The Ecofeminist Issue by The Siren Magazine of the ASUO Women's Center

THE SIREN Feminist Magazine

of the

University

Oregon

The Ecofeminist Issue

“When you are doin the earth, she gives y

– Va

ng the right thing for you great company.â&#x20AC;?

n d a na Sh i v a

A Note from the Editor

As I told people what the next issue of The Siren was going to be, they all looked at me like I was absurd. They had no idea what ecofeminism was or how it impacted people from multiple backgrounds. The goal of this issue is to start a conversation about the ecological concerns that impact different people around the world—especially minorities and women. As rad spoken word poet Staceyann Chin once said, “all oppression is connected,” and it’s time to stand up for communities who are heavily affected by issues such as climate change (which is real btw). I learned so much throughout this issue from access to clean water to the affects of chocolate. Yes, chocolate. I had no clue that one of my favorite things in this world contributed to the oppression of others. But acknowledging problematic behavior is the first step in practicing intersectional feminism. I hope this issue can help start those difficult conversations and hold us accountable for the decisions that impact this planet. Because guess what? We can’t eat money. We can’t breathe money. And Flint, Michigan still doesn’t have clean water. Gabby Urenda Editor-in-Chief

The Sirens... Editor-in-Chief Gabby Urenda

Art Director Copy Editor Emily D. Haugbro Mia Vicino

Contributors Neeka Safdari Isabel Courtelis Abbie Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Hara Daisy Rain Momo Wilms-Crowe Sara E. Hovert Sharron Melgoza

Peyton Ceboll Licely Laneate Vang Lissa Brown Brynn PowellCrĂłrodva Mia Vicino

TABLE OF C 08: Education as Empowerment 09: Playlist 10: Women of the Week 16: The Dark Truth About Chocolate 18: Feminist Medicinal 20: Night Write 22: It Happened so Quickly 24: Ashley Lindstedt Art

CONTENTS 28: Stick and Poke 30: Gardening 34: What is Ecofeminism? 42: Tiny Clemente 44: Standing Rock 56: Coloring Pages 61: Earth Week 62: Ways to Support Diverse Cinema

Education as Empowerment Neeka Safdari

Women of Color are disproportionately impacted by concentrated poverty, food deserts and targeted marketing, which means that a part of ecofeminism must be dedicated to empowering one another with knowledge by raising awareness about anti-inflammatory, healing foods.

always accessible and women of color do not always have autonomy over their dietary choices, healthy and homemade meals are often less expensive than fast food when the costs are broken down. Therefore, whenever there is the time and ability to do so, these common foods could be swapped out for the following healthy alternatives:

Although healing foods are not

When possible and economically feasible, swapâ&#x20AC;Ś - - - - - -

Nutrient-lacking white rice for protein-rich quinoa or brown rice Greasy, overly-salted french fries for roasted, vitamin-rich sweet potatoes High-fructose corn syrupy soda for antioxidant-rich tea Carcinogenic red meat for fiber and protein-rich red kidney beans Additive-filled, sugary ice cream for homemade nice cream* Store-bought, artificially-derived salad dressing for olive oil and lemon juice

Here is a simple, delicious recipe for banana nice cream: Blend 2 bananas with Âź cup of unsweetened almond milk. Add a handful of walnuts and blend. Add a handful of coconut shavings (optional) and blend.

Love your body. Feed it with love.

Playlist

Isabel Courtelis

Lovely Day Vic Mensa

Venus Fly Grimes

Dancing In The Rain Blu & Exile

Sunshowers M.I.A.

Call Of Da Wild Outkast

Come Alive Janelle Monรกe

Sun Joint LionBabe

Ocean Ave Ciscero

Cranes in the Sky Solange

The Trees Mick Jenkins

Waterfalls TLC

New World Water Mos Def

Nature India.Arie

Multilateral Nuclear Disarmament Beastie Boys

The Tide Is High Blondie Call Me Lightning Joan Jett

Livin' In A New World The Roots Every Planet We Reach Is Dead Gorillaz

Women of the Week Words by Abbie Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Hara and Illustrations by Daisy Rain

Each week Abbey and Daisy feature a woman and write an explaination about her work. The following is a collection of activists who have worked towards environmental equality.

Wangari Muta Maathai Professor Maathai was born in Kenya, Africa. After several years of intense schooling she received a doctoral degree in Germany and the University of Nairobi, before obtaining a Ph.D. from the University of Nairobi, where she also taught classes on veterinary anatomy. Professor Maathai is the first woman in East and Central Africa to earn a doctoral degree. She acted as the chairwoman in the National Council of Women of Kenya before taking on a leadership

position within the popular grassroots organization known as the GreenBelt Movement. Professor Maathai was internationally acknowledged for her advocacy for democracy, human rights, and environmental conservation, and served on the board of several organizations. Her powerful and eloquent voice has been the dominant influence of a prodigious movement for increased environmentalism and democracy in Kenya.

Winona LaDuke

Winona LaDuke is a social activist and environmentalist. Her work is centered on the connection between the environment and her heritage as a Native American woman. LaDuke is focused on protecting the environment as well as protecting the rights of Native people. She has traveled around the world to speak and lecture on her beliefs as a feminist and environmentalist and is currently involved in the Standing Rock protests and indigenous resistance of the Dakota Access Pipeline. She has also spread awareness

about the sterilization of Native Women by the US government and the economic cycle of poverty that affects Indigenous people. In 1996 and 2000 she ran for Vice President of the United States on the green Party ticket and was the first Native woman to receive an electoral vote for Vice President of the US. She is currently the Executive Director of Honor The Earth, which is a nonprofit organization founded to raise awareness and financial support for Indigenous environmental justice.

Vandana Shiva Vandana Shiva describes the fight against agricultural capitalism as a global war and contends that nothing less than the future of humanity rides on the outcome. After the publication of several novels surrounding the topic of humanityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s relationship to food, one of her more famous book was adapted into a major motion picture. Seed, released September 23, 2016,

tells the chilling tale of how huge corporations have stolen something that belongs to the people and claimed it as their own in order to line their pockets. She currently travels the world, speaking at conferences and protests, urging the proletariat to reclaim what is rightfully theirs and revolt against the commodification of a basic human right.

Rachel Carson

In 1962, biologist Rachel Carson was the first to challenge the heavy synthetic chemical use, or more specifically DDT usage, by the Department of Agriculture. Carson published a book examining the detrimental effect on the environment by the use of pesticides and her book raised public awareness on the issue and her braveness initiated the

contemporary environmental movement in America. In 1972, only 10 years later, the Environmental Protection Agency banned the use of DDT. Today Carsonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lasting impact can be seen within the growing field of environmental research and reshaped public perceptions surrounding human connection and the environment.

Octavia Butler Octavia Butler is known for blending science fiction with African-American spiritualism in order to address social issues such as: racism, sexism, homophobia and environmentalism. In 1976, Butler published her first novel, Patternmaster. This book launched her career as a science fiction writer despite the fact that she was a Black queer female in a white man’s world. Many have asked her why she chooses to enter into such an exclusive career path dominated by white men and she simply answered, “I’m Black, I’m solitary, I’ve

always been an outsider.” In 1995, Butler was awarded a MacArthur fellowship, and was the first science fiction writer to be honored. She also received two Hugo Awards from the World Science Fiction Society and two Nebula Awards from the Science Fiction Writers of America. Her fictitious writing is simply used as a vehicle to present real issues facing humanity. “So I wanted to write a novel that would make others feel the history: the pain and fear that black people have had to live through in order to endure.”

The Dark Truth Abo Momo Wilms-Crowe

I love chocolate. And looking at the $95 billion in chocolate sales in 2016, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pretty clear that Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m not the only one who does. However, this sweet industry has some major environmental and social issues that makes it less appetizing. Cacao farming is notorious for its exploitation of labor. The international confectionary giants (Hersheyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, Mars, Nestle) harvest most of their cocoa from West Africa, directly supporting an industry that uses child labor, low pay and an exploitative structure to keep prices artificially low. Cacao farmers make an average of two dollars a day, with most of the profit going to the CEOs and company owners who often live far away from the realities

of production. Women are especially impacted in this system, because they are often unable to own land and thus restricted to the lowest paying jobs. The environmental impact of chocolate production must also be considered. Industrial cacao production uses high levels of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Additionally, many chocolate bars contain palm oil. Although it may give the candy a nice shine, oil palm farming causes massive deforestation, impacting the families and communities as well as the global environment. Alas, my fellow chocoholics. While I may have painted a dark picture, I promise not all is lost.

out Chocolate Many brands are developing sustainable methods of production in combination with working with small farming cooperatives— keeping a more direct chain of production. As ethical consumers, we have the power (and responsibility) to support these brands. For example, BIJA, a company that provides delicious bars with an equally delicious mission statement. They are committed to “changing lives one bar at a time” through working directly with women’s co-ops to produce the finest beanto-bar chocolate. Women are given the opportunity to run their own businesses along with investing in their future and community. BIJA chocolate is also certified

organic and fair trade, with simple ingredients (cocoa beans, cane sugar, and cocoa butter). My current favorite is their 70% Toasted Coconut. In case you needed another reason to eat chocolate, the unprocessed and straightforward ingredients are good for your body, too. Dark chocolate is high in minerals, with a 100g bar of dark chocolate providing 67% of your recommended daily value of iron. Y’all, there’s your excuse to eat a whole bar at once (but who are we kidding -- we don’t need an excuse).

Feminist Medicinal Sara E. Hovet

Pacific yew gleams arterial and contains healing taxol for my uterine and ovarian tissue. Kinnickinnick has a knack to be a DIY for UTI. Pipsissewa makes a mouthful of music and candy and a smoother period. Meanwhile Oregon grape digs her yellow roots into the soil, arboreal antibacterial and I breathe on her until respiratory moisture darkens her waxy leaf, a gift of carbon dioxide for daily ballooning me with oxygen.

Alongside, the willow twists slender, her white bark decocted for menstruation, pregnancy, childbirth. Moss makes spongy continents and the proto-sanitary napkin. I press my cheek against her. My understory medicine chest, canopy apothecary, lung lichen breathes nitrogen and sweet assurances. Forest, extravagant pharmacy. Patriarchy means the world was not made with me in mind. But I walk in the woods and my friends are everywhere.

Night Write Sharron Melgoza

The perfect solution to not being able to get up early enough to write: Night writing. My news feed is terrible and I feel anxious. I feel that Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m slowly developing an alter-persona that is content and unaware of current events. I just watched the movie Split last night; maybe Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m doing this to protect my spirit from harboring too much anger. I think maybe a little of it is okay, but the levels that I am experiencing are a burden.

I feel privileged for saying that, but everyone is affected by this presidency in some way or another. My professor’s Muslim friend has been detained for a few days. It’s affecting others more heavily and I wonder what their alterpersonas are like... what their guardian angel manifesto is that gets them through. It’s exhausting to constantly resist. “All of the women in me are tired,” are the words hanging in Holly’s apartment. She has the sweetest face of anyone I’ve seen. Liberty has the sweetest face I’ve seen.

It Happened So Quickly Peyton Ceboll

It happened so quickly. Hit. Struck down. Roadkill. My body is broken and alone on a highway that gets faster and longer and faster and longer ‘til I am nothing but skidded entrails on hot pavement. Why? Some continue the bloodshed with perfectly practiced indifference ~ follow the path by those set before you. You are big and fast and I am small and slow. No. I can feel my body growing stronger. I am returning to the land of wild nothingness and simultaneous unabashed infinity where we all come from. Even those who deny their mother’s affection, who strike down those whose eyes shimmer with her figure leaning against our dilated pupils, you are me and us and all. My legs turn to nothing but begin running faster than I can comprehend. My toenails, my fingernails sprout long yellow weeds that our daughters will pick by the roadside and say, “These are beautiful,” and we will all nod but they will not. “Infestation,” they say. Eradicate the problem. No.

Perpetuate the problem. I am taking over. The sun and the grass and the trees and the air that you breathe will be invested with my particles that you thought were long wiped out. The maggots and birds and vultures will have their fill of me but I’m pressed up against every window in every home as my essence pours down on the streets. Once upon a time I was so sad and so alone. Once upon a time we were all so sad and so alone. No. We fight for each other. We fight for our home. The home that is nothing but a windowless room where order only exists wrapped in randomness. Don’t stab me in the side to be flung in a bright yellow bag. Wrap me up, say thanks, and I will do the same for you. My skin becomes cracked and warped and contains all the colors. My reach extends so far you’ll have to grasp harder than you ever have before to hold my hand. Taller and taller and taller. You will never cut me down. I am your history. Shed a tear for me and brake or swerve. Most of us won’t survive, but those bright lights are so confusing, aren’t they?

“Representing the connectedness we have with nature and the world around us, and the connectedness we have amongst ourselves in the fight for feminism (not that I’m into the whole ‘we are one’ white feminist bullshit... but I do think it’s important to not look at feminism as a one woman issue. Takes many people and identities to be included and working and respected to create change. It takes community to create both ecological and feminist changes!) It’s important to recognize how both ecological concerns and feminist concerns stem from a system of male domination/patriarchy, and I had that in mind when making this.” Ashley Lindstedt

Ecofeminism, Resistance, a Licely Carcamo

Being a Woman of Color, different aspects of my identity are constantly under attack and controlled by patriarchal institutions and cultures. I often feel that I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have autonomy over my mind or my body with oppressive systems aiming to homogenize my diverse identities. Feeling empowered and having control over your body as a Woman of Color is fundamentally revolutionary. It is a pivotal step in decolonizing your body and thus having bodily integrity. It isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t coincidental that the same patriarchal forces controlling feminized bodies are also attempting to control the natural environment. Ecofeminism is a feminist lens that focuses on the compulsive control patriarchal forces exert over feminized bodies and the natural environment. So, reclaiming control over your body as a feminized person in itself is ecofeminist as hell. But what do stick and poke tattoos have to do with all of this?

and Stick and Poke Tattoos I’ve recently gotten into stick and pokes after dabbling with a few professional tattoos. My first tattoo is extremely personal and representative of my heritage. Unfortunately, I had a negative experience with the artist tattooing me because they made objectifying comments about my body and my sexuality. This narrative is not uncommon among feminized people who have been tattooed. Even in the attempt to reclaim control over your body through tattoo art, feminized people are still vulnerable to microaggressions and objectification. My solution? Stick and pokes. I’m not saying that stick and poke tattoos are for everyone or that all tattoo artists are bad; this is simply my way of reclaiming autonomy over my body. I’m able to choose what I want on my canvas and whether or not I need a break from the pain of the needle. Overall, I can ensure that I’m comfortable in whatever space I’m in. Stick and poke tattoos are my resistance to the colonization of my body. For once, I am in control. *Note: Stick and poke tattoos may have health consequences -- please do research on infection prevention before tattooing!

Combining Ecofeminism with Self-Care Fatima Roohi Pervaiz

Gardening is about learning. Maple-Walnut were everything. I learned that This last summer was hard the occupational hazards on me, physically, spiritually include: spiders in your hair, and in my career. And my the inevitable bee sting, and 91 tomato plants lacked mystery itches, scratches the nitrogen they needed and bruises. However, you to produce as bountifully as learn to partner and coexist way they had the summer with spiders, bees and even before. worms. You want them to have the best life. You pack In my anti-oppression them a lunch and send them and social justice work, I off to school. teach about privilege daily. Privilege is a headache that You even become intoxicated you don’t know that you by the possibilities. You see don’t have. I didn’t know that seed packets are on sale, my garden bed was so fruitful and you buy 40 of them at the year before because Rite Aid, and even when the the soil had not been cash register won’t ring them utilized in over two years. up at 75% off like they are It was dense with nutrients advertised, you apologize from decomposing leaves, profusely and wait patiently weeds, grass, mulch, etc. It as the cashier manually produced insurmountable deducts the discount from harvests for a first time full- every packet. But you don’t time urban farmer. abandon a single packet because one day you will Days in the garden with have a half whiskey barrel my small dog Oatis full of zinnias.

But this year, it was colder and summer started later. I was working full-time as the Director of the Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Center. And could only water my plants when I got home in the evening. I could also only tend to pruning and other care on the weekends. My chronic pain didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t help and had me in bed on some of the sunniest summer days. I also went out of control and bought 91 tomato plants because I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think crop rotation was important (it is). I miscounted and thought I had 57 plants, but still, 91? OMG. Also, I bought them way too early. We spent two months bringing them outside during sunny spring days and back indoors at night when temperatures plummeted. I also ONLY planted tomatoes in the bed. Last year I had: 24 tomato plants, four strawberry plants, 10 banana pepper plants, two cucumber plants (wildly productive), and four bell pepper plants; pollination utopia. I would sit and watch the bees as they visited the

cucumber flowers the most. Except, the bees were scarce this year. I decided to plant zucchini on top of a hill next to two hydrangea plants which, surprisingly,

I’ve never seen bees near before. The zucchini plant offered huge yellow flowers to the earth--yet not a single zucchini to be found.

balance and radical love for my garden along with radical self-care for me in mind, body, spirit.

As summer began to fade and the days got shorter and chillier, my small dog Oatis Maple-Walnut and I welcomed his little sister Huckleberry Blue to our urban farming lifestyle. We visited a community garden where we filled our pockets to the seams with It took six full days off work tomatoes, made peace with to realize that the lesson our mistakes and got ready of this year’s garden is: to put our bed to sleep for balance. This includes work/ the winter. life balance, ecological I made the decision to not have them near the bees. I made the decision to not invite the bees. I was too busy nurturing my Feminist Hive at the Women’s Center. I didn’t nurture my garden bees at home.

What is Ecofeminism?

Laneate Vang

Zoë

“To be honest, ecofeminism is not a term that I’m familiar with. When I think of eco-feminism, I think of the fashion industry and how fast fashion hurts not only the environment, but also exploits women’s labor in 3rd world countries. I think of how women are being hurt by unethical productions. Since I arrived at the University of Oregon, I’ve recognized that I started to recycle more and care about the sorting of waste. I was born in China, but adopted in America, so as a Women of Color, I’m not too in touch with my cultural roots and how eco-feminism affects them.”

Ada

“To me, it means incorporating feminist values into the environment and connecting aspects of nature. Taking care of the environment is the job of humans, so feminism advocates for that too. Treating women with equality is a human right, so is taking care of the environment. I try to be as ecofriendly as I can for someone who is vegan.

Maryn

“When I hear ecofeminism, I think of a very white oriented competition amongst affluential movie stars. I picture Matt Damon doing work to fight oil fracking, but speaking over Ava Duvernay to mansplain diversity to a Black female filmmaker. I don’t know much about ecofeminism or it’s effects on my daily life, but I realize there must be a lot of work that goes into it and yet, I don’t hear much about it. I wonder if that has to do with the ‘feminist’ aspect or people just want the earth to die already.”

I want to work harder on not avoiding spaces where it’s not intersectional, but instead, going in and fixing it. I need to work harder on being more eco-friendly, and intersecting my values into my everyday life more.”

Chloé

“I have never heard of ecofeminism, but I think it’s when feminists are interested in the way that the environment impacts them. After talking today, I’m definitely a ecofeminist. Last term, I took a Native American Studies class and I learned how the Dakota Access Pipeline was hurting not only Indigenous people, but specifically Indigenous women.”

Marian

“Ecofeminism is a branch of feminism that considers the aspects of the environment. It’s where environmental issues and feminism intertwine. I never really thought about how ecofeminism affects Women of Color. When someone discussed ecological problems, I never saw myself in it because I’m not white. I felt like I didn’t see any other brown people like me discussing this issue. I’m vegetarian, but it’s hard for me when I go back home to Mexico because food is centered around meat. I understand that sometimes being vegan or vegetarian, is not an option for Women of Color due to cultural reasons.”

Lissa Brown is a watercolor painter, co-founder of the Free Art Collective and feminist activist based in Fort Wayne, Indiana. You can find her art on Instagram @tiny_clementine_art.

This issue of The Siren is themed Ecofeminism. Is this a term that you identify with? “The term “Ecofeminism” resonates loudly with my mission statement, as a women’s empowerment artist. Ecofeminism is an integral facet of the women’s movement because it addresses the severing of Women and Mother Nature, and the exploitation of both.” What is your inspiration for the natural imagery in your art? “I began my career as an artist, expressing my awe of patterns in nature that echo into our human experience. The deeper my studies went, the more parallels I saw in

my unique experience as a woman. For example, I use mushrooms and fungus often. I view [it] as a beautiful analogy for women’s empowerment... the mycelium is the Sisterhood, and the mushrooms are the Individuals.” Another theme of your artwork is the female reproductive system. Would you speak towards what this theme means to you? “I use images of the female reproductive system to push for the normalization of the female experience. Although femininity is not defined by anatomy, my experience with having a uterus was not always one of empowerment.”

What does a feminist or artist community mean to you? “Along with Tiny Clementine Art, my partner and I cofounded the Fort Wayne Free Art Collective. Art provides a moment of healing and reflection, and it has the power to change the conversation and opinion of a community. Living in Indiana, the home state of Vice President Mike Pence, liberal ideas and green initiatives aren’t always welcomed. When my art took a very specific turn to tackle women’s empowerment, I found that I needed to reach out to find a sisterhood that circles the globe, and every day I see that my feminist voice is not alone.” Do you consider yourself an activist? “Activism is a badge that I wear with pride. My art is an action that can bring about social change and reform. It takes a strong individual to weather a storm of a revolution and my art serves

to strengthen, educate, and mobilize that individual. Hosting a community where women can find empowerment adds to the global feminist resistance.” How do you respond to women all over our country who are afraid of what Trump’s presidency will mean for them? “The hardest thing about Trump’s presidency is our need to remain alert. America has become a culture of complacency, [and] we must remain diligent in our stance on equality. We must use our voices every day to say: ‘No, this will not be our normal.’ This next four years, unfortunately, will be hallmarked by moments of horror, rage, panic, fear and sadness--but it is in how we empower ourselves, and stage revolts in response that will make a difference.”

Taking a Stand with Sta Brynn Powell-Córodva

Disclaimer – I do not claim Native or Indigenous identity. I went to Standing Rock as an ally and accomplice and I understand the nature of my resistance as looking different from that of my Native peers. I seek to speak from my own experience alone in my recollection of my time at Standing Rock.

Friends, coworkers, family members and strangers have all asked me this question: “How was standing rock?” a lot ever since I spent three weeks in the Hoopa-Paiute camp in Oceti Sakowin, later renamed Oceti Oyate, in North Dakota last winter. It is a question I still don’t know how to answer. “Overwhelming” does not capture the intensity of the flood of images in my head when someone asks this question. Bound by social nicety, I roll over and respond that it was really challenging, but a good experience. I hate myself every time I do so. Even recalling the images of the California Kitchen and the Hoopa medicine fire and surrounding area –

collectively the California Camp, one of many camps inside the main camp – there are so many details I wish I could add, so many ideas with complexities I wish I could delineate that would honor the reality of Standing Rock. That world is so far removed from anything I have experienced. I went to Standing Rock as a non-Native ally, as an activist who has spent time organizing, but not around environmental or Native issues, and as someone who has spent most of my life in the Pacific Northwest and the West Coast. My little world and understanding of what was at stake was blown open, and I can only hope that I actually did any good

anding Rock as an Ally While people might not mean to, they pose a loaded question when they ask, “How was Standing Rock?” I prefer the conversations I have with people I met at camp. There’s a shared understanding of both community and trauma that we all seem to struggle to express to those looking from the outside in. Tere are some of the images that pop into my head – “Good morning, relatives! Remember what you’re here for!” – Our tarpee with wood burning stove and piles of blankets heaped in every corner – “Water is our first medicine.” – #FreeLeonardPeltier #FreeRedFawn – My friend AnaYelsí sitting in the California Kitchen, dry milk of magnesia staining the brown skin around her eyes after being peppersprayed on Bloody Sunday – Listening to Etta James’s “Sunday Kind of Love” in a

truck named Maggie on our way to an action in Bismarck – Cuts on my hands never healing in the cold – Serving vegetable curry out of a pot big enough to crawl into – Braiding Jolie’s hair – Palestinian and trans flags flying alongside the hundreds of tribal flags – Teargas and all thoughts leaving my head except the desire to breathe – Not being very good at chopping wood – Grandma Diane and Ray’s teepee catching fire at 4:30 am – Braiding Mahlija’s hair – When someone poses that question, here are some of the images that pop into my head – “Good morning, relatives! Remember what you’re here for!” – Our tarpee with wood burning stove and piles of blankets heaped in every corner – “Water is our first medicine.” – #FreeLeonardPeltier #FreeRedFawn

This wasn’t a vacation. This wasn’t so I could “be on the right side of history.” This wasn’t me proving what a good activist I was. This was me trying to learn, trying to mobilize my able-bodiedness and my resources to actually help. This was me trying to decolonize my mind and body in the greatest classroom with the greatest teachers. Decolonization was inherent to fighting the pipeline at Standing Rock, even as the issue of water affects everything that lives. Decolonization is what activists seek to do as we critically view our own work and lives to examine the ways that we are complicit in racism, homophobia, transphobia, sexism, ableism and other –isms. The triumvirate of colonialism, capitalism, and patriarchy form the backbone of our collective oppression. The erasure of Native identity and

sovereignty is a primary goal of capitalism, as evidenced by the entire Standing Rock movement. As a non-Native ally at Standing Rock, it was my job every day to critically examine and decolonize my mentality, and to be grateful for the generosity of the Natives who sustained the struggle at camp, who helped me to learn and save my undeserving ass from the cold. It was also my responsibility to not expect patience or forgiveness when I messed up, and to step in and advocate when I saw a white or non-Native POC acting in colonial or oppressive ways. Finally, and most importantly, it was critical to take care of myself so I could continue to do all of this work. After all, you can’t help anyone when you’re hypothermic or frost-bitten in the medic tent, taking up time, energy and resources when you could have just been more prepared or not come to camp at all.

In my time there, I recognized Standing Rock as a place for organizers and activists to continue to address our shortcomings, to acutely understand the pipeline as a Native issue even though it affects many non-Natives, to allow for Native voices to have priority and to amplify those voices in every way we can. This includes owning up to the ways we have been complicit in the oppression of Indigenous folks. For myself, I realized that I had erased Native identity from my own perception of many people by assuming they are Latinx or Xicanx. I denied people their Indigeneity by not reading Latinx/Latino/Latina as an Indigenous identity, or erasing Natives that do not identify as Latinx by naming them as such. I also recognize that I have failed to work towards indigenous liberation and resistance in the Pacific Northwest. Our own greenwashed and

whitewashed state’s history of Native repression goes as far back as violated treaties to the recent incident of a law enforcement officer grabbing a Native activist during her testimony in a public forum last October. Despite the way that Native place-names occupy our mouths on a daily basis – Willamette, Klamath, Tualatin – the erasure of Natives and Native struggle is as Oregonian as having white dreadlocks and overpriced organic food available to you.

1 Likewise, you can’t go to the protest and rally when you’re too exhausted from studying until 2 am, working full time and not eating well.

Even as I write this, Oceti Oyate is being ceremonially burned. The remaining water protectors are being forced and removed from unceded treaty land by our own militarized police. This land should technically be under the control and jurisdiction of the Standing Rock Lakota Sioux. Every single one of the original treaties made between Natives and the U.S. government has been broken, so the desecration of place by militarized police comes as no surprise, but is no less heartbreaking to watch. I saw my friends, Ray Kingfisher, Frankie and Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Shea, in live streams I watched yesterday. While watching, I texted and messaged friends I made at camp who were also watching. We all wish we hadnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t left, wish that we had returned. We feel guilty and pained to see our friends and relatives in these live streams, somberly walking through a camp where we had all eaten, laughed, prayed and mourned together, now barely recognizable amid the burning structures, abandoned and dismantled

camps and general atmosphere of resignation and grief. It is hard to not see defeat written on these faces we love, to understand that staying means being arrested, brutalized with rubber or live rounds, gassed, pepper sprayed, etc. Yes, it is absolutely valid for us to mourn the end of camp. As I understood it, mourning is part of the collective understanding of prayer by which the camps were ultimately run. To wallow in our mourning is not. A couple nights before I left camp, in one of the final conversations I had, I was helping my friend Christine run some errands around Oceti. Christine is a Native from Winnipeg who does amazing organizing through Indigenous Iowa, and had gone back and forth from her home in Iowa to Standing Rock for weeks at a time since August. The conversation we had happened in December.

From her perspective, she explained that the entire Standing Rock resistance camp was not just about the pipeline. “Of course, we’re all here to fight the pipeline,” she told me, but elaborated by saying that one of the most incredible parts of Standing Rock was that Natives reached out to their networks, to strangers, to people who had never heard of their tribe, and folks responded. Through the creation of the camps at Standing Rock, a Native issue was given a platform that resonated internationally, bringing people from all walks of life, from all tribes, and all races and ethnicities, to North Dakota. Standing Rock was as much about giving Indigenous people a platform on which to speak as it was about protecting water. “They [allies] did that. That happened. And now we kind of need all the white people to go home,” she laughed, and I understood what she meant. At this time, David Archimbault II, tribal chairman of the

Standing Rock Lakota Sioux Reservation, had just given his public request, immediately following the initial denial of the easement on December 5th, 2016, asking everyone to leave camp and return to their respective homes-this request was met with mixed surprise, anger, resignation and agreement by those at camp. For myself, I recognized that my staying would be denying the sovereignty of a Native voice, and to deny it under the assumption that I somehow knew better would undermine all the work we had done collectively to decolonize and create new networks in the name of Indigenous solidarity. I carried water, chopped wood, cooked, constructed, went on actions, washed dishes, spoke and listened. I did what I had gone to camp to do and now it was time for me to leave. I left holding mni wiconi in my heart, knowing that I had served my purpose in the resistance camp, and most importantly, that the struggle was not over.

“I left holding mni wiconi in my heart, knowing that I had served my purpose in the resistance camp, and most importantly, that the struggle was not over.”

There would be critical work to continue around water and Native struggle when I got home, including the protest of the Jordan Cove LNG pipeline, which begins in Coos Bay and threatens our water here.

months ago. Spread out across the world, we hold our experiences at Standing Rock with us, informing our words and decisions in our communities away from North Dakota. We must continue the work of decolonization; continue our Watching another live feed dialogues around Standing of Oceti burning and seeing Rock, the LNG pipeline, photos of the remaining Florida Sabal pipeline, water protectors leaving or Trans-Pecos pipeline and being removed, I have to the hundreds of thousands remember this isn’t over. already in place and This movement has planted threatening all of our lives. so many seeds for so many For our water and air, for our of us, created networks of relatives and for ourselves, folks who didn’t know each we will continue to fight. other existed until a few

mni wiconi

Coloring pages created by: Heaver Tovey. Nerd Lab YYC

Three Easy Ways To Su Mia Vicino

In this political climate, it can be tough for marginalized communities to have a voice. Here are three easy ways that we as individuals can vote with our dollar to help pressure Hollywood into producing movies that fairly and accurately represent women and minorities: Boycott sexist films. Remember that movie Passengers? You know, the sci-fi romance where Chris Pratt is all-alone on a spaceship so he decides to wake Jennifer Lawrence up from hyper sleep, essentially dooming her? The movie was expected to make BANK due to its star power, but many women ended up ditching it because of its misogyny. This effective protest sent a strong message to filmmakers: we want to see women portrayed as active, complex characters rather than plot devices.

upport Diverse Cinema Buy tickets for films starring AND made by women and minorities. Out of 109 films released from September 2014 through August 2015, only 28.7% of speaking characters were women and 26.7% were people of color. Now let’s step behind the camera: women directed only 3.4% of films and a dismal .05% were directed by Women of Color. Purchasing tickets for films that star and/or are made by women and minorities shows movie studios that we want more stories that are told from different perspectives -- we’re tired of white male-dominated films!

Support studios that are dedicated to making changes. Unfortunately, the movie industry is an industry: the main goal of most films is simply to make money. But do big, corporate studios such as Universal and Sony really need the revenue? Smaller, independent studios tend to be more in favor of creating great art that can change the world for the better rather than high profits. For example, during the weekend of the Women’s March, independent studio A24 donated a portion of the profits from their feminist film 20th Century Women to Planned Parenthood. It’s totally cool if you’re at the movie theater to see a big-budget superhero flick, but consider buying a ticket for an indie film -- those filmmakers need the support and the funding much more.

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