We hope you all are safe and have access to critical resources and healthcare during these trying times.
Steering committee members have continued to meet via video chat to develop ideas and programs to be implemented in the near future.
We will monitor the State of Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines and use them to inform our decisions on meetings, gatherings, and any and all safety matters or measures that pertain to the reopening of the Peace & Justice Center.
For more information regarding community and statewide resources, please visit the links below.
Food insecurity is a major issue that affects all communities. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that 13.6% of Maine households are considered "food insecure," a number that is significantly higher than the national average. The Peace & Justice Center wants to help change that. Through our partnerships with local organizations we will be able to provide vital resources in an accessible way.
Updates:
The pantry will provide a much needed service by delivering food directly to those in need. This allows for safer practices of social distancing, better coordination, and greater access to available resources.
We will be concentrating on providing consistent food resources for families. One way we will approach this is by supporting 10-20 families with their food needs.
The pantry has also taken initiative to support some of the water needs for the Passamaquoddy people, and we are looking to further this contribution as well.
Food donations can be delivered to the center at a coordinated time. We do ask that donated items are nonperishable or are not close to expiration. For those interested in donating financially to the food pantry program, please list the food pantry as the program you wish to support.
We will be sharing more information about this project on our website and all of our media platforms. For more information or to find out how you can support our community food pantry, you can email us at: peacectr@gmail.com
Wabanaki Water Rights
To celebrate Indigenous People’s day, members of the Penobscot Nation led an inter-tribal Water Ceremony at the Verona Island Boat Landing near Bucksport for the health of the Penobscot River. This beautiful display of solidarity is a reminder to us all that our relationship to water is sacred. For far too long the colonial mindset has desecrated and polluted vital parts of ourselves and the world we live in. There is an attack on the Penobscot Nation, and us all, to steal territory and further the pollution of our water. To view the ceremony click here.
The Wabanaki people believe in the concept of “stewardship” (i.e. being caretakers of the land) as opposed to the colonialist idea of ownership. Since the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act of 1980, Maine’s indigenous people have been fighting for their position as stewards of the land and the Penobscot waters, and they continue to fight in the courts to this day. Currently they are facing an En Banc Review of their case, Penobscot Nation vs. Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey, (A.K.A. Penobscot Nation v Mills) in the U.S. Court of Appeals. Should the courts rule in favor of the Penobscot Nation, they will be granted stewardship of the land again. This would allow them to stand up more effectively against the rampant pollution of the river by the Juniper Ridge Landfill and the mill in Old Town, as well as other threats against the integrity of the land.
With this review now underway, it is more important than ever we stay informed and stand up for the rights of Maine’s indigenous people. To learn more about the state sanctioned theft and pollution check out these links:
We continue to fight Penobscot County Jail's expansion, and held a successful caravan demonstration outside the jail in downtown Bangor on October 3rd. We hope to do another later this year. We are also compiling stories of inmates' experiences and how a criminal “justice” system can provide real justice and public safety to our community. We need more Peace and Justice Center supporters to join us and bring more justice and less crime to Eastern Maine.
Although we are committed to keeping the jail no larger than it is now, we are also very concerned about a lack of testing of Penobscot County Jail inmates and staff for the virus, policing methods that continue to arrest too many people, inadequate health care for inmates, and a lack of public awareness about alternatives to incarceration. We may change our name soon to reflect our broader vision.
The "No Penobscot County Jail Expansion" group continues to meet. We will meet again on November 14 at 3 PM, and all are invited to join via Zoom. Contact the group at the following email to receive the zoom link: nopenobscotjailexpansion@gmail.com.
Needlepoint Sanctuary
Our New Co-Program Directors
Peace Vigils Tuesdays at 12:00PM
Looking to get involved again in a safe, socially distanced way? Kevin continues to meet every Tuesday at 12:00 noon with other activists for the weekly Peace Vigil. The group meets across the street from the P&JC on the corner of Harlow and Central Street. We hope to see you there masked up and ready to demonstrate!
