12/10/2024

My Dear Friend & POTUS, JRB,

            What did you learn from visiting with the tribal leaders yesterday? Did they provide advice regarding how best to tell the story of Indian Boarding schools to visitors of the new Carlisle Federal Indian Boarding School National Monument? While I appreciate your espoused belief  “that we must know the good, the bad, and the truth of our past so that we can begin to remember & heal,” I wonder how we can do that to show the resilience, strength & diversity of the Indian Nations. It’s a complicated history, so creativity & innovation will be required. I suggest you supervise the design of the interpretive exhibits & be in consultation with Silk Road which promotes the idea that “art, in its purest sense, rejects the inhumanity of violence & demands that we see each other as we see ourselves.”

            I regret that the media paid no attention to the Tribal Leader Summit & few wrote about your plan to preserve Indigenous languages. It’s a great idea which deserves attention.

            Do you think that Syria will come out of their civil war in a better place? An article in the CSM notes, “today Syria is awash with weapons & armed groups with different geographical & ideological priorities.” Longtime dissident Anwar al-Bunni says, “our battle to build democracy & rebuild the country starts now. There is a new dawn, & I hope it will be sunny and shiny for all generations.” Me, too.

            As always, I am hoping for the same in Burma. Do you think the junta will fall as the Assad regime crumpled in Syria? Do you think the nation should stick together or break into smaller nation states?

Do you think having indigenous nations within Burma, as we have in the US, with self-determination for our tribes, might work? Perhaps it’s something to ask the tribal leaders at your summit.

I hope your Special Olympics dinner goes well tonight.

BYBS,