Two rampaging squirrels break the silence of the thick forest as our group of 30 walk on a road made from tens of thousands of hand-laid bricks recovered from a landfill.
Ahead of us, on the crest of the road, stood another group. Under a canopy of long-leaf pines and hardwood trees was an old woman in a wheelchair, a young girl, three adult women, a boy, two young men, and Marcus Briggs-Cloud, who I had only met virtually before. All were wearing clothing incorporating multi-colored Maskoke patterns.
The two young Maskoke men held their two-foot-long wooden stickball sticks in front of our group, gently enforcing an invisible barrier. Across the gap between our groups, Marcus gave a traditional welcome speech in the Maskoke language for 10 minutes. Then we were asked to state the intentions behind our presence on their land.
The Rev. Dr. Teri McDowell Ott has 10 ideas for risks that privileged people should take. But to learn what they are, you’ll have to read the book she plans to publish next spring.
Arkansas native Kuntrell Jackson was 14 years old when he took part in the fatal robbery of a video store clerk in 1999, leading to a life sentence in 2003 without the possibility of parole.
