Mending Ourselves, Together
Are folks talking to each other and upholding aligned institutional values (always a helpful intention) at UVM, or does research in the name of equity trump the actual practice of same?
On October 20, 2022, several organizations housed under the UVM umbrella will sponsor a Health Equity Summit. Mending Ourselves, Together is a joint effort between the University of Vermont, the Larner College of Medicine, School of Nursing and Health Sciences, and the University of Vermont Health Network. The concept is to be applauded: the idea that we can inspire and advance improvement in our collective vitality should always be a shared ideal, and essential in the light of so much recent societal tendency toward divisiveness and dismissal.
The selfsame institution also hosted the April 29th event “Beyond Borders”, which espoused a unilateral rejection by a select group of Abenaki tribal spokespeople directed against other groups of related people, and is a prime example of the aforementioned tendency toward divisiveness and dismissal. The upcoming Health Equity Summit recognizes these kind of activities as a pattern of behavior that is not to be embraced or practiced; rather, the call toward bettering relationships and finding ways of mutual healing is the preferred path forward. It is perplexing and dismaying that this degree of dissonance exists under the same institutional oversight. Yes, it is good to provide a balanced perspective, but the balance is betrayed when the goal is co-opted by vitriol, name-calling, and generalized aspersion. It is good to give voice - but those voices can best be heard in a circle, in a respectful dialogue, rather than projected summarily from a raised dais.
The Abenaki Tribes recognized by the state of Vermont do not wish, in return, to speak of their relatives to the north in Quebec in the same manner. They acknowledge both their shared and disparate origins in these vast homelands. They recognize the fact that, after hundreds of years of colonization and lived experience, they find themselves in a much different set of circumstances than their kin to the north in what today is called Canada, including the imposition of that international boundary. In a spirit of finding our way home both spiritually and literally, we are much more inclined toward Mending Ourselves, Together - as proposed by a differently-framed, upcoming UVM event. This is the way forward. We are better able to reach out with open hands, than with closed hearts. We invite everyone to join the circle.