In December 2016, retired physician Ami Goodman volunteered as a physician at Standing Rock at a time when militarized police threatened action to overrun the encampment. During his transformative experiences there, he learned much from the community of courageous and wise “water protectors” and “red warriors” standing in resistance to the Dakota Access Pipeline scheduled to cross and invariably pollute their sacred waters and lands. In the process, he found that living and working in the spiritual vortex of the encampment deepened his connection to his Judaism. Additionally, his understanding of the honored approaches of a variety of healing arts and the power of comprehensive health care was broadened. Ami will share those sacred experiences and lessons learned as a Jew and a physician.
Ami Goodman is a retired pediatrician and neonatologist at Kaiser San Francisco. He continues to volunteer, most recently in his hometown of El Paso, Texas in 2019 helping provide care for newly arrived asylum seekers from Central America. He enjoys exploring and finding new meaning, teaching, challenges and continually renewed guidance in Jewish prayers and the liturgy.