An Invitation to Join Oak Flat March and Run

/in , , , /by

The Apache Stronghold invites you to the 10th Annual Chi’chil Bildagoteel Oak Flat March/Run. Dates: Feb 15-18 2024! Everyone is Welcome! Join in the fight to protect Oak Flat from a Resolution Copper mine! Events will take place the Old San Carlos Monument,  N Magma Shaft 9 Rd, Miami, AZ 85539

“We will once again walk off the reservation freeing ourselves from the bondage of federal policies and the inaccuracies of the history of this country. We will no longer be invisible, for God the Creator, who is known throughout the world, has spoken, once again, through all his creations, that healing must begin to save what is left, so that those yet to be born will embrace the true spirit of life.” – Wendsler Nosie Sr.

Bearing Witness to Extractivism, Colonialism: Day 6

/in , , , , , /by

Interfaith Power & Light New Mexico & El Paso and Sisters of Mercy of the Americas are co-sponsoring an immersion retreat through some areas of New Mexico to bear witness to the damage #extractivism has inflicted on the people and the land of our state.  Tbe accounts and pictures come courtesy of Heather Scott-Molleda, senior director of communications for Mercy Sisters of the Americas.   Read Accounts for Days 1 and 2  Day 3, Day 4 Day 5

The Final Day

We begin the final day of our pilgrimage reflecting on the damage done by colonialism and extractivism which have treated God’s creation and Native people as disposable. New Mexico is suffering the consequences of that attitude.

 

\

 

 

 

Day 6: A Prayer for Healing

On the sixth day, we ended our pilgrimage with a prayer for healing and call for new beginnings. We witnessed the beauty of God’s creation in Carlsbad Caverns, including the awesome sight of hundreds of thousands of bats flying out of the cave into the night. But we also saw evidence everywhere of the lack of care for people and for the Earth, farms turned into dumping grounds or new oil wells. This year is the centennial both of Carlsbad and of the first oil well in the Permian Basin. We are called to action. A dragonfly, the symbol of hope, change and love, joined us for the final gathering. We buried the “earthen treasure vase” that accompanied us on our travels, in the Permian Basin with the prayers of many, notably Pueblo and Diné (Navajo) elders.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sister Marlys Jackson, Rochester, Minn., offers her impressions

A reflection from Bro. Ryan Roberts, a Lutheran Franciscan friar and member of the justice team of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas

Bearing Witness to Extractivism, Colonialism: Day 5

/in , , , , , /by

Interfaith Power & Light New Mexico & El Paso and Sisters of Mercy of the Americas are co-sponsoring an immersion retreat through some areas of New Mexico to bear witness to the damage #extractivism has inflicted on the people and the land of our state.  Tbe accounts and pictures come courtesy of Heather Scott-Molleda, senior director of communications for Mercy Sisters of the Americas.   Read Accounts for Days 1 and 2  Day 3, Day 4

Arriving in the Permian Basin

We have arrived in the Permian Basin on day 5 of the pilgrimage, an area of 6,000 square miles of southeastern New Mexico and West Texas where the explosion of fracking is releasing toxic methane and other chemicals into the air and water with little control. Activists from New Mexico Interfaith Power and Light, Earthworks and the local Citizens Caring for the Future are working to help the people, protect the land and prevent the climate bomb, while balancing the people’s reliance on the jobs the industry provides.

 

 

 

 

 

And here is a brief message from Marianne Comfort, justice coordinator for Earth, antiracism, and women for the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas.