Back from break, and there's a lot on my mind.
Museums and colleges finally beginning the process to repatriate artifacts and remains, the upcoming second part to the Indian boarding school report, and just how close we got to stopping Willow.
You are being countless problems that no amount of PR money can solve.
We are five days into the new year, and I can feel the momentum growing with every passing moment. Things have changed so entirely in unquantifiable ways. Our task in these times is to stay focused. Emotional manipulation tactics are rampant in media and politics these days. Online suppression has gotten worse on multiple platforms, and itās not hard to see the attempts to isolate people from their communities. My advice for creators is not to panic when videos are removed or to get angry when the views are throttled. It will burn you out. Our task is to evolve faster than their moderation can predict, and so far, the results of the dramatic shift in public opinion speak for themselves. Donāt Stop Pushing.
I am so proud of all of you.
In the final months of 2023, I hit my limit; after maxing out my abilities for various topics nonstop for eight months, losing my cat, and then urgently moving my family, I fell apart. My last few newsletters were thrown together; it took everything I had to hit those last deadlines. But I did it. For the last two weeks of 2023, I let it all go. As a work a holic, it took a few days, but I finally shut off the internet devices for most of the day except to amplify Palestine accounts for 20-30 minutes. I only posted silly videos I didnāt care if no one saw. I slept in, cleaned my house, and took my kids to the local arcade. My oldest won the jackpot in the Nerf game; it was one of those core memory moments. The break was a healing time, and I am grateful I had the opportunity to rest.
What am I focused on?
Right now, beyond amplifying Palestinian voices, I am centering my focus on the ongoing repatriation work of Indigenous remains, as well as anxiously awaiting the second part of the Indian Boarding School Report that is due to be released soon.
The second volume in the Department of the Interiorās accounting for the past harms of boarding schools is expected in the coming months, and will outline in more detail some of the still-unknowns ā just how many Indigenous children died at school and who these children were. The amount of government money pumped into this network of 408 residential schools that opened in the 1800s is also expected to be further quantified, according to an Interior Department press statement.
I am also planning my trip to Oregon to assist my dad with his work on the Lost Alaskans project. These subjects are some of the heaviest on my mental health. Creating content about it has always been the most challenging to balance āpleasing the algorithmā and maintaining respect for the subject.
What happened to bullying oil executives?
I still do! Iām not always sharing everything I find on all the platforms. Instagram is where Iāve been parking a lot of the tidbits I find when Iām nosing about in oil executive business. TikTok moderation has been extra weird about climate content lately. I donāt think the oil industry ever got over the noise TikTok peeps made about the Willow project. Speaking of, I came across an article last week about how close we were to having Willow rejected. And just how far ConocoPhilips had to go to force it through.
āWithout the alignment of the stateās most powerful political forces, the Biden administration would have likely rejected the project.ā
Conoco had a lot of help getting the project approved. Actually, a lot is an understatement. The entire Legislature, all three members of Alaskaās congressional delegation, Governor Mike Dunleavy (R ā Alaska), Native leaders, labor leaders, and many more worked together to help Conoco get over the finish line with the Biden administration.
In March ā before the decision from the Biden administration ā Governor Dunleavy appeared on Fox News advocating for the project. He said Biden is ābeing held hostage by eco-terroristsā and assumed Biden would not approve the project.
The full article covers a lot of straight-up oil company drama. Going back years, involving blocking a competing oil project. The article itself is pro-oil, lamenting over the missed opportunity that was the Pikka Project. Still, it confirmed for me the gross overstep of influence specifically Conoco and the oil industry as a whole has on state and federal legislation. I never expected instant results in this work, but we made them panic even for a moment, overcoming millions in lobbying and influence. And in the process, we have built a massive Climate Action community. These are priceless wins that should be treasured.
In what feels like an alternate reality, I am officially in the Top 5 of the Cheer Choice awards! Thank you again to everyone who has been voting!
If anyone feels generous and would like to help me with plane tickets for me and the Husband to attend, it would make a huge difference!
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Hereās to another year