The Whidbey Native Connections Initiative (NCI) began as an initiative of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Whidbey Island (UUCWI) in 2021 and quickly grew to include people from Whidbey Island Friends Meeting (Quakers) and many others in the Whidbey community.
We are grateful that members of the Snohomish Tribe of Indians (sduhubs) have been integral to the NCI since the beginning.
We generally hold a public meeting on the 2nd Wednesday of each month, at 6:30 pm on Zoom. A monthly NCI newsletter brings news of events, educational opportunities, resources, and ideas for action to everyone on our email list.
The purpose of the NCI is to:
- EDUCATE OURSELVES to better understand the history of the Indigenous people, nationally and locally, as well as the far-reaching impact that colonization continues to have on both Native and non-native people. Learn how to be in right relationship with Native peoples.
- DEEPEN RESPECT for Native cultures, including spiritual and social philosophies, traditional and contemporary art, and land use and environmental issues. Learn how to appreciate, not appropriate.
- STAND IN SOLIDARITY with Native peoples, humbly cultivating relationships first; partner with Native-led projects addressing critical environmental, cultural and social justice issues, and support and participate in Native-led educational events and cultural exchanges when invited.
Of primary importance: We step back to let Native people lead and bring their priorities to us. Developing respectful relationships comes first.
Email us to join our list, nciwhidbey@gmail.com, to receive newsletters and links to meetings. Watch the weekly E-News for updates.
A Sampling of Activities of Native Connections Initiative in 2022-2023
- NCI produced Roots of Injustice, Seeds of Change: Toward Right Relationship with Native People, Friends Peace Teams’ experiential online workshop that was attended by over 60 people.
- For two years, NCI coordinated community members to support the Blue Heron Canoe Family when they landed in Langley during their canoe journey through ancestral waters. During their 3-day encampments, dozens of volunteers donated food, prepared and served meals, and assisted in many other ways.
- We have taken people on field trips to Island County Museum’s Native Peoples’ exhibit and to Pacific Rim Institute to explore Indigenous uses of camas.
- NCI has shown two powerful documentary films with panel discussions: Dawnland (the untold story of indigenous child removal and the consequences for generations) and Two Rivers, (about a Native American Reconciliation group in Twisp, WA.) In other meetings, we held important discussions on cultural appropriation issues.
- NCI convened circles to welcome the Lummi House of Tears Carvers to three sites on Whidbey for blessing ceremonies to send the carvers on the first leg of the Totem Pole Journey to Protect Oak Flat, a holy site of the Apache People in Arizona which is currently being threatened with a copper mine.
- One of our members led a three-part series of Book discussions on Zoom, reading The Night Watchman, Braiding Sweetgrass, and Twilight on the Thunderbird.
- We work closely with JUUstice Washington First/American Indian Nations action team to collaborate with other UU fellowships in the Salish Sea area in solidarity with Native Tribes, communities, and people.
- The 2023 Indigenous Peoples’ Day celebration was held at UUCWI. Led by local Indigenous people from the Snohomish Tribe and co-sponsored by NCI, the rich evening offered Native and non-Native people a time to come together for story-telling, singing and dancing, and cultural gifting.