Publish to Newswire
Add an EventArcata Community Forest Encampment faces eviction (day 1-12)
We shall live as Free people in a community of our own; willing to work with the city and the people to provide a safe place for those who have a need for an alternative working, living situation. We will not be made to move or herded around. We are the Kids in the Woods. We have worked for months to clean up, salvage and recycle what we can. We have offered to work with the park to help maintain and rehabilitate with little to no response. Therefore, we will do as have been, while standing and fighting. This is our home. We need the support of the people, shared resources and knowledge, and our spot to designated as a safe, legal zone.
DAY 1 Please be aware that there is a small encampment in our community forest. The camp is inhabited by approx. 15-20 individuals who have been repeatedly harassed by local law enforcement about sleeping in unlawful areas around town, and have turned to this last piece of forest to finally rest undisturbed. some of the campers have been there since September, others for only 4 or so months. When spotted recently by a jogger, the campers were ordered to vacate the premises yesterday (3/25) or action would be taken. As promised, two "environmental service" workers visited the camp today (3/26) and ordered that the camp be taken down and everyone disperse. The people in the camp refused to leave or take down their possessions, and it is believed that the authorities will be called in soon. Members of Redwood Curtain Copwatch and Redwood Curtain Anti-Fascist Action met with the camp to offer support and document the event. They need more support!!! They are in desperate need of more community members to monitor police behavior, and to show solidarity with those who have no place to sleep (this is especially important in light of the recent vote against the building of a new Arcata Endeavor, which would have had over 100 beds and a shelter for people like this). Please help make this public. Please offer your support by calling Redwood Curtain Copwatch at : 707-633-4493 THANKS SO MUCH FOR SUPPORTING YOUR COMMUNITY The Children of the encampment
Barricade #1
Barricade #2
Encampment members speaking and eating within barricade #2
Contrary to popular belief, this is more than just a thrash heap, its barricade #3
The Camp
Members of Redwood Curtain Copwatch, Redwood Curtain Anti Fascist Action, Accion Zapatista, and the 'Kids in the woods' encampment speak after Arcata Environmental services leave
Helping out with the visual resistance
Pancake Breakfast
DAY 2
STATEMENTS FROM THE ENCAMPMENT AND FRIENDS OF THE ENCAMPMENT
Joyel (Encampment member)-
3/27/08 We are protesting our eviction from the last place there is to live in the area, this is the Arcata Community Forest and we are just expanding the community to the woods, I've lived here since the end of December and this isnt just another squatter camp, there is a core group that has been here for a while (as far back as september) and we are trying to live in peace without taking up space on the streets and where our stuff is safe. What we are trying to do is just either have the city leave us alone (or maybe help) or for them them to find us a suitable location to set up a semi/permanent home, alot of people that come through this area are just passing through and that is what the townfolk see as the "homeless" population, the people that come through town and sleep under your stairway is what we are classified as but we are mail-receiving residents of Arcata and we just choose to live outside. any support is greatly appreciated, the houseless population needs to stop running. come to the park!!!!
Ozzie Jane-
I had the privilege of being welcomed into this community for a short while, and these people deserve and need all the help they can get to win this struggle against rich private property supremacists. They area dynamic counter-cultural force standing strong in the face of oppression. Their lifestyle is significantly less harmful to the environment than any other human living space in the area. It is absolute bunk to accuse them of interrupting the lives of wild animals when you consider the impact of cities, streets, corporate and private pollution. Furthermore, it is positively hypocritical of anyone that resides in a house to accuse them of invading an animals' natural habitat. The homeless, houseless, unemployed and underemployed hold the highest risk health factors for disease, and they have to go through the most hassle to get any modicum of health care. Shame on anyone who complains of their existence, for they more than likely have no idea what it is like to exist in such a grueling way as to live without a house.
DAY 6
This morning at approximately 9:00 am, three officers from the ARCATA POLICE DEPARTMENT approached the encampment and asked the occupants to leave. The Encampment once again protested the eviction and the police were faced with the only option available, to leave. Before leaving they used cameras to photograph the persons involved, and the encampment in it's self.
The encampment continues to clean and put forth an effort to create ways to lessen the impact they have on the area. They are skilled in many forest living tactics but do ask for more knowledge on the subject not just for themselves, but for future members.
They have a wish list together which are listed as necessities.(the less waste matter, the better)
Food of all dietary needs
Water
toilet paper(degradable)
tarps
shovels
lanterns
rope(twine, hemp, cord)
batteries(AAA, AA)
trash bags
lanterns
medical supplies
axes(wedges as well)
playing cards
The most important thing they need is friendship and support.
These kids have great heads on their shoulders and they would be able to prove that if you extend your friendship.
Another important thing potential friends and volunteers can do is be there when the police and Environmental Services to hold them accountable to their actions.
Thanks and solidarity.
Much love ,
REDWOOD CURTAIN ANTI FASCIST ACTION
DAY 7
Well this thing is only letting me upload 1 thing so this is a quick pan of the camp.
we're still holding it down in the woods, the police came once already now and we know that they won’t leave us alone that easy, I walked down the hill for the first time in a few days last night and on the way down where the trail meets the ACF logging road is where we have piled the bagged garbage for pickup, I'm told that a truck comes out every-other week at least in order to clean up what the work crews pull out of abandoned camps and most of that garbage is stuff that we have cleaned out of other sites than just ours. walking around downtown Arcata I could really tell that allot of the people that are usually sitting in front of the closed stores on the bar strip were absent, most of them I know had made it up to camp already and more had started walking that way. As for the Owls Kevin I understand fully the impact of a horn in morning but I don’t know if is widely known that Arcata regularly logs out of that forest to make money? They call it "sustainable logging" because they only do it a little when a little means a 50 foot wide 300 foot long clear-cut? we are being very careful about deforestation in and around the camp, yes we have a fire for cooking but 90% of that wood is hauled down from the clear-cut where it’s just laying there choking out the local vegetation while the pampas grass is flourishing, the rest of the wood is dead fall so no trees are hurt and the fire pit was dug with consideration to the surrounding roots, we have recently started working on anti-erosion because some of the trails in camp were starting to deteriorate which is something I would like to do for the city's trail 16 because it is eroding faster than any and I don’t even use that trail.
Let us help!!
I've got to go but come visit us in the redwood park if you get the chance.
K.I.T.W.
DAY 11
OFFICIAL STATEMENT FROM A.F.A. Redwood Curtain Anti-Fascist action has been involved in an 11 day struggle with an encampment within the Arcata Community Forest. The ‘Kids in the Woods’ encampment was brought to our attention by house less rights activists based in the Humboldt County community. It was brought to our attention that the encampment members had been repeatedly intimidated by both local law enforcement, as well as Arcata Environmental services and told they must pack up and leave. No solutions have been discussed with members between these organizations on the subject of where they can go to sleep, eat, or even live. This was the initial reason Redwood Curtain A.F.A. offered its support.
During the 11 day occupation of the Arcata Community Forest by the ‘Kids in The Woods’ encampment, Redwood Curtain A.F.A. offered support with the best intentions for the members of the encampment as follows:
• Dialogue
• Food
• Water
• Literature on problem solving and group organization
• Jail Support
• Bringing accountability to Police and Arcata Environmental Services for their actions
• Coverage through video and photo for media purposes
• And above all solidarity with the struggle for individuals involved.
We regret to inform the ‘Kids in The Woods’ encampment and the members of the Arcata, Humboldt County, California community that Redwood Curtain Anti Fascist Action withdrawals its support of the encampment for the following reasons.
• The encampment is no longer capable of sustaining collective decision making due to external antagonism from External Parties.
• The degradation of the Arcata Community Forest by External Parties in the forms of improper human, and consumer waste disposal which has compromised the integrity of the members of the encampment.
• The apathetic behavior displayed by the External Parties towards Redwood Curtain A.F.A. and it’s involvement with the ‘Kids in The Woods’.
• The apathetic behavior displayed by the External Parties towards the mental and physical labor necessary in sustaining the camp.
Billy Goat-
I am a member of Redwood Curtain Anti Fascist Action. For 12 days i have befriended the core group of the 'Kids in The Woods' encampment. A.F.A. made this official statement in the light of events that have transpired over the course of the last three days. Regretfully, we withdrew our support. From a personal viewpoint I watched this core group labor intensely to keep the mental and physical environment positive. Selectively they chose firewood from abandoned downed trees located at the logging sites. Environmentally it seemed that the clear cuts were causing more damage than the encampment was. Sure sediment was an issue, but after strenuous labor, as i said before, actions were taken to prevent the erosion of the trail that passes through their camp. Boards were cut and fit to the trail, hammered down in place to prevent the trail from sliding into the ravine. An excellent method i must say. They dug shitter sites accurately by digging them three feet down, three feet wide, and covered their feces with wood chips, earth, and ash to prevent fecal borne disease's from traveling by flies or woodland animals. These kids pulled resources from less resourceful campers who had trashed their campsites and left it behind in other areas of the forest. These kids went as far to attempt to stabilize the increasing number of people that seemed to fluctuate by the hour.
Unfortunately though traveling kids who heard about the site from media sources such as this one and a widely publicized paper by the name of the Arcata Eye, came up and without respect camped out on the outskirts of the barricaded perimeters. Some even camped in the kitchen area and next to the fire. It was heartbreaking to see 4-6 months of work be disrupted in three days by a new group of people.
I spoke with my friends in the encampment and learned that half of the original group had abandoned ship because mutiny was on board. It was true. Disrespectful parties entered the camp and treated the area like a party in the woods, they disrespected the statement the kids were trying to make and showed apathy to those who spoke out against this behavior.
As an organizer i see clearly the pain involving this situation. Friends have been forced apart. Decisions have been made. It seems as if the core group has decided that this is not worth fighting for if there is an internal war to fight, as well as an external war approaching. I myself find it hard to put myself in that position of making a decision. Thus i make this statement. In a time of struggle we scream and reach out for a helping hand in solidifying a community with the best intentions for ourselves and future generations. When members of our own generation fail to link arm's we find that our chain in penetrable. Selfish motives break that chain further. When the ideal has been overlooked, distorted and challenged it compromises the integrity of a movement and gives way to both a loss of empowerment and a lack of direction.
I thank the community for the support and interest of the camp, let the struggle continue. The battle for dignity and respect of house less persons has not been won here. Bigotry aimed at kids such as these who create radical interesting, and obscure living situations has not been healed.
Continue your support for these kids by offering your friendship.
Where to begin here? Here's some of the information you might want to look into. There's a lot more.
We report all Community Forests harvests, with maps, dates and costs. The harvests are publicly planned by the citizen-led Forest Management Committee in open, advertised meetings which very few people choose to attend. The City Council awards logging contracts in public meetings.
All harvests are done in accordance with guidelines for sustainable forestry set forth by the Forest Stewardship Council under the City's Forest Management Plan, developed in accordance with the Forest and Parklands Initiative, approved by Arcata voters.
Habitat and wildlife concerns are extensively considered. There is no clearcutting in the Community Forest. You may be referring to the McDowell Property, which is near your camp just east of HSU and which the City doesn't own or manage. It is logged much more aggressively than the Community Forest.
The "money made" by Community Forest harvests goes to repair the various forms of damage to the forest done by unprincipled, thoughtless logging in the past and by present-day abuses (ahem!), to encourage diversity, education and the multi-uses citizens approved in the Forest and Parklands Initiative.
Please, study the Community Forest issues. You will be much better empowered to make informed decisions than by making assumptions. Attend and participate consistently in Forest Management Committee meetings and advocate your points. When people do, such as mountain bikers and others, they usually get what they want.
I want to add that the owls don't care about your or my politics, who is a hypocrite or totally awesomely righteous.
Kevin
Even when you're trying to do something kind and compassionate, you're condascending and obviously grappling the reigns of your high horse tightly.
I thought it was OK to do both. No?
Since the "kids" say they want dialogue, I offered some thoughts about environmental impacts and processes by which the forest is administered - things the "kids" didn't seem to know about and knowledge of which might empower them.
You focus on my sleeping habits and the funny police log. (You may be right about the coplog, though. Perhaps I should approach the subject of bongo players on the Plaza with the grave solemnity such a phenomenon deserves.)
As I said, noise is noise. It's after dark that the noise disturbs the threatened species. If there are any midnight disc golfers, they should take heed.
Here's to dialogue!
Arcata doesn't own this land, the Arcata community doesn't own this land, the kids in the forest don't own this land. This is Wiyot territory. This is indigenous land that has been stolen. This is land soaked in blood and avarice. This is living land regenerating itself.
As such, it will never heed the selfish desires of individuals or groups. While you bicker for the right to jog through or sleep on the last 1% of earth, know that niether is going to be yours.
But when it comes to forest upkeep, it's the City of Arcata that organizes volunteers and staff to maintain the trails, cleans up the camping messes, study the wildlife and foliage, etc. It's the Arcata Fire Protection District that puts out the fires, many started by campers in goosepen stumps.
When the "kids" tire of their scene up there, it'll be the City and community volunteers who, once again, pick up and pack out all the garbage and replant the trampled and eroded areas. It would be great to be wrong about that, but if history is any guide, that's what the post-camp scenario will look like.
MY APOLOGIES...YOU TUBE IS A HARD VENUE TO DEAL WITH Thanx Kevin for your input, it is all good. Each aspect of this conversation is a must to truely understand at least the struggles of one another.
i am very disturbed to read your remarks about your own publication's police log, as it seems to support my assertion that you do not take them seriously. trivializing someone's attempted rape or assault is plain irresponsible and shameful. these are words i see tossed around the coplog section with apparently no regard or respect for the victims, and with no real attempt to clarify each important incident. i would love to live in a world or a town where the worst things that happened were dealings over lazy, plazoid bongo players, but we all know that is not the case. i know this is not the proper forum for this discussion, but i felt i needed to respond to your last post.
Would you mind pointing out the item in question by its date and time? I may need to run an apology or correction.
i just have to say that i respect the fact that you are interested in meaningful dialouge, kevin. i truly do appreciate it.
unfortunately i do not possess any back issues of the eye, and in hind sight, i should have noted the passages that bothered me and saved them. my mistake. i will try and find some around town. i should have been more active in highlighting these things that i found offensive by bringing them to your attention in the past. I will do so from now on. thanks.
i also forgot to mention some things about the community encampment in my earlier post. It is true that most camps i see in the woods show the remnants of trash, clothing, waste etc. it is terrible to see that stereotype being reinforced on a regular basis, so i can understand your assumption that this larger encampment will leave a large, trashy mark on the forest. This was not the case with the original members of the encampment. when i first visited the camp, i admittedly went there with a certain predjudice; i expected to find the same trash and waste and destruction that you mentioned. What i saw was a completely different story. This was a large camp of 15-25 core people living there yet they managed to have a very clean space, as they were dilligent in collecting and disposing of their trash piles, and they knew the basics of living outdoors. they were very respectful of that spot in the woods as it was literally their HOME. it was not just a place to get wasted. the core group was tired of running from the authorities, and with no alternative shelters or homes, they chose a small nook in the community woods. Those that had settled there last September had been collecting and taking their trash bags to the head of trail 9, where they were then collected by environmental service workers. the kids in the woods even offered the environmental service workers help with restoring trails and cleaning abandoned camps.
unfortunatley things seem to have changed some. it seemes the core group of kids have been almost overrun by external parties that were completely disrespectful to the physical space of the camp and of what it stood for. I have to believe that once the exact spot of the camp was mapped out for the public to see, it attracted many people who did not understand that people were living there and trying to make a stand against the cops stealling their homes. also, since their camp has become public with police involvement, the city has ceased trash collection. the trash has been left to pile up at the head of the trail.
i do not know how the encampment will turn out, yet i do know from personal experience that the original camp and camp members were a true inspiration for me as well as many others in the community. Here's to the kids in the woods!
New arrivals can always be asked to leave if they are causing problems or deviating from the core group's goal. This may appear mean spirited, though considering that some could be sent by police as agitators, others may just be naturally boisterous and forget to clean up after themselves. If they won't listen, change their behavior or follow guidelines set by core group, than their purpose at the campsite is only to harrass and disturb. Since the police won't help, some strong words and group solidarity in their eviction may be needed. Otherwise the core group will be sunk by the mutineers..
Parties and drumming at night are probably not a good idea as sound carries far and gives away location. If the group's desire is a confrontation with nearby residents and the police, than loud drumming at night will accomplish these goals. Perhaps the media attention is needed to raise the issues of housless people and their needs for shelter. However, if establishing a long term campsite in the forest is the goal, then silence at night would be advisable. This may sound strict and authoritarian, though we all know that guerrilla actions require discipline and routine, and knowing when to be quiet. This form of activism is similar to forest defense and treesitting, the "illegal" occupation of land claimed by some entity (Maxxam/Pacific Lumber, City of Arcata, etc..) needs some way of preventing raids from occurring, as replacing gear is expensive. It is guessed that the loud drumming was begun by the recent "mutineers" who may have been attempting to encourage discovery of the campsite by police or use political motives to force confrontation with the surrounding community and eventually police..
This brings us to the last issue of mobility, and how to maintain a presence in the community forest for campsites while also being able to evade the police handlers who try to sieze belongings. Smaller campsites nearby one another would prevent the police from grabbing everything at once. Periodic relocation to other campsites would prevent police knowledge of the specific location and thereby prevent surprise raids. This spreading out of people into smaller groups also reduces the impact on the forest habitat..
Shameless recruitment message from a retired forest defender;
Forest defenders and treesitters also are apprehensive of upcoming raids by Maxxam/Pacific Lumber during their last days in the hills of Humboldt and the phrase "better safe than sorry" comes to mind when recalling surprise raids (lower Freshwater, Aradia, etc..) of the past. This PL Chapter 11 bankruptcy trial in Texas is coming to a close and the judge's verdict may not be what anyone wants, and means more destruction for the endangered redwoods forest from either; Maxxam/PL continuance logging, developers after land auction, or the new bosses at Mendo Redwoods Corp.
We also realize that it is asking alot for people to be at an even farther distance from town and that dropping the issue of homelessness in Arcata feeds into the police goals of eviction from the community forest, but there really is an urgent need for a large number of people to occupy the lands held by Maxxam/PL to the southeast of Eureka. Donations for food and other items needed included transportation are essential. As an outsider i cannot give out details, though talking to some forest defenders would reveal further info. Of course there are non-violence tranings and climbing trainings needed before leaving for the occupation sites (treesits). For people who prefer their feet on the ground there are ground kitchens and resupplies that can be operated under deep cover, as supplies on the ground are vulnerable to raiding..
So with the recruitment message for forest defense, this isn't a police ploy to get people out of the community forest, believe it or not. There are plenty or reasons not to become a forest defender, though just out of plain contradictoryness isn't really so wise either. If there needs to be confrontation with police regarding camping, then so be it. However, if you're looking for some long term outdoor residency with forest defenders, then please don't hesitate to contact your local forest defender..
This is a message of genuine concern regarding the outcome of the Chptr 11 Bankruptcy trial in Texas, and potential for massive logging and/or development operations of the Humboldt hills to occur in the near future..
- Voltaire
While there have been other statements by Kevin Hoover that have been condescendig in the past, this isn't one of them. Whether it was made in a perfect way or not, we shouldn't jump on him unless he makes other elitist remarks.
Maybe one day he'll realise that the poor are tired of busting their backs so the rich can afford police to keep the poor from sleep.
"An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth leaves everyone blind and toothless" - Ghandhi
Ghandhi got it right, there have been so many retributions in Humboldt politics, it's a mess because all that's left is the blind leading the blind.
I have camped right neath nesting owls before(and this case the owl is quiet a distance, perhaps a 100 yrds.) and in any case the Owls always just ignore humans on the ground no matter how loud they get.(or it has been my experiance living in theses woods for two years)Drums and loud noise isnt a nightly attire of the camp.Though yes we do at times cut loose and celebrate a wonderful path and family. The only environmental concerns all surround the Natural look. Lets delve into whats natural in a community forest thats logged to pay for police oppression of the hippies in the woods.Lets address the fact that the woods are not a forest so much as a community garden, with trees that pay for these insiduous ranger salaries.
I have heard numerous Rumours spreading about the camp that are wholly untrue.These are being spread by supposed supporters(albeit prolly not started by them,but none the less they seem all to glad to perpetuate the fucking lies)
I am a Kid in the woods, and I am here to EFFECT CHANGE. We will get her done, and are willing to suffer and toil to do so at risk of personal harm, amongst other consequences which the oppressed must always pay to help themselves.
Our impact on the environment is much les than housed humans,,much much much less.Housed humans pay good money to hide their affects on the environment.We on the other hand have nothing to hide about this issue.Yes we have trampled a couple dozen ferns,and yes the place looks INHABITED by HUMANS.Big dealio man!
loving Arcata for not giving a general outcry to remove the kids in the woods.
peace and love
Dreamer
PEACE & BLESSINGS! tAKE CARE OF YOURSELVES AS BEST AS CAN BE.
I am simply trying to say FREEDOM!
!...a house is not a home...!
Donate
$230.00 donated
in the past month
Get Involved
If you'd like to help with maintaining or developing the website, contact us.
Publish
Publish your stories and upcoming events on Indybay.