INDIGENOUS SOLIDARITY
MARKS COLUMBUS DAY
The celebrations at UO’s EMU amphithe-
ater and the WOW Hall on Monday, Oct 13,
will not be honoring Christopher Columbus
and the arrival of his three ships in North
America in the 15th century. Rather, the
focus of Indigenous Solidarity Day will be on
the colonization that came in Columbus’
wake, and the survival of native cultures in
the world today.
“It’s a nationwide event that a lot of in-
digenous people celebrate, and it’s kind of a
‘take back the day’ idea in that it’s an event
that is against colonization and honoring and
respecting the history of colonization —
what has happened to indigenous
people all over the world because
of it,” says Jana Schmieding of
the Native American Student
Union, “and it’s also a celebra-
tion of the presence of native tra-
dition and native peoples that are
still residing here, practicing, and
able to overcome colonization.”
Organized by the Multicultural
Center, Native American Student Union,
Break the Chains, and the Survival Center,
the amphitheater gathering will feature
Chrystos and Stormy Ogden, both prominent
writers, speakers and activists for native
rights and social justice. Shandine Garcia and
Chuck Hunt, both UO faculty members, will
also be speaking. Music will be provided by
Cuban/Latino salsa group Azuquita, and so-
cially conscious hip-hop group Juice to Make
It Happen. This event starts at noon on the
13th and is free, though donations are wel-
come. More information is available through
the Multicultural Center at 346-4321.
In the evening, the celebrations will move
to the WOW Hall, where the Cascadia Media
Collective will present “Columbus to
Cancún,” debuting footage from the recent
WTO protests in Cancún, as well as present-
ing footage from 2003 WTO protests in
Sacramento, 2001 FTAA protests in Quebec,
and 2002 anti-Columbus protests in Denver.
Live performances will be given by Chrystos,
who will be reading her poetry, and
Northwest Connections, a Native American
drumming group from Portland.
“We’re trying to link historical and pre-
sent forms of colonialism, because that’s
what the WTO is all about,” says Lisa Igoe, a
member of the collective. This event begins
at 8 pm and costs $5. For more information
call the collective at 688-2809.
• We’re happy to see Don Hampton’s
card rise to the top of the deck in the
final shuffle for the County Commission
appointment to replace Tom Lininger.
Hampton’s been one of the aces in the
deck with his solid background in eco-
nomic development, labor, land use,
education and long-range planning.
He’s a retired teacher, mayor of
Oakridge and a former city councilor.
The joker in this game is once again
Commissioner Anna Morrison who
made her colleagues cringe with her
insulting and belittling comments “wel-
coming” Hampton to the board.
Hampton graciously responded that
they can both learn from each other.
A continuation of anti-Columbus events,
Transforming Columbus Day, will be held at
12:30 pm Oct. 14 in Room 206 of the
Education Building at LCC. Presentations by
Chrystos and Stormy Ogden will encompass
colonialism and focus on the plight of native
people in the U.S. prison industrial system.
For more information call 520-5401.
— Celene Carillo
PEACE, JUSTICE AND
MEDIA IN SPOTLIGHT
What is the role of the media, and how can
it educate and empower the gen-
eral public, advocates and
activists? Is there a way
to reform the main-
stream media? Can
that reformation re-
sult in more fairness,
accuracy and diver-
sity of voices to
Jim
Hightower
strengthen the pro-
gressive movement and
the independent alterna-
tive media?
These are some of the questions
that will be explored through the Peace,
Justice and Media Conference, Oct.9-12 at
LCC and UO. The conference includes work-
shops, national and regional speakers, the-
ater, visual arts exhibits, poetry and a free
film festival. The films are described and
listed at www.justicenotwarcoalition.org and
in the Oct. 2 EW. The conference is presented
by Justice Not War Coalition, Northwest
Media Project, UO Survival Center and
EW.
The conference kicks off at 12:30 pm
Thursday, Oct. 9 at 7th and Pearl with a rally
to protect the Bill of Rights. Jim Hightower
and San Francisco Mime Troupe will per-
form excerpts from their evening shows, and
Hope Marston of the Bill of Rights Defense
Committee will also be there in support of
civil liberties. A delegation will go to Sen.
Gordon Smith’s office to present him with a
letter signed by local organizations asking
him to join Sen. Ron Wyden in support
changes to the USA PATRIOT Act.
Conference topics range from community
media outlets to racism in progressivism to
military recruitment in the schools. National
speakers and performers include Hightower,
radio commentator and best-selling author;
Andrea Buffa, anti-war activist and former
executive directory of Media Alliance, a San
Morrison needs to start her lessons
right away if she wants anyone to ever
take her viewpoints seriously.
• Tony Corcoran announced this week
that he’s resigning from the Oregon
Senate to accept an appointment to the
state Employment Appeals Board. He’d
gotten himself into a PERS pickle by
wrangling a practical compromise in an
impossible situation. His courageous
leadership in PERS “reform” made it
difficult to keep his day job working
with some short-sighted and unappre-
ciative colleagues at SEIU. We would
like to see him stay in the Senate and
the state job is a good opportunity, but
he needs to eat. He’s a talented, knowl-
edgeable and passionate public ser-
Francisco-based media accountability group;
Kelly Campbell, founding member of
September 11th Families for Peaceful
Tomorrows; and San Francisco Mime
Troupe, a nationally acclaimed political the-
ater group.
The dozens of workshop speakers include
EW’s own Ted Taylor and Alan Pittman, who
with Peter Moore will present “Beyond
Mainstream Press: How Crucial is the Role
of the Alternative Print Media?” at 11 am
Saturday in the UO EMU’s Ben Linder
Room. For updated schedule details, visit
www.justicenotwarcoalition.org
DON’T CALL
DEVELOPER EYES PARK
TO BUILD CONDOS
Fair labor advocates are
angry that Nike slipped
out of its false advertis-
ing lawsuit with a set-
tlement rather than hav-
ing the case go to trial.
Nike had claimed that its allegedly false
advertising about good treatment of its
sweatshop laborers in Asia was protected by
the First Amendment. But the corporation
failed to get the U.S. and California supreme
courts to go along with its legal theory.
The case appeared headed for a trial, but
California lawyer Marc Kasky settled the
lawsuit this month after Nike agreed to pay
The city of Eugene is considering selling
West University Park to a developer who
wants to build condominiums. The developer
also wants the city to waive property taxes for
his project for 10 years. City staff are analyz-
ing the request, which would require ap-
proval from the City Council. The city closed
the park several years ago as part of its police
sweeps of homeless people in the area. The
West University Neighborhood task force re-
cently expressed interest in reopening the
park. — Alan Pittman
To help clean up the riot-prone student
ghetto around the UO, the West University
Neighborhood Task Force has called for the
city to strengthen its enforcement of nuisance
complaints and make it easier for citizens to
file complaints. But the city is moving in the
opposite direction. Due to budget cuts, the
city is will no longer take land use complaints
on the phone, only in writing. — AP
NIKE’S LEGAL WRIGGLES
IRK LABOR ACTIVISTS
vant, but he’s not ready to retire.
Corcoran was rumored to be eyeing a
way out of his union job for some time
now. We figured he’d run for the County
Commission seat Don Hampton now
occupies when it comes up for election
next year. Hampton wouldn’t necessari-
ly run against Corcoran, so now that
dynamic changes. And if state Rep.
Floyd Prozanski gets appointed to
Corcoran’s seat on the Senate, that
opens up a House seat. This little leg-
islative shake-up could also affect who
sits on the County Commission, Eugene
City Council and even our Planning
Commission in 2004.
Cappy Eaton, Betsy Steffenson, and
Kara Steffenson who did a pilgrimage
to D.C. in September to lobby Oregon’s
congressional delegation to curb the
military budget and stop development
of nuclear weapons, and instead appro-
priate money to programs that empow-
er and support America’s women and
children. The blue-apron gang says
they had a great time, met just about
everybody on their list, and got to hang
out with the likes of Molly Ivins, Helen
Thomas, Barbara Lee, Jan Schakowsky
and Dianne Feinstein. Check out
Women’s Action for New Directions at
www.wand.org
• Gotta hand it to WAND members
Leslie Brockelbank, Susan Cundiff,
SLANT includes short opinion pieces, observations
and rumor-chasing notes compiled by the EW staff.
Heard any good rumors lately? Contact Ted Taylor
at 484-0519, editor@eugeneweekly.com
OCTOBER 9, 2003 9