Reflections on TIBC11

In the past several years, tens of thousands of people around the world have begun leaning into the idea of bioregionalism, ready to explore new alternatives and ideas in the face of the challenging circumstances our planet faces. Yet for many, there were few actual resources, ways to connect and very little connections to the past history, individuals, and initiatives that have been growing this idea for the past five decades, connected with a way of living reflective of the majority of human history. 

 

Early on in the organizing process, our core organizing team held many long discussions about how best to bring the history of continental bioregional congressing into the present. The tenth continental Congress was held in 2009, 17 years ago, and many aspects of our lives have changed rapidly since then. From political movements to technology, from a global pandemic to social awakenings regarding race, diversity, and power dynamics, we wanted to create a continental Congress that spoke to Turtle Island as a vast community with many perspectives. 

 

In one of our early meetings, while feeling the immense pressure of legacy and the many real constraints of producing this kind of event now, Lilly had the vision of an ember that needed to be tended, kept safe and cared for in order to pass on the light and ignite the imagination of bioregional organizing for a new generation. We referred back to the ember many times, both privately and publicly.

 

Critical Reflections

 

Building relationships across diverse communities requires significantly more time and resources in the lead-up to a gathering of this scale. Meaningful, trust-based relationships require sustained engagement, continuity, and investment over time. While we did our best with our existing relationships and worked hard to grow our networks in the lead up to TIBC11, we recognize that ongoing effort to address these gaps will be essential to broadening participation and strengthening the movement’s diversity in future gatherings.

 

Difficult and necessary discussions about cultural and racial diversity and equity were sparked along with questions about Indigenous voices, leadership, and intertribal and interpersonal Native relations. It ignited deeper inquiry into how we engage in nature communication and deep listening.

 

As agenda changes compounded, our team struggled to keep up with posting announcements in Congress Court, which again made it difficult for participants to know exactly what was happening, where they needed to be, and what their options were amidst emergent discussions and conflict resolution processes. We regret the consequences of these real-time shifts, in particular for prioritizing streamlined decision-making over broad consent. Even the organizers didn’t get the opportunity to consent to all the changes. We didn’t have the chance to complete our Talking Circles, Topic Circles, or Congress process to put the Bioregional Action Toolkit together, and we were disappointed by that, as we know many of you were as well. 

 

We’ve heard that many wish there was more space for people to come together from different bioregions, have cultural shares, and more time for bioregional elders to share by educating folks on the history of the movement and discussing the future. In addition, we needed more movement, singing, dance, and poetry. We needed more time in and on the land, with each other. We hear you and we agree.

 

And yet, in the unfamiliar borderlands we found ourselves navigating together, new possibilities for relationship, connection, understanding, and collective learning began to emerge. Sparks flew across our plans for Talking Circles, Topic Circles, Bioregional Circles, and other Congress processes. And yet, something else was illuminated. Conversations were deepened. The peacemaking process itself invited profound reflections and healing. Many of us were invited to listen more carefully, to one another, to the histories and experiences, and to the places that hold us.

 

After this Congress, we are walking away with a deeper sense of the ways in which diversity is a growth-edge for the bioregional movement. We encourage future Congress organizers to continue this work by expanding participation and creating opportunities for a broader range of peoples and communities to be represented in future gatherings, more fully reflecting the diversity of peoples across this continent. We also acknowledge that hosting this event in the United States at this time in history contributed to the difficulty of some people attending from other countries and front line communities.

 

In Closing

 

This was not the Congress we imagined. But it became a profound opportunity to learn what it means to bring a diverse community together across differences, histories, expectations, and lived experiences. We are still integrating the experience, and we expect that process will continue. 

 

For us, one of the greatest gifts was simply being together in person: meeting people we had known only through screens, reconnecting with old friends, and discovering new relationships across the places and communities represented. We heard from many of you that you felt a renewed sense of possibility, deeper connections, inspiration, and even profound healing. We hope you carry that back with more curiosity for your own bioregions and for all the human and more-than-human creatures who live there.

 

The bioregional movement has always depended on people willing to show up, take responsibility, learn from one another, and put their convictions into practice where they live. No single Congress can do the work for us, but gathering can remind us that we are part of something larger than ourselves, connected by a shared commitment to the living places that sustain us. May the ember carried forward from this Congress spark new questions, deepen our commitments, and inspire meaningful action with joyful connection in the places we call home.

 

With deep gratitude and respect,

The TIBC11 Core Organizing Team

Karie Crisp, Clare Brodeur, Lilly Falconer, Bill Baue, and Brandon Letsinger