Camp Cascadia Successful

Camp Cascadia, a protest to raise awareness of federal attempts to close, cap, and possibly privatize open air reservoirs at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars, has declared success after more than four days of protest at Mt. Tabor in Portland Oregon. Beginning on July 12th and organized by community activists, concerned citizens, and Cascadia supporters, the event was featured in the Portland Mercury, The Willamette Week, the Portland Tribune, KGW, 750KXL as well as many other newspapers, blogs and radio interviews, spawning several community meetings, forcing a response from elected officials, and catapulting the issues to the front of public consciousness for the past week.

Since 2006, the city has fought a US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule that would force it to cover or do away with the scenic, open-air reservoirs in Mount Tabor and Washington Parks. Citizens are upset at what has been seen as years of stagnation in city hall to acquire a 'LT2 waiver' to the EPA mandate, which would opt Portland out of paying the huge costs for a system that many feel is working just fine. When the city council—with the exception of Commissioner Amanda Fritz—announced in June it had expended its legal options and would comply with the rule, outcry was instantaneous. Protestors—a coalition of Mount Tabor residents and water activists—widely characterize the decision as a giveaway to contractors with friends in city hall. They decry upcoming water rate increases, and want officials to pursue the same strategy as New York City, which has successfully delayed a requirement to cover an enormous reservoir.

Originally planned to be a 24 hour continual protest, organizers decided to scale back efforts the day before it began, instead staying in the park only during stated opening hours. The following days progressed without the drama of confrontation. Park rangers were present, but simply engaged in conversations while people passed the hours holding signs, passing out flyers, playing games, and enjoying the heat and sunshine.

Camp Cascadia was successful in that it raised peoples awareness of the issues of covering the Reservoirs.  This increased awareness of what City Hall is doing is a great thing moving forward, and the impact it has had on helping individual and community involvement over watershed protection and encouraging public engagement has been an important step at keeping Portland policies, and the greater surrounding area, resilient, healthy and transparent.

Occupied Cascadia Documentary Online

Occupied Cascadia is a documentary released by Cascadia Matters, a collective of artists, writers, educators and media activists from Bend, Oregon which explores the emerging understanding of bioregionalism within the lands and waters of the Northeast Pacific Rim.

The filmmakers interweave intimate landscape portraits with human voices both ideological and indigenous. Their feature length documentary is not intended to be representative of the Cascadia movement, but instead add a powerful and compelling argument about a region occupied, and a landbase under siege. The film seeks to highlight the emerging ideas, struggles and times of the Cascadia bioregion and beyond. In order to effectively provide clean air and clean water for future generations, our attention must not only shift towards the bioregions of the Pacific Northwest, but also towards stopping corrosive agendas within them. The diverse voices throughout this land have forged the way for many movements and there is a growing necessity to inspire a unified culture of resistance. This film promotes that dialogue through bioregional awareness.

Stories from the land contrast critique of dominant culture, while an embrace of the radical unknown informs a re-birthed and growing culture of resistance.  Filming began during the outset of the populist “Occupy” movement, and finished by joining the voices seeking to re-contextualize popular revolt within our life-world as a movement to decolonize, un-occupy, and re-inhabit the living Earth through deep understanding and identification with our specific bioregions.

To find a showing near you, or if you are interested in helping organize a film showing for your region or school, visit the Cascadia Matters website at: http://cascadiamatters.org/events. If you’d like to get involved helping set up a film screening in your city or region, you can contact them directly at: cascadiamatters@gmail.com. This project was funded solely through the authors own dedication, and an amazing amount of independent crowdsourcing. If you appreciate their work, also think about donating via their website.

Occupied Cascadia Documentary to Premier October 6th

Occupied Cascadia is a documentary film both journalistic and expressionistic.  Exploring the emerging understanding of bioregionalism within the lands and waters of the Northeast Pacific Rim, the filmmakers interweave intimate landscape portraits with human voices both ideological and indigenous.  Stories from the land contrast critique of dominant culture, while an embrace of the radical unknown informs a re-birthed and growing culture of resistance.  Filming began during the outset of the populist “Occupy” movement, and finished by joining the voices seeking to re-contextualize popular revolt within our life-world as a movement to decolonize, un-occupy, and re-inhabit the living Earth through deep understanding and identification with our specific bioregions.

Cascadia Matters is a grass roots organization made up by a collective effort of writers, artists, educators and media activists. They aim to highlight the emerging ideas, struggles and times of the Cascadia bioregion and beyond. In order to effectively provide clean air and clean water for future generations, our attention must not only shift towards the bioregions of the Pacific Northwest, but also towards stopping corrosive agendas within them. The diverse voices throughout this land have forged the way for many movements and there is a growing necessity to inspire a unified culture of resistance. This film promotes that dialogue through bioregional awareness.

This specific campaign is of the utmost importance in starting the dialog needed to confront the dominate culture in our effort to move towards true sustainability.  They will be traveling throughout the bioregion, as far as the funds raised will take us. To these ends Cascadia Matters is working on a fundraiser to help put together a Pacific Northwest film screening tour in cities throughout Cascadia. Those who would like to support this idea should donate here: http://www.indiegogo.com/occupiedcascadia.

The film will be screening on October 6th at 7pm in Tower Theater, Bend OR. Updates will continue to be posted here as we get more information about their developing film tour: Time: Sat, Oct 6th, 7pm Place: Tower Theater 835 NW Wall Street Bend, OR More info at http://cascadiamatters.org.

Michael Moore holding Cascadia Flag at #Occupy #PDX Rally - "The Cascadian Flag will Fly Over Wallstreet"

Michael Moore holding a Cascadia flag at a recent Occupy Portland event. Original link from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulcone/6301787608/?reg=1&src=comment