open.substack.com/pub/drmerand...

Things to consider this week as the IMLS is attacked.

ARE YOU READY TO STAND UP FOR WHAT WE NEED TO ENSURE THAT INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES DO NOT ENDURE YET ANOTHER CYCLE OF YOUR INSTITUTIONS (RE)CREATING AND ERASING THE VERY HISTORIES YOU HAVE ALREADY TAKEN SO MUCH FROM?

REMEMBER, WE WORK WITH YOUR INSTITUTIONS TO HONOR OUR ANCESTORS: PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE.

WE ARE ABOUT TO SEE JUST HOW FAR THESE MUSEUMS-AND THEIR LEADERSHIP-ARE WILLING TO GO TO HONOR THE RELATIONSHIPS THEY CLAIM TO VALUE WITH THE COMMUNITIES THEY SAY THEY WANT TO HONOR, BUILD TRUST WITH, AND LIFT UP.

The Public Historians review of Continuity: Cahuilla Basket Weavers and their Legacies can now be viewed via my link tree. (in my bio).

Sleeping so I can avoid reality. Not the greatest coping mechanism. Not the worst.

Read.
Read books.
Reading books is resistance.

Buy.
Buy books.
Buying books is resistance.

Share.
Share books.
Sharing books is resistance.

Celebrate
Celebrate books.
Celebrating books is resistance.

And I have no idea what I’m doing either lol. These past few years have really just aged me. I know and respect my responsibilities in a whole new way now. It’s just scary.

I’m only going to be “checking” the journals with a sticker. And they have to share a snippet of their entry during our weekly group check-ins. I guess I should keep a journal too. 15 young women looking to me for guidance and lessons.

15% of my students grades this semester will come from physical journal entries. I asked them to reflect on how our course about Native Women Artists is impacting them as world events unfold. I told them it has to be physical because hand writing will be our best tool in resistance.

You know….im really just starting to give zero fucks

Laura! Glad we can stay connected here! I still think of our conversations fondly. I hope you and yours are hanging in there!

If these past few days haven't woken you up... then you're just ok with the oppressive systems you benefit from...
because you think this horror cannot be your reality. You refuse to see. I refuse to look away.

Controversial opinion. I’m gonna miss Instagram. It’s my favorite platform to keep up with community. My algorithm is curated beautifully. It’s gonna take me a while to move away from it…but I also realize we are in a SkyNet-like society.

Devastating for scientists and their research, and everyone who benefits from that research.

I’m not sure if everyone outside academia is aware that a delay or “pause” in grant funding often means the researchers themselves are lost from the field, along with their expertise.

There are plenty of gestures that Elon could use to express "love from the heart" that don't include “mimicking” a Nazi salute. We all know that.
A white South African definitely knows that.