Editorial: Giving Thanks When Others Are Hurting

— by Margie Doyle —

Living and working on Orcas Island, I’m thankful:

• for Arts for Orcas Kids (A-OK) and the Music Advocacy Group, who work throughout the year to provide music and art experiences and learning to all our schoolchildren as part of the public school curriculum;
• for those caretakers, whose difficult and compassionate work enables many Orcas Islanders, especially our Elders, to stay in their homes on the island;
• for the young underpaid laborer who returned a wallet with cash and credit intact, because he was “Just trying to do the right thing;”
• to Paul Kamin, keeping a watchful eye on our water and devoting many hours of his free time to gathering data and reviewing the laws on our parking situation;
• to the Orcas Island Fire and Rescue commissioners for responding to public desire for additional commissioners to oversee the department’s transitions and multi-million dollar budget;
• to County Auditor Milene Henley, Treasurer Rhonda Peterson, and Manager Mike Thomas, for renegotiating the county bond debt and saving us $1.24M over the next 20 years — and to the Council for passing the regulating ordinance;
• to Susan Osborn, Mike Hurwicz, Sharon Abreu and Tom Rawson, troubadours and activists who remind us of our humanity in music and song;
• to the Lions Sunshine group that sends out calls for ad hoc help to individual cases;
• to Liz LeRoy, project manager (owner’s representative) of the school’s upgrading projects, Phase II and Phase III, and of the Library’s Next Chapter expansion, and volunteer consultant for other local initiatives;
• to JoEllen Moldoff of poetry workshops and Writers Roundtables and to Charles Toxey and Jill McCabe Johnson, who awaken the lyrical magic and power of the written word through Artsmith;
• to members of the EPRC, past and present who labor to honor and conserve the character and to envision the development and future of Eastsound;
• to the Lummi nation, behind whom people such as Orcas NoCOALition rallied behind to prevent expansion of the Cherry Point Coal terminal;
• for our wonderful Orcas Issues contractors, interns, contributors and stringers: Lin McNulty, Ann Palmer, Madeleine Treneer, Emma Heikkinen, Maurice Austin, Sally Buchanan, Madie Murray and Ashley Randall; who commit to providing  relevant and positive community information to the Orcas public online

— and most importantly, to the participating islanders who direct the work of the above-mentioned people by going to meetings, expressing their points of view verbally and in emails and letters, responding to local calls for action, funding initiatives, participating in community meetings and Town Halls,voting, and joining together in moments of grief and silence.

Thankful yes, but …also uncomfortable, no, ashamed of the way fellow Americans are treating the Dakota Access Pipeline protestors. (The Dakota Access Pipeline is a $3 billion pipeline designed to carry fracked oil from North Dakota to Illinois — meaning it would cross underneath the Missouri River, the longest river on the continent. A leak in the pipeline would have the potential to destroy the drinking water supply for millions of people who live downstream.) Native Americans and others have joined forces at Standing Rock, asserting, as is our First Amendment right, their claims that the pipeline threatens their very livelihood. (Go to https://www.seattleglobalist.com/2016/11/22/pacific-northwest-tribal-youth-front-lines-standing-rock/59034 to read an article written by Orcas Islander Jack Russillo).

Water hoses used against protestors, 50 years ago and today

Last week militarized police attacked the Standing Rock protest encampment with rubber bullets and water from water cannons. Protestors suffered hypothermia, concussions, facial injuries and in once case, the possible loss of an arm. While mainstream media had been slow to pick up the story, now it is being reported widely, from Free Speech television to Public Broadcasting Network to the broadcast networks. Many reports from the first days of the protest have been posted on Facebook.

Supporting the cause of the Standing Rock protesters from the comfort of my home is an uncomfortable position. I search for a way to make a meaningful difference. In the face of increasing police violence, we must acknowledge this fight on a holiday too often used to whitewash the history of Native people in the United States. I wasn’t around when blankets with smallpox were callously given to Native Americans; I wasn’t there when Indian children were removed from their homes and sent to boarding schools; but I am here now and I know what’s happening to unarmed peaceful protestors by our militarized police.

Several Orcas Islanders have been to Standing Rock, delivering supplies and otherwise helping. I have commitments here on Orcas, and would not be helpful at Standing Rock. But to do nothing in the face of this disgrace is shameful. We must find ways to affirm the peaceful protests and stand up for their right to healthy drinking water.

This is not protest for the sake of protest, but a First Amendment right to gather together to speak freely about the threat and injustice of the pipeline. As Americans we must uphold the  Constitutional right of expression.

Here’s some ideas that others have employed and passed on; please comment with other suggestions:

• Use your Facebook and Twitter accounts to rally others;
• Send money to their https://standingrock.org/news/standing-rock-sioux-tribe–dakota-access-pipeline-donation-fund/  which pays for legal, sanitation, and emergency purposes, Perhaps donate as much as you spend on your Thanksgiving dinners;
• Write and mail and phone your representatives, North Dakota reps and President Obama.
  • Call President Obama at 202-456-1111; you can craft your message from this suggestion: “I’m calling to ask President Obama to step in and stop the attacks on the protesters at Standing Rock — and to act quickly to stop this pipeline. We have less than 60 days until the president leaves office. There’s no time to lose, and people are being hurt and hospitalized right now. Tell President Obama I expect him to side with peaceful protesters and Native American rights — he must step in to stop police violence, and stop the pipeline.”
  • North Dakota Senator Heidi Heitcamp (202) 224-2043
  • North Dakota Senator John Hoeven Phone: (202) 224-2551. To call his North Dakota field offices, go to https://www.hoeven.senate.gov/contact/office-locations
• Attend the Day of Prayer this Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Emmanuel Parish Hall
• Attend the Orcas Island Walkout in Solidarity with Standing Rock! next Thursday, Dec. 1 from 11 -12 noon in Eastsound, organized by Stephanie Cichy

For me, at least that will make my Thanksgiving dinner, outdoor walks and football binge-watching go down a little easier as I reflect on militia turning water cannons in freezing weather on our neighbors, First Nations and otherwise, in North Dakota. As one FaceBook comment said: “Where has humanity gone? What were they thinking? How could they go home that night and sleep peacefully knowing what they did to their fellow humans?”

Make yourself uncomfortable with injustice.