Visioning Rally
On September 13, 2007 over 100 community members of all ages and backgrounds came together at the Long House in Worley to have a conversation about the future of our collective communities on the Reservation.
In a word – Wow!
The evening started with opening the lines of communication between individuals about our communities as they exist and how everyone would like to see them in the future. Speaker David Beurle asked for “the good, the bad, and the ugly.”
After discussions about what successful communities have in common, the group rated our community on how well, or poorly, we fulfill the top ten attributes of a successful community.
Our community was described as ugly, not welcoming, with poor infrastructure including school facilities, no community pride, and a lack of involvement and support for education. There is a lack of connection between the communities and concerns about the governments not working together. We definitely have the outward appearance of poverty.
The evening progressed with the development of a collective vision for our community looking out 10 to 15 years. It is shown under “THE VISION” page.
Mr. Beurle reminded everyone that the time line to success is in our hands. Likewise, how we are going to get there is up to us as well. Leaders and community members need to be involved and engaged.
To truly change our contextual environment, we must change our dialogue. These two quotes sum it up nicely “the one thing we can be responsible for is what comes out of our mouths,” and “the most powerful thing you have is your voice.” I urge everyone to actively listen to your words and transform them to focus on the positive, the solutions, the dream, and what we can do to make this an awesome community for ourselves and future generations.