One of the greatest joys of my work at MNIPL has been in building deep, cooperative relationships between people who care about building a climate of justice for all beings on this Earth. Our commitment to climate justice requires us to not just end our reliance on systems of extraction and greed, but also build new systems based on reciprocity and repair.

This is why I am so thrilled to announce that Jim Bear Jacobs has agreed to bring his work of Healing Minnesota Stories to MNIPL and join me as Co-Executive Director of Climate Justice Commons, the umbrella organization that houses MNIPL, Rise & Repair, and the Youth N’ Power Network.

Jim Bear has led Healing Minnesota Stories since it began in 2011. In that role, he has led or been part of hundreds of dialogues, presentations, protest actions, and sacred sites tours with thousands of people here in Minnesota and beyond. I have been honored to work with Jim Bear closely in his role as the former Chair of MNIPL’s board.

Bringing Jim Bear and Healing Minnesota Stories into MNIPL is the next chapter in our work on Healing Justice. Jim Bear will work closely with Liz Loeb and Jessica Intermill who lead our reparations work, and Analyah Schlaeger dos Santos, who leads our work on global repair. You can learn more about Healing Minnesota Stories and the Sacred Sites Tours here – and there will be more to come about more Healing Justice work soon.

Please join me in welcoming Jim Bear into this new iteration of his work!

– Julia Nerbonne, Co-Executive Director