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Council Member Rivera acknowledges challenges and importance of indigenous arts and culture

1:00:26

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95 sec

Council Member Carlina Rivera opens the discussion by acknowledging the struggles faced by indigenous communities and the importance of arts and culture. She emphasizes the need to balance recognition of historical brutality with celebration of indigenous culture.

Rivera highlights the importance of being inclusive while not losing focus on the unique experiences of indigenous peoples
She acknowledges the exhaustion that comes from dealing with various challenges faced by indigenous communities
Rivera sets the stage for a discussion about future plans and city support for indigenous arts and culture initiatives

Carlina Rivera

1:00:26

Thank you so much to all of you for your testimony and, for being as inclusive as possible.

1:00:32

I I realize, you know, there are so many struggles within our own indigenous communities.

1:00:39

Arts and culture should never take a back seat, but as we deal with economic instability and political turmoil and our perpetual fight for adequate representation.

1:00:51

It can be exhausting, so it's important to, I think, also highlight the celebrations.

1:00:58

And I appreciate that that is also included in addition to the recognition of of the brutality, the survival of brutality and and and genocide.

1:01:07

I I'd like to start with you, mister Bakery, if that's okay.

1:01:11

I just wanna thank you for for what you said about how sometimes, the tent can get very big.

1:01:20

And sometimes we have this, I don't know, this inclination to to to bring everyone in, and and then what happens is the faces get lost in the crowd and we sort of lose the moral of the story, the plot, if you will, over what we were doing in the first place, which is to intentionally recognize unique language, culture, and experiences of people.

1:01:41

And recognizing the original people, I thought, was the the most important.

1:01:45

So you are embarking on this multiyear, multidisciplinary collaboration along with your colleagues.

1:01:53

What what is the vision for, I don't know, the next year, the next couple years, and specifically, how can the city be helpful?

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Joe Baker discusses the need for a permanent Lenape Center in New York City