All posts by Redwood Voice

Press Release: Yurok Tribe Closes Reservation in Response to Rapid Increase in COVID Cases On and Off Tribal Territory

December 7, 2020 Redwood Voice Leave a comment

The following is a press release from the Yurok Tribe.

In response to the rapidly increasing number of COVID-19 cases in the region, the Yurok Tribal Council voted to close the Yurok Reservation for three weeks starting today.

“We are taking every available precaution to protect our elders, individuals with preexisting health conditions and the whole community. Since the start of this emergency, we have exercised an abundance of caution because we know the potential impacts of widespread disease,” said Joseph L. James, the Chairman of the Yurok Tribe. “We will reopen when we see a consistent decline in infection rates. The closure is one part of a comprehensive plan to prevent the spread of the illness.”

“We need everyone to play active role in stopping the spread of the virus,” said Serene Hayden, the Yurok Tribe’s Incident Commander. “We strongly encourage residents to practice all of the personal safety measures, such as wearing a face covering in public, avoiding large gatherings and staying home as much as possible.”

To date, there have been 15 COVID-19 cases on the reservation, ten of which were confirmed late last week. In addition to wearing a mask while outside of the home, reservation residents are advised to refrain from travelling off-reservation unless it is for essential purposes, such as medical appointments and visits to the grocery store. COVID-19 testing is available five days per week in Klamath and Weitchpec.

The COVID-19 Temporary Closure Order applies to nearly all non-residents. Those authorized to enter the reservation include but are not limited to the following: essential Tribal staff, law enforcement, emergency medical personnel, commercial service providers, social service providers and through travelers driving on the local highways and county roads.

On March 13, 2020, the Yurok Tribal Council declared a state of emergency to activate the Tribe’s incident management team. In early April, the Tribe closed the reservation following a local rise in COVID-19 cases. A phased reopening of the reservation began in October when there were far fewer instances of the illness and local non-essential businesses were allowed to resume operations on a modified scale. The conditions did not permit a full reopening. However, the tribal government is functioning at full capacity with non-emergency staff working from home.

The Yurok Office of Emergency Services recently moved the Yurok Reservation to Tier 1 on the community risk level chart, which is the most restrictive stage. Humboldt and Del Norte Counties are also in Tier 1.

All non-essential tribal buildings are currently closed. Pem-mey and Pek-Tah Fuel Marts were deemed essential. Both facilities have altered operations to keep patrons and staff safe. The Redwood Hotel Casino is closed to tourists, but essential personnel will continue to occupy a small number of rooms.

The Yurok Tribe has mounted a comprehensive effort to confront the public health, social and economic aspects of the COVID-19 crisis. Tribal staff have delivered thousands of food boxes and PPE to Yurok elders. Students have received high quality distance learning tools. The Tribe implemented a forgivable loan program for Yurok businesses. It has also distributed direct aid to Yurok elders, families and individuals as well as many other types of assistance too.

For additional information on the Tribe’s COVID-19 response effort, please visit Yurokoes.org or the Tribal government’s primary social media pages. If you have a question, please call the Yurok Tribe’s COVID-19 hotline at 1-888-225-8952.

Community News

Press Release: Tolowa Dee-ni’ Tribal Council Closes Physical Offices

December 5, 2020 Redwood Voice Leave a comment

The following is a press release from the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation.

As a precautionary measure, the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation Tribal Council agreed to close the physical offices of the Tribal Government operations until Monday, December 21, 2020. Recently we have had multiple governmental employees test positive for the COVID19 Virus.

Contact tracing has been performed, and those with second or third-party exposure to known positive cases have been identified. They are currently isolating and will be required to test negative before returning to work.All staff will be continuing to work from home, and there will be no reduction in pay. Staff will be contacted by their supervisors to facilitate this new 100% remote-work status.

Critical services for Tribal Members will continue through electronic means, including email, telephone, and other telecommunication services. This closure is an effort to curb the possible spread of exposure throughout the organization.

We will also be taking the necessary steps to sanitize and clean our facilities and equipment. Staff will also be required to test negative for the COVID19 virus prior to returning to on-site operations.

Please stay safe during these trying times.

Community News

Departure From Norms: The 2020 Election for Del Norte and Humboldt Counties

October 27, 2020 Redwood Voice Leave a comment

Our present year has been one of departure from norms, and, regardless of what we might prefer, that has spread into voting in this year’s elections, now on the extremely near horizon, as well. These changes affect both Humboldt and Del Norte County in many ways, and will change the way voters engage with the polling process for the foreseeable future.

All registered California voters should have received a mail-ballot after October 5th. If you have not received your ballot, it is recommended you contact your County Clerk’s Office. You can contact the County of Del Norte Elections Office at (707)464-7216. You can also contact the County of Humboldt Elections Office by calling (707)445-7481 to request a voting ballot be mailed to your address, or ask for additional information.

The Election Offices of Del Norte County and Humboldt County have partially set aside in-person polling stations as a measure against the COVID-19 Pandemic. For the sake of voter health and cleanliness, ballots will instead be dispatched and collected by mail.

Mailed ballots will be counted up until November 20th so long as it is postmarked by November 3rd; this is a result of recent emergency legislation passed in order to ensure that, in this changed environment, with oft-delayed mailing times, every Californian vote is counted with some allowance for adjustment to what may be an unfamiliar voting method to some. All mail ballots sent by November 3rd and received prior to the 20th will be vetted by county staff in order to ensure authenticity.

If you would like to vote in person, you will be asked to surrender your vote-by-mail-ballot, or, in absence of possession of a mail ballot, by voting a provisional ballot. Those who will be dropping their ballots off or voting in person due to either preference or lack of alternative options should remember to take care to remain masked, hygienic, and aware of their proximity to others as both common courtesy to fellow voters and themselves. The official drop-off locations for ballots in Del Norte County are the Flynn Center, Senior Center, and City Hall.

If you would like to vote in person, in-person voting assistance stations will re-opened in 18 locations across Del Norte County, but only for November 3rd, “Election Day” itself, as well as 9 locations across Humboldt County, for both Election day, as well as the three days proceeding it.

And remember, once again, that as with most things during quarantine, voting is more easily, safely, and responsibly done from home (by mail), if at all possible.

Education

Reflections: My Redwood Voice Internship

January 16, 2019 Redwood Voice Leave a comment

For the past few months, I’ve had the opportunity to work as an intern at Redwood Voice. As my time here comes to a close, I look back on the experience and am filled with gratitude. During my time here, I have learned and grown so much, and I owe that to the opportunities this internship has provided me.

Working at Redwood Voice was more than just a job–it was an education. Before I started, my knowledge of filming and editing was extremely limited. I had never used a DSLR camera before, and my experience with editing software was very limited, so I felt like I had to learn a foreign language. I would frequently come to my boss, Meng Lo, with questions. Meng, being the wise coach that he is, did not answer all my questions. Instead, he pointed me in the right direction so I could get there myself. I studied advice from experts in the craft, and with each project that I worked on, I could practice and apply what I had learned. This process ensured true learning instead of mere memorization.

An emotional Coach Quick receives praise from his friends, family, and coworkers at a recognition assembly held at Smith River School. *Photo Credit: Jayden Cornett*

The first few videos I made were short, documentary-style videos. One of these was a feature on Ron Quick, who was a finalist in the US Cellular Coach of the Year competition. Another was a video promoting positivity surrounding pit bulls. As I spent time with Coach Quick, local pit bull owners, visiting the great people (and dogs) at the animal shelter, I was so inspired by the passion that these good people have for the important things in their lives. I was honored to be able to present them to the community. These interactions with people were as valuable to me as the skills I learned.

Filming the pit bull video. *Photo Credit: Persephone Corvid Rose*

I also had the opportunity to be involved in the preparatory stages of a media program that is about to be implemented for youth in Hoopa. I got to observe and participate in discussions and planning sessions in which we tackled real problems and worked together to create solutions. Then, I assisted in curriculum development for this program. I appreciated my involvement in this process so much, because I felt that my perspective and contribution was valued, and because I realized how unique this opportunity was.

Still shot from *The Unwashed*, Jayden’s final video project on hand washing. *Photo Credit: Anna Lor*

My final project before the close of this internship was a short video reminding people to watch their hands. This time, I was able to break from the standard documentary format and go with a more creative narrative form. Knowing the value of hands-on work, Meng let me take the reins from the beginning. I created the storyboard, wrote the script, set up lights, acted, directed, edited, and even composed some of the music. Along the way, Meng would take opportunities to advise me and teach me.

I do not take for granted the great experience that I have had here at Redwood Voice. With all the education, skills, and experience I have received, I am walking away a more experienced, prepared, and confident person than I was walking in. Now, I will take all that I have been given at Redwood Voice and use it to do good wherever I may go from here.

[End Scene]

This article was written by Jayden Cornett.

Education, Videos

“Breakfast After the Bell” – Making Sure ALL Students Have Access to Food

January 2, 2019 Redwood Voice Leave a comment

5th grade teacher of Mary Peacock Elementary School Paige Thompson (center) is one of two teachers in the Del Norte County Unified School District taking on the “Breakfast After the Bell” initiative in its pilot phase.

“Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.” Even though there are people who would look at that statement and dispute without hesitation, tearing down breakfast’s ranking on the nutritional hierarchy and claiming any other time of the day is “the most important,” few can argue with the simple truth that it is of great importance nonetheless. Also, it’s breakfast – there shouldn’t really be a debate on breakfast.

More importantly, breakfast is important for children. Going to school every day with progressively developing and impressionable minds while constantly taking in new information can be very demanding, and students – from elementary grades to graduating off to college – need to keep up their energy. It’s one of the things that never change about the school system. The brain is a muscle constantly at work, constantly exposed to new concepts, new ideas, new developments, and in order for it to function properly, it absolutely requires nutrition. Nutrition at the beginning of the day gives students the start they need to endure the rest of the day. But breakfast isn’t just about having it in order to merely function. Any source can give you any number of reasons why breakfast is so important and the additional benefits it grants: increased concentration, reduction of fatigue, amplified awareness of proportion control and nutritional moderation, and a decrease in the risk of illnesses. Skipping breakfast, on the other hand, has demonstrated numerous negative effects, especially against young school children: diminishing mental performance in class, increasing the likelihood of poor food choices throughout the day (which has been shown to extend into long term circumstances), and cuts the body off from attaining important nutrition. Everything points to the importance of students eating breakfast. Unfortunately, despite the attempts of establishment in which many schools serve breakfast to students in the early morning, breakfast accessibility is still an issue across the nation. One in five children live in households facing food insecurity, leaving roughly 13 million children across the country who go to school hungry with little to resolve it. It is a much more widespread issue than most people tend to believe. Lucy Melcher, director of advocacy and government relations for the nonprofit Share Our Strength, running the No Kid Hungry campaign, has said, “There are food insecure and hungry kids in every congressional district and every demographic[.] Food insecurity is a family that has enough money to buy groceries three out of four weeks; it’s a mom skipping dinner; it’s having to choose between buying groceries and paying rent.” There is such an unfortunate discrepancy. As said before, schools do indeed attempt to serve breakfast. But usually, breakfast is served early in the morning before classes. Not only does this create issues for students with transportation issues who do are unable to attend early, but it means that students will have to wake up even earlier than the already dreaded early hours shown to produce negative effects. But across the country, teachers have been taking up a simple but effective movement to combat this problem. Already it has been reaping positive changes, and two teachers have introduced it to the Del Norte County Unified School District.

*Students participating in the Breakfast After the Bell program eating breakfast in class. They are provided food and are allowed to save the food for later in the day.*

For now, these are known as “pilot” sessions, determining whether the program, known as Breakfast After The Bell, is effective. Breakfast After the Bell is an initiative pushing for a simple method to assist food insecurity issues. Simply, teachers are able to provide breakfast foods in the beginning of class. Some may have their class open a few minutes earlier so that students who arrive early are able to eat, though teachers are often able to simply start class slowly as the students are eating. By giving them the free time to simply eat and socialize, however, they are able to begin the day on a note of low tension and social development. “The idea for piloting Breakfast After the Bell in Del Norte came from a collaborative group of community partners coming together to discuss how we can increase students’ access to food in schools. Breakfast after the Bell is a nationally recognized program that has been shown as one of the most effective ways to boost breakfast participation in schools. With the help and support of Deborah Kravitz, the Nutrition Services Director for Del Norte Unified School District, we were able to pilot the program in two classrooms at Mary Peacock this year,” said Ryan Kober of Building Healthy Communities, who has been a big part of helping Breakfast After The Bell in its piloting stages, and who gave Redwood Voice the opportunity to create a video for it, as seen above. We interviewed Paige Thompson, a 5th grade teacher at Mary Peacock Elementary in charge of one of the two piloting classes testing the Breakfast After The Bell system. First and foremost, the Breakfast After The Bell program easily accomplishes its goal of making sure that every student has food. “I like knowing that my kids ate that day,” said Thompson, which in itself reflects the effectiveness of the program. Being able to provide food and knowing for sure that students are eating helps to eliminate food insecurity during school, and she goes on to explain that of her classroom, only 2 students do not eat every day – one of which is due to medical reasons, the other simply out of preference who will eat some days but not others, but who still has complete access to the food – allowing ease of flexibility for students with different preferences or necessities. However, Thompson goes on to explain that the food itself is far from the only positive effective reaped from this experience. “I was excited about having breakfast in my classroom because it creates a really interesting social dynamic, and it makes my students feel comfortable asking for food later in the day when they’re hungry. It creates a really great sharing environment where, if somebody doesn’t want their orange they know they can offer it to somebody else.” Although, the teacher isn’t the only one to notice the benefits of breakfast in class. We were able to interview a few of the students as well, who each gave very interesting ideas on what they liked about Breakfast After The Bell. Along with students knowing they had access to food if they weren’t able to bring food themselves that day, students enjoyed being able to be in a smaller, quieter place where they were able to talk to their friends. They claimed that it was a better experience than that of the Multi-Purpose Room, which was typically full of students and made for a much noisier environment. The attention of this from students shows that it would be greatly beneficial to overstimulated or overwhelmed students, as well as shy or quieter students who may develop social skills more positively by being around their friends and classmates, rather than a more disorganized room with many sounds and senses firing off, and instead have a more stabilized, calm environment before starting their day.

*With Breakfast After The Bell, students have the opportunity to eat and either socialize with friends or relax before the beginning of the school day.*

Overall, the Breakfast After The Bell program speaks for itself as to why it’s a nationally recognized program. It exceeds in its goal in making sure every student has access to food, promotes positive social dynamics involving sharing, closer social development, and to some degrees even self-care as students take time to themselves before undergoing school for the day – and all the while, it’s an easy system that all teachers could fluidly work into their schedule, elementary and beyond. Perhaps that is just one of the many reasons this program has already proved to be so successful across the nation. It is taking a simple, small action to step towards a more inclusive space, and in turn grows into something effective and powerful that benefits everyone. It’s a win-win situation that anyone can step up towards. References (2) BetterHealthChannel: Breakfast The Denver Post: More than 13 million kids in this country go to school hungry

Education, LGBTQ, Videos

Transgender Awareness Month: Transcending Ignorance

November 30, 2018 Redwood Voice Leave a comment

Redwood Voice’s Primary November Project, a video documenting the importance of Transgender Awareness Month in our local community of Del Norte.

We have reached the end of November. Families have come together to give thanks and nurture one another. They are unified – they are, quite simply, together.

And as they are together, they reconnect and recollect. They speak of the time that has passed since last seeing one another, they remember what came before this moment of celebration and connection.

There are many people who don’t have that luxury this time of the year. There are many people who must remember a much darker part of their lives – some, the loss of others, while the remaining remember how far they’ve come through adversity and hardship, remembering how hard they had to fight or hide to simply live to see these holidays.

Thanksgiving holds its fair share of connotations – for better, for worse, for all in between. It can be a spectacular time: a genuine, lovely gathering of family and friends. It can be, for perhaps a majority others, a grey time: those detached from their family, or even completely separated; those who spend the holidays alone; those who spend the holidays remembering those they once spent them with, but now live in times long since past. And of course, this isn’t even beginning to delve into the generational traumas of which the “American Thanksgiving” are rooted into and the atrocities that have taken place to build its cruel beginnings.

Regardless of how powerfully it encompasses this month, Thanksgiving is simply a mixed time. In a sense, perhaps the holiday it has evolved into is a time to ignore the traumas of the past – but ignorance does not lead to healing.

Ignoring a wound does not let that wound heal, but instead infect into something far worse. Even in writing this article, staying at a neutral, objective point, the mere act of talking about the negatives of this time of the year will surely outrage others or be deemed “controversial.” But it is simply true. Thanksgiving covers the attempts of many who wish to speak out. The Native American community wants the past to be visible without any strings attached, to spread awareness and knowledge of the wrongdoings of the settlers and the crimes committed against them. There is even a holiday the day after Thanksgiving known as “Native American Day” to amplify this awareness, and the entire month of November holds the monthly observance of “National Native American Month.”

Just as there are widely known observances, there are those buried under or unknown altogether. The one I present today is one that has been utterly erased to a point that few outside of those affected even consider its possibility of existence – an observance that, upon Googling, you won’t even find the name of:

Transgender Awareness Month.

November is a time when many members of the Transgender Community, as well as allies, reflect on pivotal historical moments that have fundamentally built the movement. But these moments come not from success without labor – they are times in which the community has overcome struggle, times in which we have climbed from the dirt placed on us to keep us down, buried, unseen, only to then blossom forth. One of the most notable instances of these happens to be Rita Hester’s murder on November 20th, 1998, due to her gender identity. This sparked outrage among the trans community, inspiring them to fight harder for a brighter future where we could live in a world that did not want to kill those who wanted to happily live as themselves. That’s why November 20th now marks Transgender Day of Remembrance. It is not a celebration, it is not an event of pride – it is a day marking loss. It is candlelit vigils as we read the names of those we have lost to violence, those we have lost to hatred against people being themselves.

*Rita Hester, a transgender African American woman killed for expressing her gender identity on November 20th, 1998. A candlelit vigil was held for her attracting nearly 250 people.*

We remember this pain. Many must live with it for the rest of their lives. Many suppress who they are to hide this pain – but ignoring the wound never heals it.

I’m sure many reading this may even be hearing about it for the first time. There are very few resources out there to for Transgender Awareness Month, and the closest our community has come has been the establishment of Transgender Awareness Week. It seems that our mourning and visibility must be cut short.

The purpose of Transgender Awareness Month is to educate those who know not of trans issues, of trans struggles, of where our movement originates – of where our movement is leading us. Its purpose is to step out and speak with those who want to learn, and we are more than willing. We know that there are allies who hope to provide as much assistance as they wish, but oftentimes they simply fall back. This month is here to invigorate them and others, to fight hatred with knowledge, to present who we are, what we’ve been through, and where we’re going now.

In Del Norte County, I cannot possibly overemphasize the importance of this.

I have met with a few fellow trans members of Del Norte to discuss its climate and why it is so absolutely crucial to have these conversations – why we need to be seen, why we need to be heard, why we need to be simply affirmed and understood as living beings. We are your neighbors, your fellow community. We want nothing more than to be accepted as we are, and those kind enough to do so inspire us to only further march with our message.

“Those moments of affirmation from your neighbors and friends here are too rare.”
– Jacob Patterson (she/her), local queer activist.

“The world is a better, brighter place for you daring to show who you really are.”
– Sam Bradshaw (he/they/she), True North Youth Organizer.

“We exist. We need to be accepted.”
– Wyatt (he/him), Local Youth.

So I present all of this before you – this video, my words, our collective work – on the final day of November, near the month’s end. Why? Because I’m sure this is the first you’re hearing of it. But personally, I don’t believe there should be “designated times” to accept, love, and support others. So take this message as you will. Love your neighbors, learn about them, accept them, even if you don’t fully understand their lifestyles, and if that is the case, ask – talk to them. We are more than willing to explain who we are, more than willing to be seen, because for too long we have been in hiding. Let us all be unified and, quite simply, together.

esent all of this before you – this video, my words, our collective work – on the final day of November, near the month’s end. Why? Because I’m sure this is the first you’re hearing of it. But personally, I don’t believe there should be “designated times” to accept, love, and support others. So take this message as you will. Love your neighbors, learn about them, accept them, even if you don’t fully understand their lifestyles, and if that is the case, ask – talk to them. We are more than willing to explain who we are, more than willing to be seen, because for too long we have been in hiding. Let us all be unified and, quite simply, together.

Let us look forward to a time when the only Remembrance we need is to remember how long ago the trans community was forced to combat violence, and how it has now been reborn into a time of cherishment and acceptance.

Community News

Opportunity Youth Forum–Aspen, Colorado

November 9, 2018 Redwood Voice Leave a comment

Being one of the many participants in the E3 Program in Del Norte County from the Del Norte Workforce Center, I dedicated my time to completing this program not just one time, but two times around, and both times I was able to turn them both into success stories for the E3 Program. I made a strong candidate for this opportunity to travel out to Aspen, Colorado for the Opportunity Youth Forum, due to the fact that I brought my own dedication to my workplace and proved that I do stand as an employee with the rest of my team members at Wild Rivers Community Foundation/Building Healthy Communities. I was able to get invited from my previous supervisor Imelda Ramirez who is the program manager for E3, and I was thrilled and honored to be invited to this Opportunity Youth Forum. I had one week to prepare for this travel, and I found myself with thoughts that it was very little time to prepare mentally and physically because I am a full-time student at College of the Redwoods. I managed to arrange my schooling/homework and all the other details with work to properly make myself available for the week of the forum.

Later that day in which I got invited, I found out who else I would be attending with. I thought to myself, there was no other group I would rather go with to this Opportunity Youth Forum, because we all hold a powerful movement within our community to be shown and tell our stories amongst many other leaders around the world. I found out that our group will be taking some leaders in our adjacent tribal lands, a youth organizer for True North Organizing, a Youth Coordinator, our Del Norte Workforce Center E3 Program Manager, and of course my boss Michelle Carrillo the Executive Director for Building Healthy Communities at Wild Rivers Community Foundation. Later on into the week of the forum, I found out that there were other community members attending the forum from our community as well, which brought me to think of what a powerful and changing opportunity our community has with making a voice for all of us back home. The whole invitation brought excitement and more passion to continue the work we do for our progressing community.

As Sunday approached and I was officially loading my bags into my car it began to hit me; I was about to travel on a plane over to some high elevated mountains in Colorado. It was a scary feeling and I was not able to sleep comfortably that Sunday night prior to catching my plane the following morning at 6:00am. Imelda Ramirez was traveling alongside with me and given the fact we are both related as cousins I can say it made the whole worrisomeness of the plane ride become easier to handle because we had each other for support and encouragement that we would make it through and touch ground in Aspen, Colorado safe and sound. We arrived at the airport two hours as recommended prior to boarding our plane, and we were able to meet up with one of our group participants from Weitchpec, CA, which is further south of Crescent City, in our adjacent tribal lands. We all greeted and wished each other a safe flight and walked through the security check, normal and with hopes of nothing turning into an unwanted disaster.

*Enjoying the activities and winter weather.*

Monday, around 1:00pm, we touched ground in Aspen, although we were very nervously flying above Aspen for over 30 minutes awaiting landing; there had been a slight complication with landing due to the visibility for the plane road track. We had seemed to arrive just when a small storm was beginning to make its way. I fainted in those 30 minutes that we were flying above Aspen. The elevation was incredibly high–over 8,000 ft.–and I got extremely dizzy, lightheaded, and nervous from the information the pilot was giving the entire group of people aboard the plane. With the thought of blessings that my mother had given me the following day, it was just enough to bring me back to my senses of “everything is going to be alright”. And it was.

Arriving on the grounds at the Aspen Institute in Colorado, it was all a great deal of luxurious treatment that I found myself being treated to. They impressed me with all the outstanding care they showed. From grabbing my luggage to offering me all the amenities that for one, I would think the millionaires there in Aspen would be the only ones to be treated this way. On the contrary, it was myself being honored with this hospitality. As we stepped into the main lobby building at the Aspen Institute we were guided to the lunch area where we were served buffet style with assorted freshly made meals by the institute chefs. We grabbed and ate some delicious lunch then headed to our hotel to unload and get ready for our dinner and new participant orientation.

The orientation involved all the participants to gather together and welcome this year’s 2018 Opportunity Youth Forum. We were all greeted as we entered and joined in again on the dinner buffet they had set up for everyone that night. It was all super exquisite food and fine dining that us folks do not get treated with back home in Crescent City. It was fancy, and I felt the high class treatment throughout the night. The first few 15 minutes were for mingling and networking with different partners and organizations. For myself, it all felt really intimidating because of the fact that I only represent myself as a youth involved in a program.

*Participants of the forum enjoy evening performances.*

As the night progressed we had the honor of hearing a speech from Yelena Nemoy, one of the Aspen Institute Community Solution partners, and welcomed some live featured performances by Cleo Parker Robinson Dance, featuring a selection from “Dry Each Other’s Tears in the Stillness of the Night,” and “On the Edge…Reaching to a Higher Ground.” The performances were incredible, accompanying our delicious dinner and fancy wine beverages being served. The idea I got from the performances was to gain a reflection of two people working together in order to show support for each other and create sympathy for the strength it takes to be involved within a larger spectrum of work that we all do as a community. It was heartwarming to see such a great art performance between two partners. The night progressed with chills from all corners in the building. The people gathered within the building were all there for the same purpose and dedication to continue the good work around the world for our Opportunity Youth, and for myself I felt a great deal of inspiration throughout my entire time in Aspen.

On Tuesday morning we had a busy start, trying to adjust to the time difference, and getting to the institute on time for the opening presentation. We came along with everyone else to the Doerr-Hosier Center where we all gathered for breakfast each morning. Poetry by Bianca Mikahn was our serenade to our lovely breakfast, followed by Melody Barnes, the Chair of the Aspen Institute Forum for Community Solutions, and the new president and CEO of the Aspen Institute, Dan Porterfield. They opened up the morning with their speeches about guidance on the transformative power of collaboration to drive change, thoughts, and the importance of self-care in leadership. We were told to enjoy the sessions and that each and every one of them looked forward to collaborating ideas and sharing networking information amongst us all. My first session was at 10:00am, called “Adapting Entrepreneurship Curricula to Support the Needs of Opportunity Youth”. This was one of my favorite sessions, due to the fact that there were more interactions happening within a group, and we all had a chance to give out ideas, make something, and reflect on our own efforts as a group. These practices are very important, in my opinion, when you are trying to work with a team of multiple people, because the interactions have to bring out great solutions. Practicing these types of workshops teaches skills to become a better entrepreneur.

My second session was “What Counts When Reengaging Youth”. This session included talking about the different areas and data consumptions that are gathered within communities and how we can use this data collection to figure out which areas need to be worked on the most to reengage youth.

My third session for the day was “Making Youth Reconnection Work through Movement, Dance, Meditation, and Love”. This session was a very powerful gathering, and quite intimidating because of the fact that all the main leaders were in this room, including the CEO and President of the Aspen Institute and the rest of the leaders for the forum. They were all warm and welcoming. We started off with an icebreaker activity on partnering up with someone for a quick interview that we would later present to the whole group. Everyone seemed to be very important and CEOs of businesses within their community, and corporations as well. Their little biographies that we got were inspiring, and we later moved on to explaining the success some corporations like BestBuy have accomplished, putting over hundreds of thousands of dollars towards educating youth in the computer tech pathway and giving out applause to a great opportunity for our youth.

As our day ended that Tuesday, the weather got incredibly cold, but it also felt wonderful to be able to experience the Colorado wind and be surrounded by high mountains and Aspen trees in every direction in sight. It was a privileged experience that I will not forget. On Wednesday morning, we were brought to our same routine as Tuesday, although this day we were immersed into the first snow fall of the season in Colorado, which was breathtaking. The snowflakes were massive, perfectly frozen flakes falling from the sky. Our Del Norte group was able to get a table by the windows off to the left of the Doerr-Hosier Center, and we were able to take glances back and forth. Within 30 minutes, the surrounding areas outside were a perfect fluffy color white. It was a site to remember, especially with the ginormous property that the Aspen Institute has, everything was artistically designed to suit a millionaire’s taste in views.

*Participants of the forum engaged in Shawn Ginwright’s presentation.*

The morning opening session was given by Steve Patrick, of the Aspen Institute Forum for Community Solutions. He made a speech about the importance of sharing the healing-centered engagement framework with the Opportunity Youth Forum network and lifting up community-based strategies for addressing traumas. A speaker later went onto the stage to talk about the importance of being inclusive to all people, whether that be that those people are incarcerated. This Professor of Education from San Francisco gave his speech and displayed some PowerPoint slides about “Shifting to a Healing Centered Engagement,” and explained that in order to heal, we need to understand what we need to heal and know the difference of not just suppressing the symptoms we have, and also supporting youth development workers with transformative change over professional development. His speech was touching and made me reflect on my own experiences I’ve seen in my years, and the fact we need to give more support to strengthen our social, emotional growth and well-being as well. This professor’s name is Shawn Ginwright, a much-respected man among all the forum participants.

As we went on to the rest of our sessions that day, I went off to my next one which was “Designing Community Dialogue to Support Undocumented Youth”. This was a powerful session for me because I was able to tell a real story to the rest of the group who participated in this session. The leaders were Ruth Barajas-Cardona from Bay Area Community Resources, and Thomas Showalter from National Youth Employment Coalition and they both facilitated a problem-solving session that will help us design our own community dialogues for helping to serve the young people in our community. We all had a very different way of trying to create a dialogue that will capture the youth. For example, some of the ideas that were brought to importance were the fact that we need to build relationships with a couple of potential allies and demographic research as well. These two ideas were a part of a big discussion between the group, and we got into detail about each different community we come from. We later went into detail about facilitating the pathway for the Opportunity Youth amongst this undocumented group. It’s very important to educate people about the importance of knowing your rights and what you may qualify for when you come from an undocumented background of people and share the word to the rest of the people.

I joined into the debrief session with the youth leadership group and it was very interesting to find out the difference that was happening with both youth side and non-youth side sessions. I attended the non-youth sessions and was able to find an equilibrium between both and gather my thoughts to justify that us young leaders are on the right direction to facilitating a movement for all our communities. Understanding the fact that we all have stories that give us more and more strength each time we share those stories. We are gaining the highlight of making an inspirational movement story for our youth within our communities to learn about and continue to grow together to form a powerful change that will impact the youth below us. That equilibrium that I felt was the right hook to cast me into the direction of future change. Becoming involved with the right sources within your community will give you the willpower to further your journey into a right path, because you will be able to feel the good work people put into helping our communities. Feelings are a key important element with doing community work, as in, one must be healed from their own traumas in order to heal the next ones coming up after them into their community. One must feel healthy, safe, and know that healing-centered engagement is culturally grounded onto us and we must view healing as a restoration of our own identity.

*One must feel healthy, safe, and know that healing-centered engagement is culturally grounded onto us and we must view healing as a restoration of our own identity.*

Article written and photos taken by Jessica Ortiz.

Community News

Sons and Brothers Media Team 2018

September 25, 2018 Redwood Voice Leave a comment

This summer, I had the opportunity to work on the media team for the week-long Sons and Brothers Leadership Camp at a mountain retreat in Portola, California, sponsored by the California Endowment. Young men came from inner cities all over the state to help them heal from their personal traumas and prepare them to confront the challenges they face at home in a better way. As the media team, our responsibility was to capture the events of the camp and tell the stories of the campers. We all worked on projects utilizing various forms of media to produce videos, memes on social media, a yearbook-style compilation that every participant could take home, and an audio diary. I was primarily involved in producing the audio diary. We did a series of interviews with one young man throughout the week and followed his development and growth during camp. After the camp was over, I continued to work on this project, writing a script and polishing the story as our team coordinated with KQED–an NPR affiliate in San Francisco. In August, the story aired on the California Report.
The story is posted here: https://www.kqed.org/news/11689332/california-camp-challenges-young-men-to-rethink-masculinity

When I first met the media team I was excited to get to know them over the next week. We all slept and worked in the same small cabin, and even thought it was a tight fit, the atmosphere was fun and exciting. Once we began our projects, however, my feelings changed. I quickly saw that I didn’t know as much as I thought I did. Honestly, I didn’t even realize how much I didn’t know. Some of the guys on the media team were far more experienced than I was, and at first I was intimidated–even discouraged. I thought, “What am I doing here? They don’t need me.” But then I decided to draw from their pool of knowledge and experiences. I starting asking questions and having them show me things. Once I did this, my experience became a lot more enjoyable. Not only was I participating in documenting the camp, but now I was also learning new skills.

As the week progressed I got to know some of the camp participants better, and I was stunned at their stories. These young men are amazing, and some of the hardships they have to face I can’t even comprehend. Many of them deal with gang influences, domestic violence, and even homelessness at a young age. I was grateful for the privilege of hearing and sharing their stories.

During the week I also got to participate in some of the events of the camp, like archery, which was a good release for me and helped me focus and relax as I worked on improving my aim. Another activity I was able to participate in was called the leap of faith. After being strapped to a safety harness that was connected to a rope pulley system, with my teammates as anchors, I climbed up a pole and stood on a small platform forty feet in the air. The entire way up my heart was pounding and my mind was racing with fear. But I knew that if I gave place for those fearful thoughts, then I would not make it. So, ignoring my fears, I continued upward, one step at a time. When I got to the platform, I let out a yell and I jumped, relying completely on my teammates. Sure enough, they caught me. The moment my feet left the platform, the height was no longer scary and intimidating, but beautiful and majestic. I learned a lot from this experience. It helped me overcome some of the other fears that I face in my life and trust that everything is going to work out as long as I keep putting one foot in front of the other and don’t let my fears paralyze me.

All of the young men came from very different backgrounds than myself, and it was a good opportunity for me to learn about other people’s culture. It opened my eyes, and it opened my mind. I could see that we really are all brothers regardless of what we look like or where we come from. I left camp with a stronger character and a deeper sense of my humanity, as well as a commitment to brotherhood.

Photo taken from http://find.acacamps.org/images/camp/image/main/phpopT7Sw.jpg

This post was written by Jayden Cornett.

Opinion

Embracing Optimism at SXSL

January 19, 2017 Redwood Voice Leave a comment

Editor’s note: In early October of 2016, the California Endowment reached out to Redwood Voice in search of a young media reporter to send to the Washington DC to attend South By South Lawn (SXSL), a festival of ideas, art, and action. Redwood Voice selected Tyler Harrison (age 20), to represent Del Norte and Tribal Lands, capture his experience at the festival, and produce a story on what he learned and hopes to bring back to his community. Del Norte’s local newspaper, “The Triplicate,” also released a publication on Tyler’s trip that can be viewed here: http://www.triplicate.com/news/4732922-151/mr-harrison-goes-to-washington?referrer=carousel7

I’ve always hated deadlines, and that didn’t change when I got a text asking me if I’d like to go on a trip to Washington DC to attend a fancy event called SXSL (South by South Lawn) an hour before the signup deadline. I was shocked. I didn’t know what to think or expect, or what qualified me to go on this trip, but I was intrigued none the less. My friends, family, and girlfriend were all equally happy to hear about this great opportunity I’d been given and strongly encouraged me to go. I, however, was not as excited. I’d been on planes flying across the country before, but never alone, never that far, and this was a trip for only one.

Ultimately, after racking my brain for that short hour, I had to make the decision. This was a great opportunity that I was presented with, and I didn’t want to let it go to waste. I knew that if I let my fears get the better of me, I’d regret it later. I signed the paper and sent in my RSVP. I received my travel details less than 24 hours before my first flight left. So, I began packing my bags and saying my goodbyes as quick as I was able to, hoping to get a good night’s rest before my big day.

Unfortunately, stress is killer and anxiety isn’t kind. That “good night’s rest” I had planned turned out to be about three hours of unrestful sleep. I was a nervous wreck leaving the house and heading to the airport. Thoughts of inadequacy plagued my thoughts during the entire trip to Washington DC. What qualified me to go to this event? Surely, a nobody from a small town in one of the smallest counties in California can’t possibly compare to owners of businesses, inventors, performers, United Nations representatives, and more. I felt as if I was simply going to stand on the sidelines for a majority of the event and head home when everything was said and done.

What I got, however, was so far from what I expected. After I met up with the two other people that would be accompanying me, a youth journalist named Jessica, and our “tour guide”, Alheli, we quickly got to know each other and enjoyed each other’s company. Even on the taxi ride to our hotel, many jokes were made, and lots of fun was had. I was with pleasant company, and it did a lot to ease my mind.

Because fate is cruel, and jetlag isn’t forgiving, I got about three hours of sleep that night as well, however it was excitement that kept me awake, not anxiety. I thought that at the very least, now I have a couple people I know and enjoy the company of. We got out of bed early, ate breakfast at a small café, and made our way towards the White House.

The line to get inside of the White House was unbelievably huge. Hundreds of people were lined up tight on one sidewalk, stretching down the block as far as I could see past the crowd. Though I’d gotten past most of my anxiety regarding the event, I still didn’t quite feel a sense of belonging. I asked again, what qualifications did I hold that warranted me going on this trip, as opposed to someone else? I said out loud to Alheli and Jessica, “Man, I don’t feel like I belong here.” They were quick to dismiss this, and through our conversation, a man near us in line turned to me. He was nicely dressed, wearing a fancy name tag sporting some professional title that I’m not fortunate enough to remember, and said to me, “That’s funny, you certainly look like you belong here.” Though it easily could’ve been anyone that he said that to, it was a kind gesture that I appreciated, and it certainly made me feel more at home in the moment. This kind of kindness would go on to set the stage for the rest of the event.

Everyone at SXSL was more polite than I could’ve expected. While I was getting coffee, sitting and listening to speeches, or standing in line for the exhibits, I was constantly meeting strangers and hearing about their lives, and they seemed equally interested to hear about mine. People seemed to genuinely care about who you were and what brought you to this event. I met with people who owned entire organizations, people who were refugees from war, people who have spoken at United Nations meetings, and much more. They all had this same disposition of being mutually polite and interested. Once I saw that others felt free to open up to me, and I got comfortable opening up to others, all anxiety that remained faded away.

One of my favorite parts of this venture was exploring the maze of booths and stands that were present at the festival. Each was set up precariously, trying to dodge the sunlight with tents or walls that were conveniently arranged for a cool spot of shade to sit in. The lines to these booths also reflected this, as you would find twenty or more people crammed into small areas trying to keep out of the heat. There were booths from such a great variety of groups who worked on all sorts of different things. There were people advertising their products to make areas more accessible for those with handicaps, such as easy access ramps and elevators. There were those advocating for teaching students to grow plants in schools with computer-aided fertilizing systems. There was a display from a company that makes “build your own” robots that were being used in education to teach robotics and programming. There was a large display put up by the U.S. National Parks Service promoting their “Find Your Park” campaign, complete with a spinning wheel that pointed to every park in the United States.

There were also several virtual reality displays, including but not limited to a walkthrough of Yellowstone Park, an art display using Google Tiltbrush, and a simulation of solitary confinement, as I’m a huge nerd, this was my first stop. During the “Walk through Yellowstone,” I was taken away by how beautiful the display was, and at one point I found myself reaching out to lean a hand on a wooden post that was present in front of me before I quickly remembered I was wearing a VR headset. I moved on to the virtual reality art display and was taken away by how beautiful it was. The images that surrounded me were encouraging, to say the least, with silhouettes of people holding hands in a circle beneath a giant globe, with the words “You are loved” exploding in a myriad of colored fireworks. There were multiple displays, highlighting social justice, LGBTQ equality, and environmentalism, to match the theme of the event, and though I didn’t get back in line to see any of the other exhibits, I enjoyed watching them through the other volunteers’ eyes on the TV screen. The final virtual reality experience I had that day was both the best and worst: a simulation of solitary confinement. For roughly twenty minutes, you would sit on a stool wearing big, heavy headphones that blocked outside sound and your VR headset, simulating the inside of a prison cell. While it was obvious the whole time that I was inside a simulation, it was claustrophobic, there was loud noise of other “inmates” yelling at guards and making noise. Narrators would occasionally speak about their own experiences in solitary confinement, and the environment of the cell would reflect what they say. In one section, the narrator was mentioning statistics of people who sit through this torture, and at one point, when the narrator mentioned the word “suicide,” the entire cell wall was suddenly covered with what looked like a knife-carved scratching of the word “suicide.” While it always obvious that I was in a simulation, and I could leave at any time I wanted, I decided I’d try to sit through it until it was over, and I found that at the end, I was shaking on my seat, and my heart was beating rapidly. I was glad to be free of the “digital chamber” that I had been locked in for that short time, but I was glad that I had gone through it in the end.

The highlight of the event was a live conversation between President Obama, Leonardo DiCaprio and environmental scientist Katharine Hayhoe, followed by the worldwide unveiling of Leonardo’s documentary titled “Before the Flood,” a movie focused on highlighting the damning effects of climate change and how our modern lifestyles cause it. These talks and the documentary were not all fire and brimstone, however. Even after hearing all this talk about how ocean levels could rise, species could go extinct and more, there was an unshakable atmosphere of optimism. There was a huge focus on what we as individuals can do, like changing our eating and transportation habits, for example, and I felt encouraged about the future.

Heading home was bittersweet. I was glad to get back to my friends and family, but I was sad that the event had to end. It was such an incredible experience to be surrounded by such a positive atmosphere of people who not only rejected, but challenged cynicism, who refused to give up hope for positive change, and who were happy to share this hope with whoever they spoke to.

I left SXSL a changed man. It was a huge eye-opener for me, and I think that it’s an experience that I will remember and reminisce about for the rest of my life. Through the fun of learning about new technologies being used in schools and farms, to the harrowing experiences of learning about climate change and social injustice, it was a life-changing event, and I sincerely hope that I’m able to effectively translate the meaningful experience that it was to people in my daily life going forward.

Education, Videos

Native American Inclusion in Del Norte County Schools

October 26, 2016 Redwood Voice Leave a comment

We visited elementary and middle school students at the Northern California Indian Development Council’s after-school program to learn how inclusive Del Norte County Schools are for our Native American students as well as how our schools might be hurting them and what they would like to see changed. Students shared stories of personal experiences they have had with classmates and teachers as well as offered solutions to how we can help build a better learning environment.

Telling the untold stories of Del Norte and Tribal Lands through amplified youth voices.