Yurok language lessons will soon be more accessible than ever before—the following is a PSA from the Yurok Tribe.
The Administration for Native Americans recently funded the next evolution of the Yurok Language Program’s comprehensive effort to fully restore the everyday use of the Tribe’s first form of communication. Over the next three years, the Program will use the ANA award to make learning the Yurok language more accessible than ever before. The primary goal of the project is to reintegrate the language within households, workplaces and community events. To accomplish this objective, the Program is creating a series of digital platforms containing interactive educational tools, implementing culturally relevant learning exercises and developing a virtual archive featuring a diversity of resources. The Program is also establishing a community-wide team of language liaisons, comprised of tribal staff and local residents, who will help promote and participate in learning opportunities.
“When we designed this project, we focused on how we could best serve the community, while supporting the development of new and existing language speakers. We wanted to ensure that language is spoken in the home, that language is spoken in the workplace, and that we hear and speak the language at our ceremonies and gatherings,” said Yurok Language Program Manager Victoria Carlson. “We also thought about the elders who dedicated their lives and energy into preserving the language.
The Yurok language team feels we are on a path they would want us to pursue.
“The Yurok Language Program has developed an outstanding teacher training program. The language is now taught in head starts and public schools. We have built an amazing foundation to take the next step, which is to move the language out of the classroom and into the community. We want to empower people to use the language in their day-to-day lives,” said Distance Learning Coordinator Brittany Vigil.
“We’re really focusing our efforts on bringing the language back to where it belongs, which is everywhere,” added Yurok Language Cultural Coordinator James Gensaw. “One of the things they did when they tried to exterminate us was remove language from the home. One of the primary goals of this project is bring the use of the language back into the homes of all of our members.”
The Planting Seeds: Reclaiming Yurok Language Domains and Building New Circles project reflects the input of more than 130 Yurok citizens, who provided feedback on the Program’s future goals. The three domains, which include Reintroduction to Ceremony, Yurok Tribal Employees, and Distance Learning and Community Engagement, were each selected for a specific purpose.
“The domains touch on the aspects of our daily lives as Yurok people. We want to normalize the use of the language in everyday situations,” said Distance Learning Coordinator Brittany Vigil, who is leading the development of the digital assets.
The first online platform is a new website, yuroklanguage.com Currently under construction, the site will contain language curricula, digital animations with Yurok songs and much more. The Language Program is also building a series of applications offering on-demand learning materials, including videos and audio recordings of tribal elders telling traditional stories.
“I want people to see the Yurok language every day of their lives. They’re going to see it in their email, or at a community class or on social media. We want to normalize the everyday use of the language,” said Distance Learning Coordinator Vigil.
“Once the distance learning courses, digital platforms and the online archive are in place, they will be available to the community. For as long as there is a Yurok Tribe, all of these learning tools will be organized in one place for future learners,” added Barbara McQuillen, the Yurok Language Collections and Teacher Training Coordinator.
The Program has already organized the first of many immersive activities, including acorn-gathering and eel hook-making events where participants learned terminology related to the activity. Plans are in the works to put on similar events in the near term. The language will also be incorporated into the Tribe’s most high-profile gatherings, such as the Salmon Festival and Spring Flings.
“There are numerous studies that show hands-on learning stimulates language acquisition. Immersion is actually the best way to learn. It triggers a ton of language growth,” said Yurok Language Cultural Coordinator James Gensaw. “The online and in-person language activities cater to every learning style.” There are benefits that go well beyond language acquisition and retention too. For example, second language learners regularly perform better in reading, math and language arts. Indigenous communities who have higher levels of language retention are shown to have lower rates of cigarette smoking, substance abuse, suicide, domestic violence, and diabetes. Native Children who learn their language have higher levels of self-esteem, higher levels of confidence in their own abilities, and decreased levels of anxiety.
“New research indicates that those who learn their native language are less likely to attempt suicide too,” said Language Collections and Teacher Training Coordinator Barbara McQuillen. The Program is currently looking for 15 language liaisons from the tribal government and the community. In addition to supporting the Program, the liaisons will receive assistance with achieving an intermediate-low level of proficiency in speaking the language. The Program encourages all interested community members to sign up to become a liaison. If you’re interested, please email Yurok Language Distance Learning Coordinator Brittany Vigil-Burbank at bvigil@yuroktribe.nsn.us.
The Planting Seeds Project represents a natural progression of the successful Yurok elder-led campaign implemented between the 1950s and early 2000s to preserve the language. At every juncture, the Yurok Language Program team acknowledges their predecessors’ dedication to saving the language. Taking the mantle, the Program has made the language available in the Tribe’s Head Starts in addition to public high schools on the Yurok and Hoopa Reservations and in Del Norte and Humboldt Counties. The language will continue to be offered in these educational institutions for the foreseeable future. During the past five years, the Program has trained a team of talented teacher candidates and continues to develop new instructors. In fact, some the teachers from the initial class are now training new language educators. The Program also provides community language classes. Prior to the pandemic, the courses were taught in-person, but now they are available via Zoom.
“We believe this project is a reflection of what our fluent elder speakers would have wanted us to carry on to ensure the survival of our language. I feel confident our language team will be able to accomplish the goals of this project,” concluded Yurok Language Program Manager Carlson.
Source: (Joana Jansen, Northwest Indian Language Institute, University of Oregon; Lindsay Marean, Owens Valley Career Development Center; and Janne Underriner, Northwest Indian Language Institute, University of Oregon)
The information of this message comes from Del Norte Library District Literacy Coordinator Danny Clark.
Could you use assistance with your reading? How about assistance with basic computer skills; like word processing, writing a resume or setting up an email? Do you need help preparing for your GED or HiSET? Are you learning English as a second language and would like to improve your reading, speaking and listening skills?
Del Norte Reads is here to help with all this and much more!
Del Norte Reads — a grant and donation funded nonprofit organization aimed at helping community members with all aspects of functional literacy — is a library program that works in conjunction with the Del Norte County Library District to provide free literacy services to community members. They proudly provide assistance with reading, writing, math, computer literacy, GED prep and much more.
They are looking for compassionate volunteers to tutor our hard working learners. We provide materials and training. Even an hour or two a week can make a huge impact in the lives of the program’s learners.
All of Del Norte Reads’ services are free and they are more than happy to provide accommodations for a diverse group of learners.
“Fun times on Adult Literacy Day at the Del Norte Reads Open House.” – From the Del Norte Reads Facebook Page.
If this program sounds like something you or someone you know would enjoy being a part of this program, you can call them at (707) 464-7072 or stop by and see them in person at 1080 Mason Mall suite 9. More information is available at the Main branch of the Del Norte County Library.
“Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at the Del Norte County Library (including our visiting dinosaurs)! […] Happy Thanksgiving!” – From the Del Norte County Library Facebook Page.
Wondering how to get your COVID Vaccine? Del Norte County Public Health is offering free vaccinations to all comers Tuesdays & Wednesdays from 10am to Noon, at the fairgrounds in Crescent City. No appointment necessary.
It’s as simple as following the giant color coded signs.
Step 1. Fill out a form. Step 2. Show the friendly and helpful volunteers your form. Step 3. Get vaccinated. Step 4. Hang out for 15 minutes. It’s as simple as that.
Now that you know how to get vaccinated, why should you get vaccinated?
We asked Head Volunteer-Volunteer (one who volunteers to be the Head Volunteer) Debra Wakefield.
From Debra Wakefield:
If you’ve already got your vaccine, you’re already part of the solution here in Del Norte County. So the only way we’re going to stop this virus is by getting as many people vaccinated as we can. So the reason you should come down is for yourself, to be safe. It’s for your family, to keep all your family members safe—grandma, grandpa, kids, everybody. And in my book it’s for your community, we want to open up our businesses, we want to have as normal a life as you possibly can here in Crescent City. Only way we’re going to do that is to get a ton of people vaccinated. So do it for yourself, do it for your family, and please, please do it for our community.
Debra Wakefield, Head Volunteer at the Fairgrounds Vaccine Clinic
Can’t make the weekly event at the fairgrounds? Call your local pharmacy for an appointment—at the time of this report, Walmart, Walgreens, and Rite Aid have vaccines and are taking appointments or walk-ins, depending, with most other pharmacies soon to have them.
Tribal members can call United Indian Health Services at (707) 465-2975 to make an appointment.
Let’s get back to normal—get vaccinated. For Redwood Voice,
Sources of Strength in Del Norte are closer than they might seem!
This program is nationwide, but we’re talking about the team of youths right here at home. They’re here to spread messages and engage with the community, kicking it off with their “We Belong” Campaign!
And of course, a special thanks to the team of youths who spoke in this video—Valeria, Abigal, Andy, Alivia, and Annalee!—who not only provided their voices, but are part of the actual initiative of this program.
Though this project exists as a video, it is also included below as an article for your reading leisure.
It’s made national news and things are finally heading in the right direction, but it’s only the beginning. Throughout 2020—yes, that 2020—The Yurok Tribe rose up and at last has reached their goal of undamming the Klamath River, now with a set year for the dams to finally come down. But it wasn’t an easy journey… nor a short one, and certainly not a simple one. Here’s how we got here.
This report is meant to document what led to the move to finally undam the Klamath River, after a solid decade of effort being put into the matter.
Those who made it through the constant negotiations and reworkings involved the Klamath Justice Coalition, who are, quote, “formed by local Natives and people from the Klamath around the Un-dam the Klamath campaign,” (x) as well as the Yurok Tribe as a whole, whose reservation rests in Klamath. In fact, to part the curtain, this video was inspired while I was looking for information to teach myself about the entire ordeal, and noticed that information was… a little bit all over the place.
Which, hey, in its defense: this story just developed over the last few months, and the developments in between were quite spaced out. So the purpose of this report will be to capture the narrative and have it all in one easy-to-digest place.
So without further ado—let’s jump right in.
CHAPTER 1. Exposition
Well, actually, we’re not going to jump right into the real meat of it. Since we’re broadcasting this story to people who may have no idea what’s up: just a bit of a rundown of what you need to know.
The Klamath River is a 257 mile long river that cuts through both Northern California and Southern Oregon. Over in Klamath it empties into the Pacific Ocean, and it starts all the way back in, of course, Klamath Falls. It’s the Second Largest River in all California, second only to the Sacramento River. The river is so large that along its trail, it satiates four different tribes: the Yurok tribe, the Karuk tribe, the Hoopa tribe, and the Klamath tribe.
The Klamath is an absolutely vital part of the area. To our neighbors, the Yurok Tribe, it gives a sense of identity and livelihood. It gives sustenance to the ecosystem and is where the salmon population is meant to thrive. The fishing of salmon in the Yurok Tribe, as this report will likely hit a few times, is an incredibly important part of Yurok culture. Salmon is used in ceremonies. Salmon is a source of food. And for many, salmon is a source of income.
I don’t think I need to explain why that’s, y’know, a big deal. Imagine a resource so vital, so important to you. It’s been part of your culture since as long as your culture’s been around, it keeps you fed, and chances are high it’s what you do to keep the lights on and the bills paid.
Now imagine something happens. Something bad. No, that resource isn’t taken away: it’s made sick from the source, and withers before your very eyes.
CHAPTER 2. The Day of the Dams
Klamath River, again, is a big river. I probably made that clear. And you know this story is about dams so you know where we’re going with this.
What happens when you put a dam on a river? According to Michael Belchik, the Yurok tribe’s senior fisheries biologist, quote “Anytime you put a dam on a river, it always has profound effects: it chops the river into two pieces. Rivers carry a lot more than just water. The water goes down river, fish move upriver, but not only that: there’s nutrients, sediment and other organisms.” Rivers move a lot of vital stuff, and when you put a giant wall in the way, it’s going to mess it up. And mess it up it has, as the salmon population that we’ve established as important on both an identity and livelihood basis has been utterly decimated. Glen Spain, northwest regional director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations, explained that the salmon catch rate has gone down 98% over the past 4 decades due to the dams. In a more scientific phrasing: “Scientists state that the dams create deadly algae blooms that contribute to disease and parasites infecting Klamath River salmon,” according to a Wild Rivers Outpost article by Jessica Cejnar. If you’d like to see more of this effect, Congressman Jared Huffman conducted a livestream August 18th, 2020—a hefty 2 hour examination of the impact it’s had on the tribes that rely on it and the environment itself whilst PacifiCorp turns profits.
The aforementioned Jared Huffman livestream examining effects.
Even more so, an interesting point on these dams is that while their list of cons piles high, their pros aren’t so positive either. It would actually be tremendously better for the economy of Del Norte County to have these dams taken down. Bringing back the salmon population would reintroduce commercial fishing from the Tribe and Independent Fisheries. Instead, the salmon numbers have been simply so low along the Klamath River that from end to end, Northern California to Southern Oregon, fisheries have had to disband solely because there’s not even enough fish to pass the minimum threshold, Glen Spain further elaborated in a Wild Rivers Outpost article.
Basically? The Dams aren’t really doing much for anyone besides PacifiCorp themselves, the profiting party. And even that is put to question. The same article said of Spain, quote, “Spain argued that the 82 megawatts of electricity the dams generate has been replaced at least 17 times over with renewable energy since Berkshire Hathaway purchased PacifiCorp in 2005. He noted that in a 2007 environmental impact statement, FERC concluded that the dams actually produce 26 percent less power than originally thought, which has to be sold at a rate that loses the company $20 million a year.”
So if I told you these dams—yes, plural—have been up for a solid century, well, I don’t have to tell you that’s going to be rough on the environment. The four dams, which are named J.C. Boyle, Copco No. 1, Copco No. 2, and the Iron Gate, spanned several decades of construction, the first beginning construction around 1908 with it finishing around 1917, and the last finally constructed in 1962, standing strong and in the way ever since.
The Yurok Tribe has had a rough relationship trying to get these dams removed, an obvious goal because these dams, as Belchik said, chopped the river into separate pieces. Since the mid-2000s, some progress had finally been made between the various stakeholders who are involved with the Klamath River and the Dams, which includes the Yurok Tribe and Pacificorp (who actually operates the Dams), though also includes the Karuk Tribe, a few environmental organizations, and the states of California and Oregon. This settlement became known as the “Klamath Hydro-electric Settlement Agreement,” or KHSA. As Amy Cordalis, General Council of the Yurok Tribe puts it,
[…] Since the mid-2000s [there] has been an agreement in place: the Klamath Hydro-electric Settlement Agreement, that would effectuate dam removal. That agreement has been amended and changed a few times.
Amy Cordalis, General Council of the Yurok Tribe
These amendments and changes have altered how things work out regarding Dam Removal, which has made it a bumpy road in terms of getting the dams… well, actually removed. The most recent of these amendments happened in 2016, when the responsibility of Dam Removal was taken out of Congressional Approval, as it had previously been, and back into the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or FERC. FERC’s involvement would provide a bit of a “Curveball,” as Amy Cordalis and many others have come to put it, and I’ll let her take it away with what exactly that meant for Dam Removal:
And in July of last year, 2020, we received an order on one of the initial applications. And in the order, it basically approved the license surrender of the Klamath Dams FERC License that’s required in order for PacifiCorp to operate the dams. So it approved the application of surrendering that license, but it required PacifiCorp to stay on the license through the transfer process of that license to the Klamath River Renewal Corporation, which is the Dam Removal Entity. And that requirement was a bit of a curveball, it was a bit different from what we had contemplated in the 2016 amendment to the [KHSA], and so there was this decision point of… what do we do? How do we continue to move forward with dam removal with this little curveball? And so what happened was the Yurok Tribe called the CEOs of Berkshire Hathaway – Warren Buffet, the CEO of PacifiCorp – […] And so we called their leaders and basically said, “Meet us on the banks of Blue Creek on the Yurok Reservation and let’s figure this out.” And to their credit they responded, and although we didn’t get Warren Buffet to the river we did get a few of his number one and number two CEOs to the river, and we had a long talk. And our Tribal Leaders were clear that failure is not an option, that dams will come down, and that we needed to work collectively together in order to remove the dams. And they basically responded, and what that did was then trigger negotiations for a new agreement that happened over the late Sumer and early Fall.
Amy Cordalis, General Council of the Yurok Tribe
Backing up just a bit, the FERC decision and its effects thereafter came about late Summer, as Cordalis explained. Ideally, prior to the decision, plans were to bring the dams down in 2022. This curveball, however, meant all the stakeholders were back in the negotiations phase. As Jessica Cejnar, Wild Rivers Outpost Bureau Chief, wrote on the matter in an article on August 20th, 2020, Quote: “This decision changed the terms of the 2016 Klamath Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement, [Utility Representative Scott Bolton said], and makes PacifiCorp liable for all project costs and liabilities.” And, obviously, PacifiCorp didn’t want that.
The actual cost to remove the dams is estimated at $434 Million. The renegotiations that made the KHSA happen helped form the Klamath River Renewal Corporation, or KRRC: the organization Cordalis mentioned the license would go to. As such, they had their own budget, and at the time it was set at $450 Million. $200 Million of that actually came from a PacifiCorp surcharge to its California and Oregon customers, and the other $250 million came from California water bond dollars. But for a while, a tension brewed between the Yurok Tribe and PacifiCorp. It seemed to some that PacifiCorp wanted to pass everything onto the tribe, and, therefore, get out with their profit and quietly move along—but the ruling of the license threw that out the window.
CHAPTER 3. Rising Action.
You know, PacifiCorp thought they were going to be off the hook, and left the management of the dismantling of the dams to a non-profit. And the federal Government said, “No I’m sorry, you’re not off the hook actually,” and so it’s really important to me to hold those corporations accountable. Corporations have deeply impacted the health of all of us, including our Earth and natural world, our ecosystem. At some point we need to start holding them accountable. They often are able to get out of lawsuits and keep doing the kind of dirty work they do by using the law against us.
Chrystal Helton, Local Activist & Resident of Klamath Glen
A month after renegotiations started, the FERC Order wasn’t the only thing pinning PacifiCorp to take responsibility. At this point, too, we should mention that the owners of PacifiCorp were being drawn to attention, Berkshire Hathaway and its CEO, Warren Buffet. It was a bit of a perspective shift, from the daunting task of fighting an entire corporation to remembering that… Yes, there was a person behind this. A name and a face, an identity, a reputation. Remember this, it’ll come up again later!
On September 24th, 2020, Congressman Jared Huffman suddenly proposed legislation that specifically targeted PacifiCorp for the impact its Dams have had.
The legislation came with a large news release that you can read online in its entirety, but the important gist of it: it’s H.R. 4447, the Clean Economy Jobs and Innovation Act, which included the KHSA Tribal Fairness amendment, led by Rep. Jared Huffman. Quote,
“The amendment is designed to safeguard Tribal communities against further harm to the Klamath River and its ecosystem and remediate existing problems in the Klamath River basin and downstream communities caused by four aging dams owned by PacifiCorp, a subsidiary of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway.
If PacifiCorp turns its back on the negotiated agreement to remove the dams, the Huffman amendment would impose new relicensing conditions for the dam owner, including a requirement that the dams comply with state and tribal recommendations to reduce harm to fisheries, as well as numerous public disclosures related to water pollution, fish recovery, dam safety, and the facility’s financial status.” End quote.
So, at this point… everyone’s eyes are on PacifiCorp. FERC dropped their order to stay liable, the Yurok tribe made it clear that failure is not an option, and now the House of Representatives has passed H.R. 4447.
And all the while? Something big starts to form.
CHAPTER 4. The Day of Action
October 23rd, 2020: Activists around the region and the country planned a day of action to put pressure on Warren Buffet and Berkshire Hathaway, PacifiCorp’s Owner, as well as other stakeholders and politicians regarding the removal of the Klamath Dams.
KFUG Community Radio interviewed local activist and Klamath Glen resident Chrystal Helton (who you heard cue us into the previous section), one of many involved with the Day of Action. Plans involved some good ol’ fashioned banner bombing across Highway 101 to bring attention to PacifiCorp. Virtual rallies took place in both Portland and Omaha, Nebraska, the former being where PacifiCorp is located, the latter being Warren Buffet’s hometown. A San Diego rally also took place, joining not only the movement to Undam the Klamath, but to also push back against PacifiCorp’s attempts to dominate Southern California as a utility, which was spoken further of in a California Save the Salmon press release. In Klamath, signs were hung from various Tribal families addressing Warren Buffet, Berkshire Hathaway, Pacificorp, and both the California and Oregon Governors, Gavin Newsom and Kate Brown (respectively.)
And the thing is? It really took off. Social Media was filled with tens of thousands talking about the Day of Action, and that creates an interesting thing. See, as we said earlier, it wasn’t just about PacifiCorp. While everyone was already on board knowing the troubles that corporations have caused for our health and the natural world, the realization of its sole owner, Warren Buffet, meant that these calls could be far more targeted.
So when Warren Buffet’s reputation fell on the line and he noticed that all eyes were on him, the Day of Action had accomplished its mission. Like Amy Cordalis said: “Failure was not an option.”
CHAPTER 5. Resolution & What’s To Come
Negotiations were suddenly a lot smoother, and by mid-November 2020, the Yurok tribe finally had some good news.
Folks probably saw the press releases from not only Berkshire Hathaway, but Governor Newsom, Governor Brown in Oregon, as well as the tribe announcing the new memorandum of agreement that we were able to negotiate. And I’ll move into the terms of what those are[.] So the terms of the agreement basically adressed the issue that FERC required of PacifiCorp staying on the license, by having both the states of Oregon and California, and then PacifiCorp would stay involved in a technical capacity but would not come onto the license. So that is the sort of compromise that everyone agreed to. In addition to that, Oregon, California, as well as PacifiCorp, are contributing an additional $15 million to dam removal—$15 million each— for a total of $45 Million, on top of the existing $450 Million Budget.
Amy Cordalis, General Council of the Yurok Tribe
With these new terms of agreement, the deal was made, negotiations… were negotiated. While it’s certainly an ambitious project, it’s finally, truly underway. By 2023, the dams should be gone. So what comes next? What does this mean, exactly?
For one thing, this is historical for a few reasons. The most tragic of which being that this is a nation based on the struggling, pillaging, and theft of Indingeous tribes who populated the continent far before its colonization by White European settlers. Historically they’ve been damned by us, and even more recently, our government has been truly cruel to the Indigenous tribes whose land we live our lives on. Mt. Rushmore prior to the carving of the Presidential faces was an incredibly sacred, religious place, called the Tunkasila Sakpe Paha, or Six Grandfathers Mountain. Which, of course, our country stole and carved the faces of various figures who each played roles throughout history in taking the land and power of those who were already here. The Standing Rock protests, where peaceful protesters were maced and brutalized, was just back in 2016. But now, we see a noticeable victory for the Yurok tribe, as well as the various other tribes who rely on the Klamath River.
It’s back to what Amy Cordalis said: failure is not an option.
My final point I’ll make is: in the process of negotiation the new MOA, the tribe really focused on the importance of the fishery, to preserving tribal life ways and protecting Indigenous cultures. And that was really heard by Berkshire Hathaway, and I think also by the states. And the states, as well as Berkshire Hathaway, were really willing and did step up and make commitments to protect the tribal interest, to work to restore the environment. I think that’s one of the first times I can think of that Indigenous communities were able to put their rights, their life ways, at the same level as the business interest. You know, the force of the tribe that: we’re never going to stop here, failure’s not an option. But I also think the tipping point was the decision Berkshire Hathaway made to support this project, they really stepped up, and equally valuing diverse interest. I think that’s such a good model of how we can move forward with resource development, and also resource restoration.
Amy Cordalis, General Council of the Yurok Tribe
Who would have thought, listening to people actually helped us understand. So there are a few things to take from this. For one, people are powerful when they’re together and have a voice. Indingenous folks in this country have faced the brunt of colonialism since the start, but still they fight for what is rightfully theirs. Hopefully, this case will become a wondrous precedent for future movements of tribes to reclaim what is rightfully their own, especially when everyone is working together. Electing leaders who listen to their concerns and genuinely act on them.
We may not know what the future holds. FERC could introduce a new order, legislation could change how these operations work out, or another Indigenous landmark could be put in danger. But if nothing else, this ordeal has shown the strength of these Tribes and what comes from elected officials who genuinely care—who DO something. So, look forward to 2023 for a damless Klamath, take the time to listen to Indigenous folks, and take the time to make some noise for them.
For Redwood Voice, I’m Persephone Rose. This is how we got here.
News Now is a co-production of KFUG Community Radio, Wild Rivers Outpost, & Redwood Voice. You can listen live to News Now live every other Wednesday at 5pm on 101.1 FM or kfugradio.org. On tonight’s stories:
On Tonight’s Stories: The COVID-19 Pandemic is surging all across our nation, including right here in Del Norte County. A positive new agreement has come around on the Klamath River Dam Removal. CalTrans looks into refining new routes that would move around Last Chance Grade. You can listen to these and many, many more on this production of News Now, linked below.
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: BreakfastThe Denver Post: More than 13 million kids in this country go to school hungry
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.
Transgender Awareness Month – a month to memorialize the victims of transphobic violence and raise awareness of discrimination faced by transgender people worldwide.
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.
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.
On Thursday, October 20th, candidates for the District 1 Del Norte County Board of Supervisor’s seat and the District 4 Del Norte County School Board seat will come together at Mary Peacock to answer questions on topics ranging from youth homelessness to bullying. One might be surprised to find that many of the passionate hosts of the forum are not yet of voting age.
The nonpartisan candidate’s forum was designed by youth, organized by youth, and will be run by youth with guidance from True North Organizing and partners with Building Healthy Communities, Redwood Voice, the Opportunity Youth Initiative, and College of the Redwoods.
“We as youth have a responsibility to not only represent the issues we care about, but also have the responsibility to represent ourselves in this new age,” says organizer Kevin Vue, age 18, “youth have problems too, we suffer and our peers suffer, we would like to see how [the candidates] are going to address our problems.” Organizer Alexxa Herrera, age 16, adds, “This forum also tells people that youth do care about what goes on in our community. Because we care enough to put this on, [the community] should care enough to listen and vote.”
The youth organizers selected the Del Norte County School Board and Del Norte County Board of Supervisors to create the opportunity to ask the candidates questions around decisions they will make that directly impact youth.
College of the Redwoods professor, Will Meriweather, will also be providing brief information on the many propositions that local voters will have on their ballots this year.
For the Del Norte County School Board candidates, Judie Cordts, Charlaine Mazzei, and Roger Daley, the youth selected questions regarding LGBTQ+ issues, bullying, supporting minority students transitioning to higher education, and updates to Del Norte County Schools. For the Board of Supervisors, Roger Gitlin and Kathryn Murray, the youth have selected questions around youth homelessness and shelters, mental health resources, businesses, and other major challenges for youth living in Del Norte County.
The entire community is encouraged to attend to learn more about their candidates and how they are responding to the issues important to our youth. The forum will be held Thursday, October 20th from 6:00pm-8:00pm at the Mary Peacock Gym. Voter registration, childcare, and translation will be available.
Telling the untold stories of Del Norte and Tribal Lands through amplified youth voices.
