This essay first appeared on theplanetfeedsus. an open letter to the national Occupy Wall Street movement, from Aidan Ponyboy Kriese, DGR Austin Dearest Occupy :: I write y’all with the greatest admiration, excitement, hope, and humility. I write with the intention to contribute to the conversations that people are having nationally – and internationally – about what the building of a just and sustainable world would look like. ...
[caption id="" align=“aligncenter” width=“448” caption=“McKinney Falls State Park”][/caption] Deep Green Resistance Austin has a vision for the future of the land of Central Texas. One hundred years from now, we can see rivers running free and unrestrained to the gulf with no dams to stop them. We see the creeks and streams that feed these rivers, flowing undeterred by human interference. Rainwater collection is a staple of every building that stands, as are berms and swales that ameliorate the effects of drought. Native plants have reclaimed their rightful place within the landscape, acting as restorers of botanical balance. Damaged land has been bioremediated by dedicated communities of knowledgeable people working with nature to repair broken ecosystems. Large, four-legged animals are returning to the prairies, with buffalo herds once again covering the earth and mountain lions stalking the hills. The red wolf has finally come back home, and with her, the sense that we are not always at the top of the food chain. Cows are disappearing from the fields, allowing the exhausted grasses to thrive once again. Common spaces bursting with healthful edibles are everywhere, accessible to all. The endless noise of civilization has finally faded, allowing us to hear the beautiful symphony of nature that has been blocked out for as long as we can remember. ...
The following is from the Liberate Austin People of Color Collective. You can click over to their original post right here, if you’d like. It includes a statement from the LAPOCC, an article by two indigenous activists, and some links to further essays. LAPOCC is still getting their site together, so there’s not much else there, but keep an eye on it for future insightful commentary, for sure. “It is a deep thing that people still celebrate the survival of the early colonists at Plymouth — by giving thanks to the Christian god who supposedly protected and championed the European invasion. The real meaning of all that, then and now, needs to be continually excavated. The myths and lies that surround the past are constantly draped over the horrors and tortures of our present. - Mike Ely, Kasama Project ...
[caption id=“attachment_263” align=“aligncenter” width=“400” caption=“Walk in the Woods, by Linda Crockett”] [/caption] On Saturday, 11/19, DGR Austin hosted our first Edible & Medicinal Plant Nature Walk. Our local experts Eric and Chris took thirty people (!!) on a walk in the woods, where we learned about how to identify and use a bunch of plants. Leaves to heal a cut, berries that one should not eat, a cactus that you can make into a container to boil water, bark that can treat a sore throat! Eric and Chris also demonstrated how to make fire with a bow and hand drill, and we had a discussion on how all of this relates to DGR’s goal to protect and heal the Earth. ...
I am with Deep Green Resistance, also known as DGR. My message is for everyone here. I implore the Department of State to stop the KeystoneXL. Exploiting the tar sands would further the global climate disaster. If you refuse to protect our home, then it’s time for the people to start fighting back effectively. Tim DeChristopher is a climate activist currently in prison on a two- year sentence for a successful act of civil disobedience. Tim has said, “I think the consequence of not fighting back is far scarier than the consequence of going to prison for a few years.” ...
[caption id=“attachment_243” align=“aligncenter” width=“500” caption=“American Indian Movement warriors occupying Wounded Knee in February 1973”] [/caption] Occupy Austin’s Indigenous Struggle Solidarity Statement Approved by the Occupy Austin General Assembly (7pm) on 10/8/11 Occupy Austin recognizes that the land now referred to as Austin, Texas is already occupied. It was stolen from the indigenous peoples, including the Tonkawa and Apache, in a genocide against indigenous peoples that continues to this day. Before colonization, this land was the home to several truly sustainable cultures; cultures that were integrated into the land-base, cultures that did not have to worry about corporate influence on the political process. These cultures were destroyed and are being destroyed by the corporate state, starting with Columbus’ state-sponsored invasion of North America more than five hundred years ago. This invasion is not something to celebrate. Occupy Austin recognizes that the injustice of colonization by the culture of the corporate state is a wrong that must ultimately be righted, and as such we stand in solidarity with the struggles of indigenous peoples in North America and all over the world. ...
This is the bucket wheel excavator, one of the world’s most massive pieces of mobile equipment. It’s used in mining to rip into the Earth. The soil and whatnot that is on top of, say, a coal deposit, is known as “overburden,” and a bucket wheel excavator makes short work of it. How can a culture which creates such monstrosities possibly live harmoniously with the complex set of interdependent relationships that make up the living Earth? ...
“What if we fight back, but lose?” Derrick Jensen’s response is something like this. There are basically three possibilities. 1. Don’t fight back. Let the dominant culture keep going. 2. Fight back, and lose. 3. Fight back, and win. In possibility 1, the dominant culture keeps going, keeps destroying anything wild and free, and everything that gives us our life, and anything worth loving. It’s not sustainable however - the dreams of the technotopians notwithstanding - so it will eventually collapse. But along the way, it will take out as much as it can. Air will be poisoned. Water will be poisoned. Soil will be destroyed. Species that have been evolving for tens of millions of years will be wiped out. The natural processes that support life on the planet will be severely disrupted. (And all of this is happening now, you know.) Basically, the world will be destroyed. ...
This is from Jerry Mander’s 1991 book, In The Absence of The Sacred: The Failure of Technology & the Survival of the Indian Nation s (p. 128). I am really enjoying this book. To give you a taste of what Mander has to say, I will give the “rule” and a brief passage from his longer exposition. As corporations increasingly play a part in so much of our lives, it’s important for us to realize how they operate, and that the way they operate is inherent in the structure of the corporation itself. ...
[caption id=“attachment_85” align=“aligncenter” width=“500” caption=““Ophelia,” by Odilon Redon (1840-1960)”] [/caption] I just got back from walking the dogs in the field over by Black Star Brewery. It’s an undeveloped piece of property full of tall grasses, wildflowers, a few trees, insects, lots of birds, and a man-made pond ringed by cat tails and lily pads. Today we saw red-winged blackbirds. The sun was setting just as a thunderstorm moved into the area, resulting in a pink-orange sky and some of the most spectacular lightning I have ever seen - long, horizontal bolts, flashing from one cloud to another. We walked back in a steady rain, the one dog freaking out with every clap of thunder. ...