#NoDAPL Action Hub @ WMST

#NoDAPL Action Hub @ WMST

Contents:

• How to Call Your Reps When You Have Social Anxiety
• Who to Call and How to Reach Them (President, Army Corps of Engineers, and Congresspeople)
• Who to Call and How to Reach Them (Police Departments)
• Where and How to Donate to #NoDAPL Efforts
• Divest from Banks Supporting DAPL
• How to Access Accurate & Up-to-Date News
• Learn More & Educate Others

How to Call Your Reps When You Have Social Anxiety

There’s a LOT going on in the U.S. right now. Many people’s rights and safety are at risk. You’ve probably heard that one of the most effective ways to advocate for issues you care about, or stand up against dangerous policies and appointments, is to call your local representatives.

If you want to help but have social anxiety and find phone calls very intimidating, you may be thinking, “How do I do this?!” (An oversized telephone handset hovers ominously over the narrator with its cord spiraling around her body. She looks up at it with great concern.)

Here’s a step-by-step:

1. Block off time on your calendar. Each call only takes a minute or so, but you might want to block off more time for your first call, so you can prepare your words & nerves. Don’t rush yourself! Scheduling is super important, otherwise you will perpetually delay calling.
2. At the scheduled time, go sit somewhere quiet.
3. Find out who represents you. Some places to look: House (http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/) and Senate (http://www.senate.gov/senators/contact/).
4. Write out exactly what you plan to say. It only needs to be a few lines, and there are lots of templates online that you can use. e.g. “Hello! I am constituent from city (zip code) and I am calling to urge Some Name to publicly…” If they have already released a statement, don’t use that as an excuse to avoid calling. I know it’s hard, but call anyway. Thank them and ask them to keep pushing.
5. Take a deep breath. You can do this.
6. Do this: dial. (This is the hardest part.)
7. Read from your script. At this point, you’ll likely be sent to voicemail or to an actual person. The person will most likely be friendly and probably won’t have much time to talk, so you shouldn’t have to deviate much from your script. It’s a quick conversation.
8. That’s it! Say “Thank you” and hang up.

You did it! If you’re thinking “Hey, that wasn’t so bad…”, call more people! And follow up with them next week, or even tomorrow, to make sure they keep these issues top of mind.

It is okay if your voice shakes. It is okay if you feel awkward.

They get a lot of calls, so they don’t have time to judge you by how well you delivered your message.

Is is also okay if you can’t call.

This week, my best friend told me, “Do something that is uncomfortable but not harmful to your mental health.” For me, calling was enough outside my comfort zone to be stressful & scary, but not so far away as to use up all my energy. That might not be the case for you, and that’s okay. Do not beat yourself up about it. There are lots of ways to take action without picking up a phone:

• Write to government officials
• Create art that challenges and art that inspires
• Donate, if you’re financially able, to organizations that fight injustice
• Listen to immigrants, people of color, women, trans and non-binary people, people of all faiths and sexual orientations, and people with disabilities. Support their work. Amplify their voices.
• Keep it up.

Who to Call & How To Reach Them

Tip: Add these contacts (esp the President & your reps) to your contacts to make calling about an issue easier in the future!

President Obama

(202) 456-1111 or (202) 456-1414

My name is [YOUR NAME]. I am calling to urge President Obama to intervene and protect the peaceful demonstrators at Standing Rock and to ask him to rescind the Army Corps of Engineers’ Permit for the Dakota Access Pipeline. This pipeline violates 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Army Corps of Engineers

202-761-5903

My name is [YOUR NAME] and I am calling to urge the Army Corps of Engineers to reverse the permit granted for the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline. In the event that the pipeline breaks, it will poison the drinking water of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and it crosses over the tribe’s ancestral burial grounds.  

Call your representative:

http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/

My name is [YOUR NAME] and I am calling to ask that [REPRESENTATIVE’S NAME] to take a stand against the Dakota Access Pipeline and urge President Obama to intervene and and protect the peaceful demonstrators at Standing Rock. This pipeline violates 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

North Dakota Congressman Kevin Cramer

202-225-2611

North Dakota Governor Jack Dalrymple

701-328-2200

My name is [YOUR NAME]. I am calling to ask that [Governor Dalrymple/Congressman Cramer] immediately remove the National Guard and end the violence against the water protectors at Standing Rock and put a stop to the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline. The use of water canons in the frigid cold, tear gas, and rubber bullets will only lead to the death of the people there and the construction is illegal.  

Who to Call & How To Reach Them

http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/38466-don-t-be-passive-observers-of-last-night-s-terrorization-in-standing-rock-here-s-what-you-can-do

These Sheriffs and police departments have loaned out the officers who are abusing Native peoples in Standing Rock. Jam their phone lines and tell them to bring their people home.

Michigan City Police Department

Michigan City, IN

(219) 874-3221

North Dakota Highway Patrol

Offices across North Dakota

(701) 328-2455

Munster Police Department

Munster, IN

(219) 836-6600

Griffith Police Department

Griffith, IN

(219) 924-7503

Anoka County Sheriff's Office

Andover, MN

(763) 323-5000

Washington County Sheriff's Office

Stillwater, MN

651-430-6000

Marathon County Sheriff's Department

Wausau, WI

(715) 261-1200

La Porte County Sheriff’s Office

La Porte, IN

(219) 326-7700

Newton County Sheriff's Office

Kentland, IN

219-474-3331

South Dakota Highway Patrol

Pierre, SD

605-773-3105

Jasper County Sheriff

Rensselaer, Indiana

219-866-7344

Lake County Sheriff Sheriff's Department

Crown Point, IN

219-755-3333

Laramie County Sheriff's Department

Cheyenne, WY

307-633-4700

Wyoming Highway Patrol

Cheyenne, WY

307-777-4301

Ohio State Highway Patrol

Columbus, Ohio

614-466-2660

Nebraska Emergency Management Agency

Lincoln, NE

(402) 471-7421

My name is [YOUR NAME]. I am calling to ask that [DEPARTMENT NAME] immediately withdraw its officers from Standing Rock. The use of water canons in the frigid cold, tear gas, and rubber bullets will only lead to the death of the people there. I am asking that this department IMMEDIATELY withdraw from Standing Rock.

Where and How to Donate to #NoDAPL Efforts

Standing Rock Medics

https://medichealercouncil.com/donate/

Standing Rock Sioux Tribe - Dakota Access Pipeline Donation Fund

http://standingrock.org/news/standing-rock-sioux-tribe--dakota-access-pipeline-donation-fund/

Sacred Stone Camp GoFundMe

https://www.gofundme.com/sacredstonecamp

Sacred Stone Camp Supply Lists

http://sacredstonecamp.org/supply-list/

https://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/196PVIWRDX1M4

Sacred Stone Legal Defense Fund

https://fundrazr.com/d19fAf

Divest from Banks Supporting DAPL

https://nodaplsolidarity.org/targets/

Major Banks:

• Citigroup
• TD Securities
• Mizuho Bank

Move your money out of these banks! Encourage friends and family to do so, too!

How to Access Accurate & Up-to-Date News

Follow these news sites, organizations, and people:

Tip: Follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to incorporate this news into your daily feed.

Indian Country Today Media Network - http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/

Democracy Now! - https://www.democracynow.org/topics/dakota_access

Transformative Spaces - https://transformativespaces.org/

Follow on Facebook:

• Standing Rock Sioux Tribe

• Sacred Stone Camp
• Red Warrior Camp
• ReZpect Our Water
• Indigenous Rising Media - http://indigenousrising.org/
• International Indigenous Youth Council
• Indigenous Environmental Network
• Standing Rock Medic & Healer Council
• Oceti Sakowin Camp

Learn More & Educate Others

It is crucial to understand the history of settler colonialism and state violence against Indigenous peoples to understand what’s going on today. Get started with these:

Standing Rock Syllabus

https://nycstandswithstandingrock.wordpress.com/standingrocksyllabus/

^ extremely comprehensive reading list by theme included

Taté Walker (EverydayFeminism):

Surviving Love: Promoting Awareness & Prevention of Violence Against Indigenous Women

https://prezi.com/rifdztopv34p/surviving-love/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy

Taté’s articles:

http://everydayfeminism.com/author/tatew/

Indigenous Feminist Scholars/Activists to Check Out from WMST & Case-Geyer Libraries:

• Sarah Deer
• Audra Simpson
• Leanne Betasamosake Simpson

What "Moving Forward" Means for the WMST Intern Team

Here is the statement our WMST Fall 2016 Team shared today at the Brown Bag. We wrote this prior to the sharing of screenshots. We stand by our statement and implore our social justice communities also work hard to examine our complicities. We also want to acknowledge how crucial the LGBTQ Intern Team is to the Center's success and our sustained collective work.

Full Statement:

The Center for Women’s Studies Intern Team would like to share our vision of what “moving forward” means to us. We envision the Center as a space where we aim to be our authentic selves. To embody this vision, we welcome anger, rage, frustration, annoyance, fear, disappointment, and pain. We hold space for people who do not see unity with those who have violently denied their humanity as an immediate possibility.

We ask of ourselves and our communities to recognize that we are at very different positionalities and points in our activism and that we are not all impacted by our current sociopolitical context in the same ways or to the same degrees. People of color, trans and queer people, undocumented people, Muslims, Indigenous peoples, women, disabled people, and especially those at the intersections are especially vulnerable and our privileged identities impact how actually vulnerable we are.

We recognize that this has been, is, and will continue to be LIFELONG, ONGOING work. We’re in it for the long haul, and we hope you are, too.

Art & Activism Zine by Jake Mahr '17

 Jake Mahr '17 created this cool zine for the 2016 Seneca Falls Dialogue Conference. Check it out!

Intergenerational Learning with Barbara Smith & Alethia Jones

 Barbara Smith was a part of the Combahee River Collective and is  among some of the first to theorize black feminism. Alethia Jones, is the co-editor of their book, Ain’t Nobody Gonna Turn Me Around, where they highlight the beginnings of black feminist organizing in the sixties and seventies. Barbara Smith is currently working for the first woman mayor of Albany.

 

Activism can often be a rewarding, yet tiring process. Barbara Smith is no stranger to the  stress activism and organizing puts on one’s health. She suggests that through the process, one must remind one’s self why one got involved. Remembering the experiences, emotions and importance of cause often reinvigorates our commitment. Additionally, Smith challenged us on our framing of activism because she saw activism as a single issue cause whereas organizing is a more comprehensive way of seeing and seeking to eradicate oppression through a systemic lens. Next, she suggested that even when it seems like you're not making any tangible process to keep going because just like athletes, you can’t just train for the big event, rather you must practice and stay strong for multiple battles. For example, Black Lives Matter was able to come to forefront because they steadily asked  what is unjust and how can they continue to destabilize power as it exist.

 

Barbara Smith (back row, sixth from left) meets with students, faculty, and staff at Colgate on International Women's Day.

What also sustains movements is to do it with other people and not in isolation. Moreover, we must seek to not be afraid of anger because righteous anger often fuels our organizing. Instead, we must find ways engage our anger productively. Denying the presence of anger  may make it easy at first but also strains the body. One of my favorite quotes was from Alethia joins who posited that “Anger is an indication that boundaries have been crossed.” Likewise we must use these indications as opportunities for growth rather than wounding, ourselves or others.

There is an inherent healing in social justice that Jones is drawn to, but sometimes we let our health go to plan the next thing. Indeed, we must ask how do we cultivate ways to take care of ourselves as a political act. Health problems especially in marginalized communities are often political and structural issues. However, we must be careful and cognizant of the line between self-care as a political act and self-indulgence that perpetuates class violence. Self- care and consciousness of health, although a growing popular movement, is not new and has been a staple in organizing culture. Therefore, we have have a lot to learn from elders and intergenerational knowledge.

- Aidan Davis '16, Women's Health Intern