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- The Jiffy Acknowledges Land
Welcome to another issue of The Jiffy, the newsletter for the James Instagram Feed! Special shout-out to my new subscriber, especially if that’s you.
During my series, “This Old Vibe,” I’ve traveled many miles across the mountains and dirt roads of the Hudson Valley — and even went into the Hudson River itself — to try and understand what makes a Hudson Valley home, “A Hudson Valley Home.”
And throughout the year, I must have said the phrase, “a Hudson Valley home, ‘A Hudson Valley Home’” thousands of times. But did I ever come to an answer? Unsure. It’s all a part of the ~slow content~ process we’ve adopted here at The Feed, but asking the question has led me to many interesting places.
Such as Forge Project, in Taghkanic, New York — a Native-led initiative that supports Indigenous artists and leaders in cultural work, food security, decolonial education, and land justice.
Forge Project is led by Executive Director Candice Hopkins, and I met with her earlier this year on the subject of land acknowledgment statements; I’d seen a few on my tours of historic houses and house museums and wanted to know if they’re actually helpful to the communities of displaced indigenous people that they are intending to “acknowledge.” So in this issue, more from my conversation with Candice!
If the player above isn’t accessible, clicking on the quote below will take you to this episode:
(If you’re reading this in your inbox and the podcast player isn’t appearing for you, you can tap on the pull quote above to get to this episode.)
Here’s how you can support Forge Project, which would help them provide direct economic support to Indigenous artists, host members of the Stockbridge-Munsee Community back on their ancestral land, and rewrite history from an Indigenous perspective.
Also, Forge Project launched a new day to give it back to Indigenous groups: #GiveItBackWednesday, December 4.
According to Native Americans in Philanthropy, Native Americans make up 2.9% of the U.S. population, but only 0.4% of philanthropic dollars is directed to Native communities.
Forge Project featured a list of organizations you can support, which I’m also including here:
Ma’s House and BIPOC Studio began in June 2020 and serves as a communal art space based on the Shinnecock Indian Reservation in Southampton, New York.
Gandogan, based in Victor, New York, tells the story of Haudenosaunee contributions to art, culture, and society.
The Native Arts and Culture Foundation advances equity and cultural knowledge, focusing on the power of arts and collaboration to strengthen Native communities.
The First Peoples’ Fund, in Portland, Oregon, supports Native artists and cultural leaders rooted their traditional values of generosity, respect, humility & fortitude.
Founded in 1969, the American Indian Community House is New York City’s oldest nonprofit supporting Native Americans. You can donate here.
The mission of the Stockbridge-Munsee Community Cultural Affairs Department is to protect, preserve, and tell the history of the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of the Mohican Indians. You can support them here.
The Center for Native Futures is a space for a perpetual Native presence in the city of Zhegagoynak (Chicago), and supporting them funds their gallery space, public programs, and staff.
After my visit at Forge Project with Candice, I want to write statement for The James Cave Instagram Feed and this newsletter and share the process here. I’ll include updates in future issues and podcast episodes. But my next immediate stop was to go see the History Room at my neighborhood local area library, The Hudson Area Library, where I found Brenda Shufelt!
Brenda is the coordinator for the History Room and walked me through some of the library’s many resources that help people with my particular set of goals and questions, such as its vast collection of books on this topic, and its unique Ecotopian Collection, which includes contributions from the Stockbridge-Munsee Community.
She also sent me a curated reading list, which has already been immensely helpful. I’m grateful to her for letting me share it here:
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That’s it for this issue of The Jiffy! If you like it, please consider subscribing to my premium level: The J’Fay Supreme. For just $5 a month (or $50/year), you can help support the type of documentary storytelling you find on the James Cave Instagram Feed.
Thank you for reading and for following along!
P.S. Don’t forget — Jiffies Week starts tomorrow!! 🏆 Who will win The Grand Jiffy Award For Person Of The Year 2024? Could it be you?
