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<p style="margin:0in;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black">We

hope you’ve found the content of the last two weeks to be complex, rich,

insightful, and engaging. This week we are taking a small pause to allow more

time for reflection on the last two weeks, and an opportunity to engage more

deeply with sources you found especially impactful (you can find an archive of

the last two posts here:<span class="gmail-apple-converted-space"> <a href="https://mailman.yale.edu/pipermail/yale-forests-reading-group/" style="color:rgb(5,99,193);text-decoration:underline"><span style="color:rgb(4,74,145)">https://mailman.yale.edu/pipermail/yale-forests-reading-group/</a>).

What knowledge did you find most impactful? What surprised you? What didn’t?<span class="gmail-apple-converted-space"> <span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:"-webkit-standard",serif;color:black"><span></span></span></font></p><font size="2">

</font><p style="margin:0in;font-variant-caps:normal;text-align:start;word-spacing:0px;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black"><span> </span></span><span style="font-family:"-webkit-standard",serif;color:black"><span></span></span></font></p><font size="2">

</font><p style="margin:0in;font-variant-caps:normal;text-align:start;word-spacing:0px;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black">We will be back again next week to continue digging into a new

theme with another, longer installment. </span><span style="font-family:"-webkit-standard",serif;color:black"><span></span><span></span></span></font></p><font size="2">

</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-variant-caps:normal;text-align:start;word-spacing:0px;margin:0in;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black"><span> </span></span><span style="color:black"><span></span></span></font></p><font size="2">

</font><p style="margin:0in;font-variant-caps:normal;text-align:start;word-spacing:0px;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black">While reflecting on past themes, here are some of the readings and videos you shared with us this

week engaging with the themes of geography, erasure, and persistence. To all

who have emailed with thoughts, comments, and connections to related content,

THANK YOU! We know that it can be hard to engage in thoughtful dialog via

either listserv or Instagram, but we do want to hear from and respond to you as

much as we can. Please continue to share your thoughts and experiences with us

as we shape this learning journey together.</span><span style="font-family:"-webkit-standard",serif;color:black"><span></span><span></span></span></font></p><font size="2">

</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 12pt;font-variant-caps:normal;text-align:start;word-spacing:0px;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black"><span> </span></span><span style="color:black"><span></span></span></font></p><font size="2">

</font><p style="margin:0in;font-variant-caps:normal;text-align:start;word-spacing:0px;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><font size="2"><b><u><span><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:rgb(28,28,28);background:white none repeat scroll 0% 0%">Coverage of Sierra Club’s

recent statement on its history, particularly John Muir</span></span></u></b><span style="font-family:"-webkit-standard",serif;color:black"><span></span><span></span></span></font></p><font size="2">

</font><p style="margin:0in;font-variant-caps:normal;text-align:start;word-spacing:0px;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><font size="2"><span><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:rgb(28,28,28);background:white none repeat scroll 0% 0%">Many news outlets reported

on Sierra Club’s statement last week detailing some of its early history and

relationship to John Muir. A number of the pieces we included in last week’s

installment on “</span></span><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black">Erasure from nature and the creation of wilderness” discussed

Muir’s racism and how it shaped his conservation work. Thank you to those</span><span><span class="gmail-apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:rgb(28,28,28);background:white none repeat scroll 0% 0%"> </span></span><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:rgb(28,28,28);background:white none repeat scroll 0% 0%">who pointed us to Darryl

Fears and Steven Mufson’s extensive reporting in the Washington Post on the

Sierra Club’s statement and the larger context of white supremacy and

Indigenous erasure in the environmental movement. Because the Washington Post

has a limit on the number of articles non-subscribers can read, we’re also

including links to reporting from other publications. As Debra Utacia Krol’s

reporting for the Arizona Republic explores, we also want to highlight that

Indigenous groups have been pushing for many years for acknowledgement of this

history and the way it continues to inform Sierra Club’s mission and work, and

the organization has only now responded. This reckoning is long overdue, and we

invite you to sit with the fact that it took not only the persistence and

strength of these Indigenous groups, but also the strength of the Black Lives

Matter movement in response to police violence, and mounting public pressure

for organizations to reflect on their own roles in upholding white supremacy,

for the Sierra Club to acknowledge its history.</span></span><span style="font-family:"-webkit-standard",serif;color:black"><span></span><span></span></span></font></p><font size="2">

</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-variant-caps:normal;text-align:start;word-spacing:0px;margin:0in;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black"><span> </span></span><span style="color:black"><span></span></span></font></p><font size="2">

</font><p style="margin:0in;background:white none repeat scroll 0% 0%;font-variant-caps:normal;text-align:start;word-spacing:0px;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><font size="2"><b><span><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:rgb(38,37,36);background:white none repeat scroll 0% 0%">"Liberal, progressive — and racist? The Sierra

Club faces its white-supremacist history" by Darryl Fears and Steven Mufson</span></span></b><span style="font-family:"-webkit-standard",serif;color:black"><span></span><span></span></span></font></p><font size="2">

</font><p style="margin:0in;background:white none repeat scroll 0% 0%;font-variant-caps:normal;text-align:start;word-spacing:0px;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black"><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2020/07/22/liberal-progressive-racist-sierra-club-faces-its-white-supremacist-history/" style="color:rgb(5,99,193);text-decoration:underline"><span style="color:rgb(13,66,153);background:white none repeat scroll 0% 0%"><span>https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2020/07/22/liberal-progressive-racist-sierra-club-faces-its-white-supremacist-history/</span></span></a></span><span style="font-family:"-webkit-standard",serif;color:black"><span></span><span></span></span></font></p><font size="2">

</font><p style="margin:0in;background:white none repeat scroll 0% 0%;font-variant-caps:normal;text-align:start;word-spacing:0px;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black"> </span><span style="font-family:"-webkit-standard",serif;color:black"><span></span><span></span></span></font></p><font size="2">

</font><p style="margin:0in;background:white none repeat scroll 0% 0%;font-variant-caps:normal;text-align:start;word-spacing:0px;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><font size="2"><b><span><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:rgb(38,37,36);background:white none repeat scroll 0% 0%">"Taking Down Its 'Own Monuments,' Sierra Club

Assesses The Racism Of John Muir," by Jason Slotkin</span></span></b><span style="font-family:"-webkit-standard",serif;color:black"><span></span><span></span></span></font></p><font size="2">

</font><p style="margin:0in;background:white none repeat scroll 0% 0%;font-variant-caps:normal;text-align:start;word-spacing:0px;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black"><a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/live-updates-protests-for-racial-justice/2020/07/22/894188718/taking-down-its-own-monuments-sierra-club-assesses-the-racism-of-john-muir" style="color:rgb(5,99,193);text-decoration:underline"><span style="color:rgb(13,66,153);background:white none repeat scroll 0% 0%"><span>https://www.npr.org/sections/live-updates-protests-for-racial-justice/2020/07/22/894188718/taking-down-its-own-monuments-sierra-club-assesses-the-racism-of-john-muir</span></span></a></span><span style="font-family:"-webkit-standard",serif;color:black"><span></span><span></span></span></font></p><font size="2">

</font><p style="margin:0in;background:white none repeat scroll 0% 0%;font-variant-caps:normal;text-align:start;word-spacing:0px;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black"> </span><span style="font-family:"-webkit-standard",serif;color:black"><span></span><span></span></span></font></p><font size="2">

</font><p style="margin:0in;font-variant-caps:normal;text-align:start;word-spacing:0px;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><font size="2"><b><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black">"'Being very frank about our history': As

Sierra Club acknowledges racist past, Indigenous communities look for

reckoning," by Debra Utacia Krol</span></b><span style="font-family:"-webkit-standard",serif;color:black"><span></span><span></span></span></font></p><font size="2">

</font><p style="margin:0in;background:white none repeat scroll 0% 0%;font-variant-caps:normal;text-align:start;word-spacing:0px;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black"><a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-environment/2020/07/26/sierra-club-confronts-its-racist-history-tribes-see-reckoning/5494294002/" style="color:rgb(5,99,193);text-decoration:underline"><span style="color:rgb(13,66,153);background:white none repeat scroll 0% 0%"><span>https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-environment/2020/07/26/sierra-club-confronts-its-racist-history-tribes-see-reckoning/5494294002/</span></span></a></span><span style="font-family:"-webkit-standard",serif;color:black"><span></span><span></span></span></font></p><font size="2">

</font><p style="margin:0in;background:white none repeat scroll 0% 0%;font-variant-caps:normal;text-align:start;word-spacing:0px;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black"> </span><span style="font-family:"-webkit-standard",serif;color:black"><span></span><span></span></span></font></p><font size="2">

</font><p style="margin:0in;background:white none repeat scroll 0% 0%;font-variant-caps:normal;text-align:start;word-spacing:0px;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><font size="2"><b><span><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:rgb(38,37,36);background:white none repeat scroll 0% 0%">Sierra Club’s statement, "Pulling Down Our

Monuments," by Michael Brune </span></span></b><span style="font-family:"-webkit-standard",serif;color:black"><span></span><span></span></span></font></p><font size="2">

</font><p style="margin:0in;background:white none repeat scroll 0% 0%;font-variant-caps:normal;text-align:start;word-spacing:0px;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black"><a href="https://www.sierraclub.org/michael-brune/2020/07/john-muir-early-history-sierra-club" style="color:rgb(5,99,193);text-decoration:underline"><span style="color:rgb(13,66,153);background:white none repeat scroll 0% 0%"><span>https://www.sierraclub.org/michael-brune/2020/07/john-muir-early-history-sierra-club</span></span></a></span><span style="font-family:"-webkit-standard",serif;color:black"><span></span><span></span></span></font></p><font size="2">

</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 12pt;font-variant-caps:normal;text-align:start;word-spacing:0px;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black"><span> </span></span><span style="color:black"><span></span></span></font></p><font size="2">

</font><p style="margin:0in;font-variant-caps:normal;text-align:start;word-spacing:0px;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><font size="2"><b><u><span><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:rgb(28,28,28);background:white none repeat scroll 0% 0%">Examining and challenging

the myth of "virgin" forests</span></span></u></b><span style="font-family:"-webkit-standard",serif;color:black"><span></span><span></span></span></font></p><font size="2">

</font><p style="margin:0in;font-variant-caps:normal;text-align:start;word-spacing:0px;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><font size="2"><span><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:rgb(28,28,28);background:white none repeat scroll 0% 0%">We included

@Countrygentlemancook’s video "Pristine Forests and Other Lies" (</span></span><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/tv/CC6D53Dn4rq/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link" style="color:rgb(5,99,193);text-decoration:underline"><span style="color:rgb(13,66,153);background:white none repeat scroll 0% 0%"><span>https://www.instagram.com/tv/CC6D53Dn4rq/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link</span></span></a><span></span><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:rgb(28,28,28);background:white none repeat scroll 0% 0%">) in last

week's installment. Thank you to those of you who highlighted this additional,

terrific installment. In "Virgin Forests and Related Nonsense," Justin Robinson

builds on the same themes by discussing the problematic language of virginity

that is often applied to forests. Not only does the discourse of a "pristine"

pre-colonial forest erase Indigenous peoples' presence and interactions with

the landscape, but the concept of forest "virginity" is rooted in a metaphor

that implicitly devalues women and elevates white, male, European "conquest."</span></span><span style="font-family:"-webkit-standard",serif;color:black"><span></span></span></font></p><font size="2">

<span></span>

</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-variant-caps:normal;text-align:start;word-spacing:0px;margin:0in;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black"><span> </span></span><span style="color:black"><span></span></span></font></p><font size="2">

</font><p style="margin:0in;font-variant-caps:normal;text-align:start;word-spacing:0px;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><font size="2"><b><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black">"Virgin Forests and Related Nonsense,"

@Countrygentlemancooks Instagram video</span></b><span style="font-family:"-webkit-standard",serif;color:black"><span></span><span></span></span></font></p><font size="2">

</font><p style="margin:0in;font-variant-caps:normal;text-align:start;word-spacing:0px;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/tv/CDCeMLBnbRe/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link" style="color:rgb(5,99,193);text-decoration:underline"><b><span><span style="color:rgb(13,66,153);background:white none repeat scroll 0% 0%">https://www.instagram.com/tv/CDCeMLBnbRe/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link</span></span></b></a><span></span></span><span style="font-family:"-webkit-standard",serif;color:black"><span></span></span></font></p><font size="2">

</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-variant-caps:normal;text-align:start;word-spacing:0px;margin:0in;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black"><span> </span></span><span style="color:black"><span></span></span></font></p><font size="2">

</font><p style="margin:0in;font-variant-caps:normal;text-align:start;word-spacing:0px;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><font size="2"><span><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:rgb(28,28,28);background:white none repeat scroll 0% 0%">Thank you for joining us

this week and for your continued engagement. We look forward to continuing the

conversation, and will be back again next week!</span></span><span style="font-family:"-webkit-standard",serif;color:black"><span></span><span></span></span></font></p><font size="2">

</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-variant-caps:normal;text-align:start;word-spacing:0px;margin:0in;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black"><span> </span></span><span style="color:black"><span></span></span></font></p><font size="2">

</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-variant-caps:normal;text-align:start;word-spacing:0px;margin:0in;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black">--<span></span></span><span style="color:black"><span></span></span></font></p><font size="2">

</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-variant-caps:normal;text-align:start;word-spacing:0px;margin:0in;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black"><span> </span></span><span style="color:black"><span></span></span></font></p><font size="2">

</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-variant-caps:normal;text-align:start;word-spacing:0px;margin:0in;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black">Thanks so much for following along this week! Have thoughts,

comments, or reflections you'd like to share? Are there resources you feel we

should have included? We hope you’ll send an email our way:<span class="gmail-apple-converted-space"> <a href="mailto:yale-forests-reading-group@mailman.yale.edu" style="color:rgb(5,99,193);text-decoration:underline"><span style="color:rgb(13,66,153)">yale-forests-reading-group@mailman.yale.edu</a><span class="gmail-apple-converted-space"> or check us out on Instagram:<span class="gmail-apple-converted-space"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/yaleschoolforests/" style="color:rgb(5,99,193);text-decoration:underline"><span style="color:rgb(13,66,153)">https://www.instagram.com/yaleschoolforests/</a>.

Let us know if you would like us to consider sharing your comment with the

whole group! If you would be more comfortable sharing thoughts and feedback

with us anonymously, please do so here:<span class="gmail-apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://forms.gle/4tPajvuuB6vpC9mGA" style="color:rgb(5,99,193);text-decoration:underline"><span style="color:rgb(13,66,153)">https://forms.gle/4tPajvuuB6vpC9mGA</span></a>. <span></span></span><span style="color:black"><span></span></span></font></p><font size="2">

</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-variant-caps:normal;text-align:start;word-spacing:0px;margin:0in;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black"><br>

Think a friend might enjoy subscribing? They can subscribe and learn more at

our info page:<span class="gmail-apple-converted-space"> <a href="https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/yale-forests-reading-group" style="color:rgb(5,99,193);text-decoration:underline"><span style="color:rgb(13,66,153)">https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/yale-forests-reading-group</a>.

You can find past posts in our archives:<span class="gmail-apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://mailman.yale.edu/pipermail/yale-forests-reading-group/" style="color:rgb(5,99,193);text-decoration:underline"><span style="color:rgb(13,66,153)">https://mailman.yale.edu/pipermail/yale-forests-reading-group/</span></a>.<span></span></span><span style="color:black"><span></span></span></font></p><font size="2">

</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-variant-caps:normal;text-align:start;word-spacing:0px;margin:0in;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black"><span> </span></span><span style="color:black"><span></span></span></font></p><font size="2">

</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-variant-caps:normal;text-align:start;word-spacing:0px;margin:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black">We would like to express our continued thanks for those

researching, questioning, exploring, and sharing knowledge against harmful

narratives of Indigenous erasure. We would like to explicitly thank those

creators whose knowledge we have shared here. Additionally, we would like to

send our thanks to you! Thank you for joining us on this learning journey, and

for those who shared thoughts and resources with us: we truly appreciate it.

Thank you.</span></font><span style="color:black"><span></span></span></p>

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