I arrived at Scattergood on the afternoon of Sunday, November 20, 2025, staying in one of the nice guest rooms (See Scattergood and Great Plains Action Society Part 1 ). As mentioned, when I arrived the students and staff were clearing the sidewalks and roads of the significant snowfall Saturday. That storm also resulted in postponing the work at the GPAS Hub until Tuesday. So I spent some time Monday morning taking photos of the School and farm in the snow.
I’m a shy person, so it is difficult to engage with people I don’t know, and I knew I was going to meet a number of new people on this journey, I would be meeting students and staff at Scattergood Friends School, where I stayed during the work in Iowa City at the Hub. Of course, everyone was wonderful to meet. I forced myself to go to the community meals for breakfast and dinner. I think that was helpful when I had the opportunity to talk with the students about the GPAS Hub the last day I was there.
Sam Taylor had mentioned the discovery of a time capsule during some construction in what had been the boy’s dorm when I was at Scattergood. Since I had a free day, I asked if I could see the capsule. I took photos of the contents for my own sake, and for the School to share. I also wrote about that in the post Scattergood and Great Plains Action Society Part 1 .
Seeing the contents of the time capsule took me back to that time. I was drawn to this photo that was in the capsule. So much life experience has happened since then. I tried to remember what I could about myself. What were my hopes, dreams, fears? Have I lived up to those hopes? Do I still have the same dreams?
Great Plain Action Society’s Indigenous-led Urban Resilience & Innovation Hub
I’ve known Sikowis Nobiss, founder of the Great Plains Action Society (GPAS) since 2018, when we both walked on the First Nation-Farmer Climate Unity March she and Ed Fallon organized. The intention of the March was for a small group of Native and non-native people to have this extended time to get to know each other. It took eight days of walking and camping for ninety-four miles from Des Moines to Fort Dodge, Iowa, along the path of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL). That proved to be very successful. Various combinations of us subsequently worked together on a number of projects.
Tuesday morning I went in search of the Hub, which is in downtown Iowa City. I had the addresses of several of the buildings that are part of the Hub. When I got to the general area, nothing was marked as being the location of the Hub. Fortunately, Dave, who works at the Hub was in the driveway, removing snow.
When I arrived a truck was delivering the new oven and dishwasher, so I helped unload. I pushed the cart into the main space of the Hub, facing downward. Sikowis said “thank you”, assuming I was one of the delivery men, and was then surprised to see that it was me. I was very glad to see her, and to have a chance to talk about some of the things I’ve been dealing with as I try to get Quakers to engage in decolonial repair.
Gradually more people arrived. We ended up with a crew of about seven during the days I was there. In the photo below are Olivia, who I worked with on the Decolonial Repair Network (DRN) but hadn’t met in person (far left). Next to her is Veronica. On the far right is Phil, who I got to know better because he was also staying at the Guest House at Scattergood. I was glad for these connections between GPAS and the school. There are plans for Scattergood students to be involved in the Hub in the future.
Next to Phil is Lincoln, who proved to be an excellent leader for our deconstruction efforts. Lincoln lives on a Catholic Worker Farm in Southwest Wisconsin. I look forward to working with Lincoln in the future. Also working with us were Jack and Brian. This is what the interior of the Healing Justice House looked like prior to beginning our work.
In the gallery below you can see what it looked like after three days of work, which completely filled the dumpster. We filled plastic garbage cans with debris, and then had to transport them to the dumpster, which was nowhere near the house. So someone would have to drive the pickup with the cans to the dumpster, to unload them. A lot of lifting, shoveling, trips back and forth. We soon discovered two large bins on wheels, so I would often pull a full bin down the block and around the corner to the dumpster.
Part of my spiritual distress is that despite my ongoing efforts to get Quakers to engage in decolonial repair, no one shows up for opportunities like this that are exactly how allies should engage in Indigenous-led decolonial work.
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