Religion, Faith and Spirituality

"A historic gathering of First Nations leaders with Canadian and Provincial leaders was hosted by Prime Minister Mark Carney on October 26. It was the first such meeting in over two decades. Although it was considered a landmark gathering, the meeting was boycotted by many First Nations and skipped by a couple of provincial premiers."

"From the podium of the United Nations General Assembly, Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino called on fellow leaders to support a treaty affirming that nature has inherent rights."

"Annie Dillard, who as a young American writer walked into the woods and came out with a Pulitzer Prize-winning book on the wonders and horrors of creation, the modern classic “Pilgrim at Tinker Creek,” died on Tuesday at her home in South Wellfleet, Mass. She was 81."

"The towering maple trees and native hazelnut bushes on Salvatierra Farms break up the surrounding corn and soybean fields that sprawl across southern Minnesota."

"The coming leadership transition at the Smithsonian Institution will give President Donald Trump his biggest opportunity yet to influence how it tells the story of America."

"The Smithsonian Institution’s top official, Lonnie G. Bunch III, is retiring, ushering in a seismic transition at the nation’s museum and research organization just as President Donald Trump intensifies his campaign to influence its portrayal of American history." "Lonnie G. Bunch III, the Smithsonian’s first Black secretary, said President Donald Trump’s pressure played no role in his decision and vowed to defend the institution’s independence until he leaves."

"A Kentucky farmer, he railed against agribusiness and championed small family farms and the environment, winning widespread acclaim."

"On an overcast summer morning, Carolyn Boyd, an archeologist at Texas State University, stood at the foot of a cave in west Texas, looking up toward a series of towering murals painted on a rock wall. Three massive human-like figures soared toward an overhang that had sheltered the painting from the elements since they were drawn here perhaps 4,000 years ago."

"On a spring morning so blustery that the National Weather Service issued a small craft advisory, a Samish Indian Nation research boat, called the Chinook (Yómech), set out from Anacortes, Washington, just east of the San Juan Islands."