Committee Addressing Racial Equity (CARE)

 

In 2020, the Community Leadership Group (aka Joint Powers) began meeting to discuss two areas of need in Cook County: housing and racial equity here in Cook County. Today, the Housing Redevelopment Authority (HRA) has a director, Jason Hale, who along with his board are working tirelessly to solve our local housing crisis.

As the workforce housing group met, another group of Cook County leaders (with some overlap) began to focus on racial equity. These leaders want everyone here to realize an equal chance to improve their lives. They identified that systemic racism is one of the barriers to achieving this goal for all.

That group, which includes individual citizens, as well as representatives of the City of Grand Marais, Cook County, Grand Portage, Higher Ed, North Shore Health, ISD 166, met regularly to discuss ways to put equity at the center of their work, embedding racial justice across policies, practices, and programs. They seek to advance equity to end disparities in education, healthcare, and housing; they want to create an understanding of our complete and local history, along with a respect for tribal sovereignty.

During 2021, this group worked on development of a model land acknowledgment statement.

This statement is the foundation now for organizations throughout the county to examine if they choose to adopt a land acknowledgment statement. It is an initial act of reconciliation. The model land acknowledgment statement can be found below:

Currently ISD 166, the County, and the Cook County Historical Society are beginning work to develop their own land acknowledgment statements. These statements will be tailored to each individual organization’s mission.

Over the next year or so, the Racial Equity Group, newly branded as the Committee Addressing Racial Equity (CARE) is focusing on education for our entire community. Their initiative is called, “Opening Doors: A Year of Learning.” CARE will sponsor events including local artists, book studies, speakers, learning about Indigenous games, among many others. The big community kickoff is this Saturday, October 8, the Saturday prior to Indigenous Peoples Day (formerly known as Columbus Day here until 2015).

In addition to the event this Saturday, we have already launched our Community Reads community book club series. We had the first book study on Firekeeper’s Daughter. Two more events related to this book are coming in October, and you can find out more about them through CCHE. Our next Community Read will be The Cultural Toolbox by Anton Treuer. He will be coming to Cook County next month.

But back to this Saturday, October 8. There will be activities provided throughout the day in Grand Portage including Lacrosse, the “Gift Game”, drumming and singing, hiking, exploring, and learning about local indigenous history. The event runs from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., and it begins at the Grand Portage National Monument. Both the Grand Portage Museum and the Veteran’s Memorial (which has been closed for quite a while) will be open and are an especially great option in case of rain. From noon until 3 p.m. the Grand Portage Community Center will be providing free fry bread tacos.

This is a fantastic opportunity for the whole family to explore Grand Portage and have a blast while making new friends. All activities are free of charge, and people from all parts of Cook County and Grand Portage are welcome and encouraged to attend. We look forward to YOU participating in “Opening Doors: A Year of Learning.” If you cannot attend our kickoff event, it is hoped you will attend future activities sponsored by CARE.