Last Updated on 2 years by IMYM Tech Lead
Dear Friends and beloved community,
The only thing that is certain is uncertainty…and that has been particularly true over the last two years. As you may have already heard numerous times, we stand with both the hope that we will be able to gather in person, and the possibility that we may have to pivot to a fully virtual platform.
The Program Working Group and Arrangements Committee continue to make plans for our time together, on a dual track. If we are able to gather in person, there will be some virtual elements; we want to make our community as comfortable, safe, and inclusive as we possibly can. Stay tuned, and watch the IMYM website for more information! Please continue to hold all of us in the Light as we move toward our gathering.
Like much of the land on which IMYM Friends live, the area around Durango has a rich and sometimes difficult history, as well as a forward-looking mindset. There are activities in the area and on campus that encourage empowerment and hands-on experience for farmers and future farmers, and a vision of how the future can be sustainable, based in part on the methods that have been used for centuries by the local indigenous people.
Fort Lewis College’s website has a lot of information about things to do. In preparation, we are providing a few links that will help Friends familiarize themselves with the area and the history of both the land and the peoples.
History of Fort Lewis College and Land Acknowledgment
Up from the Sagebrush – Old Fort at Hesperus
This short film (15 minutes) covers the 20th and 21st centuries as 6,279 acres on the La Plata River served as a military fort, Native American boarding school, high school, two-year college, and a Colorado State University Agricultural Experiment Station (San Juan Basin Research Center).
Colorado Voices: An Indian Boarding School
Check out this short PBS documentary on Indian Boarding Schools (27 minutes)
History of the college and reconciliation projects, including sustainable farming
A talk by Dr. Majel Boxer and a short documentary about the Clocktower Panel Removal Ceremony by Rocky Mountain PBS provide more information about the difficult legacy of the boarding school and how Fort Lewis is handling it today. You can also read more about how the Farmer Training Program acknowledges this history in a blog post by Rocky Mountain PBS.
Reminder of deadlines:
We don’t have definite dates for registration to open or close. Please watch our website to stay up to date!
DOCUMENTS IN ADVANCE (requests to monthly meetings and IMYM committees)
- State of the Meeting reports from each monthly meeting
- Memorial minutes
- Committee reports and proposed minutes
- Direct reports from Quaker organizations
- Reports from our delegates to Quaker organizations
- Epistles from other yearly meetings
- Clear statements of any concerns for consideration by the business meeting (most commonly, these will come through our committees)
Special Request to Monthly and Regional Meetings
Please keep the Presiding Clerks and Nominating Committee Clerk informed of the terms and contact information of the monthly meeting and regional meeting presiding clerks and nominating committee clerks. Also send the terms and contact information for any Friend who agreed to serve the yearly meeting as a member of an IMYM committee or as a delegate to a Quaker organization.
We sincerely hope we will see each other in person in June, with safety measures that may be appropriate at that time.
This year in Durango!
Peace,
Gale Toko-Ross and Valerie Ireland
Presiding Co-Clerks, Intermountain Yearly Meeting