March
Basic Bicycle Maintenance at SPOKES
Spring is coming! Save money, fix things up, and learn the basics of how to tune up and maintain your bike after a long winter. This is designed as an introduction to the subject, so participants are not expected to have a background in bikes before coming to class. Just bring your self, your bike (if you want), and enthusiasm to renew the cycle and take things into your own hands!
SPOKES Bike Walk Connect is a new, innovative community bike and walking center with a goal of getting more people biking and walking for transportation and exercise. Its mission is to engage low-income and under-represented communities in biking and walking while building community connections in Minneapolis. More information and events can be found at www.spokesconnect.org or facebook.com/spokesconnect.
Class times: Tuesdays in March, 6-8:30pm.
Location
Indigenous Imperative: Native Thought and its Implications in the age of IDLE NO MORE
Location: Macalester College, Old Main, Room 003
The premise of the course is that our future is not only ecological but indigenous. We will be looking at not only the Six Nations Confederacy, but several other cultural and political powers in the western hemisphere including the Hopi, the Ojibway, the Inca, the Maya, Aztecs and many others. One of the goals of this course will be to not only push the envelope but get rid of the envelope. No discussion of our problems or potentials is possible without our indigenous center. Forget casino gambling, fry bread, pow wows, Sherman Alexie's cynical novels, and all of the other caricatures of first nations people. Rather we are going to vigorously look at the loose medicine bundle of values and cultures which evolved on this continent called sacred turtle island. We will advocate for a robust restoration of native teachings while turning inward to examine each of our own indigenous roots.
NOTE: Ray does not use email all that much so calling is preferred.
Also due to some times in the past with people leaving part way through the session Ray is requesting that participants sign up with the full intent to attend every class session. He is willing to write any class participant a letter of recommendation upon completion of the class. Please only sign up if you plan to make it to almost every class.
Location
New* Dance Workshop - Soul Force - April 28th
This Dance Workshop will take place at Honey nightclub at 9pm before our event "Soul Force" in order to demonstrate some dance moves and to get people in the dancing mood!! Come just for the class! Also, You have the option to stay and dance to our DJ Dance party taking place in the same venue at 10pm.
On Sunday, April 28th Soul Force Presents Guest Instructor:
Alissa Paris - HipHop
https://www.facebook.com/alissaparis
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Past Guest Instructor on Sunday, March 24th:
Amirah Sachett - HipHop
http://www.facebook.com/amirah.sackett
You can see a snippet of her work in Brother Ali's video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKHsGh-y8d8
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At each event we will feature a new guest professional dance instructor, teaching one of these dance forms:
*House dance, **trance dance, hip-hop,and/or an international dance such as Belly dance.
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I'm a strong believer in spreading dance, as not many people dance nowadays as they did back-in-the-day. So come learn some moves and free that stagnant energy in yo bod at the same time around other dancing bods (spread the dance)!! :)
~ It's Time to get down!
*Descriptions
House Dance:
The movement is comparable to break dancing, hip-hop or even ancient styles such as afro-carribean dance, yet the movement involves a lot of foot work. We will explore some movements such as, or similar to the loose legs, voguing, and the Charleston.
**Trance Dance:
is a unique blend of body movement, healing sounds, dynamic percussive rhythms and transformational breathing techniques - together stimulating a 'trance' state that promotes spiritual awakenings, mental clarity, physical stamina and emotional well-being.
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Location
Gleaning and foraging in the city (SORRY. CLASS FULL.)
There is food all around us, but we often don't recognize it. This class is to explore the use of plants not usually grown for food (foraging) and using the food plant products that the owners don't want (gleaning). The class will involve plant ID, likely sites for collecting, processing, storage, book and other resources, as well as equipment possibilities.
Location
Seed Starting Using The Winter Sowing Method
This is a class offered through the Local Food Resource Hubs program coordinated by Gardening Matters. There are 5 spots open to non-Hubs members. To become a member, visit www.gardeningmatters.org/hubs.
It doesn’t matter much if it’s a back yard, front yard, community garden, or combination of spaces there seems to be a lot of excitement surrounding growing. Whether it’s having control over our own food supply or adding beauty and character to a space with herbs and flowers there are many benefits to this method of seed starting. This class will show just how easy starting your own seeds can be using the “winter sowing” method. Winter sowing is a very inexpensive way to start your garden while re-purposing every day trash or recyclable materials. Milk jugs, 2-liter bottles, and last nights rotisserie chicken container can all be used to make mini-greenhouses that will germinate seeds outdoors in the winter and spring months.
NOTE: Since this is a hands on class you may have specific seeds from home to sow. Feel free to bring these along with the plastic container of your choice and a plastic bag to carry your mini-greenhouse home. Potting soil and other materials will be provided.
~Extra supplies will be on hand if you don't have any~
Location
Why 1968?
This course will evaluate the events that made 1968 a watershed year in American and world history. From the Tet Offensive to the Apollo moon orbit, assassinations and Olympics, so many events during that pivotal year have had a lasting impact on American society. What can we learn about 1968 that can help us make sense of our society today? What has changed since 1968? What has stayed the same? And how is America and the world a place forever changed by the year 1968?
The course will rely on documents and texts that are accessible either online or from the instructor. Discussion and dialogue will be a central aspect of the course.
Location
The Project of Healing
Healing is resistance!
this group is for...
discussion on issues of health justice and healing;
the building of relationships between healers (and organizers and movement builders and anyone interested!);
scheming and dreaming of what wellness looks like in our communities;
and also to provide a healing space where we can support each other in our lives and work.
this class will be driven by the wills and wishes of participants, so come with your ideas
for anyone interested in health justice and healing, whether you are a practitioner or not!
possible topics to include:
+ historical models of collective healing/community health
+ learning from healing traditions without appropriating
+ how capitalism and civilization lead to trauma, and ways to address it
+ collective trauma from systemic oppressions
+ racism within 'alternative medicine'
+ dealing with the medical industrial complex and medical advocacy
+ the role of experts in medicine and healing
+ workshops on different healing modalities (e.g. herbalism, energy healing, bodywork)
+ conversations with practitioners and radical healthworkers around the twin cities about the projects they have been a part of (both past and present)
+ place-based healing - situating health among ecosystems
+ tending medicinal plant stands, wild and cultivated
+ free clinics - finding models, meeting real needs, and sustaining them
+ trans health
+ health and sexuality
+ grieving
this class will meet once every two weeks. the location is not yet set. please contact the facilitator if you are interested in the class and have specific accessibility/space needs.
the tentative day of the week is Tuesday evenings, but this could be coordinated according to what works best for those who register or express interest. contact the facilitator for details! start date would be during the week of March 10th.
Understanding and Advancing Sustainable Food Systems
This course will introduce participants to concepts in sustainable eating and sustainable food production. Whether participants would like to raise backyard chickens, start a community garden plot, talk about food with their vegetarian or vegan children, or feel more confident in making sustainable choices when purchasing food from farmers markets or grocery stores, this class will help students eat more sustainably and advance sustainable food systems. The class will emphasize critical thinking about food systems. It will not present "set" answers, but rather will give participants the information they need to form their own opinions on what it means to eat sustainably.
Topics to be covered include: problems with our current food system; definitions of and approaches to "sustainable agriculture"; principles of sustainable systems; the differences between local foods, organic foods, and sustainable foods; urban agriculture and growing your own food (i.e. raising backyard chickens); the nutrient cycle, energy, and agriculture; evaluating food options in grocery stores and co-ops (i.e. the difference between grass-fed beef and grain-fed beef, and how to choose eggs); joining Community Supported Agriculture farms (CSAs); food preservation techniques; animal welfare on farms; action steps to advance sustainable food production.
Location
Lacto-Fermentation: Sauerkraut & Kimchi
Lacto-fermentation has long been a method for preserving food without refrigeration and pasteurization. This preservation is created by bacteria which thrive in an environment without oxygen and prevent the growth of harmful pathogens. Lacto-fermentation is claimed to have many health benefits, imparts a unique souring flavour to foods, and is an incredibly simple to preserve foods.
We’ll provide a few staple ingredients to make a couple variations of sauerkraut and kimchi (or a variation of the two, which has been called kraut-chi). The veggies will ferment for over a week and then we'll pack em and you can take some home to eat! If you have food stamps or extra organic produce, feel free to bring some (some acceptable produce would be cabbages, radishes, turnips, onions, garlic, ginger, horseradish, peppers, carrots, beets, burdock, parsnips). And please do not bring any fish or other meats, as we'd like to be inclusive of vegetarian/vegan diets (even tho some traditional ferments will have some dead animals in them).
If we have a group of people who are interested, we can continue meeting and creating other fermentations (kvass, gluten-free sourdough, beer or wine, fermented potatoes...many possibilities).
-Nothing is required for the first class (March 4), but it would be helpful to bring a knife or two, a cutting board, and some organic vegetables if you can. I will bring some cutting boards, some knives and two crocks for packing vegetables into (2.5 & 1 gallon sizes).
-For the second class (March 11), please bring a few jars to pack your fermented veggies to take away with you, wide mouth jars are easier to pack but any glass jars will suffice.
Scheduled Meeting Times:
March 4, 4pm-6pm at Minnehaha Free Space, 3747 Minnehaha Ave S
March 11, 4pm-6pm at Minnehaha Free Space, 3747 Minnehaha Ave S
Location
Reading New Feminist Science Fiction: Race, Work, Embodiment
Join this facilitated reading group to discuss some really interesting new work by women writers, particularly women writers of color, focusing on race, labor and embodiment. We'll read some short stories and novel excerpts by Nisi Shawl, Andrea Hairston, L. Timmel Duchamp, Aliette De Bodard, Ekaterina Sedia and Octavia Butler (who isn't recent, but whose work informs so much recent feminist SF). We can also read material suggested by class members and/or critical writing about feminist science fiction. We will build our discussion around how race is written, how embodiment is written, how work is written. What meaning do these stories have for us as radicals? How do these stories fit within science fiction as a whole? How do they fit within feminist science fiction?
I also suggest that the group talk about our positions as readers of these stories - where are we in terms of class, race, gender, lived experience? How do these works speak to us? How shall we speak about them? On a personal level, as a white person I'd like to talk about being an accountable reader and an accountable speaker about science fiction by women of color. What does it mean, for example, that a white person is suggesting this class? How can I organize a reading group but avoid using the work of writers of color to make myself seem cultured/knowing/fashionable? In what ways can I read respectfully and honestly, recognizing my whiteness and how I profit from white supremacy?
Meetings will focus on your interests, attendees - we'll do various kinds of small group discussion, paired discussion, brainstorming, maybe even some art, collage, etc. I'll provide some plans for each class meeting so we can start generating ideas (and I'll nudge the group a little so that we keep moving), but I won't be lecturing – I’d much rather just participate in small group work and gently facilitate the class from the sidelines.
Location
