After discovering the One Million Bones project last year, Jane McPherson of Tallahassee, Florida was compelled to establish a Tallahassee chapter. To date, Jane and her students at the Florida State University College of Social Work have helped to organize over 40 events at venues ranging from public schools to evening art walks to the local ice cream shop. All told, the group has crafted over 7,400 bones for the One Million Bones challenge, raising more than $7,400 for CARE’s relief work in Somalia and the DR Congo. Join us as we catch up with Jane and learn a little bit more about her inspiring efforts in Tallahassee! 

Teaching human rights through community practice 

A long-time social worker and community practitioner, Jane has long held an interest in teaching human rights through community practice. After several months of organizing bone making workshops in Tallahassee, Jane decided to incorporate the social arts practice element of the One Million Bones challenge in her spring course at Florida State University.  As a PhD student and educator in the College of Social Work, she felt the project offered the perfect platform for talking with her students about how the practice of social work is embedded in a complex world

For Jane, the universality of an arts project like One Million Bones was the perfect vehicle for her students to not only consider how foreign concepts like genocide and mass violence are linked to everyday crimes (like bullying and hate speech), but to have a conversation with the greater Tallahassee community about their class lessons through art. 



  

One of the first bone making events Jane’s students organized was in the garden at Tallahassee’s LeMoyne Center for Visual Arts. Mukweso Mwenene, a Congolese businessman living in Tallahassee, showed up at the event to make bones.

At first, Jane wasn't sure how Mwenene would feel about the project. She asked him, “Do you think this matters?”

Mukweso’s response astonished Jane: “He said, ‘In my country, the skeletons are all in the closet. The rulers and the former rulers all bear terrible responsibility for crimes and no one sees those crimes. The evidence is completely hidden. When you make these bones, take these bones and put them out in public, then people can see for the first time the evidence of these crimes… This is the way that I think change will happen.’”

April 28: Laying out the Bones

Last April, organizers in 34 states held bone laying events in their state capitals. (On the Students Rebuild blog, we’ve been sharing highlights from events across the country – check them out!) In Tallahassee, over 150 folks gathered under Bloxham Park’s oak trees to lay the 6,500+ bones crafted by Tallahassee students and their families.

Early on the morning of April 28, Jane and her students unpacked the bones and laid them in two piles. At 11:30 AM, a 60’-long black carpet was rolled through the center of the park and folks lined up and waited respectfully for their turn to lay bones.

 

 

With music playing in the background, the crowd filled the park, joined hands around the installation, and welcomed a few words from Jane and invited guests. Mukweso Mwenene joined the speakers in offering a powerful reflection on the day’s event: “Bones are like the skeletons in the closet. Our rulers and leaders have never recognized these skeletons and people are bringing them to the air asking people to ask for change.”

For Jane’s students – many of whom helped to organize recent bone making workshops – seeing the bones in public was a deeply personal and transformative experience. Florida State senior Melise Brown told the Tallahassee Democrat that “this project really set me on fire; I don’t know how anyone cannot have a heart about genocide and I wanted to bring it to (the F.S.U. community).” An inspired Melise told the Tallahassee Democrat that she hopes to find work with a human rights organization after graduating.

You can see footage from One Million Bones: Tallahassee’s event in this fantastic 3-minute clip directed by Tallahassee filmmaker Nick Staab:

So what’s next for Jane and One Million Bones: Tallahassee? McPherson is working with students to establish the chapter as an official student organization on campus. She hopes to further equip her students to lead conversations – and bone making workshops – in the Tallahassee community.

In the meantime, Jane’s looking to World Refugee Day as a way to broaden participation in the One Million Bones project. “You see these bones and you see the violence. But all of the living people who carry the scars of genocide are less visible.” We’ll be following Jane’s efforts closely and sharing the latest as it happens.




Photo: Giggle Bin Photography 

Check out the intro here.   I am Congo.  

The Activist, Fidel Bafilemba.

The Human Rights lawyer, Denise Siwatula

The Community Builder, Amani Matabaro

The Artist, Petna Ndaliko

The Conservationist, Dominique Bikaba

This article from the BBC talks about food shortages.  

And if you're thinking, "Well that's half way around the world.  Why should I care?" We at One Million Bones think that people in need are more than enough reason to do something; but here's more reason if you need it.  You can read this article about how the escalation will impact world oil prices.  

And here's a blog post from our partners at  ENOUGH about reporting on meeting the guidelines that have been set out in Security Council Resolution 2046 which requires the governments of Sudan and South Sudan, as well as the SPLM-N, to meet a number of conditions or face the imposition of sanctions under Article 41 of the U.N. Charter. 

Please take a few minutes to send some hope out to the people who need it, and then take a few more minutes to find out what you can do to "encourage" our leaders to take some action. If you've got a few minutes after that, make a bone for the One Million Bones project.

Scott and Mitch were able to engage local high schools and colleges and within the first three weeks of coming on board as organizers they created the first 1,000 bones of their 1,500 bones installation.

Despite Prom and upcoming finals, thirty students came to Pullen Park on that Sunday morning to lay down the bones they had made. To begin, everyone gathered as volunteers read aloud stories of struggle and survival from the Holocaust, Armenian genocide, Rwandan genocide, Darfur genocide and the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. To honor these victims and survivors, they began to silently lay down bones.

After all the bones had been laid, the group took a moment of silence over the bones before Janessa Goldbeck, spokesperson fro Make US Strong and cycling 4,200 miles from coast-to-coast to spread the word that international development (foreign aid) keeps us safe (you can learn more about Janessa and her journey here).

Scott incorporated a photo petition in to the installation.  4x6 professional photos of the installation taken by Laura Collins (2011 Carl Wilkens Fellow) surrounded by handwritten pleas to their Representatives to sign the Sudan Peace, Security and Accountability Act of 2012. Scott plans to deliver these framed petitions himself.

Although they had seen our 50,000 Bones Preview Installation Video, they still couldn’t wrap their heads around what 1,000 bones would look like.  They took a moment of silence around the bones and shared the feelings they were experiencing with one another, “It brought gravity to this situation and a sense of urgency, I mean, if this is only a thousand bones and we’re having such a reaction – think of the mass graves filled with thousands of people constantly being found – we must do something” Scott reflected to me. 

For Monday, Wednesday and Friday, we'll be going back to regular blog posts, updates from our focus countries, topics of interest, the things we like to share with you that make the work we do meaningful to us.

So today, I'm going to share a blog that was written by Brian Henderson.  Brian contacted us around the April 28th Road to Washington (R2W) event in his community in Pennsylvania.  He wanted to know if One Million Bones addressed the Native American genocide and if it would be recognized during the event.  I'd be happy to talk about that in a blog at some point, but today, let me share what Brian says. We thank him for sharing his words with us.

           "All life is sacred. Yet if we looked around the world, it would seem otherwise. Have we forgotten that we are all related? That as a people we share a common interest in taking care of our Earth Mother? Fortunately, the answer in some way is yes. Then again, it can be no. For it, all comes down to each of us to decide for ourselves.

            It seems like we are in a three-way race to extinction. Not only are we trying to kill each other, we are killing the planet and the animals. This is not how Creator wanted us to live our lives. The madness has to stop before it is too late. Where is the love? The compassion?

            If we truly seek to be one nation, then we must put aside our differences. Let us rejoice in our being different. It should make life interesting. We should take our time to learn about each other. Once we get past those differences, we will see we do have a common bond and a common interest. Let us not forget that we are all children of our Earth Mother and it is our responsibility to care for her. Our actions either hurt her or help her. Unfortunately, there is more hurt then help.

            Genocide and violence are not the answer to our problems. What will it take for us as a people to learn this? Extinction? Others and I never want to see this come to pass. Yet our numbers are small and our voice can barely be heard. It is time for more people to join us and save not only us but also restore Earth Mother to what she once was before all of the harm.

            I feel this video, thanks to a wonderfully talented singer named Jana Mashonee, sums up how things should be. Please watch this and share it: 

            In closing, I wish to say a prayer:

            Creator, please hear our prayer. Open the eyes of those who do not see all life as being sacred. Let their hearts know the joy of unconditional love for everyone. May their lives change and grow to honor you. Let them know the love of our Earth Mother so that they in turn can show her love. Help those who turn from the truth that we are all related. And give them the wisdom to see our connection to each other. Please give strength and patience to us who are trying to make our world a better place. Giving us the faith to know that things will change when the time is right. Know that we love and honor you, as we really should. That we also honor our Earth Mother with all our hearts. May love truly conquer all, as we can one day become one nation. Aho."

The morning of the installation, before making the drive to the capital building in Oklahoma City, Patty packed up the last of the 2,745 bones- straight from the kiln to her car. Patty’s three oldest grandchildren laid the first bones, four skulls created by an artist in Denison, Texas, each of which was crafted to show signs of blunt-force trauma. The skulls faced north, east, south and west - so they could cover the whole world. Next, teenagers laid broken bone pieces around the skulls. The fifty volunteers then observed a few moments of silence before proceeding in the laying of all the bones created by the Oklahoma community.  

The Road to Washington installation was very personal for Patty, as so much of her family joined her for the installation that day.   As Patty reflected to me “You could only hear the sound of the bones clinkling on the pavement and people sniffling away their tears.” As the volunteers started reclaiming the bones, they were finding ones with messages written on them and read them aloud for the group. It was a special moment for Patty as she remembered every person who wrote a message that was read aloud.

The One Million Bones Oklahoma Chapter’s 2,745 bones raise $2,745 for CARE International through the Student’s Rebuild Challenge. Learn more about how your bone can trigger a donation by checking out their website! 

Photo Credit: Flordelino Lagundino

The installation did not start until 4:00 pm and the beautiful Alaskan weather couldn't have been more beautiful despite the threats of rain. Fourty Juneauites came out to help lay down bones and ranged in age from five years old to upwards of 60. 

Photo Credit: Flordelino Lagundino

It was a beautiful event. Stay tuned for a film to come soon! 

As people toured the beautiful Capitol building that Saturday, and wandered the grounds they probably heard the music Ibrahim Aminou was playing on his drums, handmade guitar and the sound of his voice singing as people dressed in white laid down 2,200 bones. 

Would it have caught your attention? It caught the attention of many individuals in Austin – locals and tourists alike, around sixty people stopped by that day to lay down a bone with One Million Bones/Austin. 

As I spoke with Matthew he reflected on the participants laying bones – from an elderly couple to young kids and every age group in between. “It was really amazing to see young kids especially, who had made bones at a workshop with us before lay their bone down and take such pride in what they were doing” Matthew shared with me. 

An ongoing theme I’ve heard when talking with organizers is their fear that working so intimately with the bones will desensitize them from the meaning and when they’re all installed it won’t have as much of an effect on them. I asked Matthew if he had that feeling as well and he shared with me “Yes, but seeing the bones installed – there are no words, there was a presence there for sure.”  

The Campaign for Burma Student Chapter at Brown University had the same sentiments. As a club they have 6-8 members who made all 350 of their bones for the installation. They installed them early in the morning on April 28 (starting at 6 am!!) on a grassy walkway called College Hill. 

People passing by thought the installation was “morbid” looking at the bones until they read the signs the students put out. “The signs kept falling over – but people kept reading them even on the ground!” they told me. 

One of the amazing things they shared with me was how after the installation the campus took notice of this small club who created a stir. “I had a friend tell me about the installation without even knowing I was a part of it! It was really cool to see how many people took notice!” said Inga Holmdahl. 

And that’s an important part of what we’re doing.  Those of us doing the work are also hoping that the bones we make and the installations we set out will make enough stir that others will hear about it, and get involved themselves. We’re raising awareness and funds exponentially.  If you’ve been thinking about participating, head over to the Students Rebuild website and sign a team up. Be part of what folks are talking about.

At first I thought writing two full weeks of blogs was going to be hard work, but now I’m hoping two weeks is enough time to share with all of you the incredible journeys that took place that day. 

Allison and Amanda are both students at the University of Wyoming in Laramie and I got the joy of speaking to them both about the Cheyenne installation. The morning of April 28, 2012 I received a phone call from Amanda, worried about the weather situation that day. It was incredibly windy and not looking good for an installation of handmade bones. She said if they weren’t able to host the installation, they’d reschedule it for next week on their campus. 

But, people started showing up, and so the girls decided to go ahead with the installation, despite the wind. They began to lay down their one thousand bones close to the busy intersection, hoping to grab the attention of people driving by. 

Cheyenne Installation

Amanda shared with me a beautiful story that really touched her heart that day. As she held back tears she told me about this family that came to lay down bones, a mother and her two children. One of the little girls picked up a couple of bones, turned to her mother and said “Look, Mom! One is my size and one is your size!” This project really touches people in different ways but it’s really amazing how young children connect to it and remind us that the victims of these atrocities aren’t just adults. 

As organizers, Amanda and Allison thought that the installation wouldn’t effect them in such a profound way because of their intimacy in organizing it. However, that day they realized that no matter how long you work with bones or how closely – you’re never really prepared to see an installation of them. 

The weather worked out for the best, but Allison, Amanda and the rest of the International Studies Student Club decided to hold another installation this past week. They set up at the busiest intersection of the campus to attract students and professors. What they didn’t anticipate was a group of Board of Trustee members who stared at them as they passed. Amanda reached out to them and shared with the men in suits what they were doing. “At first, they thought I was kidding!” she said of their reaction. “They had no idea that genocides had been happening after the Holocaust, so I shared our information with them!” I asked her how they reacted to the information she had just shared and she says “They were shocked and asked us why people weren’t doing anything about it… and, I told him we were”.  They then laid some bones down together. 

University of Wyoming Installation

These are only a couple of the amazing stories I’ve heard so far and I’m sure what I’ll continue to hear as the week progresses. With all the terrible things we hear about everyday, in our backyard and abroad, I must say it is hopeful to be speaking to such wonderful people about the change that they’re creating.  

I'm still waiting to collect all the stories and reflections from our amazing organizers, but I thought I would start with the Road to Washington installation I was able to attend. 

I first met Morgan Podraza and Travis Hanson, the University of New Mexico Chapter Co-Presidents during my first week at One Million Bones. They came in one afternoon for open studio to help brainstorm the Albuquerque 50,000 Bones installation later that fall. Being so close in age to them, I connected with them very easily and we quickly became friends!

Morgan Podraza and Travis Hanson

Morgan, Travis and the whole UNM Chapter were such amazing supporters of the preview installation that fall, it was natural for me to approach them about organizing the Road to Washington Santa Fe installation. We knew that they'd organize a beautiful installation for that day and we were right...

It was a crisp morning, not unusual for Santa Fe and when I arrived at the Capitol Building the only sound that was being made was the volunteers opening boxes and getting the bones ready to be laid down. 

 Soon, Morgan and Travis asked us to begin to lay the bones. About thirty individuals made the continuous journey of gathering the bones from the piles and laying them on the bright green grass, a moving experience as the grass reminded us of what we’ll be doing in a year – installing one million bones on that beautiful green grass on the National Mall. 

 After the bones found their place on the concourse, everyone took part in a moment of silence to reflect on what we had just created. We gathered around the bones to listen to the speakers. The chapter brought in some amazing members of our community, including Shirley Heying, a genocide scholar and educator who incorporated the One Million Bones project into her class “Children and Genocide”. She spoke about channeling this avenue that allows students to connect to these issues in a way that inspires them to take action. 

Shirley Heying

 I think the most inspirational speaker for us all was, Hawo Ali. Hawa shared with us her story of coming to the United States as a Somali refugee and how she works with refugees now to create a community similar to the one she had in Somalia – which is what she misses most about her home country, how much a community can be like a family. She shared her heartbreak with us as someone from the audience asked how her family in Somalia was doing – a question she couldn’t really answer. Hawa reminded us all how important it is for us to connect about these issues because no matter how different we may appear to be – we still belong to one another.  

Hawo Ali

 After some time to reflect on the bones, they were just as carefully placed back in the boxes as they were taken out and prepared for their journey to the National Mall.