Religion and Activism…in Wisconsin
by Shubha Bala, associate producer
Religious leaders have been joining the march against the Wisconsin government. Catholic, Episcopalian, ELCA, and Jewish voices were amongst those who have reached out to their congregations, and the governor, publicly stating their support for the workers. In her opinion piece for Religion Dispatches, Kim Bobo, the founder and executive director of Interfaith Worker Justice, writes about these phenomena:
“Not all religious leaders are strong supporters of unions, but none believe workers rights should be decimated. This is what religion looks like.”
What’s the Ojibwe Word for Beep?
“An Ojibwe Language Society Calendar” (photo: Hanson Dates/flickr)
Rob McGinley Myers, Associate Producer
Working on an upcoming SOF show about endangered languages, I called a professor of Ojibwe at Bemidji State University to get recordings of Ojibwe speakers for the radio program and website. His answering machine message was delivered first in Ojibwe and then in English. Then this week I called someone who works at an Ojibwe immersion school in Wisconsin, and his answering machine message was Ojibwe only.
It was a little disorienting but also inspiring to hear the language in this modern context, especially considering that Ojibwe is one of only a handful of Native American languages now spoken in the United States and Canada that is expected to survive beyond 2050.
