Freshwater TreesitsLogging Gypsy MountainManslaughter ChargesLuna AnniversaryHurwitz Testifies Before OTSAlbion BasecampMore Fun With PeppersprayHeadwaters Forest RallyHCP HearingsMinnehaha Free State
LOCAL RESIDENTS ADOPTING EARTH FIRST! TACTICS
Announcing the newest Humboldt County treesits!
Pacific Lumber Company has for weeks been clearcutting their perhaps very nicest stand of residual old growth along Freshwater Creek, just Northeast of Eureka. A local resident, yet to be identified and not previously affiliated with Earth First!, could no longer bear witness to the wholesale destruction of his childhood home. Without gear or food, he climbed one of the nicest marked trees on the 13th and has been sitting there ever since. Sheriffs, CHP, and PL's climber Dan were soon on the scene threatening to cut the tree he was sitting in. Concerned for his safety, friends and neighbors contacted the Ecotopia News office asking for help. A contingent of climb techs and supporters was assembled from the Grizzly Creek basecamp and moved to the site. With better physical plane support, the sitter has been joined by another local resident in a neighboring tree, and a support vigil is ongoing at the site.
PL loggers were ruthless. They cut down a spotted owl nest and yarded logs
through a tributary creek. CDF cited them violations in both instances, and
it apparently didn't even slow them down. At this point the cutting is
essentially finished and the occupied trees are among the few remaining,
symbolic but proud.
LOGGING GYPSY MOUNTAIN
PL announced it's intentions to RESUME LOGGING in the Grizzly Creek plan
where Chain was killed. While they did manage to yard and haul away all the
logs cut before the murder, FOUR NEW TREESITS have gone up in the remainder
of the "harvest unit" where Gypsy was killed. As of yesterday, PL had
removed its big equipment and cut waterbars in the road, indicating that
they've probably given up on logging the plan for the season. (Not that
they couldn't reopen the road in an hour with a D9.)
MANSLAUGHTER CHARGES
Cindy Allsbrooks, David Chain's mother, said at a press conference on the
20th that she had been to the site and stood at the stump of the killer
tree while someone else stood where her son was when the tree crushed him,
and it was clear to her that there was voice and visual contact between
Chain and Ammons, the PL faller. She also announced that Humboldt County
Sheriffs had told her they are recommending to DA Terry Farmer that
MANSLAUGHTER CHARGES be filed AGAINST MEMBERS OF EARTH FIRST! Since they
cannot sue a movement, especially one that has no members, we are expecting
the charges to be aimed at the activists who were in the forest with Gypsy
when he was murdered.
Against this a large group of clergy are concurrently meeting with Terry
Farmer to demand an independent investigation. Farmer "assured" Allsbrooks
that the DA's office would make a thorough investigation before deciding
who to charge with what, and they expected the investigation to be finished
in about a month. ...While all this was happening:
HURWITZ took the stand before the Office of Thrift Supervision for several
days in Houston. Awaiting gems from that testimony-- transcripts are slow
in coming.
The LUNA treesit reached its one year mark. Julia Butterfly herself has now
been up 10 & 1/2 months and is calmly preparing for her second winter.
BASECAMP IN ALBION STARTS TODAY 10/26!
As if the tragedies in Humboldt aren't enough, the Fisher family, whose
corporate presence is best identified by The Gap clothing chain, has taken
over the Mendocino Redwood Company and is operating six logging plans in
the dear and abused Albion watershed on the Mendo coast. These include
helicopter yarding in Kaisen Gulch and herbicide spraying. Earth First!
action camp begins today and will operate for two weeks, planning and
coordinating actions to get the message across to the new boss in town. An
action happened this morning in Salmon Creek, no word yet as to how that
went. Cityfolk-- this one's a bit more reachable than Humboldt, go check it
out. Bring your love, your spider sense, your rain gear (no matter what the
weather service says). Call the MEC for Basecamp contact info 707 468 1660.
MORE FUN WITH PEPPERSPRAY
Just to clarify the extent of the POLICY OF TORTURE that is being worked on
peaceful activists, a woman who was arrested at the October 7 blockade at
Grizzly Creek was taken into custody by Humboldt County Sheriffs,
handcuffed to a guardrail and left there for 10 HOURS, during which she was
peppersprayed in the eyes three times.
POST (Peace Officers' Standards and Training) is holding a special
conference in Fresno on Nov. 4 & 5 to set policy on the use of pepperspray
against demonstrators. Affinities are forming to go to Fresno for the
occasion.
The RETRIAL of the pepperspray case will begin November 16.
*MASS RALLY FOR HEADWATERS FOREST is planned for Nov 15 in Humboldt County.*
HCP HEARINGS
Public hearings on the strangely named Habitat Conservation Plan, which
will fork over the authorized half billion dollars AND allow Maxxam to
ignore the Endangered Species Act are happening around the state, and it's
crucial for people to attend and voice their opinions. Tour dates:
Culver City Oct 27 For more info: EPIC 707-923-2931, www.HeadwatersForest.org
ACTIVISTS HAVE PUT THEIR LIVES ON THE LINE TO SAVE SACRED SITES AND
ENDANGERED ECOSYSTEMS THREATENED BY AN UNWANTED ROAD! YOUR SUPPORT IS
NEEDED!
Minnehaha Liberated/Free Zone * To a11 organizations and individuals,
On August 10th of this year Earth First!, the Mendota Mdewakanton
Dakota Community and the American lndian Movement, began an occupation near
Minnehaha Park in Minneapolis, MN to protect sacred sites, the park land,
old growth oak savannah and the homes that will all be destroyed by the
re-route of Minnesota State Highway 55. The stated purpose of this
multi-lane highway is to take 2 minutes off the travel time from downtown
Minneapolis to America's largest shopping mall - the Mall of America.
For the last 40 years community residents have been struggling to
stop this road. They have exhausted al1 of the standard means for
addressing their grievances. Over l0,000 signatures have been gathered in
opposition to this project. Law suits and lobbying have al1 been ignored
by the municipa1 and state governmental agencies through a facade of a
public inclusion process. Finally left with no other options, the
community and their supporters resorted to non-violent direct action and
occupied the 5 houses and surrounding area directly in the line of the
road. The occupation has been successfully stopping the bulldozers for
over two months, and in spite of this principled and non-violent
resistance, the authorities continue to wait us out, hoping that we will
fade away.
On October 14th, 1998, we held our a rally at the State Capitol in
St. Paul and several hundred people attended. In the first ten minutes of
the rally, we received the report that our encampment was being raided by
over 30 squad cars, both city police and state troopers. We raced back to
camp to find that they were digging up the gas and water lines and that the
equipment was surrounded by over 100 police and state toopers in full riot
gear, many of them from sniper units. Hundreds of peop1e poured in, in
opposition, and when several people non-violently crossed their line they
were brutalized and injured. All of this was documented by the media and
independent videographers. The Minneapolis police have a long record of
brutality and human rights abuses against native peoples and several young
Native American girls were badly beaten by officers who removed their
badges. Despites these abuses, the principled non-violent stance was
maintained and the authorities were only able to remove the gas and water
lines to three of the five houses. A lawsuit is currently being organized
against the City of Minneapolis police department around the issue of
brutality, and the encampment is still strong and in the way of the road.
On October 12th, Indigenous People's Day, the Minnesota Department
of Transportation received a press release informing them that any further
attacks upon the encampment and any further attempts to continue with this
re-route would be met with a hunger strike.
In response to this sneak raid on the encampment two women and two
men began a hunger strike on October 14th, and this has been announced on
both local and national media.
THIS IS NOT A SYMBOLIC HUNGER STRIKE. IT IS NOW DAY TWELVE! We are calling on all organizations and concerned people to help in
any way they can to support this hunger strike. We understand that you will
not be able to set aside all of the important work that you are doing on a
wide scope of issues, but whatever you can do be it a phone call to MnDOT,
a letter to the print media or in helping to spread the word, we need
whatever you can do. We humbly ask for whatever support you can lend to
defend Grandmother earth from the bulldozers.
For more information contact Big Woods EF! Hotline at (612) 362-3387
For hunger strike direct support and media : Solstice (612) 701-8327
For information on the sacred sites: Jim Anderson, Cultural Chairman of the
Mendota Mdewakanton Dakota Community (612) 910-0730
WHAT YOU CAN DO!
1. Call to express your outrage at this ridicolous road project which
jeopordizes endangered ecosystems, and disregards indigenous
spirituality. Tell them that the whole world is watching and that you
demand they stop this road project! Call:
James Denn MnDept. of Transportation Commissioner (651) 297-l467 2. Send your prayers to support the hunger strikers in their fast for
justice. Ask local faith based communities to lend their support. This is
a freedom of religion issue as well as an ecological and human rights issue.
3. Send Money, food, supplies or warm clothes! Checks can be made out to
MNRAG (Minnesota Rainforest Action Group) and mailed to Big Woods EF! PO
Box 580936 Minneapolis MN 55458-0936.
4. Contact the local media and ask them why they aren't covering the
story. Tell them the international press have been covering it why don't
they? Write a letter to the editor.
5. Send people! Activists are desperately needed to help out at the
liberated zone and partcipate in the mass civil disobedience on Monday November 2.
This is the letter delivered by the hunger strikers to the head of the MN
Department of Transportation when they began their hunger strike :
Minnehaha Liberated Zone Dear Mr. Denn and other MnDoT officials:
It seems appropriate to ask ourselves, "How did we come to all this
anyway?" It is important to reflect upon the conflicts in our lives, and to
think long and hard about how we could have perhaps avoided some of the
most unpleasant outcomes.
Now, we know that you are kept well informed of the developments
out at the occupied houses and land on Riverview Rd, and that the most
recent developments could not have happened without your informed consent.
The sneak raid on the encampment yesterday, October 14th, was cynically
timed to coincide with our first large public demonstration, which you knew
all too well. I believe that the quote in the paper from Kent Barnard of
MnDoT was to the effect of "Carpe Diem" which translates roughly and
crudely from the dead language of another fallen empire into "Seize the
day." Fortunately the future is ours as you can see demonstrated every time
you move against the people who have principally and non-violently defended
the park land, sacred sites and homes from your wanton destruction. Every
attack you perpetrate upon this land returns to you like a mirror in your
face saying "the opposition is strong and getting stronger every day," and
yes, "the opposition is highly intelligent"
Mr. Denn we stand at a crucial point in a global ecological crisis
of such magnitude that we can no longer laugh at the messengers of
catastrophe and call them fools. We say "we" for, in fact, we are not
enemies; we breathe the same air, drink the same water, and the choices we
make will effect all of us, including all of the generations yet to come.
You have a historic opportunity to end decades and centuries of ignoring
the common people, the little peoplc that have been crushed by the
advancements of "civilization's roads" ever since the time of the Roman
Empire. In fact, listening to the the little people is what this country
professes to be founded upon.
Two days ago you received a press release informing you that any
further attacks upon our encampment or any continuation of this road
project would be met with a hunger strike. This is not a symbolic hunger
strike, Mr. Denn. We will not eat until this project is cancelled.
Understand, that every day without food does not make us weaker, it makes
us stronger, in the eyes of spiritual and faith-based communities and in
the eyes of the world. We are appealing all the way to the United
Nations, Mr. Denn to those who must watch out for the violations of human
rights at the hands of municipal, state and federal levels of government.
Understand, Mr. Denn that you will be violating the religious freedoms of
the Mendota Mdewakanton Dakota Community if this re-route is completed. You
will also be in violation of your own federal law. And we will hold you and
your bureaucracy responsible, in the courts, but most importantly with our very lives.
Our lives are in your hands. Do not say that you were just
following orders, that you were a good German. There are higher laws than
even the laws made by humans, Mr. Denn, and this generation is waking up to
this fundamental understanding. We are following those laws Mr. Denn.
Understand that we will be victorious. We would like to invite you to that
victory feast.
Sincerely, for Grandmother Earth, Patrick Reinsborough, Grassroots Coordinator Rainforest Action Network works to protect the Earth's rainforests and
support the rights of their inhabitants through education, grassroots
organizing, and non-violent direct action.
TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE RAINFOREST ACTIVIST EMAIL LIST
Sacramento Oct 29
Oakland Nov 5
Eureka Nov 10
(612) 729-0595
earthfirst@juno.com
October 20th, 1998
The hunger strikers will not eat until the re-route is cancelled
U.S. Representative Martin Sabo (612) 644-6000
MN Attorney General Skip Humphrey (612) 297-4272
Minneapolis. Mayor Sharon Belton (612) 673-2100
U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone (651) 645-0323
5307 Riverview Rd.
Minneapolis MN 55417
(612) 701-8327
earthfirst@juno.com
October 15th, 1998
The Hunger Strikers
RAINFOREST ACTION NETWORK
221 Pine, 5th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94104
Phone: (415)398-4404 Fax: (415)398-2732
rags@ran.org
www.ran.org
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