Red Power Energy Screening & Discussion

7 pm, Thursday, October 27

Little Panida Theater

300 North First Avenue, Sandpoint, Idaho

Support for Standing Rock Sioux legal defense fund

Discussion with Kalispel Tribe members & canoeists

Suggested $5 or more admission donation

Across the American West, indigenous tribes are grappling with the dilemma of balancing development of energy resources on their ancestral homelands with sustaining their traditional beliefs of respect and care for the Earth. Previously the victims of environmental degradation and federal mismanagement, Native people are in the midst of an extraordinary resurgence within the current, controversial, energy and climate change debate.  Many tribes are challenging long-held stereotypes, asserting their sovereign rights to control their lands, and implementing strategies to develop their natural and mineral resources without further disrupting their environment.  As microcosms of conflicts between progress and tradition, between the material needs of today and the potentially negative consequences of tomorrow, American Indian reservations hold ten percent of potential renewable energy, 20 percent of known oil and gas reserves, and 30 percent of the coal reserves in the United States west of the Mississippi River.  As demands for energy increase, so does the pursuit of untapped resources, both below and above the ground.

Among Washington coastal tribes, the Lummi Nation has victoriously opposed the massive Gateway Pacific coal train and export terminal at Cherry Point, while the Swinomish Indian tribal community has successfully resisted a Shell oil-by-rail unloading facility at an Anacortes refinery. Both tribes have effectively stopped proposed fossil fuel projects through legal challenges protecting their treaty rights and with supportive community participation in public processes, rallies, marches, rail blockades, and intertribal networking.  But the litigation and direct actions of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and allies continue, through efforts to protect their water and land for future generations from Dakota Access pipeline construction and operation impacts.  Tunneling from North Dakota through South Dakota and Iowa to Illinois, this Bakken oil pipeline would cross under the Missouri River upstream of their reservation in North Dakota, polluting their drinking water sources and threatening their burial grounds and sacred sites.  Symbolizing the ongoing Native struggle between tradition and progress, this fossil fuel project has galvanized thousands of Indians from over 200 tribes to gather with the Standing Rock Sioux in peaceful and prayerful resistance along the pipeline route near the Cannonball River.

Sponsored by the Idaho Mythweaver and Wild Idaho Rising Tide (WIRT), a public screening of the new documentary Red Power Energy and an indigenous-led discussion of Dakota Access pipeline opposition together serve as a fundraiser for the Standing Rock Sioux legal defense fund, with suggested theater admission donations of $5 or more.  Immediately after the one-hour film, showing at 7 pm on Thursday, October 27, at the Little Panida Theater (300 North First Avenue, Sandpoint, Idaho), members of the Kalispel Tribe of Indians will speak about their participation in the Standing Rock convergence and in a multi-tribal protest where they paddled their traditional dugout canoe on the Missouri River from Bismarck, North Dakota, to the Cannonball River confluence. Continue reading →

Music for Change – Tom Neilson Benefit Concert

Sunday, October 9, 2016

5:30 pm optional, reserved dinner (208-263-0846), 7:30 pm concert

Di Luna’s Café, 207 Cedar Street, Sandpoint, Idaho

$10+ suggested admission donation

Two north Idaho groups are co-hosting a special benefit concert, offered by singer-songwriter and long-time activist Tom Neilson, in Sandpoint on Sunday, October 9 [1-2]. Dubbed the Jon Stewart of folk music, Tom offers inspiration through his music to effect change [3].  He has performed his award-winning songs of humor and compassion in 21 countries on five continents.  His songs about historical and current events reflect his travels, intertwined with his farm roots and his fervent commitment to social justice.  Audiences celebrate Tom’s lyrics for their political astuteness, sophistication, and wit.

Event co-sponsors 350Sandpoint and Wild Idaho Rising Tide gratefully welcome everyone to participate in this community event providing a gathering place for people involved in solving the climate crisis and overcoming the regional impacts of global pollution.

350Sandpoint is a chapter of 350.org, a global, grassroots, climate movement founded by Bill McKibben. Jean Gerth, who co-founded the local group with Jim Akers, Nancy Gerth, and Gary Payton, states, “We want to see the people of Bonner County come together to address climate change and to support each other in a sometimes overwhelming process.”

As part of an international, volunteer network of activists, Wild Idaho Rising Tide (WIRT) confronts the root causes of climate change by coordinating direct actions and promoting locally organized solutions. WIRT activist Helen Yost says, “The frontline resistance of indigenous and allied communities peacefully challenging coal, oil, tar sands, and natural gas extraction and transportation projects continues to inspire Idahoans to work together across the region to halt new fossil fuel infrastructure that would pollute the environment and climate.”

For this Sunday, October 9 benefit event, the doors open at 5:30 pm for optional dinner by reservation at Di Luna’s Café, 207 Cedar Street in Sandpoint, Idaho. Please call Di Luna’s at 208-263-0846 for your reservation.  Activist musician Tom Neilson begins his performance there at 7:30 pm, for $10 suggested donations supporting 350Sandpoint and WIRT.

For further information, see the enclosed description of Tom Neilson’s background, peruse the websites and facebook pages of Tom, 350Sandpoint, and WIRT, and/or contact info@sandpoint350.org and wild.idaho.rising.tide@gmail.com [1-3].

Please print and post the linked, color, letter-sized, PDF version of the Tom Neilson Sandpoint Concert Flyer (tom-neilson-sandpoint-concert-flyer), invite your friends and family through the email messages and website and facebook links about this event, participate in this Music for Change Benefit Concert, and enjoy the rousing music of Tom Neilson! Continue reading →

Standing Rock Solidarity Benefit Concert with Tom Neilson

7 pm, Friday, October 7

Linen Building, 1402 West Grove Street, Boise, Idaho

$10 suggested admission donation

Several Idaho groups are co-hosting the Standing Rock Solidarity Benefit Concert offered by singer-songwriter and long-time activist Tom Neilson in Boise, October 7 [1-3]. Dubbed the Jon Stewart of folk music, Tom offers inspiration through his music to effect change [4].  He has performed his award-winning songs of humor and compassion in 21 countries on five continents.  His songs about historical and current events reflect his travels, intertwined with his farm roots and fervent commitment to social justice.  Audiences celebrate Tom’s lyrics for their political astuteness, sophistication, and wit.

The Idaho Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence, Shoshone Paiute tribal members of Duck Valley, and Wild Idaho Rising Tide gratefully welcome everyone to participate in this community event providing a gathering place for people supporting the indigenous and allied Sacred Stone, Red Warrior, and Oceti Sakowin camps actively protecting waters and lands from the threats of Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) construction and operation near the confluence of the Cannonball and Missouri rivers in North Dakota and throughout its route to Illinois.

The frontline resistance of these and other grassroots communities peacefully confronting coal, oil, tar sands, and natural gas extraction and transportation projects continues to inspire Idahoans to work together across the region to defend human rights and tribal sovereignty, to seek racial and gender justice, and to halt new fossil fuel infrastructure that would pollute both the environment and the climate.

For this Friday, October 7 benefit event, the doors open at 6:30 pm at the Linen Building, 1402 West Grove Street in Boise, Idaho. Activist musician Tom Neilson begins his performance at 7 pm, for $10 suggested donations.  For further information, see the enclosed descriptions of Tom Neilson’s background and Dakota Access Pipeline concerns, and peruse the websites and facebook pages of Tom and the NoDAPL resistance camps [5-8].

Please print and post the linked, color, letter-sized, PDF version of the Tom Neilson Boise Concert Flyer (tom-neilson-boise-concert-flyer), invite your friends and family through the email messages and website and facebook links about this event, participate in this Standing Rock Solidarity Benefit Concert, and enjoy the rousing music of Tom Neilson! Continue reading →