Let's help our neighbors in L'Etoile du Nord!

My first fall in Minnesota was magical. Having grown up in Texas, I’d never seen the majesty of maple trees and oaks in September. I had only read about the crisp evenings of October – the bite of cold, the snap of a Fireside apple, and the smell of Malt O’Meal wafting over campus. I fell in love with Minnesota that fall. I wore sweaters and tights and plaid flannel with abandon and lived out every romantic autumnal story line from my favorite novels: crunching through leaves, reading under a tree, sipping tea out of a handthrown mug…

My family tree has deep roots in Minnesota, and each day I felt closer and closer to those Norwegian immigrant farmers who came before me, knowing they had loved this place, too. I bought shoes with treads – thinking I might actually need them. My grandfather had attended the same college during WWII. We walked the same sidewalks. I hung out in the same dorm where he had once flooded the floors and built an ice rink inside! I bought a cute, green winter coat with a removable down lining – cozy, fashionable. Warm enough, right? I collected fallen leaves and pressed them between the pages of my English Literature text book – tempting Tennyson with crimson and gold. The Twins won the World Series – and the whole state erupted in a joy that engulfed even the least sporty of us all. Halcyon days.

And then, on Halloween, a blizzard descended.

Have you ever read The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder? I had. Many times. And I sort of thought that she must have exaggerated about how long and cold and dark that prairie winter must have been.

The Halloween Blizzard of 1991 changed my mind. Overnight we got 20 inches of snow. And it just kept snowing. Were our classes cancelled? Nope. Not unless our profs couldn’t get to campus – and they all did. Were my cute shoes with tread adequate? Nope. Was that green coat warm? Not even close.

That’s when I learned about true Minnesotans.

The people of Minnesota are made of sinew and ice and have the blood of wolves running through their veins. They are never in such a hurry that they can’t help you out of a snowbank. And they always have an extra scraper in their car in case you’ve forgotten yours – and jumper cables, too. They walk their dogs when it is below zero – and put booties on their dogs’ feet so they don’t get frostbite. They are always ready with a hotdish or a hot cup of pretty weak coffee. And every single one of them sings or plays an instrument because their public schools would never dream of cutting arts programs.

Minnesotans are good people. They are kind. They are compassionate. They are hearty. And, frankly, FOTUS is messing with the wrong state.

My heart has been broken by what we are seeing in Minnesota. It’s the opposite of what Minnesota means.

If you are in Minnesota, please know that we are with you! Comment below and tell us if there is anything you need or that we can do for you.

And with so many of my friends still in Minnesota – many of whom are out doing the work of feeding their neighbors, monitoring for ICE activity, making noise and taking video of ICE actions – I asked: what can we do? Who can we support to help Minnesotans right now? What mutual aid organizations are you working with?

They gave me a wonderful list of places they are supporting. And I promised I would spread the word far and wide. So, here we are.

We are Resistance Gardeners! And our mission extends far beyond the garden. Right now Minnesotans need our help, and there are so many ways to do that – even from afar.

So let’s start with some basics:

What is mutual aid?

Mutual aid is a volunteer-led organization dedicated to distributing materials (food, clothing, etc) in loosely-organized networks, particularly in times of crisis or unrest. Certainly mutual aid organizations function all the time in some places, but they are particularly important when the established channels like food stamps, clinics, or governmental organizations can’t function – or people can’t access them.

When people are afraid to leave the house, they lose access to many of the basics of life. If they are on food stamps (SNAP benefits), they may not be able to go and pick up groceries. They may be too scared right now to send their children to school. ICE agents have been seen camping out at distribution points and food banks, so their routines may be altered – and they may be cut off from their normal supplies. Additionally, they may not feel safe going to work which interrupts their income streams.

In Minnesota, mutual aid is taking multiple forms. Food distribution and delivery is the most important – particularly for people who are afraid to leave their homes. Additionally mutual aid organizations are helping with rent relief, diaper funds, and medicines and medical supplies.

How can we help?

If you are a Minnesotan, this article has a great list of places to drop off goods and also includes places to shop, immigrant-owned restaurants, and other means of support: Ways to Support Minnesota’s Immigrant Communities as ICE Activity Escalates | Mpls St Paul Magazine

If you are protesting, protest safely! Here are some tips.

If you are documenting, you are doing important work. Thank you!
If you are helping your neighbors directly, bravo! And thank you, too!
Support your community in every way you can, and know that we are with you!

If you are not in Minnesota, here are some recommended places to send money. Remember, giving money is always better for food organizations than giving goods – they can buy in bulk in ways that we can not, and they can make food donations go farther.

Some of these links are to aid organizations. Others are shops and other businesses who have stepped in to help people in need.

Psychological Support

Center for Victims of Torture: deploying volunteers for counseling and assistance in the Twin Cities

Legal Assistance for Immigrants

Education and Political Advocacy

Take Action Minnesota
Monarca | training observers and providing resistance resources
Unidos MN
ISAIAH

Other Lists

If you aren’t finding what you need here, there are many other lists of places to donate.

Stand with Minnesota
Ways to Support Minnesota’s Immigrant Communities as ICE Activity Escalates | Mpls St Paul Magazine
Smitten Kitten | a sex-positive shop in Minneapolis that is organizing mutual aid for their neighborhood and sharing GoFundMe requests for specific people and families in the area (check their stories)

Share this with Clergy or Religious Leaders

For my clergy and faith leader friends, there is a call for you to gather in Minneapolis this week on Thursday and Friday. In the spirit of Dr. King’s action in Selma, faith leaders are being called to Minneapolis.
“We therefore call on clergy and faith leaders of all faiths, representative of every part of the country, to join us for a day of witness and resistance—a working convening rooted in accountability to impacted communities and designed to build the relationships, skills, and commitments needed for sustained action across the country.
“In this way, all who come will bear witness to the fact that the struggle in Minneapolis is for a new America, a new Beloved Community, and a new democracy everywhere in the world.”
More information here: https://www.marchminnesota.org/

I would move back to Minnesota tomorrow. I love it there! The horrors being acted out on l’etoile du nord are unconscionable. It’s time for this to stop.

Let us know how you are helping in the comments. And if you are one of the brave people out there recording, helping, and working so hard to melt ICE: thank you!!