Persephone Rose is the Director of Redwood Voice. Her roles involve directing, producing, and reporting for Redwood Voice, as well as their operation on KFUG Community News. Leading the next iteration of this ever-changing multimedia project, her job is to figure out how to establish a direct flow of news to the community from youth reporters often still in training, learning hands-on skills in the heat of the moment.
Health Matters is hosted by Lynn Szabo and Paul Critz. This episode also featured Mike Thornton. Produced by Persephone Rose.
On this Health Matters, we sit down to talk about something that’s not such a big deal for the rational person yet a politically hot topic: Vaccine Mandates. PA Lynn Szabo sits with Paul & Mike to talk about what they actually mean, how they’re being done here, and to just… get vaccinated. If you want to do all the things you want to do, you gotta get vaccinated.
What’s a vaccine mandate? Although it’s a requirement that says you must be vaccinated to do certain things, an individual cannot be forced to receive a vaccine. (Think of it as “Vaccination Mandatory to attain entry.”) Of course, this means there are still consequences as you can be prevented from doing something you may want to do, which is well within the rights of those putting up restrictions. Vaccine mandates have been a common part of our lives long, long before COVID-19, such as school vaccination requirements or travel vaccination requirements.
The Federal Mandate for COVID-19 Vaccinations… The current federal mandate declares that all employers with more than 100 employees must be either COVID Vaccinated or the employee must get weekly COVID-19 testing. This is enforced on the federal level by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
States and cities can require vaccine mandates, which is legally supported by a rather strong Supreme Court decision in 1905—a 7-2 decision based on the idea that an individual’s right to liberty cannot deprive others of their right to liberty. What this boils down to is everyone has some restraints that exist for the common good.
Exemptions exist to maintain compliance with the ADA. Religious exemptions follow complicated rules, including:
Beliefs must be sincere
People must be informed that they have this option
Religious exemptions are judged on an individual basis
Health exemptions need verification from a health care provider and cannot legally include details.
What’s a law abiding Del Norter to do?
Get vaccinated -or- submit to weekly testing.
Have your documentation in order if you believe you qualify for an exemption.
Remember that yelling, drama, and anger isn’t a solution.
Health Matters is live every Tuesday at 11am on KFUG Community Radio 101.1 FM and streaming online at kfugradio.org!
The information of this message comes from Del Norte Library District Literacy Coordinator Danny Clark.
Could you use assistance with your reading? How about assistance with basic computer skills; like word processing, writing a resume or setting up an email? Do you need help preparing for your GED or HiSET? Are you learning English as a second language and would like to improve your reading, speaking and listening skills?
Del Norte Reads is here to help with all this and much more!
Del Norte Reads — a grant and donation funded nonprofit organization aimed at helping community members with all aspects of functional literacy — is a library program that works in conjunction with the Del Norte County Library District to provide free literacy services to community members. They proudly provide assistance with reading, writing, math, computer literacy, GED prep and much more.
They are looking for compassionate volunteers to tutor our hard working learners. We provide materials and training. Even an hour or two a week can make a huge impact in the lives of the program’s learners.
All of Del Norte Reads’ services are free and they are more than happy to provide accommodations for a diverse group of learners.
“Fun times on Adult Literacy Day at the Del Norte Reads Open House.” – From the Del Norte Reads Facebook Page.
If this program sounds like something you or someone you know would enjoy being a part of this program, you can call them at (707) 464-7072 or stop by and see them in person at 1080 Mason Mall suite 9. More information is available at the Main branch of the Del Norte County Library.
“Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at the Del Norte County Library (including our visiting dinosaurs)! […] Happy Thanksgiving!” – From the Del Norte County Library Facebook Page.
On this week’s Health Matters, KFUG Community Radio’s show about all things health with local PA Lynn Szabo, we sit down to talk about the thing you’ve already heard about: COVID-19’s Omicron variant.
Very little medical information is present as this remains an unfolding story. The first cases reported came from South Africa, November 24th, 2021 (with those particular cases initially being reported November 9th, 2021.) The Omicron variant itself has approximately 50 of its own mutations at the time of reporting, 30 of which are on the spike protein.
In short: we don’t a know whole lot just yet. The effectiveness of current vaccines against Omicron is yet to be determined, but the response from scientist has been a matter of weeks instead of months like previously, with Moderna and Pfizer looking at the vaccine response to this variant.
All this being said—what’s a concerned Del Norter to do? It’s back to the basics, or continuing for those who have listened:
Get your third dose. (Talk to your provider or pharmacist about what’s available)
Wear your mask, correctly. (The nose is part of the respiratory system too.)
Isolate and distance. (While you don’t need to confine yourself to a dungeon, don’t start rushing into groups of strangers.)
Wash your hands. (Come on. Don’t be gross.)
Don’t touch your face. (Might be tempting but if you skipped that last step, you’re really gonna want to listen.)
For the full talk with PA Lynn Szabo, you can listen to the full episode of Health Matters below!
Health Matters is hosted by Lynn Szabo and Paul Critz. This episode also featured Oliver Corcovelos and Mike Thornton. Produced by Persephone Rose.
Health Matters is on live every Tuesday at 11am on KFUG Community Radio 101.1 FM and streaming online at kfugradio.org!
The audio version of this PSA, as made for radio—by Persephone Rose.
The Wild Rivers Community Foundation is conducting a survey to understand the impact that COVID-19 has had on the youth of our community, primarily those aged 16 to 24 out of work and out of school. The data gained from this research will support the operations of various social programs and has a vital role in serving the underserved youth of our community.
You can access the survey with the bit.ly link: bit.ly/DNYSurvey (note that the link is case-sensitive.) You can also scan the QR code on their flier, which has been included below. All participants will receive a $10 coffee gift card and will be entered to win 1 of 4 $100 VISA Gift Cards.
Sources of Strength in Del Norte are closer than they might seem!
This program is nationwide, but we’re talking about the team of youths right here at home. They’re here to spread messages and engage with the community, kicking it off with their “We Belong” Campaign!
And of course, a special thanks to the team of youths who spoke in this video—Valeria, Abigal, Andy, Alivia, and Annalee!—who not only provided their voices, but are part of the actual initiative of this program.
Listen—we know Amazon and Jeff Bezos are comically evil at this point. From the scary time those really robotic tweets supporting Amazon were coming out to the horrible mishaps that just kinda happen to the lack of ethics behind hording wealth that should be stimulating an already broken, shambling economy, we’ve seen it time and time again. And we tend to forget about it because we get used to worse stuff.
“[…] the scary time those really robotic tweets supporting Amazon were coming out[…]”“[…] to the horrible mishaps that just kinda happen[…]”“[…] to the lack of ethics behind hording wealth that should be stimulating an already broken, shambling economy.”
“[…] we’ve seen it time and time again. And we tend to forget about it because we get used to worse stuff.“
Let this week be a reminder to break out of that cycle.
Over the past month, the workers of an Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama have been voting on unionizing. Some sources say the voting has concluded while others suggest it’s still in progress, so for our purposes we’ll consider the voting in progress until we see final results. Unionizing, if successful, would make them the first Amazon warehouse to unionize! Specifically, they’re looking to join the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, or RWDSU.
The beautiful thing about this is it hasn’t gone under the radar, we’re far from the first to talk about this. Frankly the entire country is talking about it! #BoycottAmazon is trending on Twitter and other social media—primarily from a consumer led movement. A Mashable article from Tim Marcin says, “It’s important to note, though, that this call for action isn’t coming from inside the union. An RWDSU spokesperson confirmed as much to Mashable in a Sunday phone call. Boycott or not, this ongoing vote and the efforts to make it happen represent a critically important moment for union activists. Should the Bessemer’s unionization effort prove successful, other Amazon workers could follow suit.”
Representative Andy Levin of Detroit, Michigan told the workers of this warehouse, “This is the most important election for the working class of this country in the 21st century. This is the biggest election in the South in a generation.”
Amazon’s reaction to this has been attempted union busting. They have a history of fighting Union activity, in fact when I searched for their response I found a CNBC Article by Katie Schoolov about an instance back in August of 2019 where Amazon took SEVERAL moves to block unionization, which included integrating anti-union messages in their employee training videos. As such, it’s little surprise that Amazon is reacting similarly, to the point that it’s been reported that Amazon may have tampered with traffic light timing. From the Verge, Russell Brandom: “Union organizers at the site had previously accused the company of altering the timing so that pro-union workers would not be able to canvass workers while stopped at the light.
Until recently, the altered timing on the traffic light outside the factory had been dismissed as a rumor. But More Perfect Union confirmed with Jefferson County officials that last year, Amazon notified the county of traffic delays during shift changes and asked for the light to be changed. On December 15th, the county increased the green light duration in an effort to clear workers off the worksite faster. There’s no indication that the county was aware of the ongoing organizing drive or any effect the traffic light changes might have on the effort.”
Of course, while this could be all chalked up to heresy and coincidence, it’s harder to look at it that way when considering their regular habits include very direct measures inside these warehouses. Noting, again, the training video incident, it’s reported further in that same article: “Amazon has vigorously contested the effort, posting anti-unionization flyers throughout the factory, most noticeably in the bathroom. In advance of the official vote, workers also received a flood from Amazon warning of potentially negative consequences from unionization.”
Even uh, more grossly, I saw that Amazon was suddenly broadcasting this.
Yes, yes it’s great to celebrate Black women-owned businesses Amazon, but dropping this in the middle of a boycott is clearly a guilt tactic used to make consumers feel uneasy about how they’re seen to others. Because you’re not doing that so much through Amazon, you’re still buying through Amazon. The business likely has their own shop on another platform as well you could just as easily go to without tossing more of your cash into Bezos’s Bezhole.
So, look—don’t use Amazon this week. And frankly? If you can, try not to use it. A friend of mine once taught me how to search for items I want on Amazon, viewing the manufacturer, and then finding that item either from the manufacturer or a different shop they work for. Oftentimes cheaper.
Jeff Bezos is a pit where money just evaporates, and sure, you can order some staples and Sanrio stickers and an inflatable boat in like two days, but it’s because we’ve given a lot of money to some rich cold sore on humanity, and now he’s just some rich guy who pays a poor person too little to do the thing for him that he still gets the praise for.
Don’t use Amazon this week. Remember: Capitalism is rough, but we are all its victims—we can buy our material goods from other stalls. Try Etsy instead.
Though this project exists as a video, it is also included below as an article for your reading leisure.
It’s made national news and things are finally heading in the right direction, but it’s only the beginning. Throughout 2020—yes, that 2020—The Yurok Tribe rose up and at last has reached their goal of undamming the Klamath River, now with a set year for the dams to finally come down. But it wasn’t an easy journey… nor a short one, and certainly not a simple one. Here’s how we got here.
This report is meant to document what led to the move to finally undam the Klamath River, after a solid decade of effort being put into the matter.
Those who made it through the constant negotiations and reworkings involved the Klamath Justice Coalition, who are, quote, “formed by local Natives and people from the Klamath around the Un-dam the Klamath campaign,” (x) as well as the Yurok Tribe as a whole, whose reservation rests in Klamath. In fact, to part the curtain, this video was inspired while I was looking for information to teach myself about the entire ordeal, and noticed that information was… a little bit all over the place.
Which, hey, in its defense: this story just developed over the last few months, and the developments in between were quite spaced out. So the purpose of this report will be to capture the narrative and have it all in one easy-to-digest place.
So without further ado—let’s jump right in.
CHAPTER 1. Exposition
Well, actually, we’re not going to jump right into the real meat of it. Since we’re broadcasting this story to people who may have no idea what’s up: just a bit of a rundown of what you need to know.
The Klamath River is a 257 mile long river that cuts through both Northern California and Southern Oregon. Over in Klamath it empties into the Pacific Ocean, and it starts all the way back in, of course, Klamath Falls. It’s the Second Largest River in all California, second only to the Sacramento River. The river is so large that along its trail, it satiates four different tribes: the Yurok tribe, the Karuk tribe, the Hoopa tribe, and the Klamath tribe.
The Klamath is an absolutely vital part of the area. To our neighbors, the Yurok Tribe, it gives a sense of identity and livelihood. It gives sustenance to the ecosystem and is where the salmon population is meant to thrive. The fishing of salmon in the Yurok Tribe, as this report will likely hit a few times, is an incredibly important part of Yurok culture. Salmon is used in ceremonies. Salmon is a source of food. And for many, salmon is a source of income.
I don’t think I need to explain why that’s, y’know, a big deal. Imagine a resource so vital, so important to you. It’s been part of your culture since as long as your culture’s been around, it keeps you fed, and chances are high it’s what you do to keep the lights on and the bills paid.
Now imagine something happens. Something bad. No, that resource isn’t taken away: it’s made sick from the source, and withers before your very eyes.
CHAPTER 2. The Day of the Dams
Klamath River, again, is a big river. I probably made that clear. And you know this story is about dams so you know where we’re going with this.
What happens when you put a dam on a river? According to Michael Belchik, the Yurok tribe’s senior fisheries biologist, quote “Anytime you put a dam on a river, it always has profound effects: it chops the river into two pieces. Rivers carry a lot more than just water. The water goes down river, fish move upriver, but not only that: there’s nutrients, sediment and other organisms.” Rivers move a lot of vital stuff, and when you put a giant wall in the way, it’s going to mess it up. And mess it up it has, as the salmon population that we’ve established as important on both an identity and livelihood basis has been utterly decimated. Glen Spain, northwest regional director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations, explained that the salmon catch rate has gone down 98% over the past 4 decades due to the dams. In a more scientific phrasing: “Scientists state that the dams create deadly algae blooms that contribute to disease and parasites infecting Klamath River salmon,” according to a Wild Rivers Outpost article by Jessica Cejnar. If you’d like to see more of this effect, Congressman Jared Huffman conducted a livestream August 18th, 2020—a hefty 2 hour examination of the impact it’s had on the tribes that rely on it and the environment itself whilst PacifiCorp turns profits.
The aforementioned Jared Huffman livestream examining effects.
Even more so, an interesting point on these dams is that while their list of cons piles high, their pros aren’t so positive either. It would actually be tremendously better for the economy of Del Norte County to have these dams taken down. Bringing back the salmon population would reintroduce commercial fishing from the Tribe and Independent Fisheries. Instead, the salmon numbers have been simply so low along the Klamath River that from end to end, Northern California to Southern Oregon, fisheries have had to disband solely because there’s not even enough fish to pass the minimum threshold, Glen Spain further elaborated in a Wild Rivers Outpost article.
Basically? The Dams aren’t really doing much for anyone besides PacifiCorp themselves, the profiting party. And even that is put to question. The same article said of Spain, quote, “Spain argued that the 82 megawatts of electricity the dams generate has been replaced at least 17 times over with renewable energy since Berkshire Hathaway purchased PacifiCorp in 2005. He noted that in a 2007 environmental impact statement, FERC concluded that the dams actually produce 26 percent less power than originally thought, which has to be sold at a rate that loses the company $20 million a year.”
So if I told you these dams—yes, plural—have been up for a solid century, well, I don’t have to tell you that’s going to be rough on the environment. The four dams, which are named J.C. Boyle, Copco No. 1, Copco No. 2, and the Iron Gate, spanned several decades of construction, the first beginning construction around 1908 with it finishing around 1917, and the last finally constructed in 1962, standing strong and in the way ever since.
The Yurok Tribe has had a rough relationship trying to get these dams removed, an obvious goal because these dams, as Belchik said, chopped the river into separate pieces. Since the mid-2000s, some progress had finally been made between the various stakeholders who are involved with the Klamath River and the Dams, which includes the Yurok Tribe and Pacificorp (who actually operates the Dams), though also includes the Karuk Tribe, a few environmental organizations, and the states of California and Oregon. This settlement became known as the “Klamath Hydro-electric Settlement Agreement,” or KHSA. As Amy Cordalis, General Council of the Yurok Tribe puts it,
[…] Since the mid-2000s [there] has been an agreement in place: the Klamath Hydro-electric Settlement Agreement, that would effectuate dam removal. That agreement has been amended and changed a few times.
Amy Cordalis, General Council of the Yurok Tribe
These amendments and changes have altered how things work out regarding Dam Removal, which has made it a bumpy road in terms of getting the dams… well, actually removed. The most recent of these amendments happened in 2016, when the responsibility of Dam Removal was taken out of Congressional Approval, as it had previously been, and back into the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or FERC. FERC’s involvement would provide a bit of a “Curveball,” as Amy Cordalis and many others have come to put it, and I’ll let her take it away with what exactly that meant for Dam Removal:
And in July of last year, 2020, we received an order on one of the initial applications. And in the order, it basically approved the license surrender of the Klamath Dams FERC License that’s required in order for PacifiCorp to operate the dams. So it approved the application of surrendering that license, but it required PacifiCorp to stay on the license through the transfer process of that license to the Klamath River Renewal Corporation, which is the Dam Removal Entity. And that requirement was a bit of a curveball, it was a bit different from what we had contemplated in the 2016 amendment to the [KHSA], and so there was this decision point of… what do we do? How do we continue to move forward with dam removal with this little curveball? And so what happened was the Yurok Tribe called the CEOs of Berkshire Hathaway – Warren Buffet, the CEO of PacifiCorp – […] And so we called their leaders and basically said, “Meet us on the banks of Blue Creek on the Yurok Reservation and let’s figure this out.” And to their credit they responded, and although we didn’t get Warren Buffet to the river we did get a few of his number one and number two CEOs to the river, and we had a long talk. And our Tribal Leaders were clear that failure is not an option, that dams will come down, and that we needed to work collectively together in order to remove the dams. And they basically responded, and what that did was then trigger negotiations for a new agreement that happened over the late Sumer and early Fall.
Amy Cordalis, General Council of the Yurok Tribe
Backing up just a bit, the FERC decision and its effects thereafter came about late Summer, as Cordalis explained. Ideally, prior to the decision, plans were to bring the dams down in 2022. This curveball, however, meant all the stakeholders were back in the negotiations phase. As Jessica Cejnar, Wild Rivers Outpost Bureau Chief, wrote on the matter in an article on August 20th, 2020, Quote: “This decision changed the terms of the 2016 Klamath Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement, [Utility Representative Scott Bolton said], and makes PacifiCorp liable for all project costs and liabilities.” And, obviously, PacifiCorp didn’t want that.
The actual cost to remove the dams is estimated at $434 Million. The renegotiations that made the KHSA happen helped form the Klamath River Renewal Corporation, or KRRC: the organization Cordalis mentioned the license would go to. As such, they had their own budget, and at the time it was set at $450 Million. $200 Million of that actually came from a PacifiCorp surcharge to its California and Oregon customers, and the other $250 million came from California water bond dollars. But for a while, a tension brewed between the Yurok Tribe and PacifiCorp. It seemed to some that PacifiCorp wanted to pass everything onto the tribe, and, therefore, get out with their profit and quietly move along—but the ruling of the license threw that out the window.
CHAPTER 3. Rising Action.
You know, PacifiCorp thought they were going to be off the hook, and left the management of the dismantling of the dams to a non-profit. And the federal Government said, “No I’m sorry, you’re not off the hook actually,” and so it’s really important to me to hold those corporations accountable. Corporations have deeply impacted the health of all of us, including our Earth and natural world, our ecosystem. At some point we need to start holding them accountable. They often are able to get out of lawsuits and keep doing the kind of dirty work they do by using the law against us.
Chrystal Helton, Local Activist & Resident of Klamath Glen
A month after renegotiations started, the FERC Order wasn’t the only thing pinning PacifiCorp to take responsibility. At this point, too, we should mention that the owners of PacifiCorp were being drawn to attention, Berkshire Hathaway and its CEO, Warren Buffet. It was a bit of a perspective shift, from the daunting task of fighting an entire corporation to remembering that… Yes, there was a person behind this. A name and a face, an identity, a reputation. Remember this, it’ll come up again later!
On September 24th, 2020, Congressman Jared Huffman suddenly proposed legislation that specifically targeted PacifiCorp for the impact its Dams have had.
The legislation came with a large news release that you can read online in its entirety, but the important gist of it: it’s H.R. 4447, the Clean Economy Jobs and Innovation Act, which included the KHSA Tribal Fairness amendment, led by Rep. Jared Huffman. Quote,
“The amendment is designed to safeguard Tribal communities against further harm to the Klamath River and its ecosystem and remediate existing problems in the Klamath River basin and downstream communities caused by four aging dams owned by PacifiCorp, a subsidiary of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway.
If PacifiCorp turns its back on the negotiated agreement to remove the dams, the Huffman amendment would impose new relicensing conditions for the dam owner, including a requirement that the dams comply with state and tribal recommendations to reduce harm to fisheries, as well as numerous public disclosures related to water pollution, fish recovery, dam safety, and the facility’s financial status.” End quote.
So, at this point… everyone’s eyes are on PacifiCorp. FERC dropped their order to stay liable, the Yurok tribe made it clear that failure is not an option, and now the House of Representatives has passed H.R. 4447.
And all the while? Something big starts to form.
CHAPTER 4. The Day of Action
October 23rd, 2020: Activists around the region and the country planned a day of action to put pressure on Warren Buffet and Berkshire Hathaway, PacifiCorp’s Owner, as well as other stakeholders and politicians regarding the removal of the Klamath Dams.
KFUG Community Radio interviewed local activist and Klamath Glen resident Chrystal Helton (who you heard cue us into the previous section), one of many involved with the Day of Action. Plans involved some good ol’ fashioned banner bombing across Highway 101 to bring attention to PacifiCorp. Virtual rallies took place in both Portland and Omaha, Nebraska, the former being where PacifiCorp is located, the latter being Warren Buffet’s hometown. A San Diego rally also took place, joining not only the movement to Undam the Klamath, but to also push back against PacifiCorp’s attempts to dominate Southern California as a utility, which was spoken further of in a California Save the Salmon press release. In Klamath, signs were hung from various Tribal families addressing Warren Buffet, Berkshire Hathaway, Pacificorp, and both the California and Oregon Governors, Gavin Newsom and Kate Brown (respectively.)
And the thing is? It really took off. Social Media was filled with tens of thousands talking about the Day of Action, and that creates an interesting thing. See, as we said earlier, it wasn’t just about PacifiCorp. While everyone was already on board knowing the troubles that corporations have caused for our health and the natural world, the realization of its sole owner, Warren Buffet, meant that these calls could be far more targeted.
So when Warren Buffet’s reputation fell on the line and he noticed that all eyes were on him, the Day of Action had accomplished its mission. Like Amy Cordalis said: “Failure was not an option.”
CHAPTER 5. Resolution & What’s To Come
Negotiations were suddenly a lot smoother, and by mid-November 2020, the Yurok tribe finally had some good news.
Folks probably saw the press releases from not only Berkshire Hathaway, but Governor Newsom, Governor Brown in Oregon, as well as the tribe announcing the new memorandum of agreement that we were able to negotiate. And I’ll move into the terms of what those are[.] So the terms of the agreement basically adressed the issue that FERC required of PacifiCorp staying on the license, by having both the states of Oregon and California, and then PacifiCorp would stay involved in a technical capacity but would not come onto the license. So that is the sort of compromise that everyone agreed to. In addition to that, Oregon, California, as well as PacifiCorp, are contributing an additional $15 million to dam removal—$15 million each— for a total of $45 Million, on top of the existing $450 Million Budget.
Amy Cordalis, General Council of the Yurok Tribe
With these new terms of agreement, the deal was made, negotiations… were negotiated. While it’s certainly an ambitious project, it’s finally, truly underway. By 2023, the dams should be gone. So what comes next? What does this mean, exactly?
For one thing, this is historical for a few reasons. The most tragic of which being that this is a nation based on the struggling, pillaging, and theft of Indingeous tribes who populated the continent far before its colonization by White European settlers. Historically they’ve been damned by us, and even more recently, our government has been truly cruel to the Indigenous tribes whose land we live our lives on. Mt. Rushmore prior to the carving of the Presidential faces was an incredibly sacred, religious place, called the Tunkasila Sakpe Paha, or Six Grandfathers Mountain. Which, of course, our country stole and carved the faces of various figures who each played roles throughout history in taking the land and power of those who were already here. The Standing Rock protests, where peaceful protesters were maced and brutalized, was just back in 2016. But now, we see a noticeable victory for the Yurok tribe, as well as the various other tribes who rely on the Klamath River.
It’s back to what Amy Cordalis said: failure is not an option.
My final point I’ll make is: in the process of negotiation the new MOA, the tribe really focused on the importance of the fishery, to preserving tribal life ways and protecting Indigenous cultures. And that was really heard by Berkshire Hathaway, and I think also by the states. And the states, as well as Berkshire Hathaway, were really willing and did step up and make commitments to protect the tribal interest, to work to restore the environment. I think that’s one of the first times I can think of that Indigenous communities were able to put their rights, their life ways, at the same level as the business interest. You know, the force of the tribe that: we’re never going to stop here, failure’s not an option. But I also think the tipping point was the decision Berkshire Hathaway made to support this project, they really stepped up, and equally valuing diverse interest. I think that’s such a good model of how we can move forward with resource development, and also resource restoration.
Amy Cordalis, General Council of the Yurok Tribe
Who would have thought, listening to people actually helped us understand. So there are a few things to take from this. For one, people are powerful when they’re together and have a voice. Indingenous folks in this country have faced the brunt of colonialism since the start, but still they fight for what is rightfully theirs. Hopefully, this case will become a wondrous precedent for future movements of tribes to reclaim what is rightfully their own, especially when everyone is working together. Electing leaders who listen to their concerns and genuinely act on them.
We may not know what the future holds. FERC could introduce a new order, legislation could change how these operations work out, or another Indigenous landmark could be put in danger. But if nothing else, this ordeal has shown the strength of these Tribes and what comes from elected officials who genuinely care—who DO something. So, look forward to 2023 for a damless Klamath, take the time to listen to Indigenous folks, and take the time to make some noise for them.
For Redwood Voice, I’m Persephone Rose. This is how we got here.
News Now is a co-production of KFUG Community Radio, Wild Rivers Outpost, & Redwood Voice. You can listen live to News Now live every other Wednesday at 5pm on 101.1 FM or kfugradio.org. On tonight’s stories:
On Tonight’s Stories: The COVID-19 Pandemic is surging all across our nation, including right here in Del Norte County. A positive new agreement has come around on the Klamath River Dam Removal. CalTrans looks into refining new routes that would move around Last Chance Grade. You can listen to these and many, many more on this production of News Now, linked below.
News Now is a co-production of KFUG Community Radio, Wild Rivers Outpost, & Redwood Voice. You can listen live to News Now live every other Wednesday at 5pm on 101.1 FM or kfugradio.org. On tonight’s stories:
On Tonight’s Stories: Oops, it’s all election! And it’s LIVE! (Or, well, the recording of the live show.) Discussion and updates on the election as they happened with commentary from the Redwood Voice Crew—Persephone Corvid Rose, Gwendolyn Rose Lucas, and Avi Critz—alongside KFUG Station Manager Paul Critz. But in other news things to give you a break in-between, Pelican Bay experienced its first cases of COVID-19, and there will be prescribed burnings near Orick. You can listen to all of this on this episode of News Now, linked below!
Station Manager Paul Critz takes the charge on gathering the team for a discussion on the 2020 Election, and, more specifically, the process of voting. What’s it like for the youth? What’s it like for marginalized folks? What was different? What are you hoping for? What exactly IS Cottagecore? All this and more in this sweet little production, linked below!
Telling the untold stories of Del Norte and Tribal Lands through amplified youth voices.
