Environmental Justice Pathways Summit 2021
Webinar Series
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE PATHWAYS WEBINAR SERIES
Leading up to Environmental Justice Pathways (EJP) Summit in 2021, we held a series of webinars via zoom in 2020 and early 2021 that focused on a variety of environmental justice issues. Click on the webinar names below to open a new page with details about each recording and the YouTube video embedded.
Historical Intersections of Race, Economy, and Environment in Oregon
Experts in Oregon’s social and racial history, discuss historical intersections of race, economy, and environment in Oregon. The panelists framed how past injustices impact Oregon’s current environmental policy and what we must do to confront a pattern of injustice in our state.
Panelists:
David Harrelson: David is the Cultural Resources Department Manager and Tribal Historic Preservation Officer – Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde
Gwendolyn Trice: Gwendolyn is the Founder and Executive Director of the Maxville Heritage Interpretive Center. Gwen is a descendant of black families who moved to Eastern Oregon to join logging crews and contribute to Oregon’s timber economy. Gwen served on the Oregon State Advocacy Commission of Black Affairs for 5 years, and currently serves on the State Historic Preservation Committee.
Ramon Ramirez: Ramon is a Taconic Fellow of the Washington D.C based organization, Community Change; Founding member and former president of PCUN, Oregon Farmworkers Union. Ramon has provided strong leadership for Oregon’s Latinx community and has mentored new generations of young leaders for decades.
Linda Tamura: Linda is an author and Professor Emerita of Education at Willamette University and a co-editor-in-chief of The Oregon Encyclopedia. Linda is a descendant of Japanese families who moved to the Hood River Valley to farm and contribute to Oregon’s agricultural sector.
Moderated by Laura Pulido, Professor and Department Head, University of Oregon Department of Ethnic Studies
Additional Resources
Books
Tamura, Linda. The Hood River Issei: An Oral History of Japanese Settlers in Oregon’s Hood River Valley. Champaign, IL: University of Illinois Press, 1993.
Tamura, Linda. Nisei Soldiers Break Their Silence: Coming Home to Hood River. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2012.
On-Line Encyclopedias (oregonencyclopedia.org)
“Japanese Americans in Oregon,” The Oregon Encyclopedia (on-line encyclopedia)
“Nyssa, Oregon (detention facility),” Densho Enyclopedia
“Oregon Plan,” The Oregon Encyclopedia
Articles
“Development of Japanese Farming Communities,” Discover Nikkei
“A History of Oregon’s Issei, 1880-1952,” Oregon Historical Quarterly, Vol. 94, No. 4, The Japanese in Oregon (Winter 1993/1994), pp. 315-367.
“Economic Loss,” Personal Justice Denied, Commission on Wartime Relocation and internment of Civilians, 1983, chapter 4, 117 – 133.
Into the Sugar Beet Fields: Japanese American Laborers, Life on the Home Front: Oregon Responds to WWII, Experience Oregon History, Oregon Secretary of State.
“The History of Japanese American Farm Labor Camps,” Uprooted exhibit
“How Ontario, Oregon Became a Haven for Immigrant Families,” Street Roots, Sept. 7, 2018
Photos
Nikkei Farmers of the Hood River Area photo exhibit, Japanese American Museum of Oregon
Selected Works of Peter J. Li, PhD: https://works.bepress.com/peter-li/
Documentary
Oregon’s Japanese Americans, Oregon Public Broadcasting, April 23, 2019
Unjust Care and Pandemics
This webinar discusses the racial impacts of COVID-19, noting historical patterns observed during pandemic-like situations and how communities are shaping a caring response to a public health crisis in place of an efficient government plan.
Panelists:
Pradnya Garud
Pradnya is a Ph.D. candidate in the School of Geography, Development, and Environment at the University of Arizona and holds a courtesy research assistant position in the Department of Sociology at the University of Oregon. She received her Master of Science in Environmental Sciences and completed a Post-Graduate Diploma in Disaster Preparedness and Response. Prior to starting the Ph.D. program, she worked as a research and advocacy associate at a human rights organization in New Delhi, India. She is an environmental justice scholar and served as the co-president of Beyond Toxics. | (See Pradnya’s presentation, “Ecological Perspectives on Pandemics” – PDF)
Eric Richardson
Eric is the Executive Director of the National Association for
the Advancement of colored people Eugene/ Springfield Oregon Unit #1119: Before he was appointed as the Executive Director of the NAACP Eugene/Springfield Unit in 2019, Eric served as the president of the chapter for four years.
Dr. Eva Galvez
Dr. Galvez is a board certified family physician at Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center. She has over 15 years of experience working in federally qualified community health centers. As a bilingual and bi-cultural clinician and growing up as the daughter of a Mexican immigrants and seasonal farm workers she brings a deep understanding of the health issues affecting this community. Her particular interests are in the health disparities that affect the Latino community, exploring the root causes, and finding ways to address them, so that we can strive for a more equitable Oregon.
Joel Iboa
Joel is the Coalition Manager for CAUSA Oregon, Oregon’s immigrant rights organization. Throughout his career, he has led coalitions defending against anti-immigrant and anti-muslim policies and ballot measures. He currently serves as the chair of the Eugene Human Rights Commission, and is the youngest person to be elected chair for the Oregon Governor’s Environmental Justice Task Force.
Moderator:
Haley Case-Scott, former Climate Justice Grassroots Organizer with Beyond Toxics and the NAACP Eugene/Springfield.
BIG THANKS to our Sponsors: Meyer Memorial Trust, MRG Foundation, and Ceres Trust.
Additional Resources
More information on how you can help support Oregon communities during the COVID-19 Pandemic:
CAUSA Oregon Worker Relief Fund
Migrant Clinicians Network COVID-19 Pandemic Info and Resources
National Association of Colored People Eugene/Springfield Oregon Unit 1119
NAACP Coronavirus Equity Considerations & Policy Recommendations
Pradnya Garud’s presentation, “Ecological Perspectives on Pandemics” (PDF)
Youth Art Show
To provide space for creative and artistic responses to environmental injustices, we’ve showcased the talent of 4 young local artists. These artists use storytelling, photography, and cinematography to imagine relevant and accessible solutions to environmental, climate, and racial justice.
Paul Wilson, Video – “Rios to Rivers”: Paul is a photographer and cinematographer who uses storytelling to document the sovereignty of Tribal Nations and water stewardship.
Naily Nevarez, Video – “Homero Gomez Gonzalez”: Naily is a multi-disciplinary artist whose videos, animations and website design use storytelling as a tool to build empathy for the lived experience of marginalized communities.
Grace Burks, Poem – “from they who voicelessly screams.”: Grace, a poet and Honors Undergraduate at Oregon State University, will make attendees consider the future of mother earth and those who depend on it.
AWW, Poem – “Howling”: A.W.W., a young, non-binary individual will read “howling”, a written piece that challenges violent narratives through creative works, poetry, and performance art.
Right to Clean Air
This webinar brings in diverse perspectives on what a Right to Clean Air means for our communities’ well-being and health. It sparks a discussion of the intersections between the current public health and social crises we are experiencing today, and how they are made worse by dirty and polluted air.
Panelists:
Tony DeFalco, Executive Director of VERDE
Mary Peveto, President of Neighbors for Clean Air
Ana Molina, former Statewide Environmental Justice Manager for Beyond Toxics
Moderated by Benjamin Duncan, the Chief Officer of Diversity and Equity, Multnomah County.
Additional Resources
See (below) the related interview with Dr. Lauren Herbert, pediatric infectious diseases specialist, speak about the connection between air pollution and COVID-19.
Right to a Healthy Workplace
This webinar focused on the intersections between environmental degradation and unhealthy working conditions experienced by frontline communities. Impacts are unique due to the type of work, place, ability, access, nationality and race and the application of workplace safety protocols.
Panelists:
Martha Sonato, Political Director, Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste (PCUN)
Susan Sygall, CEO and Co-Founder of Mobility International USA
Ira Cuello-Martinez, Community Defense Coordinator, VOZ Workers’ Rights Education Project
Moderated by Kate Suisman, Attorney and Campaigns Coordinator, Northwest Workers’ Justice Project.
Additional Resources
Spanish Transcripts for the The Right to a Healthy Workplace Webinar (9-16-20)
Tribal and Indigenous Knowledge in Policy
This Environmental Justice Pathways Webinar focused on the role of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) in data, research, and policy-making. The panelists–Tribal staff, knowledge holders, and scientists–discussed best practices when applying TEK in land stewardship, and how to avoid the misuse or exploitation of this knowledge.
Panelists:
Wenix Red Elk, Public Outreach/Education Specialist, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation
Colleen Sanders, Climate Adaptation Planner, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation
Susan Fricke, Water Quality Program Manager, Karuk Tribe
Robert Kentta, Treasurer, Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians
Moderated by:
Lara A. Jacobs, Mvskoke Creek Citizen, Forest Ecosystems and Society, Ph.D. Student, Oregon State University
Additional Resources
United Nations Declaration on the Rights on Indigenous Peoples
A Brief History of CTUIR; Background information on our people
Karuk Climate Adaptation Plan (PDF)
The Rebirth of a Historic River. November 10th, 2020. BBC
Tribal Water Justice
Water is vital to us all. Tribal rights to hunt, gather, and fish in their homelands were secured through a series of treaties between Tribes and the Federal Government. Today, the upper Klamath Lake is still home to culturally and spiritually important fish to the Klamath Tribes. The declining health and water levels of the Upper Klamath have put many of these fish on the endangered species list.
Join us on Wednesday, December 16th at 12:00 pm PST for the Tribal Water Justice Webinar featuring Chairman Don Gentry from the Klamath Tribes. Chairman Gentry will discuss current legal steps to protect and replenish watersheds cherished by the Tribe.
Speaker: Chairman Don Gentry, Klamath Tribes.
Guest Respondent: Direlle Calica, Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians, Changing Currents, and Kanim Associates, LLC
Moderated by: Haley Case-Scott, former Climate Justice organizer for Beyond Toxics and the NAACP Eugene/Springfield
Oregon’s History of African American and Japanese Timber Workers
We are proud to announce that our Environmental Justice Pathways team is coming back together to host one more EJP Webinar – Oregon’s History of African American and Japanese Timber Workers! Time to hear some of the stories of Oregon’s African American and Japanese timber workers.
Panelists:
Gwendolyn Trice, Founder & Executive Director of the Maxville Heritage Interpretive Center
Linda Tamura, Professor Emerita of Education at Willamette University and a co-editor-in-chief of The Oregon Encyclopedia
Moderator: Lisa Arkin, Executive Director of Beyond Toxics.
About the EJ Pathways Summit
Beyond Toxics and NAACP Eugene/Springfield were proud to host a virtual Environmental Justice Pathways (EJP) Summit on April 9th-10th, 2021 featuring Dr. Mustafa Santiago Ali and Sheila Watt-Cloutier. The summit featured renowned national and state speakers and created space for interactive discussions, workshops and organizational meetings with the goal of supporting a collaborative network and crafting policy guidelines dedicated to Environmental Justice in the state of Oregon.
Beyond Toxics and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Eugene/Springfield are two social and environmental justice organizations located in Eugene, OR. One of the main goals of our organizations was to achieve environmental and climate justice for historically disadvantaged and underserved communities.
Learn more about the speakers
See a full list of our supporters
See the Summit recordings
