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PRE-FORUM TRAINING

​Racism: How Do We Talk About It?
Making a Mess Together
Ms. NtombiZandile (Zed) Xaba and Cathy Bernatt
Process Work Institute
Tuesday, June 25, 2019: 8:30 am - 3:00 pm

Racism is an issue for everyone.  We know that no matter how noble a vision or mission we have within our organizations, and no matter our individual intentions, messes around racism happen, because we have all been "marinated" in racism.  More often than not we are either unaware that we have made a mess, or we sweep these messes under the carpet, because we  know, and have experienced that having conversations about or around race can be scary, messy and painful.  However, the impact of these "messes" causes harm to individuals that we are committed to supporting, thus minimizing our impact and our ability to execute our vision and mission.  Furthermore, it undermines efforts at addressing the inequities of racism.

In this Pre-Forum training, we will share our emerging learnings about the subtle ways racism continues to plague us.  Using interactive, theatre, and experiential methods, people will engage with making meaning and sense of that information as it relates to them individually and collectively.  There will then be a focus on bringing that material alive within the group that is present in the session.

We assume we will make messes along the way.  Collectively, we will create a compassionate space for doing inner work, relationship work, and group work and share awareness, insights and concrete suggestions for how to apply the gold we mine back to your organizations.  By stepping into this 'spicy soup' together, by turning up the heat, we intend to bring awareness to messes as they emerge in the room, and to figure out how to clean them up on the spot.  We will learn and model ways of navigating the messes together that result in healthier, deeper and more sustainable relationships and organizations

WEDNESDAY PLENARY

"The Systems We Navigate and the Restorative Answer"
Stephen Fowler
Performing Artist, Racial + Social Justice Advocate,and Community Educator
Wednesday, June 26
8:30 am - 9:30 am

White supremacy, patriarchy, and capitalism are strong systemic pillars that support and maintain oppression in the United States of America.  As US citizens we are all navigating these systems in different ways.  Some of us are targeted groups, others are agents, and all of us play a part in perpetuating these specific systems.  It is no surprise that these systems are impacting each of us nor is it a surprise that some are benefiting while others are burdened by the outcomes.  

As a person of color and a restorative justice proponent and practitioner my duty in this work is to expose how these systems of oppression have a grip on all of our lives from an institutional standpoint to everyday interactions.  I will speak to my experience as a black man failing in the education system and going through the criminal justice system. How I have perpetuated the continuation of these systems will be the personal and guiding example of the kind of reflection we all need to participate in for meaningful change to occur.  

Together we will explore how the practice of restorative justice (when internalized) can be the answer to arriving at a society where we are noticing these systems and changing our ways to uplift the most impacted, which inherently lifts everyone up. 

KEYNOTE DINNER

"Unintended Consequences: A Journey to Healing."
Sheila Kembel
Puget Sound Educational Services District and Restorative Practices Advocate
Wednesday, June 26, 2019
Reception and Networking: 5:30-6:00 pm (cash bar)
Dinner and Keynote: 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
TaborSpace

In less than a minute a life was extinguished.  Unimaginable. Unexpected.  Horrific. 

For the victim, it happened in a flash...but for the surviving family, friends, and colleagues the aftershock was almost unbearable.  Ripples of loss and emptiness continue to this day.  For the offender, the accident happened in a flash, too.  Unintended.  Unexpected. Irreversible.  The story of each, the victim and offender, is deep and raw, filled with emotion and regret for lives lost and things unsaid; for relationships ripped apart and life trajectories forever altered.  In the center of this turmoil came an act of courage that led to an extraordinary journey, instigated by the victim and responded to by the offender. This is a story of incredible belief...belief that there could be light in dark, that there could be a seed of purpose to be realized from a situation so overwhelmingly catastrophic.  

This is Sheila's story and the path she took to engage with the person responsible for the death of her mother, to find a different vision of what could happen for both of them, and to turn tragedy into hope and anger to forgiveness.  If you have suffered a loss at the hands of another, or you work with victims of crime, you'll want to hear this.  Hear from a victim how she navigated the system and found the  strength to overcome and find her voice once again.

THURSDAY PANEL DISCUSSION

Toward a Culturally Integrated Restorative Justice
Sheila Warren, Portland Parent Union; Carma Corcoran, Lewis & Clark Indian Law Program; Sheila Kembel, Puget Sound Educational Services District and Restorative Practices Advocate; Bobbin Singh, Oregon Justice Resource Center; and Julia Yoshimoto, Womens Justice Project
Thursday, June 25, 2019
8:45 a.m. - 9:45 a.m

Restorative Justice was introduced to the dominant culture criminal justice system in the 1970's, yet its core concepts are ancient and have been practiced in indigenous communities around the globe long before the term "restorative justice" was developed.  Restorative justice offers a path forward to repair harm, rebuild, strengthen and heal, not only the person impacted by harm, but those who have caused harm to the community.  In this panel discussion, representatives from each of this year's tracks will explore:

• What it means for the restorative justice movement to invite every voice;
• How to honor the traditional and indigenous roots of restorative justice in a meaningful way;
• Community reflections on the value of the field of restorative justice, including when it helps and hurts to identify with the field and why and;
• The reasons why racial equity is a critical component to restorative responses to harm.

THURSDAY STORYTELLING

Storytelling
Pamela Bond
Snohomish Tribe
Thursday, June 27
12:15 p.m - 12:45 p.m. 

​Pamela Chelalakem Bond is an enrolled member of the Snohomish tribe and lives in Tulalip, Washington.  She is an educator who uses Traditional Teachings/Storytelling to bring attention to social and environmental issues.