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Home My WebLink AboutAgenda TRC 1 19 23Ad Hoc Truth and Reconciliation Commission Agenda Thursday, January 19, 2023, 7 PM Emma J. Harvat Hall City Hall 410 E. Washington Street In order to encourage input from the public, the Commission intends to offer the opportunity to participate in the meeting remotely. However, this meeting is in-person, and those wishing to ensure their ability to participate should attend the meeting in person. If you instead wish to participate remotely, you may attempt to do so by joining the below link. Please note that the meeting link and ID for the first Thursday of each month is different than the link and ID for the third Thursday of each month. First Thursday Meetings https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_cMIaaV6cTxGwOlWu2-hFHg ID: 867 2424 8095 Third Thursday Meetings https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_lcIl8llPSRq1u0xPlL-1Ew ID: 895 3695 0485 If you have no computer or smartphone, or a computer without a microphone, you can call in by phone by dialing (312) 626-6799 and entering the meeting ID when prompted. Meeting Agenda: 1.CALL TO ORDER 2.ROLL CALL 3.READING OF NATIVE AMERICAN LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 4.APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES FROM JANUARY 5, 2023 5.PUBLIC COMMENT OF ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA (TRC MEMBERS SHALL NOT ENGAGE IN DISCUSSION WITH THE PUBLIC CONCERNING SAID ITEMS) 6.A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO PLANNING COLLABORATIVE INITIATIVES TO ADVANCE RACIAL EQUITY SECTION EDITION 2022 DISCUSSION 7.EXCLUDED WORKERS 8.ICCSD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PERFORMANCE INCIDENT 9.FACILITATOR SERVICES PROPOSAL 10.ANNOUNCEMENTS OF COMMISSIONERS/STAFF (TRC MEMBERS SHALL NOT ENGAGE IN DISCUSSION WITH ONE ANOTHER CONCERNING SAID ANNOUNCEMENTS) 11.ADJOURNMENT MEETING PACKET CONTENTS: 1.AGENDA: THURSDAY, JANUARY 19, 2023 2.DRAFT MEETING MINUTES: JANUARY 5, 2023 3.NATIVE AMERICAN LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT If you will need a disability-related accommodation to participate in this meeting please contact the Equity Director, Stefanie Bowers, at 319-356-5022 or at stefanie-bowers@iowa- city.org. Early requests are strongly encouraged to allow sufficient time to meet your accessibility needs. January 5, 2023 Draft Ad Hoc Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Minutes Emma J. Harvat Hall, City Hall Commissioners present: Mohamed Traore, Chastity Dillard (via Zoom), Clif Johnson, Marie Krebs, Kevo Rivera, Lauren Merritt, Eric Harris, Sikowis (Christine Nobiss) (Via Zoom). Commissioners absent: Wangui Gathua. Staff present: Stefanie Bowers. Community members who spoke at the meeting: V Fixmer-Oraiz. Recommendation to City Council: Yes. Whereas the Iowa City Ad Hoc Truth and Reconciliation Commission has received a letter with the subject "Re: Ongoing racial discrimination towards Indigenous Peoples sanctioned by the City of Iowa City and the Iowa City Community School District;" the Commission recommends that the City of Iowa City and ICCSD support the requests made by members of our Indigenous community in this letter. These requests include but are not limited to - funding the provision of more educational resources to teaching staff in ICCSD, such as the book "Rethinking Columbus," - providing annual anti-racism training to educators and city officials for better understanding of Indigenous Peoples, and - planning and enacting a community celebration for Indigenous Peoples Day. The Commission also recommends that City officials and ICCSD leaders meet with the letter writers for more collaboration on how best to execute these actions, so as to include input from Indigenous community members moving forward. Meeting called to order: 7:10. Reading of Native American Land Acknowledgement: Merritt read the Land Acknowledgement. Approval of Minutes from December 1, 2022: Rivera moved, and Harris seconded. Motion passed 8-0. Public Comment of Items not on the Agenda: None. ICCSD Elementary School Performance Incident: Krebs has attended some of the ICCSD Equity Committee meetings. The group seems to want to work to improve and makes things right to create a better culture in the schools. Johnson County has said they were going to do an Indigenous Days event in 2023. Rivera moved, and Johnson seconded to send a statement to the City Council and ICCSD Board of Directors. Motion passed 7-0. (Harris is not present). Facilitator Services Proposal: City staff will be sending each consultant the City’s General Terms and Conditions, and staff will also begin developing the scope of services. When the agreements are completed, they will be sent to the consultants for review and signing and then the TRC will review them to confirm this is what they want. Following this, the item will be placed on the Council agenda. Books and Materials Sent by Divided Communities: Traore prepared the following summary for chapter one. ● Support for advancing racial equity in the US is widespread. ● Many believe that advancing racial equity can strengthen communities, expand the workforce, increase consumer spending, and improve productivity. ● Multiple cities have established multi-pronged initiatives, such as truth and racial healing commissions, to address inequities and facilitate collaboration, public engagement, healing, and implementation over several years. ● These initiatives aim to offer opportunities for all and to recognize that people and communities have different starting points. ● US initiatives, which are distinguished from "truth and reconciliation commissions" in the context of transitioning governments, seek to achieve change through persuading existing government officials and community leaders to offer support and to address truth-telling, remediation for harm, community engagement, and healing. ● Successful initiatives prioritize immediate changes, increased public understanding, and a clear path to action. Summary: In sentences Support for advancing racial equity in the United States is widespread and businesses have shown increasing support for it as well. Many have come to the conclusion that advancing racial equity will lead to stronger communities and more opportunity for all. It is also believed these efforts can play a role in expanding the workforce, increasing consumer spending, and enhancing productivity. In order to address existing inequities, multiple cities have established multi-pronged initiatives such as truth and racial healing commissions. Initiatives differ from short-term task forces as they facilitate a collaborative problem-solving approach, with elements of: public engagement, healing, and implementation over several years. Many of these initiatives also aim to offer opportunities for all while remaining steadfast in recognizing that people and communities have different “starting points” (frames of reference and experience with actively dealing in such topics). More key components: These initiatives also invite community members and public officials to work together. While these initiatives are inspired by international models such as truth and reconciliation commissions, they display differences in these approaches. Examples include: seeking to persuade existing government officials and community leaders to offer support rather than identifying officials from a prior regime for prosecution or amnesty. In order to be successful, these initiatives prioritize immediate changes, increased public understanding, and a clear path to action. They also focus on creating a shared narrative of the past, promoting healing, and creating a record of historical and current inequities. In order to achieve lasting change, it is important or imperative for these initiatives to have the support of government officials and to have a plan for implementing recommendations. These plans may be concrete, or fluid, but it is important that they are a focus in the beginning stages, rather than being an afterthought. It is also crucial for the initiatives to engage diverse communities and to address intersectionality. Meeting Procedures and Protocols: Merritt and Dillard would like notice of any agenda items that commissioners want on the agenda by the second Thursday of each month. Commissioners also discussed ways they could attract more visibility—billboards, social media, emails. Commission Announcements: Johnson wished everyone a Happy New Year. Rivera mentioned the upcoming MLK Human Rights Week. Nobiss spoke on the need for increased advocacy as it relates to the building of pipelines. Adjourned: 8:29 PM. City Board and Commission meetings are recorded and can be viewed in their entirety by visiting this link. AD HOC TRUTH & RECONCILIATION COMMISSION ATTENDANCE RECORD YEAR 2023 (Meeting Date) NAME TERM EXP. 1/5 1/19 2/2 2/16 3/2 3/16 4/6 4/20 5/4 5/18 6/1 6/15 Dillard 6/23 P Gathua 6/23 A Harris 6/23 P Johnson 6/23 P Krebs 6/23 P Merritt 6/23 P Nobiss 6/23 P Rivera 6/23 P Traore 6/23 P KEY: P = Present A = Absent