned Internet in Hawai’i: Indigenous peoples are disproportionately affected by the digital divide, but after years of being ignored by private internet service providers, Pu‘uhonua o Waimānalo — the oldest Hawaiian sovereignty group in existence — organized to install community-owned internet. Learn how native Hawaiians are taking internet access into their own hands.
Solidarity Economies Abroad
“My Sin Was Being Indigenous, Leftist, and Anti-Imperialist”: North America is far from the only place where indigenous livelihood has been overshadowed. Evo Morales was Bolivia’s first indigenous president before being forced to resign despite fair re-election. What brought the pressure? The indigenous-socialist project accomplished what neoliberalism has repeatedly failed to do: redistribute wealth to society’s poorest sectors. Learn what the coup against Evo Morales means to indigenous people like author Nick Estes.
Cooperation vs Authoritarianism in Spain: Laura Flanders traveled to Spain to learn how people in two of the regions most brutally repressed under the dictatorship of Francisco Franco built the world’s largest worker-owned co-ops. From the Basque Country to Barcelona, she speaks with co-op members (and some reps from NEC member organizations) who explain how cooperation and humanist models of business helped their parents and grandparents survive
Cooperative Management in Budapest: Gólya is a community house in Budapest. It has been working for 6 years on Bókay János utca in the 8th District, and currently it is relocating to a new venue because of its neighbourhood increase gentrification and the consequence sale of their former rented venue. Check out this interview with Biro Marci, one of Gólya’s cooperative members, discussing the community house goals and the challenge of renovating a rundown former factory.
USDAC Honor Native Land Guide
Use the #HonorNativeLand toolkit from NEC member organization US Department of Arts & Culture to investigate whose land you are on and how you can address the legacies of genocide and colonialism on Turtle Island. As they state in the toolkit: "land acknowledgment itself is a small gesture. It becomes meaningful when coupled with authentic relationships and informed action." Download the toolkit and interactive artwork.
CO^2 Colonialism Toolkit
The CO2 Colonialism toolkit from the Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN) and Climate Justice Alliance (CJA) offers a critical grassroots and Indigenous-led perspective to help you analyze and interrogate market-based carbon pricing initiatives in all its forms. Download the toolkit to deepen your understanding of effective, community-based, just climate solutions.
Movement News
- A New Generation of Black Farmers Is Returning to the Land
- Activists Build a Grass-Roots Alliance Against Amazon
- Avoiding Climate Catastrophe Starts With Divesting From War Machine
- Circulating Local Wealth Through Ethical Banking with Kat Taylor
- Equal Exchange to Buy City Feed, Create Worker-Owned Co-op
- 'Fire Is Medicine': The Tribes Burning California Forests To Save Them
- ‘Fire The Bosses’: Platform Co-ops Set Out Their Radical Stall
- How Market Power Gives Electric Utilities Political Power
- Inductees Named for the 2020 Cooperative Hall of Fame
- Innovation Fund Winners Receive $150,000 to Build Worker Power
- Making a Democratic Economy, One Revolving Loan Fund at a Time
- PUSH Buffalo Awarded $400K for New Creative Placemaking Initiative
- The Urgent Need For Worker-Owned Media
- Time Banking: Volunteer Hours as Currency Gaining Popularity
- Worker-Owned Apps Are Trying to Fix the Gig Economy's Exploitation
Sounds of the New Economy
In the latest from Money-Morphosis, Crystal Arnold of NEC member organization Post Growth Institute interviews Ebony Perkins (of NEC member organization Self Help Credit Union) and Jessica Gordon-Nembhard on using cooperatives to build economic justice in Black America through cooperatives. Tune in to hear why building community assets through cooperatives is essential to repair the harm done by colonization.
NEC on The Gram
Follow NEC on Instagram – @NewEconomyCoalition – Where we’re highlighting upcoming events like this online People’s Power press briefing, organized as part of our New Economies Reporting Project!
Job Board
Administrative Manager, Co-op Fund of New England – Watertown, MA – Deadline Dec 15
Assistant Program Manager, Soul Fire Farm – Petersburg, NY – Deadline Dec 4
Climate Campaigner, Amazon Watch – Oakland, CA
Co-Director, US Department of Arts and Culture – Remote – Deadline Dec. 9
Communication Director, The Laura Flanders Show – Brooklyn, NY
Communications Director, Inst. for Local Self-Reliance – 3 Locations – Deadline Dec. 3
Development and Operations Associate, Economic Opportunity Institute – Seattle, WA
Director, Development and Partnerships, Race Forward – New York/Oakland
Director of Development and Finance, OPAL Oregon – Portland, OR
Enterprise Manager, People United for Sustainable Housing Blue (PUSH) – Buffalo, NY
Fundraising & Operations Associate, United for a Fair Economy – Boston, MA
Gen. Coordinator, Cooperative Economics Alliance of NYC – New York, NY – Deadline Nov 30
General Manager, Recompose – Seattle, WA
National Communications Coordinator, CCEDNet – Toronto, ON – Deadline Dec 15
Operations Coordinator, Democracy Collaborative – Washington, DC
President, New Media Ventures – Oakland, CA
Senior Policy Associate, Economic Opportunity Institute – Seattle, WA
Sen. Manager of Digital Strategy, Movement Strategy Center – Detroit, MI – Deadline Dec 6
Sen. Assoc.: City Policy & Workforce Dev., COWS – Madison, WI – Deadline Nov 30
Supervising Producer, The Laura Flanders Show – Brooklyn, NY
Various Positions, Action Center on Race and the Economy – Location is flexible
Various Positions, Color of Change – New York, Washington D.C., Oakland, Los Angeles
Various Positions, Demos – New York, NY
Various Positions, Foundation for Intentional Communities – Various – Deadline Nov 30
Various Positions, Groundswell
Various Positions, Groundwork Collaborative
Various Positions, Institute for Policy Studies
Various Positions, Mothers Out Front
Various Positions, NAACP Legal Defense Fund
Various Positions, National Congress of American Indians
Various Positions, Project Equity – Multiple Locations
Various Positions, RiseBoro Community Partnership – Brooklyn, NY
Various Positions, Sunrise Movement – Multiple Locations
Various Positions, US Federation of Worker Co-ops – Philadelphia – Deadline Dec 6/13
Upcoming Events
Co-op Hour: Worker Co-op Farms
Co-op Hour is the USFWC’s online, interactive gathering dedicated to exploring a specific topic within the worker cooperative movement, featuring worker-owners and experts in the field. In December, we'll be focused on Worker Co-op Farms. (Dec 2 – Virtual/Online)
Technology and Art Business: From Blockchain to Smart Contracts
Join us for an overview and discussion about emerging models including cryptocurrency, blockchain, fractionalized interests, and smart contracts in an art business context. Learn the basics, bring your questions, and let’s discover together what is possible now and what the future holds. (December 5 – Online Webinar – Limited Capacity)
Creating Freedom Movements 2020 Cohort
Through this year-long intensive immersion program, you will co-create a deeply woven network of grassroots change makers, deepen your political analysis, and build cross-issue solidarity. (Application Deadline December 8 – Bay Area)
Our Power Puerto Rico: A campaign case study & framework for "Just Recovery"
Join the Climate Advocacy Lab and Climate Justice Alliance for a 75-min webinar on CJA's OurPower Puerto Rico case study and report, highlighting tools, practices, and experiential lessons learned from applying a participatory model of "Just Recovery" to disaster response in Puerto Rico following hurricane María (and others). (December 11 – Online Webinar)
The Future of Work: 4 Tools for Remote Collaboration
Join NEC member RoundSky Solutions at this webinar to learn about for 4 tools for remote work that you can start using in your team to facilitate collective alignment, increase accountability, strengthen your strategy, AND build community while across the distance. (December 10 – Online)
2020 Cooperative Leadership Intensive
Join members of NYC co-ops and solidarity economy enterprises for a 5-day deep dive into how we work—individually, collectively, and in community. Hosted by NEC member CEANYC. (Application Deadline Dec 15 – New York, NY)
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