Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-09-2023 Ad Hoc Truth and Reconciliation CommissionAd Hoc Truth and Reconciliation Commission Thursday, November 9, 2023 Regular Meeting 7 PM — Iowa City Senior Center Assembly Room 28 S. Linn Street AGENDA: CALL TO ORDER 2. READING OF NATIVE AMERICAN LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 3. PUBLIC COMMENT OF ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA (COMMISSIONERS SHALL NOT ENGAGE IN DISCUSSION WITH THE PUBLIC CONCERNING SAID ITEMS.) Only in -person comments will be allowed for Public Comment. Public comment for specific agenda items, which must be directly related to that agenda item, may be made in -person or remotely. 4. DISCUSSION AND NEXT STEPS BASED ON MOTIONS PASSED AT OCTOBER 5, 2023, MEETING AND RESPONSE LETTER FROM THE FACILITATION TEAM (SEE ATTACHED) A. MOTION 1: IN ORDER TO INCREASE THE LEARNINGS AND REDUCE THE PRESSURES ON THE STAFF, CONSULTANTS AND COMMISSIONERS, I MOVE THAT WE CHANGE PHASE 1 COMPLETION DATE TO BE NO LATER THAN MARCH 31, 2024 B. MOTION 2: 1 MOVE THAT PHASE 1 INCLUDE A PRACTICE EXAMPLE OF ALL THE PARTS OF THE MODEL WORKING TOGETHER WITH A REVIEW OF THE EXPECTED OUTCOMES C. CONSIDERATION OF REQUESTING ADDITIONAL FUNDS TO COVER "TEST CONCEPTS" FROM JANUARY THRU APRIL 2024 D. OTHER ITEMS RELATED TO NEXT STEPS FOR PHASE 1 5. EXPECTATIONS AND PRESENTATION PLANS OF PHASE 1 TO CITY COUNCIL ON NOVEMBER 21, 2023 6. MEETING SCHEDULE FOR THE REST OF 2023 115�_1111[611LIs] =IInl=Iki11&Y4IZKe]JiIJT E16i.1[a]1I=I*i 8. ANNOUNCEMENTS OF STAFF 9. ADJOURNMENT Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all City of Iowa City -sponsored events. If you are a person with a disability who requires a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in these events, please contact the Office of Equity and Human Rights at 319-356- 5022 or humanriclhts(cbiowa-citv.org. Agenda Item #2 Native American Land Acknowledgement Prepared for the City of Iowa City's Ad Hoc Truth and Reconciliation Commission and Human Rights Commission PURPOSE Iowa City owes its existence to the many Indigenous Peoples who were the original stewards of this land and who were subjected to manipulation and violence by non-native settlers, invaders, and governments in order to make this moment possible. Acknowledgement of this truth is central to our work toward reconciliation across all barriers of difference and injustice. Starting with a Native American Land Acknowledgement, this Commission will bear witness to the legacies of violent displacement, migration, and settlement that have marginalized those who were the first inhabitants of this land. We must also address the mistreatment and exclusion that Native Americans continue to face today. The Ad Hoc Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Human Rights Commission encourage the community and City of Iowa City to join us in these efforts through the use of a Native American Land Acknowledgement. LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT To be read at all public meetings and events: "We meet today in the community of Iowa City, which now occupies the homelands of Native American Nations to whom we owe our commitment and dedication. The area of Iowa City was within the homelands of the Iowa, Meskwaki, and Sauk, and because history is complex and time goes far back beyond memory, we also acknowledge the ancient connections of many other Indigenous Peoples here. The history of broken treaties and forced removal that dispossessed Indigenous Peoples of their homelands was and is an act of colonization and genocide that we can not erase. We implore the Iowa City community to commit to understanding and addressing these injustices as we work toward equity, restoration, and reparations." LEARN MORE Native Governance Center Guide to Indigenous Land Acknowledgement US Department of Arts and Culture: Honor Native Land Virtual Resources and Guide Meskwaki Nation - History Special thanks to the University of Iowa Native American Council for their work and guidance, as well as members of the public, for their input. October 5, 2023 Draft Ad Hoc Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Minutes Emma J. Harvat, City Hall Commissioners present: Chastity Dillard (via Zoom), Clif Johnson, Chad Simmons, Sikowis, Marie Krebs, Lauren Merritt, Wangui Gathua, Louis Tassinary. Commissioners not present: Eric Harris. Staff present: Redmond Jones, Stefanie Bowers. Meeting called to order: 7:06. Reading of Land Acknowledgement: Krebs read the Land Acknowledgement. Approval of the meeting minutes of September 21 and September 27, 2023: Krebs moved, and the motion was seconded by Gathua. The motion passed 8-0. Comment of items not on the Agenda: Amos Kiche encouraged Commissioners to follow up on the recently held Fact -Finding session with a questionnaire/community survey. TRC Budget Presentation: Deputy City Manager Jones presented the expenses of the TRC from August 1- October 4. The TRC had previously budgeted $10,000 for Phase 1. The amount would cover costs related to special meetings, community marketing, special events, and miscellaneous pilot programs. Most costs are food -related expenses followed by supplies the TRC needed for trainings. The total cost to date is $6,667.91. The budget presented does not reflect payments made to facilitators. Change Phase One Timeline: Simmons discussed with fellow Commissioners how the last few months have felt rushed. Simmons moved to change the phase 1 completion date to no longer than March 31, 2024, to increase learning and reduce pressures on staff, consultants, and commissioners. Krebs seconded. The motion passed 8-0. Simmons further noted that the pause does not change what the facilitators must do or cause any additional work for them. Simmons further moved that phase 1 includes a practice example of all the parts of the model working together with a review of the expected outcomes. Tassinary seconded the motion. The motion passed 8-0. Circles and Circles Training: There was a discussion about when to hold the circles. Possible suggestions were to hold two in one week, bi-monthly, or near the date of Truthsgiving. Each circle will take at least 3 hours. Staff will look at finding a venue for a circle on October 21. Follow -Up on Fact -Finding Sessions: Dr. Schooler and Laurel were not able to join the meeting today but did relay to staff that Commissioners Krebs, Nobiss, and Johnson should review the list for the major categories from the sessions and let them know what categories are missing from the list that should be included and what are some key indicator that they want to be sure they track under each category. 1 The categories currently are: public safety/policing/law enforcement, namings/memorialization/remembrances, economic development, health, environmental justice, education, and other. Strategic Doing Update: Commissioners were provided with a brief update on the Spanish Strategic Doing Workshop Pathfinder Projects. There will be a follow-up meeting held on October 19 at the South District Market. Reports of Commissioners: Sikowis reported on the upcoming Indigenous Peoples Day Celebration being held at Terry Trueblood Recreation Area. Johnson would like to see the TRC participate in the University of Iowa's homecoming parade in 2024. Adjourned: 10:10 This meeting can be viewed in its entirety at this link. a a r 0. 0. 0. P, 7 m r M N a 0. 0. P, 0. 0. 0. O 0. r �n N N N N N N Q •6 � m � ++ G O y October 25, 2023 Draft Ad Hoc Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Minutes Assembly Room, Iowa City Senior Center Commissioners present: Chastity Dillard, Lauren Merritt, Wangui Gathua, Louis Tassinary, Chad Simmons, Marie Krebs. Commissioners not present: Eric Harris, Sikowis Nobiss, Clif Johnson. Staff present: Redmond Jones, Stefanie Bowers. Meeting called to order: 5:22 PM. Reading of Land Acknowledgement: Dillard read the Land Acknowledgement. Consider Recommendation to Remove Ad Hoc Truth & Reconciliation Commissioner: Dillard moved, and Gathua seconded to recommend to the City Council the removal of Eric Harris due to three unexcused absences per the by-laws section 4 article E. The motion passed 5-0. (Simmons was not present for the vote). Truth -Telling: The Native Partners did a welcome and grounding. Think Peace went over public hearings of a truth and reconciliation commission (TRC). The key objective of a truth process is to protect the rights of persons who were harmed. Some truth commissions work behind closed doors to provide confidentiality for persons testifying. The objectives of a TRC cannot be secured without the support of communities. The public can assist during educational outreach or a media strategy. Hearings for institutions are one type of public hearing. These are hearings for persons who were harmed and focused on cases. Public hearings should be in a space that provides a safe platform to honor persons who were harmed and create opportunities for constructive engagement and dialogue from the public. The approach for hearings should be survivor -centered to ensure appropriate protection and avoid new harms. Commissioners worked in pairs to identify truth -telling norms and roles and then reported to the group. The Native Partners provided closing reflections. The meeting was adjourned at 9:08 PM To view the recording or listen to the audio of this meeting, visit this link. N N a a Q < a a 0 r N 7 N N �i N a ¢ 0. 0. a 0. 0. N CA q N N N N N N 64 F N N N N N N N N N i' October 26, 2023 Draft Ad Hoc Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Minutes Assembly Room, Iowa City Senior Center Commissioners present: Chastity Dillard, Lauren Merritt, Wangui Gathua, Louis Tassinary, Chad Simmons, Marie Krebs, Clif Johnson. Commissioners not present: Eric Harris, Sikowis Nobiss. Staff present: Redmond Jones, Stefanie Bowers. Meeting called to order: 5:31 PM. Reading of Land Acknowledgement: Gathua read the Land Acknowledgement. Truth -Telling: The Native Partners opened with a "remembering song". Dr. Melinda Salazar started with a grounding relaxation technique. Eduardo Gonzales provided a brief overview of the session held on October 25, which, as he explained, was the "what" and "why" of public hearings, whereas today's session is the "how." How would a public hearing be done, and what would be needed? The discussion moved into the organization of hearings, including the selection or invitation of statement -givers, preparation, and procedure. Truth -telling comes in between fact-finding and reconciliation. As part of any fact-finding, the TRC must decide the objectives of the hearings, topics, focus, and protocols. Commissioners then broke into small groups to go over conceptualization, preparation, implementation, complements, and follow-ups of truth -telling. Dr. David Ragland delivered the envisioning exercise for the Commissioners, asking them to provide as much information as possible about that safe space. The session ended with a song by the Native Partner on having blessings in one's life. The Native Partners provided closing reflections. The meeting was adjourned at 9:04 PM. To view the recording or listen to the audio of this meeting, visit this link. N N p a a Q Q a a Q a a ti �n c a a ¢ a a a a a a Q a r r 0 r N N 64 N N N i' From: Annie Tucker To: Stefanie Bowers; Geoff Fruin; Redmond ]ones Subject: Stefanie, please forward this letter to the TRC Commissioners, Many thanks. Date: Friday, October 13, 2023 4:20:06 PM ❑— * This email originated outside of the City of lowa City email system. Please take extra care opening any links or attachments.* Dear Chastity, Lauren, Wangui, Sikowis, Clif, Marie, Lou, Chad and Eric, We deeply appreciate the seriousness with which you are taking your work, most recently demonstrated by your discussion at your October 511` meeting. Our understanding is that you would like more time to complete Phase I of your work. You also said that you are overwhelmed and need more time to talk and process together and to create and try pilot processes. We recognize that the pace of meetings and workshops you have been asked to attend is very difficult to sustain for anyone, much less unpaid volunteers with jobs and families. We want to remedy that by spacing out sessions with you more thoughtfully and strategically. Further, if you want to schedule discussions at your regular meetings and have us present as resources, please let us know. We also want to make clear what the contracts say about the phases. The contracts are available to all the commissioners. Phase 1 was intended as a preparatory phase, a time for us to begin our work together with the commissioners, to begin to get to know and understand each other and to provide very basic information. In Phase 2 we indicated we would provide commissioners with more detail on your options so you can plan and provide, (with us on site), pilot hearings, pilot interviews, pilot reconciliation activities, etc. This would provide you all with experience and prepare you for doing the ongoing work of the commission on your own. Our national and international team includes people who have been involved in over 20 Truth Telling Commissions, in the US and throughout the world. Our team's goal is to provide you commissioners with our learnings from those experiences so you can make informed decisions, create processes and try out your pilot experiences with us present as resources. In full transparency, we believe that we can continue our work under the current contracts our team has. That said, if we are asked to serve the TRC beyond March, we will likely need the City to modify our contracts accordingly. We very much hope that we can provide all of our services to you without the need for City Council action to modify contracts significantly. At this time, we do not know whether that will be required. Our main focus is to support the TRC while fulfilling the promises conveyed in our contracts, which do currently include deadlines expiring in early March. Given that our aim is to help the TRC fulfill its charges as detailed in Iowa City Resolution No. 20-228*, we want to make sure we meet the evolving needs that you have as Commissioners. If you believe that you need us to provide other or additional services beyond what we have planned to provide, we would welcome the chance to discuss that. Please be in touch with any questions or concerns. As Dave Ragland says, this is sacred work. We want to do anything we can to support you in it. The Facilitation Team V Fixmer-Oraiz, Annie Tucker, Eduardo Gonzalez, Dave Ragland, Larry Schooler, Manape Lamere, T Medina, Donnielle Wanatee, Melinda Salazar, Jena Kitchen, Lois Grace Kanioka, Laurel Cohen * To see the Resolution document: https //www.iowarit4�.org/WehLin DocView.aspx7 id=1962562&d bid =0&repo=CityofIowa City The following documents were handed out during the meeting. CITY OF IOWA CITY MEMORANDUM Date: November 9, 2023 To: Truth and Reconciliation Commission From: Redmond Jones II, Deputy City Manager Re: The Commission's October 5'" Motion Related to Phase 1 Services from Consultants Introduction On October 5th, the Iowa City Ad Hoc Truth and Reconciliation Commission made the following unanimously voted and supported motions: Motion 1: "In order to increase the learnings and reduce the pressures on the staff, consultants, and commissioners, I move that we change Phase 1 completion date to be no later than March 13, 2024". Motion 2: "Phase 1 includes a practice example of all the parts of the model working together with a review of the expected outcomes". City staff is requesting additional discussion and clarity from the Commission so that we can adequately determine if amendments to the consultant contracts need to be drafted and considered by the various consultant teams and City Council. Background In response to the TRC's motion of October 5th, staff engaged the consultants to understand their expectations should there be an extension to phase 1 of the scope. The consultants provided a consensus e-mailed response on October 13th, which is included in your meeting packet. Staff's understanding of the consultant teams' position is that they are willing to accommodate an extension or delay. However, if the overall active period of engagement extends beyond the seven months (three months Phase 1 / four months Phase 2), then the consultant teams would expect the City to negotiate contract extensions and associated financial considerations. Determination of the need to amend contracts needs to occur at this time, as the originally planned work of phase 1 is complete, except for the City Council presentation. Any extension of Phase 1 that either reduces Phase 2 scope or requires additional compensation to complete the planned scope of Phase 2 will need to be negotiated with the consultants and presented to the City Council for approval. Staff have requested the consultants not proceed to phase 2 until contractual implications have been determined and resolved. Commission Should Consider Option 1: If the TRC wishes to proceed according to the original contract, then the next step will be to prepare for a presentation to the City Council on Nov 21. After that presentation, the TRC could presumably move to phase 2 work as originally scoped in the consultant agreements. Option 2: If the TRC wants to temporarily pause active engagement with the consultants (i.e. take a break with no expectation of consultant assistance), then all parties will need to develop a shared written understanding of the pause and when phase 2 work will begin. This scenario assumes the original scope and duration of Phase 2 remain the same, with the only difference being that there will be a period of inactivity between Phase 1 and Phase 2 during which the consultants will not be actively engaged in a manner that necessitates compensation. Under this scenario, staff would recommend completing phase 1 by presenting to the City Council on November 21. Staff would work on the aforementioned written understanding, so all parties have a shared understanding. Staff would not require contract amendments (assuming concurrence with the consultants) since the original scope and compensation would remain the same. November 9, 2023 Page 2 Option 3: If the TRC desires a pause or if phase 1 is extended with an expectation of active consultant engagement, then contract amendments will need to be prepared and executed at this time. This is due to a substantive change in the workplan (i.e. expansion of phase 1 / reduction in phase 2) that would predictably require more financial resources in the future to complete the original scope. Given that all consultants are independent the need for individually signed letters of understanding or amended agreements is critical should there not be an immediate move to begin phase 2 as originally scoped in the contracts. Due to potential challenges of miscommunications and/or misunderstandings, the City cannot accept one consultant's representations, agreement, or interpretations as the position for all other consultants.