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Home My WebLink AboutTRC 2022-12-01 transcript[00:00:00] [MUSIC] Commissioner Dillard. Present. Commissioner Gathua. Present. Commissioner Harris. Present. Commissioner Johnson. Here. Commissioner Krebs. Here. Commissioner Merritt. Here. Commissioner Nobiss. Here. Uh, Commissioner Rivera. Here. And Commissioner [00:00:30] Traore. Here. Thank you. Thank you, Stefanie. We'll start off with reading of the Native American land acknowledgments. I'll go ahead and read it and it says, we meet today in the community of Iowa City, which now occupies the homelands of Nat- 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 [00:01:00] other Indigenous peoples here. The history of broken treaties and forced removal, the dispossessed Indigenous peoples of their homelands wasn't- isn't active colonization and genocide that we cannot erase. We implore the Iowa City community- community to commit to understanding and addressing these injustices as we work toward equity, restoration and reparations. Um, next, we will go to the approval of the meeting minutes from October 20th. Right. We open [00:01:30] up for public comments. Anyone online or in-person? Okay. We'll move. To you Steph. I'll motion to a- approve the minutes. Yes. I second. I didn't see who seconded, I'm [OVERLAPPING]. It was Lauren. Thank you. Sorry, guys. It's been a [OVERLAPPING]. It's been properly moved and second. Any further discussion? Uh-uh. Commissioner Dillard? Yes. Commissioner Gathua. Yes. Commissioner Harris. Yes. [00:02:00] Commissioner Johnson. Yes. Commissioner Krebs. Yes. Commissioner Merritt. Yes. Commissioner Nobiss. Yes. Commissioner Rivera. Yes. And commissioner Traore. Yes. Motion passes 9-0. Thank you. Uh, we'll move on to item- uh, agenda Item Number 5, public comment of items not on the agenda. Is there anyone in, uh, the room with us right now that would like to make any public comments? Anyone on mine? [00:02:30] Okay. Uh, we will move forward to agenda Number 6, which is the Iowa City Community School District elementary school performance incident, and that was from Commissioner Nobiss. Um, so Sikowis I'll let you go ahead and talk about this. Thank you, Chair. Um, yes. I wanted to talk about, uh, an incident that happened at my daughter's school, Shimek Elementary. And, [00:03:00] uh, what I believe actually is not just Shimek Elementary, but other elementary schools throughout the District. Um, now it was an unfortunate incident. It was an incident that could have been- um, like that we could have, um, kept from happening. Um, and so that's what I'm very confused about. It was a performance that was put on, um, by the Shimek- by [00:03:30] Shimek School, uh, that, um, I would- I would say was culturally inappropriate, insensitive, and, you know, bordered on the line of racism and playing Indian. And, um, this goes back to, um, a book that was, uh, brought into the district called Fry Bread, uh, and the book is, um, written by [00:04:00] a Native American author, um, who they brought into, um, this school districts. Ah, jeez, I don't know, like maybe a month or two ago to, uh, read the book. And, uh, the school district then invited, uh, actually another, uh, local indigenous person, uh, Dan- Daniel Velasquez, uh, to actually serve Fry Bread at this event. And [00:04:30] then the children, you know, got t-shirts and went back to their schools and over the next months, uh, they have been- they practiced or worked on a performance or what I thought was gonna be like a demonstration or, you know something about the book, you know, to honor the book. Um, so I guess what really surprised me is first of all, as an indigenous person, as a Native American person, I [00:05:00] was very excited because, um, you know, things like this don't happen very often, uh, where this very white centric community, you know, uplifts, uh, indigenous, uh, culture and traditions, um, you know, at all. I mean, there's, um, you know, a lot of work being done within the black community and the Latino Latina community but in terms of, uh, indigenous culture and traditions, that just doesn't happen very much, uh, within the realms of, um, what the City of Iowa City does. And so, [00:05:30] you know, I was very excited. Uh, I- I set my daughter in her ribbon skirt and her braids and her hair ties. And I was there to film it and I thought they were going to read the book and maybe I don't know. I don't even- I did- I couldn't even imagine what were doing. I thought they were just gonna read the book and the kids were gonna talk about it and I don't know, um, maybe sing or something like that. But it turns out that, um, they actually, um, emulated a powwow and, [00:06:00] uh, like traditional, uh, drumming, um, and saying gibberish, uh, [LAUGHTER] like, I don't know. Uh, so I was, you know, quite taken aback by this and approached the, uh, teacher afterwards who put this together and asked, you know, where- um, where did you get- like, where did you get this from? Like how did you come about to doing this? You know of course, I was very polite about it even though I was quite upset. Um, [00:06:30] and she said, well, I know some people, uh, in, um, Chicago, I know some natives in Chicago and I was like, that wasn't really quite an ans- I mean that was not the answer. Like that's not the answer you should be giving. I mean, just because you know some natives, that doesn't mean you can do this sort of thing. Um, so and then immediately after, like always, like any event that, you know, we go to or anything that happens, you know, one of the staff members came [00:07:00] up to me and said, my grandmother is Cherokee or great, great, great grandmother was Cherokee and all my sisters have black hair. I mean, that just happens all the time. It's just- it's a weird thing. So that was, you know, I was already agitated. Uh, then I went up to the principal and asked, uh, you know, told- told him what had happened and, um, he just, you know was obviously, you know, upset. So I've been emailing him and, um, I- I- I- the teacher, basically got this idea from a book that, um, [00:07:30] talks about different indigenous practices and like cultural practices across the country. Um, and be- it's a problematic book because it's almost like giving people permission to, uh, carry out some of our sacred traditions. Uh, but- so the problem with this is just because it's in a book, it doesn't mean it's okay to do it, right? So, um, you know, they were doing something like what- what is called a friendship dance, [00:08:00] which we would call a round dance. Um, but also like the- the kids were drumming on these like snare drums and some kind of other like plastic kind of drum thing and, um, singing some kind of sound that is not a word in our language, any of our languages. And, um, like, first of all, like that's like an act of prayer for us. So like you don't just go [00:08:30] copy that. You know, it's like going up, and, I don't know, carrying out, um, some sort of Catholic ceremony with the host and drinking some wine or something. I don't know. I'm just trying to think of something so people can understand, like the context of that. Um, I was- you know, then the kids came in afterwards and danced, and some of them like were obviously pretending to Palo dance, um, because apparently the teacher had shown them a video [00:09:00] of a powwow. And my daughter told me this, that the teacher had showed them a video of a powwow, my daughter knows what powwows are because she's been in many of them. And, um, you know, as like- like I- I don't know why he would show children a powwow and ask them to- to like to do that. Like there's- it's not- like the dan- dancing, you know, the dancing is not something you just, you know, just- you just go do, right? Um, there's cultural [00:09:30] meaning behind it. So I want people to understand that this is something akin to the blackface incident that happened at ICCSD, but yet it's- it's sanctioned by the school district. Um, and apparently this didn't just happen at Shimek, it happened at another school, um, that I know of. Another Native American person told me, I haven't gotten the information yet. Um, I want people to understand that Indigenous people face the highest rates of eraser and tokenization in this country [00:10:00] beyond what even, I think this particular commission can even comprehend if you're not Indigenous, because we deal with these things on a daily basis. And it's okay. Like it's okay for children to go to the Iowa City School District dressed up in our regalia that they buy, um, you know, at a costume store. It's okay for children to wear, you know, red face, um, you know, if they're pretending to be part of [00:10:30] a sports team. Um, it's okay for children to mock our culture, um, and it's sanctioned by the school district. It's okay to teach them mythologies about our history in the textbooks and also show text- like literally have textbooks in the classroom that erase indigenous history like my son's fourth grade text- social studies textbook that, um, basically showed the founding of [00:11:00] the city of, I believe it was Seattle or San Francisco, with a boat showing up and building a city, right? Like it literally erases and white washes the history of this country and what Indigenous peoples have experienced. It's okay for, um, teachers, uh, depending on their own political and, or, you know, cultural beliefs to talk about Columbus, to teach Columbus of, uh, Columbus, uh- to teach on Columbus Day if they [00:11:30] want to. Um, excuse me. One second. [LAUGHTER] I'm sorry about that, I have kids. I know the feeling- I know the feeling. Yeah. And so it's okay for them to for instance, when my son was in kindergarten, uh, to go against my wishes as a parent, uh, because I told them that if the teacher, if they were going to [00:12:00] teach anything inappropriate, uh, concerning Thanksgiving, the mythology of Thanksgiving, uh, or anything about Columbus. Or, um, if they're going to have inappropriate Halloween costumes during like Halloween, that it was gonna take my son out, um, of those, uh, on those days. Um, you know, and then have the teacher completely ignore that. When, you know, and I caught her because I came into the room, and found all these little pin-ups of these like pilgrims and natives with like a little feathers, you know, [00:12:30] and tomahawk, and teepees and, you know, the Wampanoag garden, even from, you know, this like mythology, comes from the Plymouth Rock area. Um, they didn't- they didn't even use teepees. But beyond that, like, you know, caricaturing indigenous people, um, down to these, you know, really horrible stereotypes and- and perpetuating these mythologies is- is very harmful. And so what happened, you know, a couple of weeks ago is not anything out [00:13:00] of the ordinary from what I've been experiencing through the ICCESD. And I'm not the only person. Um, I've been, uh, speaking with a youth who is in the high- in- in high school, who has, uh, suffered for years, um, from like a lot of incidents like these perpetuated by teachers themselves, by the school district itself. So, um, I have the video of what happened. I'm going to- I'm waiting for a friend to, uh, blur the faces of the children [00:13:30] because obviously, this is not an issue, the children need to be like directly involved in. Um, and I have already spoken about it openly at a Johnson County, uh, meeting where I gave a presentation on truths giving. I haven't had time to contact the, um, diversity equity and inclusion committee yet, but I will. Marie Krebs on this commission is very well aware of all of this. Um, and [00:14:00] she is my friend and fellow commissioner and fellow, uh, indigenous commissioner so, um, she's, you know, she may want to also speak to this. And there are other indigenous people in the community that have been contacted. And we will, you know, be doing something like at least writing a letter, uh, about this incident. Um, and I have yet to put together all this information in like one comprehensive document. Uh, but, [00:14:30] you know, this week I'm busy. So this kinda sucks like this is just another thing on my plate. But, um, you know, I- I- I want people to take this very seriously because this is what children are going to think is okay to do as they grow up. This is why we have entire sports teams that like encourag people to wear red faced. Imagine- imagine if there were entire sport teams that's still wore black face. I just- I really [00:15:00] want to put this into context and the kin of visceral- the kind of like- the kind of pushback that would happen. Um, and I just say this because I'm very frustrated at this point as an indigenous person, as a parent in this community, that like this stuff is just okay. Um, I just speak to another parent that was there that is indigenous, um, and, [00:15:30] you know, he's upset, so hopefully I can get a statement from him as well. But the reason I'm telling this, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission is first of all, I demand some sort of reparations and truth and reconciliation out of this as a, you know, as a member of the Iowa City community. But secondly, I want to use some of our budget to buy books called 500- what is it called? Um, [00:16:00] the next 500 years or, uh, give me one second. Um, I'd like to buy a book for every teacher and principal in the district called Rethinking Columbus the Next 500 years. It's a- a book for teachers. [00:16:30] Um, and it was released in 1991, but it's been updated. And it's- it's a book that changed the way the discovery of America is taught in classroom and community settings. It's for K- 12. Um, the new edition has over 100 pages of new material, including a role-play trial of Columbus materials on Thanksgiving Day resources, historical documents, poetry and more. It will help readers replace murky legends with a better sense of who we are and why we are here. [00:17:00] Um, and celebrates over 500 years of the courageous struggles and lasting wisdom of native peoples. I bought this book every year for my- my kid's teachers. Um, and like I said, I've still had issues. Uh, and like, I'm really tired of spending my own money on this and I think that it's time that we use some of this budget finally, and like just do like one thing and that's to buy, um, you know, like these books for every teacher in the district. So that's- [00:17:30] that's- that's my motion, I guess I want to put forward. And, um, thank you very much for listening to me. Awesome. Thank you so much for sharing uh, commissioner Nobiss. Uh, my initial thought was just well, I was going to ask you what can we do? So thank you for giving us some action items. I would like to ask Stefanie, um, are we able to access the budget [00:18:00] at all yet at this moment? I- I mean, currently because of the- the low cost of the TRC, they come off of the- the office's budget of, um, requests like this and I'm looking through the resolution I kinda think, um, would have to be budgeted for, um, in terms of going to city council. But if you want to have further discussion while I look back at the resolution, um, and I will give input here in a second. How's that? [00:18:30] I'll let everyone discuss. If anyone wants to say something. And let me add- let me add one thing. Uh, I would like to require, um, that all teachers, uh, get a specific training on, um, like Native American people in particular, uh, because like this district is still allowing exceedingly racist things to happen that aren't happening, you know, to other folks, to other populations. So thank you. [00:19:00] Go ahead Lauren. Ms. Merritt, um. I wanted to hit my head on the table when you were saying that, um. And I think- well, I would actually like to approach the, um, school board at a school board meeting to, you know, talk about this also with, um, you know, the book. First, I would like to see them to- for their budgets to pay for the book and be part of a curriculum, [00:19:30] um, technically shouldn't be, you know, our budget. I mean, but if they're- if they're not going to do it, then yes, I think, um, it's something we should maybe think about, but, um, I think definitely going on, you know, at the school board meeting with agenda and discussing the issue, um, and also talk about, uh, you know, a training session for the teachers. They- they have in-service days. There's no reason why they can't do an in-service day to talk about this. [00:20:00] Um, and yeah, I'm- I'm all for that. [LAUGHTER] Yeah. Um, go ahead. Um, thanks for sharing, Sikowis. Um, you certainly don't need my like validation or affirmation that like what you're describing was a completely horrific and racist portrayal, um, of indigenous and Native American peoples. And I'm sorry that you had to witness that and that your family was implicated in it. Um, I am glad that, um, the Commissioner Marie [00:20:30] brought up, um, sort of form- formalizing some sort of presentation are coming to the ICCSD board because I do think that that's a crucial, um, uh, body that has, you know, exercises power over, you know, the- the school district. Um, and I also agree with the idea of putting pressure on them. You know, if they are making as a school district, if, um, commitments towards diversity, equity and inclusion, they absolutely should put their money where their mouth is. Um, [00:21:00] I think that this definitely should be a specific request, um, and- and I also think that we can put it in the context of, um, we expect then Iowa City Community School District is going to create a recurring budget to continue educating its teachers on issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion, right? So that this doesn't- we don't have to keep like asking one time for, um, them to teach themselves or learn about, um, [00:21:30] why they did things that were wrong. You know, we have to make those presentations every single time, but, um, that, you know, there- there become- you know, they develop some sort of annual fund for more education in the future, um, along lines like these. Um, I certainly think that we can pass, um, a recommendation, um, er, should the Iowa Community School District, um, deny [00:22:00] the recommendation or request for to- to fund a project like this. Um, and, uh, I think that we- if we do make that recommendation, we just need some numbers of like how many teachers this would be, how- like what the number would be, right? Um, the- the other thing that I was just thinking about as you were speaking, um, commissioner, I was, um I- these are the types of stories that like our Commission was created [00:22:30] to hear. And so what we do with this information is absolutely a reflection of, you know, what our commission hopes to achieve in our roles. Um, I want to be- I want our Commission to be one that, you know, honors voices. Um, I want our commission, um, to be, um, responsive to the needs and concerns, and I also want us to, you know, be creating [00:23:00] lasting, um, systems of change within our community so that, um, we can continue to, um, to- continue towards, you know, um, a- a better Iowa City. Um, and so that's- that's how I'm trying to sort of think about how- how we will respond to this. Again, I don't think that- I think that we have initial ideas of, you know, going to the school district and I'm really glad that you brought up, um, some specific, um, educational materials for [00:23:30] them. And so I think that this is a really good model for us to consider. Um, this is Commissioner Harris. Um, so I'm going to peck on the same thing that's been said already. Um, the only thing about it is that we don't have to go to the school district to- and put pressure on them to make these trainings that these teachers need. Um, and also, when I was listening to the story that is told about the incident that happened, um, I almost [00:24:00] wanted to pound on same them myself because being African-American male myself, I can feel the sentiment and how, you know, the racism, it needs to be dealt with and it needs to be addressed and teachers needs to be educated. And I- and as far as, you know, getting the money to get the books and I don't know how that's going to work. and we're going to have to go and figure that out, you know, how that goes, but those books and they need to be necessary, uh. They- the training for the teachers, it needs [00:24:30] to happen, but we're going to have to put pressure on it because the Iowa City Community School District is- is- is the body that's going to make that decision. So with that, I yield. Um, thank you. What I'd like to respond to with that is- is that the reason I came to us first about these books is because we have a budget we haven't used. And if we go to the school district, it's going to be a very long process. [00:25:00] So, I mean, that- that's my thought on that. And then yes, I will be going to the school board. We will be going to the school board, you know, as- as, you know, a group of con- concerned indigenous peoples, um, to present, but, you know, we want to make sure that we have everything documented, um, before we do that. Um, and I hope that- yeah, I absolutely hope that, um, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission can perhaps, um, write a letter of support, [00:25:30] um, or something. I don't know. Yeah. So we can think of som- whatever ideas come up here would be amazing. Go ahead Muhammad, if that's okay. So I just wanted to bring up the factor of if it's not going through the schools to get the books, and it's rather our budget. Uh, we're talking about giving materials to teachers and administrators to read and study. I just don't know like in terms of legalities, [00:26:00] like if that would be a conflict, if it's our budget buying it for them rather than like their employers approving it to be given to them or purchasing it for them. So just one thing I want to bring up there. I would assume we would like, you know, obviously talk- like talk to them first. Like, we would- [LAUGHTER] we're not just going to buy them and give them, right? Like, it would be like something we would do in tandem with them. But you know how tight school budgets are. So that's why I was worried that, you know, asking [00:26:30] them to buy these books would probably be like a big lift. So that's just some thoughts I was having. I think Wangui had her hand up real quick. This is Wangui for purposes of recording. And I want to express my feelings of sadness, uh, Sikowi is here relating this incident and also relating because, er, even as of right now, [00:27:00] Africa is still under oppression. And so I do relate to that. And then I relocated to the US, where by default I am identified African-American, so I get that too. And then also as an immigrant. That being said, I wonder whether probably you guys have already spoken to the diversity office [00:27:30] at the district level, or probably you will. And my other question is, with the indigenous peoples have like a cultural liaison in the school district because I do know the ones that we have for various cultural groups, for example, Arabic, Latinx. We've been getting them recently and it's been [00:28:00] a lot of pushing to get those. So I'm curious whether there are some from the indigenous people's communities. And the other committee that has been getting equity, ah, um, things done is the equity committee in the school district. So I'm curious whether you've already spoken to them or you're planning to or, yeah. I yield. [00:28:30] Was that a question, Wangui? Uh, yeah. You wanted to know if I had spoken to the diversity, equity, and inclusion committee? Was that? The- yeah. We're in the school district. Oh, yeah. Well, this is what surprises me. Um, they actually, uh, asked to meet with me maybe- I don't even know if it was like- I can't remember like eight months to a year ago, um, because they wanted to do better, [00:29:00] um, for, you know, indigenous folks in the district. And I had talked to them about getting this book actually, um, and uh, given them some feedback about my experiences in this district with my children. And, uh, I thought they took it to heart. And, you know, then this happens and I'm very confused by that. And then also what's confusing is these teachers have access to a diversity, equity, and inclusion [00:29:30] committee. So why didn't they access this committee and ask them, is this okay to do or like get a consultant? And then obviously because the diversity equity and inclusion committee knows who I am and I'm literally a parent at that school, I could have consulted with the teacher and made sure that this was done in the right way. You know, I would have brought in, uh, you know, drummers to actually drum, and then taught them- taught the children how to do a round dance, which is a circular activity, which is okay to do. [00:30:00] So, um, you know, like this is what is quite surprising to me. So not only do I want like these teachers to get these like trainings, but I don't know what system right now is set up in this school. But obviously the teachers, like, have free reign and they don't even have to like check in with anybody on what they're doing and that is very concerning. Um Sikowis, I'm curious, do you know if this is the first time this teacher specifically has done this or is this something that's been going on for a while? Do [00:30:30] you have any idea? I mean, as far as I know in that school- I mean, I have I- I mean, I think this is the first- I mean, this is the first time they've actually brought in like, you know, that I know of since I- my kids have been going to the, you know, the elementary school and indigenous author to know- to read a book like this was quite unique. So, you know, I- I don't think this is something that's been going on like year after year. So, well, go ahead. Um, Lauren, a couple things. First of [00:31:00] all, what grade, um, was this? Grade 1 and 2. Okay, um, I know I'm thinking about- I'm talking about high-school age, but my- my daughter went to Liberty and they actually had a cultural event where, um, it was an indigenous population that came in, did the dance. And they were discussing about the culture so it's- they know that it's there. It's been done in- within the school district. [00:31:30] So the fact that it's not shared amongst the other schools and grades is kind of alarming, you know, but yeah, it's- it's been done within the last four years so yeah. Vice commissioner Johnson, was that about- was that the pretty much the extended conversation that you had with the teacher? Just wondering. Yeah. Uh, you know, I was in a pretty bad mood, so I didn't- I'm not- I'm not about burning bridges. I was polite. Um, and I [00:32:00] just, you know, said, hey, like, I don't know if that was culturally appropriate. Where did you get this from? And she said, I know some natives in Chicago. I don't know what that meant. Um, and I said, okay, well, we should probably talk more about this and, um, you know, I have some things to say, um, but I'll get back to you because I didn't want to, you know, it was just- it was a weird moment. Um, and then I went and spoke to the principal right after that [00:32:30] and told the principal that it was very upsetting and that's Chris Pisarik. He's been very helpful. Um, I've emailed him twice now. The first time I asked him to email the teacher to ask like what- like- like to- to get more info, uh, like on like what was used like the material because I think- I can't quite remember what I had asked but, um, he came back with these two pages from this book- like excerpts from this book that she had, um, referenced. [00:33:00] Um, and the book itself is problematic. Um, and so like- it's just like- just because there's some things written in a book, it doesn't mean it's okay. Like there's a lot of problematic stuff out there and books, um, concerning indigenous peoples. Um, in particular, you know, because of, you know, romanticization, tokenization, whatever, what have you. Even if it's an indigenous author themselves, like, you know, we've- everybody knows, like, there are people that have very [00:33:30] different viewpoints on things, um, and are willing to sell out their culture very easy. Um, so there was like these excerpts from a book. Um, so I figured out because I wanted- oh, I wanted to know what they were saying. Um, and- and the book it's like to tell them they can just kinda like make something up essentially. Um, and then- um, the next email was concerning her, like, because the video because my daughter had mentioned they'd watched this Powwow video, which I found also disturbing [00:34:00] because like, why- why would they- why would they show the Powwow video? Like why- why? Obviously why is because the teacher was trying to create a Powwow. And not knowing that that's really not okay to just do in a vacuum, you don't just do that in a vacuum you know. So that's- that's the extent of the conversations I've had. Way to go. Thank you. Go ahead Ray. I'd also want to also want to add we- I [00:34:30] would also want to find out because I had circles are also used in the school district. Just finding out whether its cultural misappropriation and how it's being done. But right now it's- for me it's just that at the level that I've heard they are being used. So deep- digging deeper and [00:35:00] finding out the truth of this and how. Marie. Go ahead. Yeah. Commissioner Krebs here. I have several things to say. Um, first, I'd like to point out, uh, the American Indian Religious Freedom Act was established in 1978, that's the year I was born. So indigenous peoples have owned- have only been legally practicing their ceremonies [00:35:30] for 44 years. So that's- that's one thing you need to think about. So to- to see a school, you know, play Indian, when indigenous people have only been able to legally practice their ceremonies for 44 years is just rude. Um, and then when I watched the video, I was- I was really, um, upset, [00:36:00] um, particularly because right now the Indian Child Welfare Act is possibly about to be dismantled. Um, that protects indigenous children. Uh, also passed in 1978, the year I was born. Before that it was completely legal to traffic our children. Um so as I watch these children, and again, this has nothing to do with the children, [00:36:30] they're children, but as I watched the children come out playing in the end I think of these things. Um, so just one thing that you should consider. Imagine if the federal government came through Iowa City and took up to 85 percent of our children. That's what the Indian Child Welfare Act helps to protect. Our children were literally [00:37:00] taken. So-so these are things I think this- the- I mean, I don't, I don't know, I don't know why the teacher thought this is a good idea. But I think that there we- they do- they need an educational piece. It's- I can't believe that it's uh- hasn't happened already. Also, just so you know, um, here's a picture of me and my, my children, my two boys. Um, this is my son who was on the Redskin's team [00:37:30] about three years ago, so that was, that was great. So we do have problems in the community just so you're aware. It's Commissioner Johnson, quick question about the dismantling of wha- what you were just saying that they're- the trafficking of children is about to be that's there. So there was an argument that was brought to the Supreme Court, um from what I understand is the way couple they're basically saying [00:38:00] this is uh-the cindy- the Indian Child Welfare Act which protects our children is like reverse racism. So essentially when children go into the system, they, they, they try their very best to keep them with their people. Okay? Um, so this couple are saying this is basically essentially reverse racism. They should not be a thing um, and then I won't even get into [00:38:30] the conflict of interests surrounding the uh, the attorneys on the case. But anyways, um so if the Supreme Court decides that the Indian Child Welfare Act should in fact be dismantled, we will no longer have those protections. So that means that the children can be trafficked again. So they can give the children to anyone [00:39:00] that, you know, so. I think the term traff- you maybe getting the term traffic. Yeah, we should clarify trafficking. Yeah. [OVERLAPPING] So, so essentially children were taken. This is- so I'm talking about the boarding school era. Uh, they were taken from their families, placed in boarding schools. But what happened to [00:39:30] them after that? Lot of them are buried at the boarding schools. We haven't even brought these children home, uh, to their people. Yeah. Um, and I think what, uh, I think Commissioner Krebs is using the term trafficked. We're not necessarily talking about sex trafficking, we're talking about being trafficked through governmental systems, like you know social [00:40:00] welfare systems, Child Protection Acts, whatever what have you, uh, because for a very, very long time, um, this government has made it a massive effort to specifically take indigenous children from indigenous families and place them within white homes or, um, you know, uh, Mormon homes. Mormons have a real fetish for Indigenous children. And so, because it's in their belief system that we're the 13th tribe of Israel. And, um, like [00:40:30] that's that- we see that as a form of trafficking. In fact, every year, the city of Sus- in the City of Sioux City, um, there's a March to honor lost children. It's not to honor children that have passed away, it's to honor children that have literally been stolen from us through governmental social welfare systems. So after boarding schools, after the boarding schools were shut down, what took their place was, you know, child welfare systems in this country. The Indian Child [00:41:00] Welfare Act was put into place to stop that essentially, to protect indigenous communities from having their children, um, you know completely removed from their communities. It basically gives tribal nations a say first and what happens to children that are being removed from indigenous families so that they're placed within a community context or like within a, you know, a tribal home before they're taken out, uh, and put into, you know, [00:41:30] white homes or, uh, uh, whatever homes. And so that's, that's what I think where we- Commissioner, Commissioner Krebs is saying. In terms of trafficking, it's, it's- it is a form of trafficking. Thank you. I would even argue that it was trapped thinking, uh, even- there were- I'm sure there were people who were buying- there are actually bills of sale for children who were abandoned. And, um, what are these people doing with these [00:42:00] children? So- so yes, I would even say that there, there was an element of even. Oh, yeah. Yeah and that too. And you're very right. Yeah. That is so true. I mean, you could buy ki- native kids for like 10 bucks not to look like what- I can't even remember how long ago that was, maybe like 80 years ago. And then like what happens to these children? Yeah, that's, that's a huge question. Right now, um, Indigenous peoples, um, in many [00:42:30] states, um, have the highest concentration rates of, um, being trafficked, sex, sex trafficked in this, in this country like in, in various states. So, um, yeah, there, there is a link between being in these, you know, foster care systems and being, uh, adopted by, you know, these families, uh, you know, or whatever, uh, and then ending up, uh, in, uh, I guess, uh, [00:43:00] what's the word, vulnerable situations that lead to, you know, even worse, even worse, uh, situations. I appreciate the clarification. Thank you. And, um, I just like to say that, um, this is something that I want to be on further agendas. Where more meetings because its not the first time that I've heard something about the Iowa City Community School District with different discrimination things and different things like that and [00:43:30] it's just- it's been indigenous people, its been African-Americans, it's been Latino people, this is not the first time that I've heard of this. And also, also say that it is very sad and heartbroken when I listen to the stories about it because, um, I'm not going to do ranking or who's the most persec- persecuted people in this country but you can put 1, 2, or 3 and you can rank them any order you want to [00:44:00] where African Americans and indigenous people and you can- who's been the most persecuted. So I definitely understand the sentiment, especially with the traffic and thing, I do understand that as well because, you know, as a- as African-American, I've- the trafficking thing, I've definitely been seeing that in especially the part and, you know, putting them in foster care, you know, this is a lot of things that I see with that, you know, with people just of color in general. And this [00:44:30] is the things that I- this is another- this is the thing that I don't want to go out to the agenda. Um, and I do wish that we can get to a point where we can address the I would say the Community School District Court maybe haven't come down and sit down and let's talk about it. I don't know that we need to get to a point because this is not the first time I've heard of things like this, especially, especially in the last couple of years. You know, it's been a lot of incidents with African-Americans and, you know, I've seen incidents [00:45:00] where- they happen where people of color you know their incidence with teachers and teachers did inappropriate things and the only solution that they will have is to relocate the teacher. Not get rid of the teacher, not disciplined and teacher, they would relocated them to a different school or they will still be employed. So this is something that I want to keep on the agenda, um, just not- I don't want to let this go. This is- so Sassy I'm letting you know we can keep- we need to discuss this more in board meetings because [00:45:30] the Iowa City Community School District they- at some points, they do a good job my kids go to the- to that school district but they need- the racial and the discrimination and not understanding different cultures needs to be addressed. I guess I would like to make a motion then um, that the Truth and Reconciliation Commission send a letter to the school district and ask for [00:46:00] a meeting. Um, so let's this- we will send a letter like, you know, after I get our materials together and write our letter, we can- we can send a letter ourselves, maybe asking for a meeting with them so we can discuss this idea about getting these books, um, and then go from there, I guess. I don't know if that's- I don't know how to put that into a motion so. Yeah, [00:46:30] yeah, we can- Um- I- I think that like if we were to, ah, sort of send a letter, um, something would need to be drafted and then like read before the commission so that we can then send it to the school district. Spot on. Okay. So like a motion to- how about you put the motion forward? Well, I- I wonder if we can just - so it sounds like you're - you're gonna work on writing a letter. And I wonder if- like Commissioner Harris mentioned, [00:47:00] we talk about this, follow up on this, at- at our other next meeting and then, um, uh like vote to approve that letter. Um, at our second meeting this month. So, um, I wanna just piggyback off of that, um. I- I agree with that. I was wondering if maybe we would want to create a, uh, what am I trying to say? Not - a small group of us. The word is losing me right now. [LAUGHTER] Committee. A [00:47:30] small committee. So we can help move this forward. Commissioner, uh, Commissioner Nobiss, if that's okay with you, if you, um, we can't as Commissioner Rivera said, we can't push anything right now until it comes back to this commission to um, to be read before us first. And I understand that you want this to be - you want us to go a little bit faster with us. So um, it's- it's going to take a little bit of time, but maybe there's something [00:48:00] in this meeting we can say we can do right now, but the letter we're going to have to have it approved at the next one. So can we vote so just write a letter. Can we start working on it? Are we allowed to -. Like -if people if people are willing to do it, I'm not sure that we needed to vote on it. Yeah. I don't think we need to vote on it, but do we- are we- is it possible for us is just give approval now for whatever comes out a letter or do- does it have to come back to us? [00:48:30] I mean, the problem or the potential problem with the proving. I do not know. We need- We just want to be in the [OVERLAPPING] A letter without everybody's seen it is there's the potential for there to be statements or something in the - in the letter that maybe not all nine of you agree with. And so by bringing a draft for that allows everybody to give their input, their insight. Um, and even if a majority of you- excuse me, even if there's a few of you who don't agree with the letters, [00:49:00] long as the majority passes the letter, then that's all that's needed. [OVERLAPPING]. Are we all allowed- I'm going to write a letter anyway. So like I'm just gonna like take some of that and just like turn it into- like I can just turn it into the truth- TRC own personal letter. And then if you - if anybody has quotes that they want to put in it, you know, please send them my way. I'll just have something for next Thursday or the next meeting if that's okay with everybody. Right that was my question. I was like, are we allowed to work on a letter like before the next meeting, like [00:49:30] a Google Doc letter or something or something like that? [OVERLAPPING] If y'all can see that. The Google Doc, the- the concern is if more than a quorum of you are on the Google Doc doing Commission business, then that's a meeting. So if you do form a committee, it's best to have that committee be under that- be at or under four and work on it within a joint Google Doc. I just proposed that I'm writing a letter anyway. I'll just write a letter and presented at the next meeting. Okay. [00:50:00] Is that okay? Would you like any other help with anything else? Yeah, if I do, I'll definitely- I mean, I think I'm going to ask Commissioner Krebs to help me. If anything, I think it's appropriate that Commissioner Krebs and myself work on it. If Commissioner Krebs has the time. Oh, absolutely. Also I think one of the most important things um, is to have backing because they're such a small population of indigenous people in town. And I know when I dealt with [00:50:30] my son, being on the Redskins team, I- I didn't even get a call back. I didn't even get an e-mail back and no one cared. So it's important to have that backing. Um, I would say that definitely um, just as being an African American, I heard mentioned that when we talked about it, you know, how it's the same assembler of people come in to a school wearing black face.[OVERLAPPING]. [00:51:00] And I do wanna point out, this is not the school district. [OVERLAPPING] Yeah I know that. This is red zone League, Football League. So I want to make that clear. Is that still happening? I don't know. That was the last year he played. Okay. I also want to know like the use of the R-word is sort of like similar to the use of the N word. We don't really use that. I just wanted to make sure that people know that that word is [00:51:30] not something that should be used. If you're not talking about it in the context like Commissioner Krebs is talking about it. Thank you for that clarification. Yeah. My suggestion in the drafting of the letter and you can take it or leave it. But there is, um, like verbal commitment from the school district and creating a DEI committee. There's commitments within the city government, um to [00:52:00] one, two commissions. Read a Native American land acknowledgment pushing for, you know, reparations and justice along these lines, um, the mayor every year for the last couple of years has proclaimed and Indigenous Peoples Day. And so I think that it's important to kind of put a request and recommendations in the context of, um, the stated commitments that these bodies have made, um so that, uh, we can just show [00:52:30] them that like, you know this is how you- this is how you pursue, um, the- the things that you've said that you would. Would you be so kind if- if you have the time to like give me a paragraph on that. I can yeah. Like, yeah, that'd be really helpful. That we're not like do need any- we don't have any core issues here with that, right? No. Okay. And the last time I looked at the [00:53:00] school district's vision and mission and the training of faculty in the district, the initial training for their work, there is cultural sensitivity and in the mission and then innervation. So pulling that in, I am thinking that could also go into the paragraph that Commissioner Kevo is drafting. [00:53:30] And so, um, Commissioner Nobiss, your idea is to send this letter directly to the school district or, um? I think it'd be nice if we could send it to the school. I- I don't know when the next school district meeting is, and it's unfortunate that we're getting into December because things are going to slow down and things are going to- I'm not sure. If you say so [OVERLAPPING] They usually needs a second and fourth Tuesday of each month. Second and fourth Tuesday. Usually, but, you know, that's why it's subject to change, but that's their regular schedule. So they- would they meet on the 19th [00:54:00] this- no, they wouldn't be on the 26th? No. I'm sorry, the 27th. And not the 26th. We might be getting into January, but the next meeting, if it's the second Tuesday would be the 13th of December. That would be before our meeting though. Yes. So yeah. I mean because it would be nice to present the meeting in- the letter in person to their next meeting. So I guess I'll just have to send it. So- [00:54:30] so I didn't feel like we need to find, like, um, a resolution. So what we wanna do and how we wanna move forward, and that's what we need to kind of get. I'm not sure that a formal motion needs to be made at this point. We'll- we'll continue the conversation. And, uh, I think specific people have a specific action items that they're going to follow up on. I do have a couple of questions though. Um, since this could- I know our first action item, um, is going to be that you are putting forth this to send out that letter. But [00:55:00] since we don't have the budget right now, I'm wondering if there's anything else that we can do. We're still in limbo waiting for city council or for the proposal and everything. Is it possible to bring in people that want to share their truths? Is that- is it too early to do that since this is something- since we do have the platform to, to talk about this right now? Actually, you know, this is a really good idea because, um, like I said, there's [00:55:30] another member of the community, indigenous member of the community. Well, I have two members that could probably come and share their truths about this because one of them witnessed something similar like this at another school in the district after the fried bread, er, thing, I, I haven't had time like- so this happened like two or three weeks ago but then I was traveling. I just got back from Chicago. You know, it was Native American Heritage Month. So for us that's like full-on and you all know that we do truths giving. So it's been a really [00:56:00] hectic time for, um, myself and Great Plains Action Society. So, um, we haven't had time to even truly like attend to this until, like, literally tonight, um, or like to talk to people like, er, Commissioner Krebs, you know. Um, so I did talk to another indigenous member of the community who said that they witnessed something like this at another school. So I think that it would be great, um, to have, um, herself. And then also [00:56:30] Daniel Velasquez who was handing out the fried bread, who might have seen something. Um, and then also this youth- indigenous youth, um, that goes to, um, one of the high schools, er, out here, I think it's City High, maybe. I can't remember what school they go to. But they've experienced- been experiencing things like this for years. Um, so I'm pretty sure as well, like Commissioner Krebs might have some things to add, um, and [00:57:00] maybe even it's not just about the school district, right, like maybe it's just about the community in general. Like, I mean, the fact that there's like a team as of last year in this- in this city. But, you know, it was called the R word is like unbelievable to me. Unbelievable. So yeah, we could, we could, you know, have something where we have indigenous folks come and talk about their experiences. I mean like, why not? Like, it's not like the City [00:57:30] is helping us with anything so like we matter or just move ahead and at least just have some people come talk since this incident is pretty, pretty much just bringing it up anyway, right? Like - I definitely agree that there's a lot of different targets for a message, like the one that we're gonna be, you know, sending. And I think that the, you know, the base letter could have two recipients, one city council and to the school board. Um, and we can also vote at the [00:58:00] same time next meeting to, like, um, put out a press release saying that we have, you know, put out this letter and to educate the community like briefly on what exactly the incident was and, you know, what, um, these bodies should be doing about it, right? I agree with that. That was the next thing I was thinking we shouldn't talk to the media about this at some point. I also would like to say, as a non-Indigenous black woman, I would just love to be [00:58:30] as much support as possible for our fellow commissioners, um, that have dealt with this, um, you know, from like working from behind as an ally. So, er, we want to as a- as a black woman who understands what it's like when people put too much on our- on too much on us to deal with our own issues. If you do need help and you don't want to deal with it on your own, I just wanted to say that, um, I would like to be there to help you as well. Thank you so much. [00:59:00] It's why I came here. That's why I was really glad to be on the TRC because, um, you know, that's what we're here for. So, um, truly, I think the bulk of our work will just be drafting this letter and putting together, you know, the evidence, if you will. But after that, you know, just working together as a team, um, moving forward with, you know, having, you know, folks being able to testify and meeting with like the city and the media, [00:59:30] things like that, like it would be very helpful if the TRC can help with things like that. Okay. Understood. Awesome. So is there a motion that we're coming to or we don't need a motion? Okay. So this will be the agenda item. We will next- we will continue to be an agenda item until we deem it's not necessarily more. Okay. Before we move on, I am just thinking that our city and our county. Are we always going to be having these incidents because I'm remembering, [01:00:00] I think a month ago, KCRG, I there's, uh, there are two cases going on, and these are coming out of the U of I and Kirkwood where the nurse, and one of the- I sent the article to you. There is, yeah I've seen it. Yeah. So in our jobs, you get those cases. Somebody just being very they know they can just, [01:00:30] even if you're trained up to whatever level, just tells you you're deficient and they know they'll get way with it. Are you talking about the one where they lowered the lady's caseload and they wouldn't let her have going on. And then they are the cuckoo than the U of a professor Guss. Remove that thing from the top of your head and the schools think that's okay. [01:01:00] So now with this case, um, we'll just be having these each case and going on and to court and, er, and not thinking it's just easier to be culturally sensitive. And the trainings that are going on in the school district, the people that are being trained, they've started training themselves, but not really being serious. Things don't be, [01:01:30] at least to me, changing at a very low pace. Thank you. Well, it seems like we have some action items. Are we ready to move on? I did realize that I did not open this topic up for public, so I will go ahead and do that now. If there's anyone in the public that would like to, um comment on what we just discussed. Uh, we'll go online first. Please raise your hand. [01:02:00] And um, since there's no one raising their hand will go to in the room. And now we'll move on to agenda item number seven um, and its books and materials sent by divided community projects. Um, commissioner Traore Mohamed wanted to uh, bring this topic up so I'm gonna let you start the discussion. Okay, so for me on these materials, um, we received [01:02:30] a few different things lately. One, a practical guide to planning collaborative initiatives to advance racial equity does not divide a community project. Um and then we've also received colorizing restorative justice. So these two sets of materials, since we haven't really been meeting a lot lately, and I did all city agenda item before moving to monthly meetings rather than bi-weekly. And as we're also talking about getting this whole budget approved [01:03:00] and going forward to next steps. Um I just don't want to not really be doing anything at all in terms of the education piece. In the meantime, um just making it easier to hit the ground running when things get started. But also because these materials are then sent to us from some of the only people that have really been paying attention and uh, putting something in for this uh, outside of the commission members this entire time. Just want to make sure we're respecting that contribution. And at least looking at this information. [01:03:30] As an example here. I don't think I can share my screen right now. Give me a second, I can help you out there. There we go Okay, there we go. We look here at the practical guide and planning and collaborative initiatives to advance racial equity. This one honestly really isn't even really that long. And if we were to look at [01:04:00] going towards the first meeting in January, at looking at this. Starts on page three and it really- the conclusion is actually only one page, so it's about 51 pages in total. Uh, so If you think about a total of a little over 30 days, uh, to be able to go through this wouldn't really even be that much reading per day. And if you look at the amount of texts per page and the actual topics that it's covering. So I think this is a really good way to hit the ground running uh, when things get to the next step. So that's a budget getting passed or not. [01:04:30] Especially with everything we're talking about today within getting more involved in the schools, putting together action plans, etc. This is a great history on commissions such as this and things like it for instituting changes to advance racial equity, starting the healing and more. So it's all about commissions, councils, task forces, and really diving deep into the things that are important to get clear between all the different stakeholders. And also lessons learned throughout these processes. [01:05:00] I just think it'd be really good idea to look through this. Again, not every page is really even that long. A lot of like bullet point format in a lot of it, a lot of graphics. So it's about 31 pages or so. But yeah, I wouldn't believe just like to be able to talk about this in more detail if we're able to go through it in the meantime for the first meeting in January. And even if people are wanting to cover it together, I'm even [01:05:30] happy to put together the Zoom meetings between smaller sets of commissioners to review it together um, in pieces. If one-half the commission wanted to focus on half and the other half wanted to focus on the other. Then come together and educate each other, could do it that way too, just want to throw those ideas out there and see what you all think. I just want to sort of emphasize um, the relevance of the, um, practical guide. The spiral bound that we have. Um, because [01:06:00] we're mentioned on page 18. [overlapping] The sentence reads some appointing authority, select all persons of color, for example Californians, California's reparations task force, Iowa City truth and reconciliation committee commission in the NYC racial justice commission. So certainly this has been written um with commissions like ours in mind. And so I think just flipping through it. Thanks for the reminder. A commissioner [01:06:30] tray area that we have this available. And I agree that um, when we have the resources and tools to help us, we should be used- using them and there should be a personal commitment for that as well. Well, so um I agree with you and thank you again, Commissioner Traore for bringing this back to our attention. Um, and I also want to be respectful of people that are going to be observing any holidays in the next month. Um [01:07:00] and if you simply just don't have as much time to read the whole thing, even though I do see how you did point out it's not as much- there's not as much words on each page. Um, is it possible that we can say that by the next meeting, the first of next month in January, can't believe it's almost generate that we would at least be able to discuss half of that um reading just to make it a little bit easier. I think that's a little bit more fair. Um, If you can make it past that. That's great. [01:07:30] I'm going to definitely try to do that. And I also, as has already been encourage- encourage everyone to try to reach out to each other and just kinda discuss it amongst ourselves throughout that time as well. Yeah like I have it at home and I can definitely start working on readings. I have it at home. He just pointed out we are I mentioned, hey, Jason and I didn't realize and I have the book at home and I'm going to definitely start reading it so. We will have it as an [01:08:00] agenda item for the first meeting of January if everyone's in agreement, I don't think we need to vote on this. Um and then we'll after this one we'll work on the other book that we received, if that's okay with everyone. Yeah. Thank you. Mohamed. Is there any other discussion on this topic? I just wanted to say that I appreciate the book uh, in my toolkit because as faculty, I teach racial justice [01:08:30] and research on it and publish on it. So I appreciate this book, especially because it's very hands-on. And of course there's that piece that we mentioned there. And in the California Task Force, a fellow counselor educator is in that one too. Was in that one. They concluded. Yeah. Thank you. There's no one else. We'll move on to the next agenda item. And I will [01:09:00] open up for public comments for final proposal for facilitators services sent on November 21st. Anyone online that would like to comment on this agenda item? Anyone in the room that would like to comment? Commissioners, any thoughts on our final proposal? This Kitchener merit. Um, unfortunate due to [01:09:30] the timing of when it received by the city and, um, what it's going to have to do before I can even get to the city council. It's going to be, you know, January, February, before even it's even ready to get to the city council. So, um. Do you have an idea, um, Stefanie, at all what time you think this could be in front to the earliest. I- I don't. So city staff received [01:10:00] it on November 20th. So we are meeting the week of December 12th, um, to go over it. Um, and I should have, you know, more specific details and hopefully a better timeline for the TRC after that initial meeting. But in terms of some of the things that, that we have to do is we have to go through there's, um, you know, this collaboration of several different organizations. So I'm defining the scope, [01:10:30] services and deliverables of- of each of those separate entities, um, creating agreements that are agreeable to- to the parties involved. Also looking at the- the demands, um, within the proposal in terms of what resources the city has, what resources the city doesn't have, and what we will do to- to bring those resources in and, um, you know, based upon that, [01:11:00] presenting the- the full proposal to the city council for their consideration. Can I ask, um, who is involved in all of that, um, pre-council work? So it would be, um, the office of human rights, the city manager's office in the city attorney's office. So encouraging, I mean, the proposal has been put forward and people are working on it, right? So not nothing [01:11:30] is being done. The last time we put something in front of city council it took, how much? Like at least a month or two to get in front of them. Is that correct? Um, I- I mean, I would have to go, I don't want to just say that, yeah, that's correct. Um, I will say this proposal is a lot different than the other proposals the TRC has received. That the first facilitator was one person. Right. [01:12:00] Um, and then the second proposal was one firm that had actually responded to an RFP. And so some of those deliverables and some of those resources were- were clearly defined as a part of the RFP that they submitted. And so this- this proposal is not quite identical to proposals that the TRC has received in the past so. That makes sense. Um, any other? Commissioner Traore has his hand up. Oh, I'm so [01:12:30] sorry. Go ahead. Oh, no problem. Um, I just wanted to bring up on the, um, proposal side and the whole thing about getting past. So it's also part of why I just wanted to push on the education pieces in the meantime, since we don't really know what this is gonna get past or if it will be. And also just wanted to remind everyone in case you weren't all aware, we do also lose technically a city council member after the end of this month. So [01:13:00] council member Weiner, so she's done after December and moving on. So also the piece of there's the potential that this is only in voted on by six counselors rather than seven. So also wanna have us all keep that in mind, um, and just keep doing what we can in the meantime to just make sure we're advancing the work of the commission as much as possible. Um, and I don't know if that changes things or considerations [01:13:30] or how we approach the next steps or next weeks for anyone else, but just wanted to make sure, uh, you are all aware of that. If I thought that they would be, um, self-appointing a person to replace, uh, council woman Weiner? Yeah. Um, I did speak to a few of the council members. And so it's actually open application process. And then out of the applicants, um, someone is selected. So I was [01:14:00] also told that, um, after just like getting some assurances that this is actually going to be available in multiple languages. So more people have opportunity to use, Stefanie go for this since it's not a true election, but rather an appointment. Um, but with that comes the factor of the more people that do apply, the longer this process potentially takes. So I don't know how many people are going to apply, but I know of at least two or three people that are going to apply or already have, so. Okay. [01:14:30] And earliest they have things even open or close to being closed is sometime mid-December, I think. Mid-January, sorry, and that's all I have. Any other, um, discussion on this agenda item? There's, um. Oh, yes, go ahead. Uh, yeah, thanks. This is V Fixed-Oraiz. I just wanted to, uh, speak to the commission and just say that, you know, we [01:15:00] as the proposal team are really committed to the proposal. And so you don't want to be as responsive as possible to whatever the city, um, has to kind of jump through those hoops. We're all very, you know, very well-versed and contracting and all that kind of thing. So just wanted to reassure you that, you know, we will be as responsive as possible, and, you know, the city can do this and, um, we're- we're just very excited. And so I just wanted to kind of [NOISE] [01:15:30] speak to that and- and let you know that we're here, we've been here, we're gonna remain here, and we'll be as responsive as we can, knowing that, you know, this is obviously a pressing and very urgent. Um, and also, I just personally wanted to say, um, you know, just to throw my full weight behind all of the things that you were talking about with Commissioner Nova, you know, fully supporting any of the things that you need to address immediately, um, having people come and speak and- and it doesn't have to wait. Nobody wants to be told to wait. [01:16:00] And so just wanted to support you all in that too. Um, and thank you for continuing to do the work, um, it's certainly time well spent, and I know that you're not just sitting there twiddling your thumbs, you're learning, you're growing, and you're addressing community needs. So, um, just wanted to say that personally, but also just wanted to reiterate that like we're here and we're ready to respond to whatever the city's questions, you know, legal issues, whatever we're ready to work through it. So yeah. Thank you. Thank you. [01:16:30] If there's no other discussion, I'm going to move on to the next agenda item. Okay, the next agenda item is vote to change the bimonthly meetings to once a month. I'll first open up to public discussion on mine. Public discussion in- in the room. Okay, I'll start off by saying the reason why I put this on the agenda because the last few sessions before we [01:17:00] came back, we had been talking about we should move to once a month. So that's literally the only reason why we have this agenda item, but I would love to hear other commissioners thoughts on this. Go ahead. Um, my thought on it is that, I don't want to move to once a month, especially with the issues that we discussed this evening with the indigenous thing and the school district thing. We need to keep that, I don't want that to go away. [01:17:30] And- I don't want that to go away, and I think that we need to talk about that more. And then with the uncertainty about what our budget is going to be, we need to have discussions about it. We can actually find a way to bring people in and talk without- until our budget gets done. We need to keep- because that- that's the thing that I don't want to let that go away because just listening to, you know, when we was on the item number, that was just number 6, [01:18:00] that was- is heartbreaking to hear and then I think we need to just keep that up and I think we need to talk about that more. And I'd definitely be willing to engage it because it's not only just one community, is a lot of communities of color that have dealt with things in Iowa City Community School District in the system. That's something that- that's kinda what I believe is our charge, is to deal with those things like that, to make recommendations and talk to people and listen to people. Unfortunately, we have [01:18:30] to go to the loopholes with the city to get the budget approved, but we need to have discussions about how to find a way and be able to listen to these people and get the testimony that we need. And so that's my opinion on it. And I don't want to move to monthly, not at this point. And then also we got to remember too that we had to get extended mandate, and that's going to end in June of this- of 2023, and that's going to end and we're going to run out of time. So I don't want to cut short that time [01:19:00] that we have to discuss the things unless we're going to go and get a different mandate to extend it some more. That's my only thing. So if we- if we get- if we have more time, then I would say, hey, we could switch to monthly, but we're running out of time. You know, the snow is going to melt real soon and it will be June and we're going to be out of time. Thank you. Correct me if I'm wrong, but we did add that as part of the proposal that we would ask [01:19:30] for an extension. Okay, okay. Is that correct? Yeah. So we're good? Okay. Yeah, we did add- we will be asking you for that. So that extension should go through 2024, if I believe correctly. Okay. I just don't want to run out of time. No, I- I completely agree with you. I'm going to go to Commissioner Nobiss, who has her hand raised. Yeah. Back when we were going through all the drama and, you know, the, you know the, basically [01:20:00] people like literally trying to like, you know, you know, decommission us essentially. You know, I was all for these once a month meetings because I like, couldn't handle it. You know, and it felt like things were not getting done. But like the idea of doing once a month now feels counter, like it seems like we're- we're just going to slow ourselves down because it [01:20:30] feels like we might just get some momentum now if we can get this budget through, you know, then we can start doing some stuff. So I- I think we should stick with twice a month. I would just- oh, go ahead. Yeah, I probably wouldn't vote to go to a once monthly meetings at this point. The only sort of best solution or replacement for twice monthly meetings would be if there was a commitment of commissioners to meet and subcommittees on that, [01:21:00] like other Thursday of the month or at least one other time so that more action could be done in a subcommittee format. But at this point, like others have mentioned, I think that we're showing how, like, the uniqueness of this DRC and I'm currently in its ability to respond to urgent like, community requests and things like this. Certainly, as you chair have been doing it, I think that it's appropriate if there's nothing that's [01:21:30] going to be on an agenda. If no one suggesting agenda items to you than canceling a meeting is always an option. But at this point, let's go ahead and continue bimonthly as scheduled. And then once we have facilitators and once we get into the motion of things, we'd have a completely new rhythm and vibe and- and then we can redis- we- we can determine again if a change in the scheduling needs to be done. I want to go to Lauren. [01:22:00] It's commissioner merit. One thing about, um, having the bi or- the bi- weekly or whatever else meetings is that it's not like a full two weeks of work that can be done before the meeting, because an agenda has to- information has to get to Stefanie two post so many days ahead of time. So it really ends up being one week of action, and I don't know if that really [01:22:30] is enough time to do some of the things we want to do in-between the, uh, the meetings. But I- I do agree, I think that we had, you know, designated like subcommittees, that are actually doing some of these work, um, work items in-between, uh, the time. And if we have information to present on the third, you know, the third Thursday, we do that, but I- it's going to be very difficult [01:23:00] to get some of the stuff done in one week and in time to present to have an agenda posted, and that's only my concern. Right. As a response to that, right, we've already discussed an example of how we benefit from twice monthly meetings with the agenda item number 6 today. And so we've already identified action items in this meeting for people to follow up on, and those will be presented at our next meeting. If we didn't have bi-monthly meetings, then we won't be able [01:23:30] to vote on a letter until January, which I think would be too long. And I do agree that we need to do more sub-committee people- we need to do more meeting outside of sub-committee meetings. I- I do. I can say that I haven't been doing a good job myself, so we need to do more, you know, smaller group meetings. I mean, I- I don't think you should blame yourself for that though. Like, I mean, this whole thing is just been such a mess. Like, once we get our, you know, [01:24:00] our budget approved and have like, our consultants, like yeah, of course, like sub- committee meetings and action items, like those are going to be easy because it's going to be laid out for us and we're going to have a plan. Um, you know, we're going to move forward with intentionality. Like right now, we're still sitting here trying to get a budget passed two years later, right?So, um, I mean, I understand like, you know, and- and I just don't think anybody should feel bad that we haven't had, uh, many sub-committee meetings going on because we literally don't even know what we're allowed [01:24:30] to do, or what we can and can't do at this point because we've been waiting in a holding pattern for so long. So, you know, I think we should stick to the two meetings a month until we, you know, get our budget and then we'll have like, more action items. And then yeah, we can definitely go into like, you know, sub-committee meetings once a month and, uh, you know, four meetings once a month or, sorry, you know what I'm trying to say. It's not no offense to, you know, any commissioners here, but it's, [01:25:00] you know, a certain commissioner said that we are definitely ready to see a budget get passed. We- we've been in here for the long haul, you know, like listening, you know, it's new commissioners which I respect, you know, they're trying to get the gist of what's been going on, but it's been, you know, a long time, you know. We need to get that passed and we need to get action going in. That's why I failed to realize that, you know, and I propose for that we did get the essential because we're definitely going to need that because [01:25:30] it just feel like we didn't have enough time to do anything with all this wrestling and other stuff that we did, and I- So with it on the Commissioner Johnson. [LAUGHTER] I- I've always believed that we need the- have our I think we need to be as constant as possible I wish we were being advertised more, to be honest. Yeah. I feel like every- one of the things I imagined when we joined on here was that every- if we're being advertised [01:26:00] by the city and the city was taken us seriously, I wanna say, uh, if we have more of an opportunity to reach out to the public and give public the opportunities like what took place on agenda item number 6, and incidents like that happen all the time. That's also one of the reasons why I always said we should always have a Truth and Reconciliation Commission. There's always gonna be issues, there's always gonna be things that we need to make sure that we stand up for people when they do need us because for one, [01:26:30] we are all minorities who have been there, done that, and understand what it's like to have someone, uh, or have things put against you and you need a voice and you need champions to help you out in the process of that. I- I think when momentum starts moving, uh, let's keep it rolling. I mean, I'm very busy myself I have a lot of things to do as well, I trust and believe. However, I repeat the same thing I've said time and time again, we're doing something that's so important it is so helpful for your future [01:27:00] and it might be, I mean, we might not see the actual super- duper impacts of everything, but later on down the line, it- it makes me think of people like Muhammad Ali, uh, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, people like that, they stepped in before us and they made it so we're able to have this commission right now. We might not feel it completely and it might be hard on us, but we have such an important role to make it three times easier for, if not infinitely [01:27:30] more for our children down a line, period. So I would like to stick to it as much as possible and I mean, uh, when it comes down to subcommittees and everything like that, just let me know I'll do the best I can and make it there that's all there is to it so you know. If I just, um, could just add in, I hear what everyone's saying, and, um, obviously, we'll go with whatever- what the commission is agreeing with. I- I still think that we could get so much done with subcommittees and if we weren't able to free up, if not this month or the next [01:28:00] month, one, the second, um, Thursday, that would give us a little bit more time because we are tied to the quorum and it does hinder us in some ways, uh, at times, and it would be nice to be able to do some actions out in the community. Um, but I do hear what you all are saying and it can be beneficial right now. I also hesitate to do too much since we don't know what we can do yet since we are tied to the proposal and we're tied to whatever the- the city council says we can do, [01:28:30] um, I'm all of- I'm definitely on board for doing whatever we can beforehand. Definitely, I'm- I'm tired of sitting here twiddling my thumbs like people have said already, um, but, um, yeah, those are just my thoughts so I think our commissioner, Wangui wanted to say something. Were are you going to? No, I just wanted to piggyback on what Commissioner Cliff has said about, um, it may look as if nothing is happening but [01:29:00] already, our commissioner- our commissioner has been put in print by someone and thinking back, uh, to what commissioner Sikowis have presented with Marie, uh, about this incident when my children were going to school in the Iowa City School District I'm just wishing the- I had a commission like this to come to when my daughter, uh, in the locker rooms and in the whole building in City [01:29:30] high-school. When she ran cross-country, uh, somebody came and told her she- it just went to the pictures and cut off her head. Yes, it's pictures that's what the police told me that no crime had been committed but I said I wanted on record anyway because I do not know whoever has done all that, may actually do something worse so I wish that time [01:30:00] we didn't have TRC. So it was the police and I told them I wanted them to- thank God the person didn't do anything else or the people and I went to the office, uh, the principal's office they like all the other what I perceive as racist incidences it was dismissed and she survived to serve in the district to- in this kind of things. Yeah, that's [01:30:30] what I wanted to add, that we're doing something and you see it in the future and I'm glad we have TRC to talk about incidents like- like commissioner Sikowis brought to us. Okay, so it seems like we're going to stick to our bimonthly meetings until further notice, um, so that we can continue, uh, working and get this momentum that Commissioner Nobiss, um, [01:31:00] mentioned. Is there any other discussion on this topic? I will say that I- I- oh, we do have, um, someone in the audience go ahead. Sorry, I'm Fixmer Oraiz I just wanted to add because, uh, Commissioner Harris brought this up about the extension of the commission and being in the proposal, and this is a side note and it just reminded me that I forgot to ask if the commissioner is going to formally ask for that or if it's going to stay in the proposal and I realized this is a little bit of a derail, but since [01:31:30] you brought that up, I- I just wanted to point that out. That, um, isn't an official asked for it or? The recommendation was voted on at our last in-person meeting and it's in- it's in the October 20th minute notes. So there TRC recommends that city council extend the time frame for the TRC, um, until December 31st, 2024. So that recommendation has been made I don't know what else- what other force we can put behind it, um, so it's up to them. And the reason I was asking because I wasn't at that meeting, so [01:32:00] great. Okay, great got it. Thank you so much I apologize just wanted to double-check on that. I spoke to you. Yeah. That's okay we make mistakes we all doing. Okay. Well, um before we move over- move on to the next agenda item I would- I would suggest that we all take time to think about if we want to do future subcommittees, um, what those ideas could be, maybe we can talk about in the coming, um, meetings and actually try to jumpstart that as we're waiting for the next steps. [01:32:30] Just reach out and reconfigure it up. Okay. So the next agenda item is announcement from staff and commissioners. So I'll let Stefanie go first. Okay. All right and just a reminder, you're not allowed to engage with each other on these announcements go on. So I can go first where my announcement, um, I'm formulating some things and are working on some things. Um. I've realized, um, in the past month or two, especially with the coal where the common around that, um, in the city- [01:33:00] city we have a serious problem with homelessness. And I'm going to be working on that on my own, maybe even, um, trying to formulate some type I'm going to work with some different entities. Um, I'm also going to, going go about it to formal way to get, um, the issue of homelessness in Iowa City on agenda because I do want to talk about it because if you drive around, Iowa City, um, especially in certain neighborhoods you can see is definitely a problem. Um, [01:33:30] the, um, city and the county have done what they can do with the funding, but I think that more needs to be done, um, they have certain rules and certain things they have to follow. But it's really becoming a problem, um, it's something that I see- it breaks my heart when I see it, you know to be honest with you when I see people sleeping at bus stops or you know I see people sleeping outside or sleeping on the ground, um, and I know people have problems in their life that may cause them to get in those situations [01:34:00] but we far as I know, I would say is a compassionate community, um, and we need, uh- we need, uh, address that some more so. So that's my announcement. If you see me working more with homeless people in the future, um, just expect that and I'm going to be pushing that agenda because it- it- it is this in a place like this, this shouldn't happen like that the way it is and you know with all the resources that's around, it just shouldn't be the way it is. If you're going Southgate, you know the shut the house [01:34:30] has so many facilities that can help people, but this is a combination of homelessness and substance abuse and a whole bunch of other things. This needs to be solved and needs to be talked about and it's kind of similar to what we talked about, what's going on in school districts on these things as being ignored so with that, I yield. Go ahead. [NOISE] This is Commissioner Johnson. I wanted to say [01:35:00] congratulations to Senator Weiner. Uh, I appreciate her and the times that she has- that I've known her and- and seeing her work and what she's done for us, ah, here with the TRC as well. Uh, and I wish her nothing but the best of luck. Uh, other than that, I would like to address- I'm still- I talk with a lot of kids and I'm still dealing with some issues with kids with ah, a lot of these fights in school that are getting ridiculous dangerously violent and they're [01:35:30] horrible. And I- I would like to put something on an agenda item to attack that a little bit more in a- on a constant basis because I- nothing bothers me more than to hear one of my kids to feel the fear of death just to go to school. Because when I talk to them and they say things about how they're doing great in school and are doing well and they want to continue. And they tell me about all these crazy dangerous situations that just keep getting thrown at them. I can't imagine how you could get good grades like that. And [01:36:00] there- there- that has to be addressed in a more positive and productive way. Um, and I- I have some thoughts and ideas where I could possibly help. But I mean, I'm all open to it, but I- I really want to kind of tackle on it just a little bit more if I can. So ah, only other thing I got is ah, I hope everybody had a happy holidays and open next holidays same. So that's it for me. Commissioner Dillard. Um, I have [01:36:30] two announcements. One is professionally for my organization, the neighborhood centers of Johnson County. I'd love to invite all of you to our cocoa and cookies event next week. It's an open house. It's gonna be fine. Um, and we're doing it too. It's gonna be our 50th anniversary next year in 2023, 50 years of working with ah, so many marginalized communities um, in this area. Um, and also an introducing everyone to our newest executive and associate director. If you remember, [01:37:00] they are the first for this organization of black power- of power duo, um, two black women in a leadership roles. And ah, we would like to argue the first and this community. Um, and just- just want to celebrate all of that with people in the community. Um, as we, um, share a new vision of what we're- what we hope to accomplish in the next 50 years. Um, and the second one is more personal. I'm going to be doing another um, um, what do you call it, [01:37:30] theater or performance? Yes. A cabaret. Ah, the 15th, 16th, and I believe the 18th. U, if you'd like more information, I can give it to you. It's gonna be at the James Theater and it is a Christmas Cabaret. It's fun. Ah, so what is the cocoa and cookie event? So um, the cocoa and cookies event is October 9th, from 4:30-6:30. It's at our pheasant rich neighborhood center, 26 51 Robert's Road. Um, I can send you all more information. [OVERLAPPING] [01:38:00] Did I say? [LAUGHTER] I'm sitting here very seriously saying October, December. Uh, it's already December. December- December 9th, it's next Friday. Next Friday. Next Friday, December 9th, 4:30-6:30. Resident? The Pheasant Ridge Neighborhood Center. We will have a hot cocoa bar and cookies and it'll just be a fun time. So that's all I have. Um, as we've talked a lot [01:38:30] about, um, the school system here and I will City Community School District because a lot of conversations at the state-level about ah, funding for our public schools. I've had the opportunity um, to, over the last couple of months to follow with some of the school and family advocates to um, see the different like social, emotional, um, supports that they provide our students. Um, many of whom are disadvantaged and in structural ways. And again, um, a lot of those needs are ah, especially [01:39:00] ah, among students of color. Um, so there are proposals that would shift um, millions of dollars away from public schools to give, um, other kids vouchers to attend private schools. If- the schools are already strapped. What I'm- what I'm seeing is that the people who are trying to do good- who are trying to do good in the schools, don't have the resources available to- to do what they can for the families uh, who could use the most support. [01:39:30] Um, and certainly if public funding gets slashed, um, then the people who will be affected are disproportionately students of color. And so please just be paying attention, contact your Iowa House Representative and Iowa State Senators, um, and make sure that they know that this is not good for our- for our kids. Thanks. [OVERLAPPING] I- I almost forgot too. On the 17th [01:40:00] we have our jingle bell brawl. [LAUGHTER] That will be at Icore Boxing Club. It will be a fun event. Uh, we're going to make it very Christmas like even how it's a boxing event. Uh, we're going to have fun with it. I almost forgot about that completely. Also I- I would like to thank the City of Iowa City ah, and congratulate the City of Iowa City for bringing the Golden Gloves the first time ever in ah, the history of Iowa. Will the Golden Gloves be here in Iowa City? And I- I am [01:40:30] very, very happy to hear that. I- It'll be a great show right here at the Graduate. Here in Iowa City on ah, the 1st of April, I believe. And ah, more informational on that later on down the line. Ah, this is historic. It's the 100 year anniversary nationally of the Golden Gloves. And now we're bringing it right here to Iowa City. So that's a beautiful thing for the near future right here in April. So that's all my other announcement. I almost forgot about them. Thank you, Iowa City. Any other commissioner [01:41:00] announcements? Yeah. This Saturday, ah, we the Faith- Christian Faith Academy on Broadway, they have Saturday school, and have invited families. I am attached to the school since it began because a lot of the- the students who [01:41:30] go there elementary, it's an elementary school. Uh, they identify as African. And for me, as an educator, this was something much needed. Ah, because a lot of the children of color. And that is why I get very triggered by an incident that like the one Sikowis talked about. So [01:42:00] in the academy, they are protected from a lot of these things, just like being a coordinator of Nisaa African Family Services, an organization like ours. And I thank the state and the federal funds that we get because the- the people we serve get protected from some of their racial injustice. Although even as we advocate, we [01:42:30] also do get discriminated on. So on the- on Saturday, I- I am invited to the school to go and talk about sexual and domestic violences in our communities because Nisaa's mission is to eradicate violence in our communities. And if anybody's near there or a parent, it will be good [01:43:00] to see you. I will speak until 11:05. And the other thing, I- on 12th, Kenya, my country of origin, will celebrate- December 12th. We celebrate our Independence Day from colonialism, political independence. We always remind ourselves because [01:43:30] we still- its a work in progress, getting African, getting herself out of economic independence from the exploitation of the West. And, yeah today, everything we've been discussing has really reminded me of that. But I'm looking forward to December 12th. Because at least we do have political independence and we fly our own flag. Thank you. [01:44:00] If there's no one else, is there a motion to adjourn? I'm- I move to adjourn. Seconded. Thank you all. Thank you.