Building a Community Land Ethic
I am listening to Lorne Green tonight, and again finding him inspiring as always and the history as always dispiriting but as critical to ground ourselves in as the land we traverse and enhome ourselves in. I want to share this talk delivered a couple of weeks ago at SFU by Anishinaabe activist, writer, storyteller, academic Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, Restoring Nationhood: Addressing Land Dispossession in the Canadian Reconciliation Discourse.
Presentation to the
DEFEND OUR CLIMATE-DEFEND OUR COMMUNITIES RALLY
Simms Millenium Park, Courtenay B.C.
Saturday, November 16, 2013
(Caps in text are the audience response.)
Good Afternoon. This is quite a crowd. Good to see so many of you here.
I’ll start with a question. Why have you come here this afternoon? What has motivated you? Is it because you want to win something? Here is why I’m asking.
Last year our local environmental group had an exhibit at the Fall Fair. In front of our exhibit was a map showing where the proposed Raven Coal Mine was located. I saw a man looking at the map, I approached him and, after a brief discussion about the mine, he said to me, “I really respect what you are doing. But this is not for me. For eight years I worked for Green Peace. But I burned out when I realized that despite all our work we were not going to win.
By sheer coincidence, a little later another man with a history of environmental work came up to our booth and said, “I’m not going to come out against the mine. It will do no good unless we can change the whole capitalistic system. We are never going to win.
I’ve thought a great deal about these two men. I hate the use of “winning” as a motivator. For one thing, this is not a game. Both the Enbridge Pipeline transporting tar sands bitumen across B.C. to huge ships travelling down our coast and the proposed coal mines planned for the Comox Valley are a clear and present danger to our community, to our province and indeed to Canada and to the world at large.
For another thing, when we lose, and we sometimes do lose, some folks just take their bat and ball and go home. They are not in for the long haul.
So what does motivate you? I believe it is a spiritual reality. I’m sure that if you look deeply into your soul you will find two things. First, awareness that you and what you love is being abused. This is often manifest in anger and perhaps outrage. Second, you discover welling up within you a desire to stop this injustice by standing up and doing the right thing.
Many people have gone ahead of us who have faced even greater challenges than we face. We can learn from them.
When Mahatma Gandhi decided to take on the almost 100 year old British colonial Raj, he didn’t get a small group together and say, “Okay Guys, How are we going to win this thing? He and his friends just decided to stand up to the abuse and do the right thing.
Then there was that day on the bus in Montgomery Alabama when Rosa Parks refused to surrender her seat to a white passenger and ended up in jail. She wasn’t thinking of winning anything. She just got tired of being pushed around and knew it was the right thing to do. So did Martin Luther King as he watched the events develop in Birmingham. Wounded men, women and children were scattered on the ground after they had been brutalized by Bull Connor’s police with their truncheons, attack dogs and water cannons.
Nelson Mandela spent 27 years in South African jails. He undoubtedly continued to hear of the deaths of many of his people killed by the regime for trying to stand up for their rights. But he sat in that cell, became a hero for his perseverance and, after years of international pressure, the regime tried to deal with him. They would let him out if he would be a good boy and stop protesting. “No Deal” he said. He refused to come out until he could be released on his own terms. He knew it was the right thing to do.
As we look to the future there is one thing we can win. We can win the minds and hearts of the people of this valley.
Every year I write these words of Teilhard de Chardin on the front page of my Daytimer. “The future belongs to those who can give a reason for hope.” I really believe that this is a mission for each one of us—to give others hope and the courage to resist injustice.
Take a look around you. Think about the people who are not here—your family members and friends, your church members, your school, your organizations and businesses. You can inspire these people. You can give them a sense of hope—if you are willing to go out and tell them your story—the story of the concern that is in your hearts.
Tell them about how the Harper’s Government’s Northern Gateway Pipeline will desecrate the Great Bear Rain Forest and how the inevitable oil spills from tankers coming down that narrow passage to the sea will inflict untold damage on the environment. Ask them to join you and get involved. And when they ask you why they should get involved, say to them, “Because… IT’S THE RIGHT THING TO DO.
Tell them about how the Harper Government is stealing your rights as a citizen; how it is ramming through omnibus bills that remove environmental laws that have taken thirty years to develop; how it constantly promoting the toxic tar sands; how it is handing over our resources in bargain-basement deals to foreign countries; how it is silencing its own scientists and having their cabinet ministers attacking environmental and other non-profit groups that dare to speak out against them. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/an-open-letter-from-natural-resources-minister-joe-oliver/article4085663/ Ask them to join with you and speak out against these injustices. And when they ask you why they should get involved, say to them, “Because… IT’S THE RIGHT THING TO DO.
Tell them how the Harper government is abusing our aboriginal brothers and sisters. In 2012 the Harper government was one of the very last UN countries to sign on to the United Nations Declaration of The Rights of Indigenous People. http://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/eng/1309374239861/1309374546142 That signature was the ultimate in hypocritical political gestures. Among other things the Harper Government pledged to recognize aboriginal rights to traditional lands and to self-government. But, at the very moment it was signing the document it was working with large corporations to drive a pipeline across traditional lands and to do it without adequate consultation. Ask your friends and acquaintances to join with you in protecting the rights of aboriginal peoples. And when they ask you why they should get involved, say to them, “Because… IT’S THE RIGHT THING TO DO.
Tell them how the Christy Clark government has agreed with the Alberta Government to support the Northern Gateway Pipeline across northern B.C. Tell them how this government is intent on turning our valley and Island into Appalachia North. It has recently issued 18 new coal licenses in our valley to Chinese companies, all of them in close proximity to critical water sources. And make sure to tell them about the news reports in the press this week based on leaked documents that the government is literally “giving away the farm.” It is eviscerating the Agricultural Land Reserve and handing over to its oil and gas section the responsibility to make farm land available for fracking. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/sacrosanct-agricultural-land-commission-eyed-for-breakup/article15306864/#dashboard/alerts Ask your friends and acquaintances to join you in protest. And when they ask you why they should get involved, say to them, “Because… IT’S THE RIGHT THING TO DO.
Folks, in a couple of weeks I will turn 75. I’m getting a little long in the tooth and like many of you grey-haired folks out there I have a shaky health history. It is inevitable that people our age start thinking about how we wish to be remembered.
I hope that if someone erects a tombstone over me it will contain the words, “He did what he did BECAUSE IT WAS THE RIGHT THING TO DO.
Mike Bell
Comox , B.C.
My son was born six years ago and since his birth I have been a single parent with several challenges and very little support. Finding myself in this situation and at this age posed a reevaluation of significant long held beliefs regarding every aspect of my being.
It became very apparent that my children were watching every move I made and were emanating it in their interaction with the world. Beginning to understand the importance of community, rural and environmental sustainability I began to understand that the family plays an enormously important role.
I am lucky. I am a pretty social person and there are a lot of people in my life I would consider friends. I have received a lot of good support and good advice over the years pertaining to the home I should co-create with my kids. A few of those I would like to share in this brief post:
1. “Conscious decision making. Think about it and implement it. Conscious decision making.”
2. “Families the most important thing. You take care of your family. You make them a priority and you let those kids know every day how much you love them.”
3. “Figure out how to grow your own food and be in service to your family and to your neighbors. Help one another out. You teach those kids how to take care of themselves and contribute and that’s the best thing you can do. It will come together, trust me on that one.”
4. “Kate, you focus on improving yourself, building a good home for those youngsters and figure out the people that really truly care about you and you focus on that and the rest will fall into place. Everything else can just ^*!!@ right off. You got me? ”
This is what I held onto in dark times and which I now dole out to others who are struggling to identify and build a life. All of these can be extended to sustainability. Looking at the products we use in everyday life and talking to my kids about it. Taking the time to plan on taking them for walks and on short trips. Initiating conversations about what we have seen and asking for their opinion. Having them research different recipes and getting them involved in food preparation are all activities that contribute to sustainability on a more broad spectrum.
The ‘personal is political’ is an empowering statement that allows us to reflect on our daily actions and see how they have an effect on the greater whole. Individual lifestyle changes can most certainly lead to a fuller and more engaged life. Every time you consume or participate in modern life, you are making choices not only for yourself, but for the planet. Whether you decide to walk or drive to work or whether you choose to buy organic or support your local farmer’s markets… these are all ways in which we can peacefully protest against the current paradigm of mass consumption. Recycling, up-cycling, reducing and re-using items not only gives our ‘waste’ a new purpose, but we can find joy in expressing our creativity by making our own clothes, gifts, candles, jams, etc. Shout out to Leah who makes her own super cute clothes out of old fabrics that would otherwise be thrown away. You rock! <3
We can discover new things about ourselves through these creative processes, it doesn’t have to be a chore. Being kind to yourself and to the earth is one in the same. Over the past few months I have transformed my life slowly and found a way to make a difference that works for me. I did plenty of research into the ingredients of my common house-hold products and beauty products and have replaced many things with natural alternatives. In the Spirituality & Globalization class, my little group made our own toothpaste and ever since then I was like wow, what else I can make? Turns out; pretty much everything! Body wash, deodorant, laundry detergent, etc. These personal choices I’ve made by switching to a chemical-free lifestyle has not only made me feel better, healthier, and more vibrant, but I know that i’m doing the earth a favor by no longer buying plastic shampoo bottles and washing poisonous sulfates down the drain. & By choosing to live a vegan lifestyle, and buy organic, non-GMO foods I’m giving a big middle-finger to the large corporations that are destroying and degrading this beautiful earth as well as contributing to rising cancer rates among people and factory farms that mistreat and abuse animals severely.
I’m certainly not a saint, I have much to learn and still a lot I need to work on, but small changes like this can certainly improve one’s well-being. By having the opportunity to engage in conversations pertaining to these issues is empowering as well, knowing that we’re not alone and we all are striving for a better quality of life for us, our neighbors, and future inhabitants of the earth. We are responsible today not only for what we do but for what we don’t do. So thank you class & presenters for your continuous inspiration and insights, I need you guys, you make my life better and give me hope.
This website provides information about and a map for events in Alberta and Canada that you can attend on November 16th, targetted at MPs’ offices. (I see there is one in Camrose at Kevin Sorenson’s office). In some cases, there are rallies and speakers. You can find the website here.
What a beautiful video! The images, as well as the sentiments on the connectedness of nature and how to live a good day.
I hope everyone has had the chance to spill their gratitude into blessings today.
After those inspiring talks at the conference last week, I tweeted that I couldn’t believe that it had been a year since INM had transformed my sense of my own relationship with Canada, indigenous peoples, and the land I have settled on, migrated to. You may have seen this invitation from Idle No More asking all of us to celebrate its birthday on November 10th at a webinar with Winona LaDuke, well-known for her work on land recovery and for her organization Honor the Earth, now in its 20th year. CBC also recently featured a new website, Indigenous Nationhood Movement, which builds on the work of Idle No More. The blog, resources and media sections are very engaging. You will find there the wonderful work of Leanne Simpson who writes about Anishinaabe concepts of language, nationhood, land and family with the phrase “an ecology of intimacy”:
Kina Gchi Nishnaabeg-ogamig is an ecology of intimacy.
It is an ecology of relationships in the absence of coercion, hierarchy or authoritarian power.
Kina Gchi Nishnaabeg-ogamig is connectivity based on the sanctity of the land, the love we have for our families, our language, our way of life. It is relationships based on deep reciprocity, respect, non-interference, self-determination and freedom. . . .
Carmelle returned to her Alma Mater this evening to share her recent experiences in Peru with DIACONIA. You can access more of her reflections on her blog from her time there, The Peruvian Square. Carmelle put us in touch with the stories of not only the place she visited, but with the people who welcomed her into the rhythm of their lives. The most important thing to do, they say, is to have a potluck with the people and share conversation. This is how we will address the pressing issues we are facing.
In addition, Rajan led us in a contemplative exercise to properly situate our hearts and minds for Carmelle’s talk.
Rajan was present for our class this week and addressed the inspiration behind designing the class with a contemplative aspect. It is not until we can address and quell the agitation and dis-ease that lives within us that we can find the stillness needed to address the relationship with the natural world. The subtle, slow movements of the Earth and her systems does not easily penetrate our human-centered busyness. Through contemplative exercises, we can cultivate the ability to listen.
Recording Part 2 is a contemplative exercise you can follow along with.
My friend Duncan, who has been spending time gold-mining up in the Yukon, read our blog and was inspired to write a post:
The Yukon, Canada’s best kept secret. More land than you could shake a stick at but try to buy some? A place where the land is still wild. Man has claimed part of her for himself, but there are still so many places left to be tamed. Mother nature is often cruel and with out mercy. Winters I am told can make it near impossible to leave your home and madness to attempt a road trip. Yet I am more comfortable here then I have been anywhere else I have ever been in my life.
I came up here this July on a by chance job through a high school cook. I new little about the man I was going to work for and I knew even less about mining. I had got a job in a Klondike Gold Mine. It was a 3 day drive and bang on 2700km from doorstep to doorstep. I pulled my camper trailer all the way from Alberta with enough clean cloths to go a month, work cloths ready for anything from 20 above to 30 below. I was ready… or so I thought.
The first night when I showed up, there was a wide array of people sitting around having some rum after work. People from all up and down the valley. An old boy Gregg who had been coming here since he was a kid with his dad, he has been running the show for a few years now. Two employees of a very large outfit up the creek and my new boss and some of my co workers. The first thing my boss said to me was “ Welcome to our living hell! What do you think?” with out even hesitation I said “It feels like home already”
We were up and working by 7am…ish. (I like this already) I had been warned that the first few days were going to tough but it was the way it had to be. They were repairing the undercarriage on an older D9 dozer. Tracks were off and it was sitting at an odd angle on top of some large timbers. I was given the grinder, pry bar and hammer and was explained that I was going to be pulling all these old track pads off and installing them on the new rails, ten feet away. Each pad new ways well over 125lbs. These weren’t, thank god they only weighed a whopping 110lbs. There were 86 in total and each one had 4 bolts that had to be hand torque to 1200ft/lb. I started at a sprint and by noon I was making no sweet time and I was gassed. Completely out of work form from last 3 months of traveling and the double fisting that goes with that. It took me 3 full days to get them done. Everything else has been easier since then.
Since I have been here my tasks have not gotten that much easier really, it’s all grunt work and I love it. It doesn’t really matter who you are when you come here, everyone does their time, gives the needed effort, meets the given demands or you just won’t earn the better paying, less stressful jobs. The Yukon itself is somewhat like that, reward out for effort in. It’s just a matter of do you have what it takes or not. I don’t even know if I do. Keeping in mind less people have tamed the riverbeds then the Yukon has eroded away and washed them away as if they were never here. The old camps and machinery left as if they were ready for the next shift that never came. Sluice boxes still sitting where they were, how many years ago when their masters took the mats out for the last time. One more cleanup, just one more, I know we’ll find the pay again. To walk away with pockets turned inside out. The few that have done the jig and came out with a fortune in the fall.
In the Yukon you can still stake land claims. I don’t know all the details nor will I try to sound like I do. But I will say what I know. You can stake land claims for different kinds of development. There is placer mine, which is deposited soil from erosion down to a set depth of the bedrock. Another is hard rock where the bedrock is the gem and ore rich material uneroded and undisturbed. You can also stake timber claims and agriculture claims. The catch is that you have to do the work. Easier said than done. Roads are not provided, they must be pioneered to get to areas that are not staked and developed. Work claimed must be proven and a certain on the dollar amount of work must be done each year to hold the claim title or it can be staked again. You cannot re-stake unworked claims two years in a row in the same name. If you are going for rich land that someone else is interested in, then you better be there at midnight when the claim becomes available because it might not be in the morning.
This is what I want to learn about this winter. I had wanted to stay here this winter but it has not worked out that way. This will be my winter project. I want to learn about and ponder the idea of staking my own claim one day, and maybe the land will embrace me, or erode and wash me away like it has so many others up here. Either way I want to try