Oak Grove-Valient Struggle For food Supply

The university has tried to keep the tree sitters in Memorial Oak Grove surrounded and isolated since the extraction attempt on June 17-19. We have a permanent camp on the ground and organized resupply attempts every Sunday. The ground camp is a great space to organize and out reach from. Here are a few photos from earlier and then the resupply.

On Sunday 7/6 we gathered for the resupply with about fifty people. First our lawyer spoke about our legal challenges to the universities plans to cut the trees and build a gym. Then we gathered food bags and went into the street. We held hands in a prayer circle. Several people offered prayers and others spoke of their determination to feed their friends. One older Black woman spoke of her hard life as a girl picking cotton. We began to think of our friends in the trees, of those starving in many places and of all of the suffering on this planet. Many people began to cry. Then a tree sitter threw down a rope from his perch on a telephone pole. We tried to attach a bag of food but the police smashed through us. They knocked the grandmothers on the ground and cut the rope. Not to be deterred we tried a gain and again. The police did not try to stop us from trying, only from succeeding. many people were injured in the scuffles and one man was arrested. In the end we were unable to send a bag up. However our determination never faltered. One tree sitter called on us to calm off the conflict and they were running short of rope and carabeeners anyway. At the same time one helium balloon was able to to get to the tree sitter carrying a very small amount of food.

Then at the other end of the grove a cry went up. A new tree sitter had made it into the grove during the scuffle. So the day ended on a great note.

I was unable to get photos of the scuffles and attempts to resupply due to being in them myself.

Please come by the grove at any time. We need people food and donations.