Lessons I learned at NIEA Convention in Hartford

When one People wish to dominate another People they often use genocide to strip them of their identity, their land, their language, their freedom, their religion, and their lives.
Colonists to this continent practiced genocide on the Native People.
This week I was honored to attend the National Indian Educator Association Convention in Hartford as part of the AFT delegation of educators, which included Jan and Mary Cathryn.
Honored because I am neither Native American nor an educator.
As I attended the educational sessions and spent time with my new AFT friends, I started to better understand the challenges they face in the classroom and how they approach those challenges.
Some of them are similar to all our educators and some are unique to them.
Just as I cannot fully understand what it takes to stand in the front of a classroom and teach, I cannot fully understand the impact genocide has played on other Peoples.
But I can begin to when I listen with an open heart.

To be sure, it was not the only time in history that genocide has been used by colonists to this continent.
And it continues.
Perhaps not as blatantly obvious now, but every time a person of color, a women, a member of the LBGTQ community, a speaker of a foreign language, or anyone else is discriminated, or held down in any way, it is being practiced.

One night, at dinner, I was asked how, as a white man, I seemed to understand the perspectives of the others in the room.
I’m not sure I truly do, but to the extent it is true, I think it’s because of how I was raised.
My parents taught us that all people are all the same, although they may go to a different church, have different color skin, speak a difference language, etc.
We were also taught that when our ancestors came from Ireland, they faced discrimination on this continent.
Years latter, I would learn that the English had stolen our language, our religion, and our land in our home country.

The question I ask myself is not how I, as a white man. can at least try to understand.
The question I ask myself is how can other white men cannot begin to understand.
All of us are immigrants to this continent and most of our Peoples have faced discrimination at some point in our history.
But many us seem to have forgotten.

Not surprising that I learned lessons at the convention.
It’s what educators do.

Thank you to AFT for this opportunity.
Thank you to my AFT sisters and brothers for sharing their time, their experiences, and their culture with me.
I hope you will all return to Connecticut, the Land of the long tidal river, often.
You are always welcome.