Thursday, April 21
April 21, 9:00-10:30 a.m. PST
Opening Session with the Wiyot Tribe
Join us for our conference opening session with members of the Wiyot Tribe. Ted Hernandez (Chairman of the Wiyot Tribe) will begin by opening the summit, then this session will introduce the focus of the summit, the schedule of events, the partners in the summit, and what we hope to share over the following 3 days.
Join a discussion with several Wiyot tribal members and department heads.
April 21, 11:00a.m.-12:30 p.m. PST
What Is to Be Done?
“What Is to Be Done? Burning Questions of Our Movement” is a political pamphlet written in 1902 by Vladimir Lenin outlining a “skeleton plan” for going beyond fighting economic battles over wages, working hours and the like and towards restructuring all of society. As we face ecological collapse, and fascism rising across the globe, we bring together movement leaders to pose that question to them: “What Is to Be Done?”
Session Format:
Presentation and discussion facilitated by David Cobb.
Presenters: A discussion between Yvonne Yen Liu (Solidarity Research Center), Richard D. Wolff (Democracy at Work), Jessica Alvarez-Parfrey (Transition US), and Kali Akuno (Cooperation Jackson).
April 21, 1:00-2:30 p.m. PST
Contesting for Power for a People’s Economy
Imagine a world where everyone has enough. Where housing is a human right. Where there is no difference between “worker” and “owner.” Where our financial system puts people over profits. Where we face the realities of our changing climate and relearn to live in balance with nature. Building this world is possible–it has already begun. All over this country we are building pathways to a people’s economy. In California, the California Progressive Alliance was formed to reclaim our government from the corporate interests that have overshadowed the voice of the people, to elevate progressive ideas and promote local, people-powered coalitions and endorse progressive, corporate-free candidates. One progressive issue–worker ownership–is advancing through the California Assembly led by another organization, the Worker-Owned Recovery California Coalition. And yet another coalition, in Portland, OR, led by communities of color, organized to win a city ballot initiative to distribute $44-61 million every year in clean energy funding for renewable energy, energy efficiency, job training, green infrastructure, and future innovation, prioritizing low-income residents and people of color. How are these efforts helping our communities to contest for power–through electoral politics, policy, and organizing our people? What are we learning together? Are our efforts enough to prevent a handful of elites from pushing us further into global collapse? What do we need to do to build the people power needed to grow the scale of the solidarity economy – a true people’s economy – in the US? Learn, share and engage with panelists as we seek to advance more bold, visionary solutions for the future we need.
Session Format:
The moderator will introduce the speakers and the goals of the panel. Each presenter will spend 5-10 minutes sharing about their organizations and organizing to contest for power for frontline communities. There will then be a 15-20 minute guided conversation amongst the panelists. The moderator will then take questions from the chat (not opening the microphone).
Presenters: Vivian Satterfield (Verde NW/Portland Clean Energy Fund Coalition), Ra Criscitiello (Worker-Owned Recovery California Coalition), Enesto Arce (California Progressive Alliance), and Moderator Lisa Hubbard (New Economy Coalition).
April 21, 3:00-4:30 p.m. PST
Dishgamu Humboldt Community Land Trust
Dishgamu Humboldt Community Land Trust is an Indigenous led land trust organized under the Wiyot Tribe based in the Humboldt Bay Area in Northern California. Through land return, Dishgamu seeks to return public and private land within the unceded ancestral territory to the Wiyot Tribe. Dishgamu Humboldt calls on Native and non-native peoples to heal intergenerational trauma through the protection, preservation, cultural and environmental restoration of Wiyot Land. Dishgamu also seeks to 1) prioritize Wiyot people in affordable housing to allow Wiyot people to remain in their homelands, 2) protect and Environmentally, Culturally, and Ceremonially restore land, 3) take action against climate through deep green building practices and cultural, ceremonial, and environmental restoration of green spaces. 4) Develop and train local people through our projects to produce living wage jobs in our area and to bring best practices in construction, energy production, building materials, and housing design to Humboldt County. We aim to restore Wiyot people to their rightful place in relationship with their ancestral land. Wiyot language and ceremony are an active, thriving part of the cultural landscape, where Wiyot place names are restored and recognized, and where intertribal Indigenous communities have affordable housing and living wage jobs. Dishgamu Humboldt is centered in Jaroujiji (Eureka, CA), the ancestral homeland of the Wiyot Tribe, now known as the Humboldt Bay area. Dishgamu Humboldt literally means Love Humboldt in Soulutluk, Wiyot Language.
Presenters: David Cobb, Head of Disghgamu Humboldt Department, Alice Armstrong, uxo architects, and Ashton Hamm, uxo architects.
April 21, 5:00-6:30 p.m. PST
Local Public Banking
The Friends of the Public Bank East Bay will describe their progress toward opening a public bank in and near Alameda County, the ways that Humboldt County and this region may be able to participate, and the basics of public banking in general.
Presenters: Debbie Notkin, George Syrop, and eli zalee
April 21, 7:00-8:30 p.m. PST – Cultural Offering
Film Screening and Discussion with Filmmaker, Michelle Aguilar: “El Cacao: The Challenge of Fair Trade” & “No Place to Grow”
“El Cacao: The Challenge of Fair Trade”
Synopsis: In the lush rainforest of Bocas del Toro, Panama, an indigenous cacao farmer, his wife and grandchildren confront environmental and economic complexities as they grow, harvest and sell cacao beans for a global chocolate market.
“No Place to Grow”
Synopsis: No Place to Grow follows a group of Latinx farmers who find themselves representing a movement to save the last green space centered within a neighborhood facing gentrification in Santa Cruz, CA.
Session Format:
The film showing will also include a discussion with the filmmaker, Michelle Aguilar. This offering is made possible in collaboration with the Cal Poly Humboldt Native American Studies Department and the Rou Dalagurr Food Sovereignty Lab.
Unfortunately a video recording of this screening is not available.
Friday, April 22
April 22, 9:00-10:30 a.m. PST
Yoga for Eco-Grief: A Practice for Grounding and Embodiment
This accessible yoga practice is the first of four sequences included in the self-paced online course Yoga for Ecological Grief, a heart-centered and trauma-conscious offering from Laura Johnson, PhD, RYT-500, TCYM.
Through meditation, breath work, mudras or hand gestures, and supportive yin and restorative poses, we will create a safe container and a grounded place from which we can honor and slowly open to our collective pain for the world, a radical and transformative practice. Wisdom from Francis Weller, Thich Nhat Hanh, Michael Meade, and others is interwoven.
Connect mind and body, activate the parasympathetic nervous system, and cultivate the earth element to create a sense of being at home inside ourselves, as well as a relational capacity that grows from a sense of contentment and peace.
For this class, helpful props include a bolster, two blocks, and at least one blanket. If you do not have a bolster, you might gather more folded blankets or perhaps a couch cushion or firm pillow. In lieu of blocks you might use firm throw pillows of the same size or perhaps additional rolled blankets.
Learn more about the full course here: https://a-restful-space.teachable.com/p/yoga-for-ecological-grief
Pre-recorded 83-minute yoga class presented by Laura Johnson.
April 22, 11:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m. PST
What Does “Post-Capitalism” Mean?
This Summit is literally described as “post-capitalist.” Various individuals and political ideologies have speculated on what would define such a world. This session will help us understand what capitalism actually is, and explore three versions of it: neoliberalism, New Deal capitalism, and social democracy. And that sets us up to explore what a completely different system might be.
This session is a conversation with Emily Kawano (US Solidarity Economy Network), Will Fisher (Cal Poly Humboldt), and Jerome Scott (League of Revolutionaries for a New America).
April 22, 1:00-2:30 p.m. PST
The Role of Art & Culture in Building a Post-Capitalist Society
Art & Culture Toni Cade Bambara famously said, “The role of the artist is to make the revolution irresistible.” That is because art offers powerful opportunities to express ourselves, to challenge assumptions, to initiate conversation, and to connect and to inspire. Deeper still, there has never been a successful revolution that did not have artists and culture workers expressing the ideas, grievances and demands of the social movement. In this session we will engage with a diverse group of artists and culture workers about the role of Art & Culture in building a Post-Capitalist society.
Presenters: Michelle Hernandez (filmmaker), Kwame Braxton (visual and Hip Hop artist), Stephanie McMillan (graphic artist), and Shamako Noble (Hip Hop artist and cultural organizer).
Unfortunately a video recording of this session is not available.
April 22, 3:00-4:30 p.m. PST
People’s Network for Land & Liberation: An Experiment in 21st Century Liberated Zones
This panel will describe an emerging network of local communities working to explicitly decolonize the land to reestablish the relationship with the earth and all our relatives and relations. We aim to democratically transform the means of production, establish liberatory social relationships, and build sustainable communities that regenerate the earth’s lifegiving eco-systems.
We have made a commitment to the tools, tactics and strategies of the social and solidarity economy to accomplish our goals. We employ community land trusts (and other forms of collective stewardship of land) to decommodify the land and deconstruct the systems of private ownership. We are developing cooperatives, community production centers, and horizontal unions and workers collectives to organize oppressed peoples and the working class to build class consciousness and work as associated producers in unison as a coherent social and material force.
Session Format:
The moderator will introduce the speakers and the goals of the panel. Each presenter will spend 5-10 minutes sharing about their organization, and why they are part of PNLL. There will then be a 15-20 minute guided conversation amongst the panelists. The moderator will then take questions from the chat (not opening the microphone).
Presenters: Kali Akuno, Kamau Franklin, and Michelle Edelman McCormick.
April 22, 5:00-6:30 p.m. PST
Decolonizing Restoration
The US system of private property is a colonial concept of land ownership imposed through force and coercion. It provides private individuals rights to control, sell, or extract resources. The indigenous world view is premised on relationship and stewardship. Humans are not seen as superior to other life, but as part of an interconnected system of reciprocal responsibilities. This session will be a learning journey with representatives of two organizations. Chico TEK (Traditional Ecological Knowledge) is an Indigenous-led land management process dedicated to community resilience & shared prosperity. TEK is a cumulative body of knowledge, understanding, and practice that evolved and was handed down through generations through traditional songs, stories and beliefs. They have a certificate program, workforce development, and forest stewardship. CalTrout is one of the premier conservation and restoration organizations in California, dedicated to ensuring healthy waters and resilient wild fish across the state. They operate 6 regional offices and have over 60 large-scale conservation projects currently underway.
Presenters: Ali Meders-Knight and Mel Figueroa (Chico TEK), Mary Burke, Gaby Roff, and Lazara Ramos (CalTrout).
April 22, 7:00-8:30 p.m. PST – Cultural Offering
Good Shield Aguilar / 7th Generation Rise
Join us on Friday for a special music performance by Good Shield Aguilar / 7th Generation Rise!
Saturday, April 23
April 23, 9:00-10:30 a.m. PST
Non-Reformist Reforms: The Intersection of Electoral Politics & Solidarity Economy
We will describe the concept of a “Non-Reformist Reforms,” a term that describes a winnable reform that asks not what is merely possible within the existing system, but what is needed. Non-reformist reforms challenge existing power relations and pave the way for more revolutionary changes in the larger society, and are designed to cumulatively transform the existing capitalist system.”We will then look at several key examples of non-reformist reforms related to the Solidarity Economy: Community Land Trusts, Public Banking, Participatory Budgeting, Worker-Owned Cooperatives, Municipally-owned Energy, and Universal Basic Income.
Presenters: Margaret Kimberley will explain non-reformist reforms. Michael O’Neil will explain the US Solidarity Economy Network’s “SE candidate questionnaire.” Galesburg, IL Mayor Peter Schwartzman will discuss non-reformist reforms he is attempting and/or has accomplished as an elected mayor.
April 23, 11:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m. PST
Cooperative Cannabis for Post-Capitalist Communities
What is cooperative cannabis and what relationship does this have with post-capitalist communities? Join a deep dive discussion into cooperative cannabis and learn from stakeholders about the gift of cannabis, why individual choice of cannabis matters, and what does a sustainable cannabis community look like?
Session format:
Presenters: Nicole Riggs, Selena Rowan, Geoff Churchill, Shawn Cherry, and Drew Barber. Additional insights may be added by Emma Karnes, Mariah Gregori, Cara Cordoni, and Dominic Corva.
April 23, 1:00-2:30 p.m. PST
Carbon Supremacy, False Equivalencies and Corporate Impunity: How Dominant Paradigms of Climate Policy Reinforce Colonialist Structures — and What You Can Do About It
Carbon supremacy, false equivalencies and corporate impunity: How dominant paradigms of climate policy reinforce colonialist structures — and what you can do about it.
As the concept of net zero explodes in popularity with Wall St. and Big Oil, the global climate justice grassroots is increasingly focused on organizing to expose the markets and technology based schemes at the heart of the carbon neutral frame as a threat to communities and ecosystems. This panel will provide a combination of international, national, California, and local North Coast views on the climate colonialism embedded in the pre-dominant discourses in climate policy, with an emphasis on how indigenous, community and environmental justice organizers are fighting back.
Moderated by Gary Hughes.
Presenters: Thomas Joseph, Dr Doreen Stabinsky, and Martha Dina Arguello.
April 23, 3:00-4:30 p.m. PST
Labor and Organizing in Higher Education with the California Faculty Association, Joe Berry and Helena Worthen
How can we change our educational spaces to be more just, more equitable, more democratic, and more diverse? What is the relationship between labor in higher education and anti-racist & social justice transformation? What role does one of the largest faculty unions in the country have to play in shaping the future of higher education? This panel will provide a foundation for understanding the current conditions of higher ed labor, specifically the working conditions of 29,000 educators in the California State University system (represented by the California Faculty Association), the intersections with anti-racist & social justice work, and the opportunity to reimagining better working and learning conditions in academia.
The California Faculty Association’s César Abarca, Michelle Ramos Pellicia, Chris Cox, Ali Kashani, and Ahlam Muhtaseb will be joined by Joe Berry and Helena Worthen (authors of Power Despite Precarity) for a discussion on education, organizing, and the future.
April 23, 5:00-6:30 p.m. PST
White Supremacy, Capitalism, Settler Colonialism, and Heteropatriarchy
This session will explore the interconnections between White Supremacy, Capitalism, Settler Colonialism, and Heteropatriarchy. These power-over systems are based on exploitation, oppression and extraction. We will explore the historical development of how and why these systems developed in tandem, and what our movements for liberation can learn from understanding those relationships.
Presenters: Kali Akuno (Cooperation Jackson), Mel Figueroa (Chico TEK and The Cooperative New School), and Nicola Walters (Cal Poly Humboldt and CFA).
April 23, 7:00- 8:30 p.m. PST – Cultural Offering
Putting Art to Work with Leslie Castellano, Stephen Nachtigall and Zuzka Sabata
This session will feature a slideshow of artworks from Cal Poly Humboldt Art + Film students, as well as a panel discussion with Leslie Castellano, Stephen Nachtigall, Kait Angus, and Zuzka Sabata. As this summit comes to a close, we will discuss strategies to put our creative energies and our art to work in building a just, decolonized economy together.
Session Format:
The session will begin with a 5-10 minute slideshow. The moderator will then introduce the speakers and the goals of the panel. Each presenter will spend 5-10 minutes sharing about the work they do. There will then be a 15-20 minute guided conversation amongst the panelists. The moderator will then take questions from the chat.
Presenters: Leslie Castellano, Stephen Nachtigall, Zuzka Sabata, and Kait Angus (Brainwash).
Decolonizing Economics Summit 2023 