the ‘peace gets personal’ blog

As a recovering global nomad, this periodic blog helps me to process the messy, ongoing journey of coming ‘home’ to the USA. This is where peace gets personal.

Author: Michelle G. Garred

  • Indigenous Rights

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    I am traveling in the Philippines this month, so my blog will deviate a bit from the local Seattle-area perspective.  Embracing the view from abroad, I wonder how many Americans know about the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples? More to the point, how many of us know that the USA is one of a handful of countries that have not yet endorsed this Declaration? In all fairness, the USA has not been the only country to express concerns. The Declaration required two decades of painstaking international negotiations before it was finally adopted in 2007. Some of…

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  • Salish Land

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    Reading graffiti is a great way to sense the pulse of a community, especially the voices that don’t feel heard. Check out this urban mural with the words “Salish Land” added in prominent spray paint. This statement is found just off Capitol Boulevard in downtown Olympia, near the Washington state capitol campus. Admittedly I am missing a lot here, because I don’t understand the meaning of the underlying mural. But how can I ignore the message of the words that I do understand? “Salish Land.” The land conflicts of the 1800s, which many Euro-Americans have tried to consign to history, are alive and…

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