Offering To The Tree People by Brent Hardisty
Our Intention
The intention of Building the Bridge Bemidji is to create more opportunities for awareness, education, and constructive dialogue about our area, our history, and the people indigenous to this land. We endeavor to create a safe space for our community to come together with a renewed sense of mutual respect and shared understanding. Our purpose is to provide opportunities for dialogue, to enhance understanding and to forge pathways to create more equitable systems and institutional policies. We intend to discover, reveal, and educate about past harm. This is not about individuals, but rather historical and contemporary harm that is institutionalized, and carried out by governments or non-state agencies. We recognize that the depth and breadth of this work will require much time-- this is not a singular event. This is a process we must work through together, to create a better future for us all.
Building the Bridge is a continuation of the Bemidji Truth and Reconciliation effort.
The intention of Building the Bridge Bemidji is to create more opportunities for awareness, education, and constructive dialogue about our area, our history, and the people indigenous to this land. We endeavor to create a safe space for our community to come together with a renewed sense of mutual respect and shared understanding. Our purpose is to provide opportunities for dialogue, to enhance understanding and to forge pathways to create more equitable systems and institutional policies. We intend to discover, reveal, and educate about past harm. This is not about individuals, but rather historical and contemporary harm that is institutionalized, and carried out by governments or non-state agencies. We recognize that the depth and breadth of this work will require much time-- this is not a singular event. This is a process we must work through together, to create a better future for us all.
Building the Bridge is a continuation of the Bemidji Truth and Reconciliation effort.
We are, from left to right: Linsey McMurrin, Chelsea Ottman Rak, & Ashley Charwood
