Partnership for Global Justice Annual Meeting

Thanks to Sister Mary Irene for this report:

On May 6, Sister Anna Theresa Tran, SCC and Sister Mary Irene Sorber, SCC participated in the Partnership for Global Justice Annual Meeting held at St. Bartholomew Church in New York City.  This meeting was held in conjunction with the United Nations Permanent Forum of Indigenous Issues which is occurring May 7th through May 18 at UN Headquarters in New York. The theme of the meeting was:  First Nation Peoples: A Movement Toward Reconciliation and Hope.  The center of the meeting was the presentation of the International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers which was represented by Grandmother Agnes Baker Pilgrim and her daughter from Southern Oregon, Grandmother Beatrice Long-Visitor Holy Dance and her daughter from South Dakota, and Grandmother Mona Polacca from Arizona.  The day began with a sacred prayer time presented by the Grandmothers.  It was followed by a delicious dinner where we were in conversation with people who are highly involved with the cause of the thirteen grandmothers who are trying to help their young people maintain the language and culture of the various indigenous tribes in the USA and around the world.  After the dinner, everyone went into the church where the grandmothers were awarded the 9th Annual Justice Award.  Finally, a trio of college students presented a play called, "I Am Not A Savage."  This very moving play is based on the facts the students learned about the horrendout way the indigenous peoples were treated after Columbus landed in the "New World."  For more information, please go to http://www.grandmotherscouncil.org/.