I was recently led to make a difficult choice. My yearly meeting, Iowa Yearly Meeting (Conservative) just finished its annual sessions, where our work as Quakers during the past year was discussed and decisions were made about the ongoing work of the yearly meeting.
Many of the monthly meetings (local meetings that have business meetings every month, and meetings for worship every week) that belong to the yearly meeting have seen declining membership. In addition, the generation of Iowa Quakers I grew up with, who did much of the work of the yearly meeting during our lives, are now aging and dying.
I, and I know others, feel a greater need to participate in the work of our monthly and yearly meetings, since there are fewer of us to do the work. In the past I served as clerk of the yearly meeting’s Peace and Social Concerns Committee, and of the Publication Committee. I was also on the Scattergood School Committee for several years.
The Conflict
The Great Plains Action Society held a marathon teach-in, Truth and Liberation in Action, last Saturday. The full schedule of the GPAS event is at the end of this post.
Unfortunately, that was also one of the days of the Quaker yearly meeting annual sessions. Thus the choice I was faced with.
I have known and worked with Sikowis Nobiss, founder and Executive Director of the Great Plains Action Society (GPAS), since 2017. We have been together on many occasions, including pipeline protests, and we both walked 94 miles along the path of the Dakota Access Pipeline during the First Nation-Farmer Climate Unity March in 2018. She has become a close friend of mine.
I am part of the planning group for the Decolonial Repair Network (DRN), which Sikowis had set up with Eric Anglada as a way for non-Native people to learn about colonization, to learn how to be good accomplices for Indigenous peoples, and to financially support the work of GPAS. I got connected to the DRN because Eric contacted me based upon Sikowis’ suggestion of people she knew who might be interested in joining. Several other Quakers from my yearly meeting attend the monthly Zoom meetings.
Last fall Sikowis had a dream that led GPAS to purchase — to re-acquire — an acre of land in downtown Iowa City, which was named the Indigenous-led Urban Resilience and Innovation Hub.
I feel blessed to have been able to join the four work-weeks that have been held at the Hub. The first was during the first week of December (2025) when we focused on gutting the interior of what will be the Healing Justice House. It was heavy, dirty work in sub-freezing temperatures, but so satisfying to see the results. Significant friendships were made as we did this work together.
That was followed by work-weeks in March, April and May (2026).
It was significant that the Quaker boarding high school I attended, Scattergood Friends School, offered meals and housing for anyone participating in the work-weeks. The school is just 15 miles from the Hub. I stayed at the school during each of the work-weeks. My Scattergood roommate from years ago, Jon Tesdell, who is also a member of my Quaker meeting, joined a couple of the work-weeks and stayed at the school as well, where we were roommates once again. We appreciated the opportunities to visit with the students and staff about our work at the Hub. During the first work-week I was grateful to speak about this work during an all-school community meeting (Middle and High School students).
Truth and Liberation in Action
I was led to attend the Truth and Liberation in Action Marathon Teach-In last Saturday. I tuned in to the Iowa Yearly Meeting (Conservative) annual sessions via Zoom whenever I could during the week, but I missed that entire day.
Why?
I spent quite a while sitting with this choice. The leading to attend the GPAS event was clear from the outset, but I was pretty sure that many Quakers would disagree. The most difficult decisions are those that will upset people you care about.
One of the fundamental principles of engaging with those suffering oppression is that what you learn comes with an obligation for ongoing support. An accomplice commits to the relationships being built. Which includes showing up for the work being done by the oppressed community, which you are becoming a part of.
Centering Indigenous leadership
This is part of the fundamental principle of centering Indigenous leadership. This has been one of the greatest barriers I’ve encountered as I try to get more Friends involved in working with Native people. That does NOT mean, as I have heard some Friends express, that we surrender our practices and beliefs regarding living Spirit-led lives.
My experience is this work has been enhanced by my Spiritual leadings. It has led me to live more faithfully. There is the dark history of Quaker involvement in what was done to Native peoples. My ongoing work with Indigenous peoples has helped me find ways to deal with some of that history, and its ongoing presence today.
The Hub is Working
I looked forward to seeing the spaces we have been building at the Hub put into action. It was sort of miraculous to see presentations during the Teach-In happening in what had been, six months ago, a dirty, abandoned building, now transformed into a meeting room with freshly painted walls.
It was also exciting to hear from so many diverse organizations that have been building relationships with GPAS and the Hub. Hub is the right word for what has been happening, and will continue to develop.
What happened?
Note: I really don’t like calling attention to myself, but these are some of the things that happened because I was there at the Hub during the Teach-In.
A Scattergood staff member attended and we talked about the Hub and the school. She told me students at the school were inspired by what was happening at the Hub, and that she was looking forward to “getting her hands dirty” by working at the Hub herself.
A Mennonite man who recently moved to Des Moines with his wife sought me out to talk about connections with our faith communities. We exchanged contact information.
Several different times during one of her presentations, Sikowis referred to work I’d been doing.
- She talked about the volunteers who came to help build the Hub. And pointed me out in the audience as one of those volunteers.
- She talked about the Decolonial Repair Network (DRN) and mentioned that I was part of the network. She gave me the opportunity to talk a little about that with the audience.
- She also spoke about my writing going deeply into the issues of colonialism, and asked me to tell the audience the link to my blog.
- And Sikowis mentioned all the photos I’ve taken at and for the Hub. I was taking photos during the Teach-In, too. https://photos.app.goo.gl/dAn7fSZMdRUjqJkR7
Interpretation
I’m glad I was led to attend the Teach-In. I had no idea ahead of time that all these wonderful things would happen. But I did anticipate good things would happen based upon previous experiences.
I feel it is important for me to continue to be faithful to leadings that often move in unanticipated directions. And faithful to my commitments to continue to support the Great Plains Action Society and the Hub. Important to continue to help center Indigenous leadership.
The Future?
I think work such as we are doing at the Hub can energize Quakers’ justice work. Scattergood students are inspired. Most of the volunteers at the Hub tend to be younger people with a deep drive to work for justice. Deep spirituality has been part of our work at the Hub. I believe this has the potential to attract more people to our Quaker meetings.
It is also important to note that this work requires changes in our traditional ways of working for justice. We (Quakers) need to learn how damaging some of our justice efforts in the past have been, so we don’t continue to repeat those mistakes.
We cannot just drop in at the Hub, expecting to be given a “tour.” We must recognize we are entering sacred spaces. And must listen before we speak.
We’ve been working on guidelines for visitors. Here is part of the current DRAFT of them.
DRAFT of part of the visitor guidelines being developed for the Hub
You are welcome here. The Great Plains Action Society’s Resilience Hub was brought into being by Indigenous leadership for all people—as a place of healing, mutual aid, and community resilience. At the same time, this space carries a spirit and a history that asks something of you in return. These pages invite you into a way of being present that honors the land, the people, and the generations whose knowledge lives here.
Whose Land You Are Standing On
Iowa City occupies the homelands of Native American Nations to whom we owe our commitment and dedication. The area of Iowa City was within the homelands of the Iowa, Meskwaki, and Sauk and because history is complex and time goes far back beyond memory, we also acknowledge the ancient connections of many other Indigenous Peoples here.
The Spirit of this Place
The GPAS Resilience Hub at 810 Maiden Lane is not a museum or a cultural exhibit. It is a living, breathing center of Indigenous-led community life. The healing sanctuary, gathering spaces, event hall, and mutual aid garden here are consecrated by the intention and sacrifice of Indigenous people who have fought for generations to keep their cultures, their languages, and their peoples alive.
When you walk in, you are crossing a threshold. Not a door, but a way of being. Sacred spaces are not defined by walls—they are defined by the spirit poured into them and the responsibility accepted by all who enter.
AGENDA
- 9:30 AM – Grab Some Coffee!!
- 9:45 AM – Introduction:Truth and Liberation Committee
- 10:00 AM – Solidarity in Action via Zoom: Dr. Damita Brown with Heart Light Action
- 11:00 AM – Activating Beyond the Screen: Sarahann Kolder with Film Scene
- 11:30 AM – The Art in Movement Spaces-There’s A LOT!: Dave Whiting and Sikowis Nobiss (Nêhiyaw/Saulteaux) with Great Plains Action Society
- 12:00 PM – Accomplices–Not Allies and Uplifters–Not Lateral Oppressors: Jessica Engelking (Anishinaabe) & Sikowis Nobiss (Nêhiyaw/Saulteaux) with Great Plains Action Society
- 12:30 PM – 2:00 PM – Free First Foods Lunch Catered by Chef’s Palate
- 1:15 PM – 1:45 PM – Decolonizing our Diets: Anthony Warrior (Shawnee) with Chef’s Palate
- 2:00 PM – History’s Connection to Today’s Movement Spaces: David McCartney, Emerson Cram, Megz Strowback, Margaret Nienaber, & Ember
- 3:00 PM – Different Paths to Mutual Aid: Hannah Zadeh and Leslie Pyo with IC Community Fridge, Kellan Doolittle with IC Mutual Aid, Yaneli Canales & Amel Ali with Prairielands Freedom Fund
- 4:00 PM – Self-Managed Abortion at Home with Pills: Natalie Fixmer-Oraiz with Safe and Supported
- 5:00 PM – De-escalation, De-arrest, and Non-Violent Action: Ayla and Mimi with Artivists of Iowa
- 5:00 PM – Food Truck Arrives!!
- 6:00 PM – Decolonizing Wellness and Managing Burnout: Ren Stinson
- 7:00 PM – Freedom Schools: Quanda Hood with Iowa City Freedom School
- 8:00 PM – Infiltration in Movement Spaces via Zoom: Alleen Brown, Independent Investigative Journalist
- 9:00 PM – Tech Security: Mesh Networks and Flock Cameras: Luna Anderson, Will Denny & Mike Roberts
- 10:00 PM – What is ReMatriation? Plus a Night Blessing at the Fire: Kevin Abourezk (Sicangu Lakota) with Great Plains Action Society
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