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Members of the Winnemem Wintu Tribe from northern California on Monday, April 16 challenged Randy Moore, U.S. Forest Service Regional Forester, at his Vallejo office to protect indigenous women from racial slurs and physical harm during coming of age ceremonies planned for this June. Although claiming to be unfamiliar with the issue, Moore promised to review the Winnemem's request to close 400 yards of the McCloud River arm of Shasta Reservoir for 4 days so that the Tribe can conduct the ceremony. Moore committed to respond to the Tribe's request by May 1, 2012. While closing the river will mean a lot to the Tribe, it will have no impact on the Forest Service, said Caleen Sisk, Winnemem Chief and Spiritual Leader.
On January 9, the general assembly at Occupy Oakland passed a resolution calling on occupies across the country to support a National Occupy Day in Support of Prisoners. In the following month, over a dozen communities across the nation followed in planning local prisoner solidarity demonstrations, including those in Austin, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Columbus, Denver, Durham, New York, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Fresno, Portland, and Washington D.C.
On February 20, hundreds of demonstrators marched to San Quentin Prison where a rally was held in solidarity with the National Occupy Day in Support of Prisoners.
San Quentin Prison is the first and oldest prison in the state of California, and the facility's death row is the largest in the country. In 2008, San Quentin held 637 male inmates on its death row, nearly twice as many as those held on the death rows in Florida and Texas.
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Occupy4Prisoners.org
See also: The Framing of Kevin Cooper, on San Quentin’s Death Row
Monday Oct 10th, 2011 2:08 PM :
Nady Inc. closed on indigenous resistance day, surrounded by policetape. Elem will present demands to Lake Cty supes next Tue #occupyoakland
Monday Oct 10th, 2011 1:09 PM :
Big turnout of supporters for Elem Pomo march in Emeryville protesting development of Rattlesnake Island by Nady #occupyoakland
At 12:00 noon on Monday, October 10th — Indigenous People’s Day — members of the Elem Pomo tribe will march to the offices of millionaire businessman John Nady in Emeryville to demand that he immediately halt his planned desecration of Rattlesnake Island. The Elem Pomo have invited supporters to join the protest and tell Nady that from the Bay Area to Lake County, people will stand up to oppose the desecration of sacred native sites.
Located on the eastern end of Clear Lake, Rattlesnake Island has been the ceremonial center of the Elem community of Southeastern Pomo Indians for thousands of years. The island was stolen from the Pomo in 1877, when it was deeded to settlers as private property in a supposed “clerical error”. Ever since that time, the Elem Pomo have been fighting to regain their traditional ownership of this sacred land, which is now privately held by John Nady.
With blatant disregard for the wishes of the Elem people, John Nady is attempting to build vacation homes on the island, and has already illegally installed a septic tank, and thousands of feet of roads, trails, and utility trenching. He has now strong-armed his way out of conducting the required environmental impact report and is poised to begin further construction at any moment.
Following the annual sunrise gathering on Alcatraz Island, Elem Pomo representatives and supporters will deliver a letter to millionaire developer John Nady at the Emeryville headquarters of his electronics business urging him to stop the desecration of Rattlesnake Island. Event details
See also: Indigenous Peoples Day events
On September 17th, over one thousand demonstrators poured into New York City's financial district to confront corporate greed by establishing an ongoing presence, day and night, in lower Manhattan. The idea was to create an American Tahir Square on Wall Street. Police blocked marchers from reaching Wall Street, but hundreds persisted and set up camp in Zuccotti Park, now dubbed Liberty Plaza. In San Francisco, demonstrators likewise called for an occupation of the financial district starting the same day, outside of 555 California Street. The SF occupation is currently located in front of the Federal Reserve building on Market Street, although after midnight on October 6th, SFPD and city workers raided the site and took away the kitchen, tents, and truckloads of other occupier supplies. Several were beaten by SFPD and one was arrested during the raid. Occupations began in San Jose on Oct. 2nd, in Santa Cruz and Sacramento on Oct. 6th, Berkeley on Oct. 8th, Fresno on Oct. 9th, in Oakland on Oct. 10th and one is planned to start in Santa Rosa on Saturday, Oct. 15th.
UPDATE 6/7/11: Bay Trail and Association of Bay Area Governments Suspends $200,000 Grant to GVRD!
On May 31st, supporters of the Glen Cove native encampment converged outside the offices of the Bay Trail project in downtown Oakland to demand that Bay Trail divest from desecration of the Sogorea Te sacred burial ground in Vallejo. Over 65 people gathered in front of the Bay Trail offices and vowed to pursue further action if the $200,000 is not immediately pulled from plans to bulldoze the burial grounds and build on top of it.
On Monday, April 4th, the anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King’s assassination, local coalitions participated in nationwide actions to support Wisconsin workers, public services and the middle class. Organizers of the rally at the Santa Cruz County Government Center stated, "Dr. King was killed in Memphis, TN, where he had stood with sanitation workers who were struggling for the right to bargain collectively. The actions by Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker to eliminate collective bargaining – and the gradual eroding of the American middle class - only undermine that struggle."
In the fall of 2009, a group of war resisters and veterans from San Francisco traveled to Israel and Palestine to meet with their Israeli counterparts in an effort to strengthen connections and share experiences. The group, calling itself Dialogues Against Militarism (DAM), partnered with David Zlutnick, a Bay Area filmmaker, to ensure that the voices and stories of those they spoke with would be captured and return with them to the United States. The new documentary, Occupation Has No Future, premieres in San Francisco on February 3rd and San Rafael on February 10th.
On December 14th, hundreds of PG&E customers, outraged about the health damage caused by wireless 'smart' meters, ramped up protests by testifying at county government meetings and shutting down payment centers in both Santa Cruz and Marin Counties to demand an immediate halt to the program. Protesters are also angry about PG&E's attempts to cover up the growing health scandal and recently revealed espionage carried out against their customers concerned with increasing reports of nausea, headaches, and bouts of dizziness from the meters. The protesters, backed by 22 local governments and an increasing number of scientists and medical professionals, are demanding that PG&E halt any further installation of smart meters.
Demonstrations against Proposition 23, an oil company sponsored initiative that would delay implementation of California's global warming law, began in earnest this month. In the Bay Area, protesters carrying signs reading "Stop Texas Oil--Hell No on 23" have been demonstrating in San Rafael, Mountain View, Richmond, El Cerrito, Berkeley and Palo Alto. Organizers say this is just the start of a campaign that will include hundreds of such actions statewide before November's election.
Climate justice activists targeted Valero gas stations for their demonstrations after the Texas oil company contributed millions of dollars toward the measure. Proposition 23 would stall a California law enacted in 2006 requiring cuts in greenhouse gas emissions. A workshop for activists against Prop 23 is scheduled as part of a global work party in Oakland on October 10th.
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Global Work Day in Oakland October 10th
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STOP TEXAS OIL
On March 21st, students, teachers, workers and other members of the Napa community came together to raise awareness about cuts to education. The marchers rallied on he sidewalk of Soscol Ave for about an hour, where protesters waved signs and chanted slogans such as "What do we want? Education! — When do we want it? Now!"
Napa Valley College Students for a Democratic Society (NVC SDS) wrote: "Video footage of this rally shows the different ages and demographics of the protesters. It was definitely something that left it's mark in Napa. A march this size, going through downtown Napa is not very common."
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On March 9th at Golden Gate National Recreational Area's Fort Baker in Marin County, nearly one hundred UC service workers, students and supporters from UCB, UCSF, UCSC, and UC Davis entered the hired meeting space of Blum Capital Partnership, the Cavallo Point Lodge, and picketed the street in front. Richard Blum is a UC regent and the husband of California Senator Diane Feinstein.
On March 4th, students and educational workers rose up against budget cuts, layoffs, fee hikes, and the system that prioritizes war and prisons over schools. Demonstrations took place in Berkeley, Oakland, San Francisco, Concord, Vallejo, Santa Cruz, Aptos, Watsonville, Monterey, Davis, Sacramento, Stockton, Fresno, Los Angeles, and numerous other locations across California and the U.S. Actions included rallies, marches, and occupations of buildings and freeways. One hundred and fifty-seven people were arrested at I-880, an Indybay reporter amongst them. Most were charged with unlawful assembly and obstruction of a public place (misdemeanors). All have been released by now. Arraignments for I-880 arrestees are set for April 2nd and April 5th. A local high school student, Francois Zimany, is recovering from a 25-30 foot fall off of I-880.
The first annual Earth First! California Roadshow will be traveling through the state this month to build connections between bioregions and different ecological resistance groups, and to promote the upcoming Organizers' Conference and Winter Rendezvous in Santa Barbara. About a dozen events are scheduled, including stops in Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa and Fresno.
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