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  • Indigenous Colombians mount a spiritual defense of the Amazon

    Five different Indigenous groups formed an alliance known as the Union of Traditional Age Medics of the Colombian Amazon to practice spiritual ceremonies and community healing based on the ingestion of a potent hallucinogenic tea known as yagé. These groups are at risk of physical and cultural extermination due to deforestation. By engaging in traditional yagé ceremonies, they use their traditional knowledge and spiritual wisdom to help make decisions and retain their autonomy in the rainforest.

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  • Ismaili, Ahmadi Muslims push national voter registration efforts

    Muslim civic advocacy groups Emgage and Ismailis Rise Up have partnered to engage a more diverse Muslim population in the 2020 election. They added thousands of contacts among new Muslim voters in six states, trained volunteers in electoral organizing and countering voter suppression, use personal connections to encourage people to vote, and will staff the Election Protection Hotline, where voters can get help in their native language. They also published videos about voter registration and mail-in voting in languages commonly spoken by Ismaili families and held virtual events aimed at mobilizing seniors.

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  • In San Diego, Black Muslims are working to expand voting access in jails

    Pillars of the Community hires people incarcerated in local California jails to register new incarcerated voters and conduct civic engagement education behind bars. Pillars, a faith-based criminal justice advocacy group led by Black Muslims, registers hundreds every year, many of whom did not know they were eligible to vote and did not know how to register on their own. Those voting in 2020 will be able to vote on state referenda concerning expanding voting rights for people with felony convictions and on ending cash bail.

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  • A Native American Clinic Gives Doses of Cultural Healing During COVID-19

    The Native American Community Clinic in Minneapolis is utilizing telehealth practices to treat both the medical and spiritual needs of the community and its patients. Although the "spiritual-meets-traditional care program" was already in place and had received funding before the coronavirus pandemic, it is now being implemented as a telehealth system with patients reporting that it has helped to create a sense of connection despite the adherence to physical distancing.

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  • In the Lakes Region, combating hate with empathy, student to student

    This article explores a myriad of ways on how to change anti-Semitic stereotypes and beliefs about Jewish people. Anti-bias training,integratingg holocaust education into the classroom, and holding difficult conversations, are some of the solutions identified in this article. “The foundation of any long-term strategy, experts say, is for communities to unite in condemnation of all forms of bigotry and hate.” “That starts with people talking to one another, and schools and community leaders being transparent about what is really happening.”

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  • Some Christian schools are finally grappling with their racist past and segregated present

    There is a race problem within Christian schools. More than half of non-Catholic Christian schools reported that 80 percent of their students are white. At a time of heightened racial tensions in America, some evangelicals are trying to change that. Hiring more staff of color, changing requirements that excluded black and brown students, and having difficult conversations, are some steps some schools are taking. “The world expects more from Christians,” Gross said, “And they should.”

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  • The Forgotten Stones That Still Inspire Turks to Help Their Neighbors

    Building on a history of anonymous charity, a mosque in northern Istanbul started a pop-up communal food bank to help those most impacted by the pandemic. The initiative is one of several mutual aid efforts underway in the municipality, with each paying homage to the nation's historical use of a charity stone - a place where "people who had money would leave some on top of the stone, and those who didn’t would take some, according to their need."

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  • To Manage Wildfire, California Looks To What Tribes Have Known All Along

    To combat wildfires in California, Native American tribal leaders and government officials are coming together to facilitate “cultural burnings” or controlled burns. Regularly burning the landscape prevents thick, dried out vegetation from catching fire and causing massive wildfires. Tribal groups used to perform this ritual in the 1800s, but as settlers moved West, many of them prevented Native Americans from doing these cultural burnings. While controlled burns can be challenging in places where there’s too much underbrush, these partnerships can bring together indigenous knowledge and wildfire management.

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  • How a quarantine matchmaking project for Muslims found itself navigating anti-Blackness

    Covid-19 has closed the places young Muslims go to meet potential spouses so two Muslim women created Eye Meets Soul, a virtual matchmaking service for US Muslim millennials where pairs first chat online without seeing each other. Initially, 10 potential couples led to 3 matches, with one continuing to thrive. However racial biases quickly surfaced, with many participants unwilling to date outside of their ethnic background. Muslims of African heritage report this as a common occurrence with Muslim dating services. Moving forward the co-founders will prescreen people for openness to all racial backgrounds.

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  • Why indigenous folklore can save animals' lives

    Conservations in the Philippines are using indigenous beliefs known as “mariit” — which is the belief that nature is inhabited by unseen dwellers and should be respected and taken care of — to protect the country’s endangered species. The Mariit Wildlife and Conservation Park serves as a refuge for at least 62 animals and the Taklong Island Marine Natural Reserve is a breeding ground for fish species caught outside its boundary. Experts caution though that mariit can have a positive impact on the environment, sometimes the beliefs can undermine science-based conservation activities. 

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