Street Newz March draft for April Issue with additions:
Joy and suffering are a part of life. Unnecessary pain and suffering suck our joy as a result of Imperialist System current. We use various distractions besides the many “prescribed for pain” medications like: entertainment such as sports, music and film, refined sugar, cannabis, herbal remedies, grandma’s concoctions, and so on in daily routines in order to have less pain. We come up with new personal methods to avoid suffering of all kinds. Suffering created by the very system we hold up by working the jobs offered. Since this colonial system is wrought with dumb ass shit that drives us madd and, also hands out pain like morning coffee, “system” has much unnecessary suffering. We are born learning how to avoid natural life’s cycles like death and kept ignorant about unnecessary suffering and its long term Post Traumatic Stress Disorder side affects which are thrust upon us at birth.
Generationally we hold up this system that causes so much unnecessary pain and suffering.
Makes us mad which could bring change, if only we knew, since education system teaches us many conquerors lies, this system creates insanity.
I believe all humans have dreams and visions of a better world, especially as youth. These dreams are unattainable within system. Dreams are co-opted into jobs. If and when dreams are made attainable, its because of sheer determination and then, afterwards they are co-opted by sick system and many are left devastated wondering “how or why?”
One educative event helped me in my life in my early thirty’s: Anti oppression 101. I now understand it to be decolonization re-education. CTEHV are currently finishing a training session this week. We will be offering anti oppression trainings on a regular basis to any group or individuals interested.
Here is one of a hundred examples of why decolonization is needed like in Harm Reduction: They say heroin is addictive (true) and that it’s why folks get so messed up on it. I disagree. It is my belief that this system is what messes people up. If the police chased you around all day because of your choice of pain medication, what do you think your life would be like? What if heroin works for you and nothing else does? You are considered a criminal. Cannabis is also made illegal and even though many have doctors recommendations and many are leaning more to a social acceptance, our Federal Neo Conservatives are making it difficult for medical cannabis recipients and easier for neo liberal or conservative capitalism!
Pain relievers have been available thru nature for generations and we did fine until the USA created a crisis and controlled the Drug Trade. People who use heroin, opium, cannabis and the like for pain both physical and emotional were criminalised and this new category of Illicit Drugs were used against people.
How about we just “forget about it”?
We should know by now how sick this system is and the roots of much of our health care is about “power over” and greed: those on top of this class system get better care than the mass slaves on the bottom.
Was honored to be at Queen Sacheen and Joe James Crows workshop at Camas. It was a packed house and we were educated about Ancestral Pride and their work. I highly recommend you all go to their web site: http://ancestralpride.ca/
Like Unist’ot’en Camp: http://unistotencamp.com/,
(added mar.18th after oprinting of StreetNewz) Sinixt Nation defends with their call out to support and help Save Slhu7kin/Perry’s Ridge, and to End the Genocide! In their own words:
“RCMP are expected to enforce an injunction this week: there may be arrests attempted today. We ask our supporters and allies to join us at the gate on Perry’s Ridge/ Slhu7kin”…”Despite World wide attention and support surrounding the Sinixt Nation and the establishment of a Cultural Camp at Slhu7kin, Perry’s Ridge, a temporary injunction has been granted to Galena Contractors against the Sinixt Nation.
We invite our Supporters, Allies and Accomplices to join us at the gate to Perry’s Ridge.”
Ancestral Pride is also standing up against corporate greed in their case a Mining Project that we can support them on.
“According to Sacheen of Ancestral Pride Ahousaht Sovereign Territory, “We, as sovereign Indigenous people and nations, will continue to protect our waters and lands from industrial genocide. Imperial Metals management is pursuing destructive mining projects in sensitive, highly valued ecosystems and has not obtained our free prior and informed consent for their operations. Imperial Metals is not welcome on sovereign Ahousaht territory.””
I wanted to share a favorite quote from their page:
“Indigenous activists are not super human mythical indigenous beings who are all knowing and all wise. We have problems, we are easily triggered, can be dysfunctional, some are addicted to sex, drugs, alcohol, and ego. We are the perpetrators of lateral violence as we denounce it. We pay rent, work for the man, go shopping and partake in mainstream culture more then we should. We beat our wives and husbands and ourselves there is much we have suffered in our generation and this cannot be undone. We want change, we aspire to change, and we are the change but we are inherently flawed. There is nothing wrong with that, it is a human condition and we are products of our enforced enslavement and colonization but we have to acknowledge these things in ourselves and you do in us as well so we can really do what has to be done. It does no one any greater disservice then to put them on pedestals and many a good movement has been waylaid because we are all too human and the mutual disappointments have caused things to slow to a trickle.”
read more at: http://ancestralpride.ca/
Keep in mind we are all messed up in this same colonial system, you reading this, anyone born in Canada. Many settlers were fleeing fascist dictators and we sadly brought the colonial battle here. As much as we have pride in making it here: even recent history fled Europe in world war two, French turned Acadians came in late 1600’s as just two examples, we have yet to throw off the colonial dictatorial skin.
I was also honored to be present at BCGEU to hear “members of the Mi’kmaq Warriors Society who have been arrested and incarcerated shared tonight while on their speaking tour in January and February to raise awareness about their struggle against fracking, their ongoing assertion and exercise of nationhood, and the repression they face from police and courts.”
“Our warriors are still being mistreated in the system, justice for our political prisoners of war.” Suzanne Patles, member of the Mi’kmaq Warrior Society.”
Suzanne Patles speaks from Elsipogtog Anti-Fracking Blockade
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyewGdAlQNk
Elsipogtog: The Fire Over Water
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0N-lDcq1PQ
Mi’kmaq Blockade
http://www.submedia.tv/stimulator/2013/10/16/mikmaq_blockade/
Warriors Defence Fund:
http://www.gofundme.com/4v80u4
Sacred Fire: The People United Against Fracking
http://sacredfirenb.com/welcome-to-the-sacred-fire-website/
I learned a lot from the two warriors, made my heart lift up. What a powerful message of unity. I felt proud to be an Acadian of mixed metis descent. Many Acadian and other non-native folks were there to support and still support this First Nations Defense of land and Life in Mi’kmaq territory.
Thank you to the organizers and the crowd who had great security culture. When the woman opened her talk, she shared that someone asked about the possibility of police being in the room.
She said something to the affect of; “well, we hope they learn from the stories. Maybe their hearts can hear and they too can learn.”
I want to express how powerful a speaker Coady was.
He opened and shared about how he had been criminalised for ten years by the punitive racist colonial system as a first nations man. For many like myself who have or currently struggle with using “illicit” pain relievers for diverse pain needs were moved by his story. Many of our homeless family members are stalked by police and. as we know, our family members are from diverse colonised cultural backgrounds and geographical locations. Half are first nations. Some, like Clifford Olson, started out on theses very streets as a petty thief turned Police Informant turned serial killer and protected in jail to his death. So inspiring to hear of more folks oppressed by the prison industrial system and police state getting educated and helped out thru community building. He really spoke from his heart.
It was an honor. I also learned that night:
We can support all first nations Land and Life warrior defender movements and, since we are drinking the water and have children and we want our children to have land to grow food and water to drink, we can support Indigenous movements as we actually have a duty to do so. We can write letters to political prisoners. Offer skills at camps defending traditional lands; be present and help in what ever way they ask, or, send them money.
If you would like to support this tour, please get in touch with: hwalia8 at gmail dot com.
I decided I would go and help at a local defender camp.
I believe Unist’ot’en Camp NOTE:added march 13; and Sinixt Nation, Slhu7kin/Perry’s Ridge are the closest we can support currently, although, it sounds like we will soon have many to pick from brothers, sisters and all humans standing. Now that we have learned Imperial Metals has plans on our Island its best we get busy with defending our future.
On another note, pardon the pun, Stephanie Lovatt and myself started a café based on powerful experiences both of us have had over years with coffee houses and for me specifically around political events that included a coffee house. Stephanie created the name for it on me back porch: Break Away Café.
A big point of connection for me was about providing an open space for music from a diverse group of folks. in support of our homeless family and bringing it to them. I wanted community creativity and love around community building, networking and sharing our visions and dreams around activism while enjoying diverse music and having fun, we work too hard. As the CTEHV was starting a campaign based on Social Housing Now and a Guaranteed Livable Income Now, I thot the CTEHV could kick off our campaign with this timely and well needed café idea? Did it ever kick off! We had loads of support and the camaraderie was welcomed.
So, we asked the CTEHV if they were interested in supporting and we hosted one at the Cool Aide Society Downtown Activity Center. Sadly for us Stephanie was very ill. We missed her horribly and many look forward to meeting her next time as the host. It turned out we pulled it off with out her by working together and filling the hole. It helped having Art Napoleon and family, Rene Macbeth, Alison, Bruce Dean, Derek, Ange and Adam as well as Butterfly FX performing! What vibrant community spirit!
I look forward to the possibility of more Break Away Café’s and hope to get the support that is needed! If people want a café like the one we had, please let me know, as we would need more help and commitment.
The Out Of The Rain shelter ran afterwards and we were pleased to have folks from that shelter not only attend and perform but also help with set up for us and set down for them!
Social Housing Now and Guaranteed Livable Income Now is our CTEHV’s campaign that Break Away Café helped to kick off. If you are interested in supporting this campaign, we need help printing our own designed leaflets and posters, snack / food donations and enuff leaflets for a welfare office every month.
You can attend CTEHV meetings and help out with the campaign.
You can also sign up your friends for an Anti Oppression Workshop that we are currently fine-tuning and just had our first for the CTEHV members. Please join us for meetings Wednesday’s 7pm at Silver Threads and once a month at Our Place Chapel (until we find a more suitable location downtown)
I want to end with a call out for the YES2SCS campaign, (Yes to Safe Consumption Sites) which is comprised of health care professionals, researchers, community activists, social workers, and individuals committed to social justice and public health. Please support this campaign at
kym hothead hines
a visitor in Lkwungen and WASANEC Territories.
feb 26 2014
cestral Pride
THAW Victoria 