Behind the Blockaded Road at the Caycuse River
Behind the blockaded road at the Caycuse River on Ditidaht Territory there is much beauty. A few remaining patches of old-growth forest still stand, much of it up high in the hills where growing conditions are harsher and logging is dangerous. Some ancient trees — those whose life now hangs in the balance — still tower in the valleys and along the rivers where biodiversity thrives and life flourishes.
Robins and varied thrushes announce every morning. Trout navigate the rivers and the waterfalls, working at returning to their beginnings. Bats flutter by, snatching bugs out of the air as dusk settles. Owls relish in the darkness beneath skies showing off stars that cities have long forgotten.
Trilliums are currently blooming throughout carpeted landscapes of ferns and salal. Herds of elk slowly and quietly wander through patches of maples wrapped entirely with damp moss. The occasional unlucky tree displays wounds from the claws of cougars or bears.
This land is under attack. The Caycuse Blockade is currently and precariously keeping logging company Teal-Jones from clear-cutting 200 acres of ancient red cedar forest under the government-granted Tree Farm License #46. Teal-Jones has been quietly chipping away at the trees in and around the Caycuse watershed for some months, taking down trees that are over 1000 years old with little resistance. However, on August 4th, 2021 workers were turned away by the newly created blockade, as protestors peacefully sat on the road blocking the bridge into the watershed refusing to step aside.
I have been attending the blockade at Caycuse River for much of the past few weeks. I’ve been trained as a Police Liaison, and though I have yet to personally have face-to-face contact with any members of the RCMP, they have sent their liaisons to visit our camp for cordial conversations. RCMP also flew a flashy helicopter overhead, taking their time to get all the information they desired from the sky. Camp numbers fluctuate from 20–70 people throughout the week, with countless folks supporting from afar, keeping an eye on the situation so they can act fast when things really start to heat up. This camp is the youngest in a group of current blockades, starting with Fairy Creek on Pacheedaht Territory. Each camp works under the guidance of the Rainforest Flying Squad, a group of passionate and diverse eco-protectors. The ongoing advocacy of support for the blockades from Pacheedaht Elder Bill Jones has been at the forefront of this movement to protect these ancient forests.
There is a mixture of nervousness and excitement at camp. A few weeks ago, each blockade was served a court-ordered injunction. Caycuse Camp has now been handed injunction papers three separate times. Tensions are growing higher and higher. We have had multiple interactions with forestry workers, usually where we chit-chat awkwardly and discuss our views, not always differing, on old-growth versus new-growth.
On one occasion, a worker in a large silver truck raced towards our gate and turned around 30 metres shy of our post. A woman in the passenger seat yelled out the window, “Why don’t you all go get a life!” before they drove off again. As the vehicle recklessly retreated intentional dust clouds bloomed and then settled upon us. The irony of her comment left us all reflectively and quietly chuckling to ourselves. We are literally standing between life and destruction. What else could we do with our lives that would be more worthwhile?
Still, the conversations that ring through the camp after each encounter with forestry workers and each time the injunction is delivered always circles around the uncomfortable realization that this blockade is keeping people from their wages, from their job security and from their identity. No one wants to make this a battle between those who are protecting the trees and those who are hired to cut down the trees. It goes so much deeper than that. No one is saying that the forestry industry is bad. No one is denying that our economy relies heavily on trees as a renewable resource. The movement is not fighting to take away the jobs of workers or put families and whole communities in a precarious and vulnerable situation.
We fight for the earth, fight for government accountability and against the current systems that enable false promises and closed doors. Fight for Indigenous sovereignty, financial reparations and a re-education of the settler masses on what it means to be a decent neighbour. Fight for healthy communities and a wise economy that protects workers rights and doesn’t just benefit the constant few. Fight for the collapse of colonial and obsolete ways of operation and, of course, fight for these ancient ecosystems and their many inhabitants. These forests have incredible carbon sink abilities and therefore are one of the greatest tools we have in our fight against climate change.
We don’t have all the solutions, no movement is perfect and improvement is always and constantly necessary. But we are trying, we are growing. Regardless of the trajectory we’ve been told to march on and our collective miseducation in this current world, it’s never too late to turn around.
While some might spread manipulative rumours of unemployed and undesirable folks wrongfully squatting in the woods, truthfully, the people I have met on the frontlines are some of the most amazing, insightful and vastly intelligent people I have ever encountered. Even though each camp is operating during COVID19 times, restricting contact and insisting on physical distancing, there is a sense of closeness as those who gather immediately resonate on a level of understanding about what really matters. Our jobs don’t define us but to counteract the above sentiment often placed on justice movements, I’ll share that in recent weeks I’ve stood with educators, politicians, artists, farmers, athletes, students, lawyers, writers, carpenters, sawyers, pilots, business owners, therapists… I’ve stood with mothers, fathers, grandparents and children. In the span of one hour I discussed arrest with both a grandmother and a twelve year old girl.
On April 12th 2021, members of the Pacheedaht First Nation released a letter that made everyone stop in their tracks and question their involvement, their presence and their role. The letter requested that blockaders leave the Pacheedaht land, where most of the camps protecting the last stands of old-growth exist. I acknowledge that in my white and privileged body, I felt precariously guilty and considered throwing in the towel before further consideration.
This letter spread quickly and some big players in the media leaned heavily into a perspective that was slowly painting the blockades with a darker and darker paintbrush. Brash headlines went up, taglines were consumed and opinions were formed.
Shortly after, Elder Bill Jones released his response to the Pacheedaht letter, with support from his niece xʷ is xʷ čaa (Kati George-Jim). His letter exposed the many truths and complexities at hand: “As colonialism on the island persisted, the tactics have shifted but the strategy has remained — monetize the patriarchy and misogyny, steal and indoctrinate children, and rape the land.” (Please read the full response in the link below).
A few nights ago I had the pleasure of crossing paths with xʷ is xʷ čaa, as well as Pacheedaht Hereditary Chief Victor Phillips, at the Caycuse Camp. They brought further words of support from Elder Bill Jones. Following this, I personally felt more determined to come face to face with the pitfalls of colonialism and to continue to fight for the future, to continue to be uncomfortable but passionate, to continue to speak up for what I know to be right, even if I don’t have all the answers, even if I make mistakes along the way.
“It is not for Western or colonial society to decide who is or what is hereditary, or a non-colonial governance, but it is up to the outside society to understand that it is a tactic to use Indigenous people to fit colonial government agendas. Indigenous peoples are used against our own peoples and families, becoming another resource exploited by colonial actors.” — Elder Bill Jones with Kati George-Jim, Media Release Statement April 13, 2021.
To simply turn away and not address the deep and complex knot of problems at hand, to retreat back to our comfort zones and to once again go quiet, would only further allow colonialism and prolong the inevitable that comes if we continue to destroy our planet because it’s too hard to stand in the way of destruction and greed. Because it’s too hard to admit that colonialism continues to be rampant and continues to meddle and manipulate, paying lip service and acting out performative reconciliation only when convenient for capitalistic desires.
There is no simple solution.
But the silence from Premier John Horgan and the BC NDP Government is telling. Are they deliberately choosing to not take any actual accountability and instead are backing away silently, waiting for things to again conveniently unfold in their favour? This is not leadership. This from the same government that recently campaigned on an election platform that said “Only by protecting what makes our province so special can we build long-term prosperity” and signed on to implement the full slate of proposals from the Old Growth Strategic Review Panel. On John Horgan’s green light, the RCMP will begin arresting protestors and Teal-Jones will begin flattening these ecosystems immediately. They will be gone forever.
The earth is dying. Apathy ensures that we will continue down a path that has no future. Greed invasively spreads in the souls of many, caressing and feeding already overflowing piggy banks. Our systems have been massaged entirely to create a world that is unbalanced and completely misguided.
These trees are priceless. Their loss will have irreparable consequences for all. Nature is resilient but second-growth is never going to catch up to the power of original-growth.
If this resonates with you, stand up and push back, even if it is uncomfortable. You don’t have to be the one standing at the front of the line, shouting the loudest. Every single person with the right intentions fits perfectly into the tapestry of making this world a better and healthier place for all.
You are nature. Fight for yourself.
Thanks for reading.
- Laura Mina Mitic
With the utmost respect to the Ditidaht Nation, whose footsteps on this land run deep as the roots of the oldest trees.
In union with all who are using their voices and existence to fight for the future, including the Walbran, River, Eden and Campers camps and the Ada’itsxFairy Creek HQ on Pacheedaht territory.
Much thanks to my support crew: Trudy Duivenvoorden Mitic, Naomi Fleschhut and Pat Ferguson
Reference Reading:
Media Release Statement by Elder Bill Jones:
Flying Rainforest Squad — Why We Stand With Pacheedaht Elder Bill Jones:
https://laststandforforests.com/news-media/why-we-stand-with-pacheedaht-elder-bill-jones/
Original Pacheedaht Letter by Frank Quest Jones and Jeff Jones:
https://twitter.com/nathancullen/status/1381720507586801664/photo/1
Further Action Items:
Follow @fairycreekblockade @rainforestflyingsquad @ancientforestalliance on Instagram.
Come to camp if you are local and able.
Create a solidarity event in your community or online, tagging the above groups.
Donate.
Bug the heck out of Premier John Horgan about his campaign “promises” (1–250–387–1715) and your local NDP MLA.
Speak out against Ecocide and fill the internet with pro-old growth support.
If you have a friend on the frontlines, reach out to them and tell them you support them. It’s hard work out therec.
