The Coco Canary Monthly Newsletter
October 2021
Summary:
Stop Line 3 (Oct Update & Call to Action), Giving Project 2022, Wakáŋ Tipi Center Celebration, and more!
Welcome to Coco Canary!
If you’re new here, read this section! Otherwise, skip on down.
Hello from Molly O’Connor, the principal, and founder of Coco Canary Consulting, LLC, an evaluation firm.
We are based in St. Paul, MN, and we acknowledge that we are on the stolen lands of the Wahpekute Band of Dakota, who are among the Oceti Sakowin, (“Seven Council Fires”). These people were the first stewards of the lands we occupy, and they are still here. We honor their connection to this land and their ongoing resilience in the face of violent colonialism.
You may ask, how do social justice and racial equity relate to evaluation or communication? Well, from our experience, we have seen evaluations designed and communications reported in ways that harm, undervalue, and take advantage of the communities being served. This is our current status quo, and it is not okay. It has to change. This is why we do our work differently because we want to be a part of the solution, not the problem.
Please visit Community Centric Fundraising for more information. It is a new movement that has inspired thousands (including Coco Canary) to do better. For extra credit, visit Consulting With a Racial Equity Lens too.
A Grounding: Stop Line 3 October Update & Calls to Action
If you haven’t heard of the Stop Line 3 movement, learn more here.
If you didn’t know, Enbridge’s contested Line 3 tar sands pipeline is now reportedly operational. In response, thousands of indigenous leaders, water protectors, and environmental advocates mobilized for a “People vs. Fossil Fuels” march and 5-day civil disobedience in Washington D.C. To demand President Joe Biden to declare a climate emergency, divest in fossil fuels, and fully endorse a renewable energy revolution.
During these five days of action, water protectors delivered a petition with 1 million signatures to stop the Line 3 pipeline, pending a full environmental review to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (perhaps you were one of these signatures?? I sent the petition in a recent newsletter). After the delivery, frontline leaders met with officials from Army Corps twice. During these meetings, with support from Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network, they presented evidence of water contamination and ongoing destruction of aquifers and rivers from Line 3 construction. And, again, demanded a full Environmental Impact Statement.
“Still, the damage that Enbridge caused during the construction of Line 3 has still not been fixed. Last Friday, Enbridge failed to meet the deadline the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources gave for cleaning up the aquifer it breached – and then failed to report – in January. Plus, the state is investigating two additional sites where the company may have caused additional groundwater damage. Despite all this, oil continues to flow through the pipeline. ‘If Enbridge can’t meet basic safety requirements, they should not be allowed to operate a pipeline. This is a deep concern, that they can’t fix a problem they made. It doesn’t bode well for the future,’ Winona LaDuke said.” —
From a Stop Line 3 email titled “Army Corps of Engineers Meets with Water Protectors”
CALL TO ACTION:
(1) Sign this letter to Biden (even if you have written before, he needs to hear again).
(2) They have a video campaign for those who want to take a step further is demanding justice by recording a video.
(3) Sign this petition to tell Jamie Pinkham from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to STOP Line 3 (they have the power to STOP Line 3 by calling for an immediate Environmental Impact Statement)
In love and solidarity,
<3 Molly
Business Updates
1. Interested in Learning How Equitable Fundraising Works And Funding Systems Change Organizations? Apply for Giving Project 2022! *Deadline NOV 16th*
The Giving Project is a unique opportunity to put values into action in a collective way to raise dollars and grant them to organizations working to build power for social change in Minnesota. Here’s a summary:
- A cross-class, multiracial group of 20 folks come together to move money to BIPOC-led organizations that focus on systems change.
- Through staff-led workshops and training, the group develops a shared understanding of race, class, and power within society, which supports their collective action in fundraising and grantmaking.
- Each participant makes a personally meaningful financial gift and is supported in fundraising by their family, friends, and community.
- Participants are guided through reading and scoring proposals, conducting site visits, and making collective decisions to fund organizations.
If you’re interested, I recommend attending an information session to learn more about how folks just like you and I have moved over one million dollars to BIPOC-led movements through this program. At these sessions, you can meet Headwaters staff and program alumni to get your questions answered before applying. Sign up for an info session here.
There is an application process, and the interest form is available now for you to fill out on Headwaters’ website. The priority deadline is November 16th, but you can apply at any time. I hope you’ll consider applying for this amazing opportunity.
If you want to learn even more, feel free to message me, and I’d be happy to jump on a call or Zoom to share my experience. <3
2. Lower Phalen Creek Project – A Wakáŋ Tipi Community Event
On Indigenous Peoples’ Day, I attended an inspiring community event hosted by the Lower Phalen Creek Project called Uŋči Maká Wóabdezapi (Recognizing Mother Earth). This event was a celebration and ceremony for the soon-to-be Wakáŋ Tipi Center, an interpretive center that will center Dakota storytelling, healing, connection, and learning. Learn more about the center here.
There were several speakers, performances, and prayers led by community leaders who have been instrumental in the planning, restoring, and developing of this sacred landscape. I want to touch on one memorable moment, which was at the end of the event.
After a prayer led by Lakota Elder Jerry Dearly (Oglala Sioux Tribe), we were invited to participate in a ceremony where leaders and attendees offered tobacco—which is the native Red Willow that grows along creeks and rivers that has been picked, dried, and used in ceremonies by the Lakota people for generations. Long before white settlers and colonizers came to these lands.
We got in a line, received a pinch of tobacco which we held in our palms, and one by one came up to a bowl with a Dakota community leader standing in front of it. Nearby, there was a group of men drumming and singing a song. There was also a person from Kalpulli Yaocenoxtli burning tobacco. When I got to the front of the line, I placed the tobacco into the bowl, shook hands with the person, and walked away, feeling a sense of connection. It was a great event, and, as I have said before, I would highly recommend following Lower Phalen Creek Project.
Other Business Updates
The Fields at Rootsprings – A Place For Radical Rest for BIPOC+ Social Justice Fighters
The Fields at Rootsprings is a hybrid worker cooperative, limited-equity cooperative, and nonprofit partnership that provides land-based programs for the healing and retreat of BIPOC (centering LGBTQ+) artists, activists, healers, and communities in Minnesota. They are currently in their final fundraising push, and I recommend you all check them out and, if you can, donate to their cause! If you are interested in learning more, contact the AMAZING Nneka Onwuzurike at nneka@rootspringsmn.org for a 1:1 conversation (FUN FACT: Nneka was a co-facilitator for my Giving Project 2021 cohort!!).
Native Governance Center Beyond Land Acknowledgement Guide
If you haven’t already, read the Native Governance Center’s Beyond land Acknowledgement Guide. Attending their events and reading their informative materials was one of my first jumping-off points for learning how to be a better non-native relative and ally.
Look Out For Coco Canary’s Guiding Principles Next Month! Thanks to Inspire to Change’s Fall Cohort.
One of my goals this summer has been to develop personal and professional guiding principles. I’ll tell you more about why this is important to me in next month’s newsletter!
Three photos: a selfie with Molly and her mom with clay in her mom’s hand. a friend laughing with a table in front of her with several puppets, a rendition of the MN capitol building, and three flags that say End Child Labor, Defend Wild, and Justice for Mother’s and Children. And a photo of a bluff from Whitewater State Park.
Personal Update
An October Photo Collage: Camping, Puppet Shows, Playing with Clay, and a Barn Dance Video
Fall is officially here! And with it came chilly days and dark, joyful evenings. It started off with a camping trip at Whitewater State Park and a puppet show created and presented by the talented Laura Korynta. We then had a belated birthday celebration for me, which was a playing-with-clay day. And finally, I was fortunate enough to attend a barn dance, hosted by and for MN Conservation Corp alumni and volunteers (that’s me!). See a video I recorded of my favorite dance!
Let’s Stay Connected!
To keep up to date with my business news, connect or follow me on Linkedin. Don’t forget to follow our newsletter (and share with others), as well! And, of course, if you know of anyone who may benefit from our services, send them our way. Referrals are what make the world go round.
Much love and in solidarity,
Molly O’Connor (she/her/hers)
CEO – Evaluation Specialist
direct: (612) 868-0364
email: moconnor@cococanary.com
website: cococanary.com
Black Lives Matter
Justice for Breonna Taylor, Eric Gardner, George Floyd, Jamar Clark, Philando Castille, Winston “Boogie” Smith, Daunte Wright Jr., and many more. Know their names.
