00:00:00.815 --> 00:00:04.065
(gentle music playing)

00:00:06.119 --> 00:00:07.808
- In August of this last year,

00:00:07.808 --> 00:00:12.469
I went to visit the tar sands
for the first time in Alberta.

00:00:12.469 --> 00:00:14.997
It was a part of a first ever gathering

00:00:14.997 --> 00:00:17.472
of indigenous resistance to tar sands.

00:00:17.472 --> 00:00:22.472
So all of us that are along
this massive manmade destruction

00:00:22.502 --> 00:00:26.085
of the planet, coming
to the actual source.

00:00:27.860 --> 00:00:28.813
In the middle of it,

00:00:28.813 --> 00:00:32.933
Suncor has made a reclaimed area to show

00:00:32.933 --> 00:00:35.161
that they can make the land heal,

00:00:35.161 --> 00:00:38.077
after they've extracted
everything from it,

00:00:38.077 --> 00:00:40.997
where they have created this green field,

00:00:40.997 --> 00:00:43.414
and put buffalo, bison there.

00:00:46.860 --> 00:00:49.245
Those bison are sitting in this place

00:00:49.245 --> 00:00:51.245
where they're terrified.

00:00:53.145 --> 00:00:54.241
Bison hold a special place

00:00:54.241 --> 00:00:57.079
in the indigenous peoples of
North America's teachings,

00:00:57.079 --> 00:00:58.421
our stories, our culture.

00:00:58.421 --> 00:01:02.139
It's a deep, deep piece of who we are.

00:01:02.139 --> 00:01:04.934
And so to put that being in that place,

00:01:04.934 --> 00:01:07.434
it was horrifying to see that.

00:01:10.305 --> 00:01:12.695
After that we went and visited
Cold Lake First Nation,

00:01:12.695 --> 00:01:14.638
which is surrounded on three
sides by tar sands mine

00:01:14.638 --> 00:01:17.105
and the fourth side is
a military bombing site.

00:01:17.105 --> 00:01:19.644
So they are surrounded on all sides

00:01:19.644 --> 00:01:22.241
by chaos and destruction.

00:01:22.241 --> 00:01:24.741
The bison to me are reflective

00:01:25.779 --> 00:01:26.911
of the people
(bison screeching)

00:01:26.911 --> 00:01:31.578
that are at the source that
are surrounded on all sides.

00:01:34.033 --> 00:01:35.270
(door clatters)

00:01:35.270 --> 00:01:38.991
The tar sands is the
largest mine on the planet.

00:01:38.991 --> 00:01:40.038
It's visible from space,

00:01:40.038 --> 00:01:42.068
it's the size of the United Kingdom.

00:01:42.068 --> 00:01:44.299
It's a wound into the earth,

00:01:44.299 --> 00:01:46.619
and all the little
methods of trying to get

00:01:46.619 --> 00:01:50.786
that wound expanded and
pushed out into the world.

00:01:50.786 --> 00:01:51.653
(protestors shouting)

00:01:51.653 --> 00:01:53.181
- In the Pacific Northwest,

00:01:53.181 --> 00:01:56.073
we have this really strategic standpoint.

00:01:56.073 --> 00:02:00.567
We can hold what is called
the Thin Green Line.

00:02:00.567 --> 00:02:04.037
The Thin Green Line is us, is activists,

00:02:04.037 --> 00:02:08.156
and if we can block fossil fuel
exports from the West Coast,

00:02:08.156 --> 00:02:10.928
then we make it not
profitable to extract anymore.

00:02:10.928 --> 00:02:13.769
- [Protestors] No way,
not ever, not today.

00:02:13.769 --> 00:02:15.263
- We look upstream and we can see

00:02:15.263 --> 00:02:17.619
that the fossil fuel industry involves

00:02:17.619 --> 00:02:21.246
these huge companies
that produce tar sands,

00:02:21.246 --> 00:02:25.662
through highly polluting
operations in Alberta,

00:02:25.662 --> 00:02:29.345
or at Bakken crude oil through fracking.

00:02:29.345 --> 00:02:31.257
And then you get to the next step,

00:02:31.257 --> 00:02:34.711
which is sorta the midstream,
the pipeline operators,

00:02:34.711 --> 00:02:38.129
the people who run the
oil train operations.

00:02:38.129 --> 00:02:39.288
That's where we find ourselves

00:02:39.288 --> 00:02:41.425
sort of a poorly paid middleman,

00:02:41.425 --> 00:02:45.512
on a super highway for
fossil fuels to export.

00:02:45.512 --> 00:02:47.492
(tense music)

00:02:47.492 --> 00:02:51.575
- In the Northwest, we
are aware of black snakes.

00:02:53.091 --> 00:02:56.424
They come through our territory by rail.

00:02:57.382 --> 00:03:00.390
There is one that if
it falls off the track,

00:03:00.390 --> 00:03:02.473
it will blow up and burn.

00:03:04.136 --> 00:03:07.838
There's another that sheds its skin.

00:03:07.838 --> 00:03:09.794
It's called coal.

00:03:09.794 --> 00:03:12.356
That skin blows off those railways,

00:03:12.356 --> 00:03:15.040
those cars all through our lands,

00:03:15.040 --> 00:03:16.648
going into our water.

00:03:16.648 --> 00:03:19.006
Us as the native peoples of this land

00:03:19.006 --> 00:03:21.339
are listening to the ground.

00:03:22.235 --> 00:03:25.136
We are listening to the water.

00:03:25.136 --> 00:03:27.165
That concern is telling us,

00:03:27.165 --> 00:03:30.877
that if irresponsible decisions
are continued to be made.

00:03:30.877 --> 00:03:34.184
The fulfillment of prophecies
that come from native people,

00:03:34.184 --> 00:03:35.593
will come to be.

00:03:35.593 --> 00:03:38.843
(tense drumming music)

00:04:00.948 --> 00:04:02.025
(tense music)

00:04:02.025 --> 00:04:04.586
- [News Announcer 1] A climate
change protest is underway

00:04:04.586 --> 00:04:06.420
in Northwest Portland right now.

00:04:06.420 --> 00:04:07.954
- [News Announcer 2] The
protestors have blocked

00:04:07.954 --> 00:04:10.560
the train tracks at
the Zenith Energy Plant

00:04:10.560 --> 00:04:11.884
in Northwest Portland.

00:04:11.884 --> 00:04:14.198
The group Extinction Rebellion

00:04:14.198 --> 00:04:16.598
is demanding the area be rezoned,

00:04:16.598 --> 00:04:18.931
from an industrial corridor.

00:05:00.693 --> 00:05:02.353
- We wanted to go to trial.

00:05:02.353 --> 00:05:04.989
No matter what we're telling our stories

00:05:04.989 --> 00:05:06.688
of why we did what we did.

00:05:06.688 --> 00:05:08.911
There was nothing else to do,

00:05:08.911 --> 00:05:13.494
but to actually go to the
site and stop the oil trains.

00:05:27.671 --> 00:05:29.940
- We fully expected to be arrested.

00:05:29.940 --> 00:05:33.446
We truly felt it was part of our strategy.

00:05:46.054 --> 00:05:48.554
(tense music)

00:05:57.912 --> 00:06:02.912
(crickets chirping)
(water rippling)

00:06:07.801 --> 00:06:11.290
- [Narrator] This huge monster
came up from the ocean.

00:06:11.290 --> 00:06:14.139
He would open his huge
mouth and inhale anything

00:06:14.139 --> 00:06:15.889
that was in his path.

00:06:17.432 --> 00:06:22.044
He soon had all the salmon
and other fish like sturgeon

00:06:22.044 --> 00:06:23.711
and eels, all eaten.

00:06:25.352 --> 00:06:27.461
And because he was so huge,

00:06:27.461 --> 00:06:29.942
he began taking in the deer,

00:06:29.942 --> 00:06:33.627
and all food animals in the forest.

00:06:33.627 --> 00:06:37.212
Soon, there was nothing
left for the people,

00:06:37.212 --> 00:06:40.217
and they were getting hungry and babies

00:06:40.217 --> 00:06:42.550
and old people began to die.

00:06:44.053 --> 00:06:47.950
Finally, someone went
to Coyote and told him,

00:06:47.950 --> 00:06:50.783
he would have to kill the monster.

00:06:52.562 --> 00:06:57.533
He got a length of a vine
that is called coyotes rope.

00:06:57.533 --> 00:07:00.663
He tied one end around his waist,

00:07:00.663 --> 00:07:03.663
and coiled the other around his arm.

00:07:04.583 --> 00:07:09.583
He got some pitchy kindling
and flints for starting a fire.

00:07:09.775 --> 00:07:11.020
He stood on a far hill,

00:07:11.020 --> 00:07:14.270
and called the monster a shameful name.

00:07:15.527 --> 00:07:20.527
He teased him until the monster
began trying to eat him.

00:07:20.639 --> 00:07:22.631
Every time the mouth open,

00:07:22.631 --> 00:07:26.561
coyote would throw out some useful thing.

00:07:26.561 --> 00:07:29.288
The monster was near collapsing.

00:07:29.288 --> 00:07:32.446
The fire got so hot that the monster died,

00:07:32.446 --> 00:07:35.008
and went back into the sea.

00:07:35.008 --> 00:07:39.582
Some parts of him, clung to
the sides of the river bank.

00:07:39.582 --> 00:07:44.582
So it was rough like it was
before Bonneville Dam was built.

00:07:50.751 --> 00:07:53.168
(soft music)

00:07:54.804 --> 00:07:56.140
- When we think of tribes today,

00:07:56.140 --> 00:07:59.108
we are often thinking of the tribes

00:07:59.108 --> 00:08:01.620
as their political governments.

00:08:01.620 --> 00:08:04.186
For example, my traditional
name is Tecumseh,

00:08:04.186 --> 00:08:07.079
I'm a citizen of the Confederated
Tribes of Warm Springs.

00:08:07.079 --> 00:08:10.867
I am Warm Springs, Wasco,
Yakama, and Snoqualmie.

00:08:10.867 --> 00:08:12.315
When we start to look at the footprint

00:08:12.315 --> 00:08:15.369
that the Warm Springs and
Wasco people occupied,

00:08:15.369 --> 00:08:18.758
is quite a big region and
not thoroughly defined

00:08:18.758 --> 00:08:20.035
because we were moving.

00:08:20.035 --> 00:08:22.223
We were following the resources.

00:08:22.223 --> 00:08:23.665
- [Narrator] A century and a half ago,

00:08:23.665 --> 00:08:26.958
Thomas Jefferson envisioned
an empire of freedom,

00:08:26.958 --> 00:08:29.845
and opportunity in the far Northwest.

00:08:29.845 --> 00:08:32.331
- [Man] The vast migration
surging Westwood,

00:08:32.331 --> 00:08:35.331
Oregon was a land of fabled wonders.

00:08:36.983 --> 00:08:39.663
- Treaties were negotiated to end war.

00:08:39.663 --> 00:08:42.061
The desire to keep peace
with tribal people,

00:08:42.061 --> 00:08:45.231
was also an effort of nation
building by the United States,

00:08:45.231 --> 00:08:47.460
to move further west and in the process,

00:08:47.460 --> 00:08:50.204
to move native people out of the way.

00:08:50.204 --> 00:08:52.962
- [Man] To build a colonial empire,

00:08:52.962 --> 00:08:55.922
sending out its boundless resources,

00:08:55.922 --> 00:08:58.268
to the far corners of the earth.

00:08:58.268 --> 00:09:00.994
- The United States
Government had sent out agents

00:09:00.994 --> 00:09:04.038
to negotiate these treaties with tribes.

00:09:04.038 --> 00:09:06.920
We see a lot of treaties in the 1855,

00:09:06.920 --> 00:09:11.165
here on the Columbia River,
as well as at the Puget Sound.

00:09:11.165 --> 00:09:13.684
- The only way that our treaty was signed

00:09:13.684 --> 00:09:16.692
was because we allowed the
railroad to go directly

00:09:16.692 --> 00:09:19.359
through the heart of our treaty.

00:09:20.521 --> 00:09:22.917
- [Narrator] Extending some 1400 miles,

00:09:22.917 --> 00:09:25.343
the broad Columbia
provides a natural gateway,

00:09:25.343 --> 00:09:28.480
to this vitally important empire.

00:09:28.480 --> 00:09:32.042
Along the south bank, are old
Union Pacific freight trains,

00:09:32.042 --> 00:09:34.709
hauled by giant diesel locomotives.

00:09:35.842 --> 00:09:39.782
- My father was chief of
our Waluulapam people.

00:09:39.782 --> 00:09:44.319
They were told, if you
do not sign this treaty,

00:09:44.319 --> 00:09:47.569
your people will be knee deep in blood.

00:09:48.535 --> 00:09:51.285
They are ready to commit genocide,

00:09:52.438 --> 00:09:55.574
as they had across the continent.

00:09:55.574 --> 00:09:57.991
(soft music)

00:10:00.441 --> 00:10:02.471
- The initial relationship was through

00:10:02.471 --> 00:10:04.304
the Department of War,

00:10:04.304 --> 00:10:05.947
which now is Department of Defense.

00:10:05.947 --> 00:10:09.565
And then later became the
Department of Interior.

00:10:09.565 --> 00:10:11.794
You've got the reservation
lands, ceded lands,

00:10:11.794 --> 00:10:12.627
and then in our treaties, we also have

00:10:12.627 --> 00:10:13.460
specifically mentioned
usual and accustomed lands.

00:10:16.317 --> 00:10:18.670
And that's where we would
go and fish and hunt,

00:10:18.670 --> 00:10:22.259
and gather our first
foods and first materials.

00:10:22.259 --> 00:10:25.311
So, our ability to access
the Columbia River,

00:10:25.311 --> 00:10:28.894
is in our usual and accustomed lands.

00:10:28.894 --> 00:10:30.345
- [Narrator] And it can truly be called

00:10:30.345 --> 00:10:32.695
an empire built on water.

00:10:32.695 --> 00:10:35.504
The mighty Columbia drains
and area almost a third,

00:10:35.504 --> 00:10:37.087
as large as Europe,

00:10:39.179 --> 00:10:41.158
But an even greater conquest,

00:10:41.158 --> 00:10:44.724
one surely never dreamed of by
the intrepid Lewis and Clark

00:10:44.724 --> 00:10:48.113
when in 1805, their
exploring eyes first beheld,

00:10:48.113 --> 00:10:51.468
the mighty Columbia
River, is Bonneville Dam,

00:10:51.468 --> 00:10:54.396
built by the government to
provide power production

00:10:54.396 --> 00:10:57.527
and navigation in Columbia Gorge.

00:10:57.527 --> 00:11:00.367
- In looking at United States
in terms of nation building

00:11:00.367 --> 00:11:03.378
that was taking place in
the 1800s, we had rail.

00:11:03.378 --> 00:11:06.881
and then we move into the
early part of the 1900s,

00:11:06.881 --> 00:11:08.397
and that's when you have the invention

00:11:08.397 --> 00:11:11.566
and advent of electricity,
the ability to serve,

00:11:11.566 --> 00:11:13.213
not just industry,

00:11:13.213 --> 00:11:17.546
but also to put lights on
for cities and residences.

00:11:18.443 --> 00:11:22.322
It had tremendous impact
because tribes were utilizing

00:11:22.322 --> 00:11:24.503
that river one for transport themselves,

00:11:24.503 --> 00:11:28.370
but also for fish that are
coming out from the Pacific.

00:11:28.370 --> 00:11:30.433
- [Narrator] Looking
more like a placid lake,

00:11:30.433 --> 00:11:32.309
the waters of the Columbia river backed up

00:11:32.309 --> 00:11:33.681
by the Dalles Dam,

00:11:33.681 --> 00:11:35.556
now float peacefully over an area,

00:11:35.556 --> 00:11:37.622
which once looked like this.

00:11:37.622 --> 00:11:40.039
(dramatic music)

00:11:43.762 --> 00:11:46.176
- When my father was young,

00:11:46.176 --> 00:11:48.928
they would go to Celilo and fish.

00:11:48.928 --> 00:11:52.323
And we knew of it as a
great gathering place,

00:11:52.323 --> 00:11:55.887
not only for food, but for trade.

00:11:55.887 --> 00:11:59.206
It was also a place where people bartered,

00:11:59.206 --> 00:12:02.873
and arranged marriages
and kinship happened.

00:12:03.905 --> 00:12:07.854
And that's why She Who
Watches is still looking down

00:12:07.854 --> 00:12:10.330
that river and our people.

00:12:10.330 --> 00:12:11.634
When I go and visit there,

00:12:11.634 --> 00:12:15.524
and leave a sacred offering and prayer,

00:12:15.524 --> 00:12:16.953
she's still there with us,

00:12:16.953 --> 00:12:19.996
and ever so powerful when
I bring my children there.

00:12:19.996 --> 00:12:24.211
We know, as we see the
black snake go by us,

00:12:24.211 --> 00:12:26.128
we know she's watching.

00:12:31.019 --> 00:12:35.837
- The real question will be,
what does the future hold?

00:12:35.837 --> 00:12:37.087
Dams or salmon?

00:12:40.038 --> 00:12:42.720
Because we understand
the truth of the history

00:12:42.720 --> 00:12:47.053
that has materialized this
lake behind us all today.

00:12:49.278 --> 00:12:52.242
- Building the dams that
flooded the sacred sites

00:12:52.242 --> 00:12:55.863
along the Columbia River was
an incredibly destructive act.

00:12:55.863 --> 00:12:59.052
Celilo, one of the most
significant cultural places

00:12:59.052 --> 00:13:00.510
in the world,

00:13:00.510 --> 00:13:03.707
they flooded it with Dalles Dam.

00:13:03.707 --> 00:13:07.538
Really critically it was the
voice of the Native American

00:13:07.538 --> 00:13:09.151
fishing communities and the tribal leaders

00:13:09.151 --> 00:13:11.431
who stood up and spoke about

00:13:11.431 --> 00:13:13.247
why this was so destructive.

00:13:13.247 --> 00:13:16.186
And that was a dynamic
we've seen replicated also

00:13:16.186 --> 00:13:17.519
with oil trains.

00:13:19.277 --> 00:13:22.947
So again, in the Columbia
River where people live,

00:13:22.947 --> 00:13:25.707
and fish and make their way of life,

00:13:25.707 --> 00:13:27.986
in that wedge of land
between the rail line

00:13:27.986 --> 00:13:29.817
and the Columbia River.

00:13:29.817 --> 00:13:33.112
If you're a tribal fisher
person, where would they go?

00:13:33.112 --> 00:13:35.506
If there were to be a large oil train

00:13:35.506 --> 00:13:37.506
derailment and accident?

00:13:38.386 --> 00:13:41.274
One of the huge dynamics
that really was inspiring

00:13:41.274 --> 00:13:45.519
about the oil train fight,
was people who were objecting

00:13:45.519 --> 00:13:48.197
to what Zenith was doing in Portland.

00:13:48.197 --> 00:13:50.834
They're making a stand that
can actually benefit people

00:13:50.834 --> 00:13:53.411
that are hundreds of miles
away that may not know them.

00:13:53.411 --> 00:13:55.991
(soft music)

00:13:55.991 --> 00:13:59.684
- Oil trains through the
Gorge are a new phenomenon.

00:13:59.684 --> 00:14:03.505
Certainly we didn't see them a decade ago.

00:14:03.505 --> 00:14:06.860
It's a difficult issue for us
to deal with as a volunteer

00:14:06.860 --> 00:14:09.527
department with one paid person.

00:14:10.446 --> 00:14:13.296
I've been with the
district about 10 years,

00:14:13.296 --> 00:14:14.415
when we arrived in town,

00:14:14.415 --> 00:14:15.783
I started chatting with some people,

00:14:15.783 --> 00:14:19.135
and they told me that I
actually had to either

00:14:19.135 --> 00:14:21.537
join the fire district or join the church.

00:14:21.537 --> 00:14:23.359
And you're not gonna catch me in a church.

00:14:23.359 --> 00:14:26.290
So I joined the fire district.

00:14:26.290 --> 00:14:27.624
- The Gorge burns every year,

00:14:27.624 --> 00:14:32.262
so we'll roll on quite a few
fires during the summertime.

00:14:32.262 --> 00:14:36.869
There is some bark beetles,
that are killed by cold winters.

00:14:36.869 --> 00:14:40.333
And because we no longer get
the kind of cold winters,

00:14:40.333 --> 00:14:42.483
regularly enough to kill
off these pine beetles,

00:14:42.483 --> 00:14:43.964
their range has expanded.

00:14:43.964 --> 00:14:45.955
And so if you look out
over the Hills of Mosier,

00:14:45.955 --> 00:14:48.096
you see a lot of dead trees.

00:14:48.096 --> 00:14:50.186
And these have been killed
by these pine beetles,

00:14:50.186 --> 00:14:51.150
as they move.

00:14:51.150 --> 00:14:53.047
All of a sudden, you've
got all these dead trees,

00:14:53.047 --> 00:14:55.397
about, and they burn much more rapidly,

00:14:55.397 --> 00:14:59.133
and more explosively
than a live tree does.

00:14:59.133 --> 00:15:01.270
And the more you get climate change,

00:15:01.270 --> 00:15:02.507
the more fires you get,

00:15:02.507 --> 00:15:04.337
the more carbon is released

00:15:04.337 --> 00:15:06.982
and the worst climate change gets.

00:15:06.982 --> 00:15:09.565
(gentle music)

00:16:40.603 --> 00:16:44.096
- [Cathy] 1855.
- [Protestors] 1855.

00:16:44.096 --> 00:16:46.082
- [Cathy] Our land.
- [Protestors] Our land.

00:16:46.082 --> 00:16:48.332
- [Cathy] Our treaty.
- [Protestors] Our treaty.

00:16:48.332 --> 00:16:51.989
- [Cathy] 1855.
- [Protestors] 1855.

00:16:51.989 --> 00:16:54.048
- [Cathy] Our land.
- [All] Our land.

00:16:54.048 --> 00:16:55.787
- [Cathy] Our treaty.
- [All] Our treaty.

00:16:55.787 --> 00:16:57.808
- There's a constant struggle

00:16:57.808 --> 00:17:00.245
between the corporate dominance

00:17:00.245 --> 00:17:03.914
that has come through the
reservation since the 1855 treaty.

00:17:03.914 --> 00:17:04.951
(indistinct chanting)

00:17:04.951 --> 00:17:07.604
- This river is Nch'i Wana Pum.

00:17:07.604 --> 00:17:11.095
This whole river clear
up to our homelands,

00:17:11.095 --> 00:17:13.812
this is where we used to live.

00:17:13.812 --> 00:17:17.609
Stones throw away was where
we were raised as children.

00:17:17.609 --> 00:17:20.011
This is our Homeland.

00:17:20.011 --> 00:17:22.324
- [Tecumseh] The transport of coal and oil

00:17:22.324 --> 00:17:24.355
through the Columbia River basin,

00:17:24.355 --> 00:17:27.690
Those fracking equipment and resources,

00:17:27.690 --> 00:17:32.666
passing through was an
offense to tribal principles.

00:17:32.666 --> 00:17:36.066
The tribes utilize that
opportunity to make their stand.

00:17:36.066 --> 00:17:38.785
We don't want this passing through.

00:17:38.785 --> 00:17:41.868
We don't approve, and we don't agree.

00:17:42.775 --> 00:17:46.475
- I was actually up in
Seattle at the time,

00:17:46.475 --> 00:17:49.893
and my niece got ahold of me, and said,

00:17:49.893 --> 00:17:51.971
"Auntie, you need to come down here.

00:17:51.971 --> 00:17:56.221
Folks are gonna come to
help us stop this big beast

00:17:57.069 --> 00:18:00.257
of a machine called a megaload."

00:18:00.257 --> 00:18:03.424
- [Crowd] No consultation, no passage.

00:18:06.314 --> 00:18:09.136
- We talked to our tribe about,

00:18:09.136 --> 00:18:11.651
have we been informed about
this? What's going on?

00:18:11.651 --> 00:18:15.760
They're coming right
through our ceded territory.

00:18:22.811 --> 00:18:27.039
- So we had our big map
of our Ceded territory,

00:18:27.039 --> 00:18:29.892
and the tribal boundaries.

00:18:29.892 --> 00:18:32.615
We put that map up in
front of that big truck,

00:18:32.615 --> 00:18:35.055
and we said, "No, you're not moving.

00:18:35.055 --> 00:18:36.985
You have to learn about our treaty rights

00:18:36.985 --> 00:18:38.515
that you're violating"

00:18:38.515 --> 00:18:40.173
- I'd like to pray for all
the brothers and sisters,

00:18:40.173 --> 00:18:43.176
along the riverways and
roadways, other places.

00:18:43.176 --> 00:18:44.425
They're gonna be affected.

00:18:44.425 --> 00:18:45.499
You know, it's gonna change lives,

00:18:45.499 --> 00:18:47.147
it's gonna hurt people.

00:18:47.147 --> 00:18:49.215
You know, people are going to suffer.

00:18:49.215 --> 00:18:50.376
- Bottom of my heart,

00:18:50.376 --> 00:18:54.702
I knew that I had to
do my best to stop it.

00:18:54.702 --> 00:18:58.952
So I laid down in front of
it on top of our treaty.

00:18:59.962 --> 00:19:02.545
(gentle music)

00:19:03.460 --> 00:19:06.634
They picked me up and
there's the photo of me

00:19:06.634 --> 00:19:09.273
in the Hermiston Herald.

00:19:09.273 --> 00:19:12.364
When I'm getting booked, you
know, one of the first things,

00:19:12.364 --> 00:19:14.468
one of the officers said to me was,

00:19:14.468 --> 00:19:17.740
"What, this is it, you're the only one?"

00:19:17.740 --> 00:19:21.240
It's kinda like just one old Indian woman?

00:19:22.468 --> 00:19:24.288
I stood up in front of the judge,

00:19:24.288 --> 00:19:27.248
and said that this needed to be done.

00:19:27.248 --> 00:19:30.665
And that I felt that, I was in the right.

00:19:32.032 --> 00:19:34.499
This has gone too far.

00:19:34.499 --> 00:19:37.084
Our children are going to die from this.

00:19:37.084 --> 00:19:42.084
If we don't stop it now, it's
gonna be on our shoulders.

00:19:42.117 --> 00:19:44.942
Cause they're gonna say, "Where were you?

00:19:44.942 --> 00:19:47.288
Where was our tribe?"

00:19:47.288 --> 00:19:49.348
I'm just one grandma,

00:19:49.348 --> 00:19:53.265
one small voice in it
that I was able to offer,

00:19:54.966 --> 00:19:57.966
at that moment, my body on the line.

00:19:59.261 --> 00:20:02.467
- Doing it for these little guys.

00:20:02.467 --> 00:20:07.467
- Since we last met inside
a courthouse, in hindsight,

00:20:07.525 --> 00:20:10.327
did you feel like that
arrest was worth it?

00:20:10.327 --> 00:20:11.604
- I do.
- Yeah.

00:20:11.604 --> 00:20:16.271
- I do, because to know that
I had chose to get arrested

00:20:17.462 --> 00:20:20.212
and that happen, I think
it made it a statement

00:20:20.212 --> 00:20:22.290
for the community.

00:20:22.290 --> 00:20:27.241
- People being willing
to go to jail for a cause

00:20:27.241 --> 00:20:30.741
makes other people realize
the seriousness of it.

00:20:30.741 --> 00:20:32.718
And that I think is part of the intention

00:20:32.718 --> 00:20:35.308
of a lot of the actions
in the climate movement.

00:20:35.308 --> 00:20:36.780
- Okay, there's three basic phrases

00:20:36.780 --> 00:20:38.270
that I want you all to remember today.

00:20:38.270 --> 00:20:40.879
Especially if you are risking arrest.

00:20:40.879 --> 00:20:43.924
- We strongly believe
that knowledge is power.

00:20:43.924 --> 00:20:47.340
We know that when someone
doesn't understand

00:20:47.340 --> 00:20:50.668
where the line is drawn
between what is legal

00:20:50.668 --> 00:20:52.352
and what is illegal,

00:20:52.352 --> 00:20:54.951
they tend to self-censor themselves,

00:20:54.951 --> 00:20:58.959
and back far away from
where that line actually is.

00:20:58.959 --> 00:21:00.498
- I'm not going to resist you officer,

00:21:00.498 --> 00:21:02.884
but I do not consent to any searches.

00:21:02.884 --> 00:21:03.717
If you are being detained

00:21:03.717 --> 00:21:05.298
or arrested the cops are
gonna do (indistinct)

00:21:05.298 --> 00:21:06.990
- It was really important for activists

00:21:06.990 --> 00:21:09.964
to get in more strategic about the choices

00:21:09.964 --> 00:21:12.329
that they were making with campaigns

00:21:12.329 --> 00:21:13.935
and with direct action.

00:21:13.935 --> 00:21:16.617
Especially if part of their intention,

00:21:16.617 --> 00:21:19.717
is taking that action to a courtroom.

00:21:19.717 --> 00:21:22.300
(gentle music)

00:21:38.053 --> 00:21:40.897
Symbolic actions, which are often tied

00:21:40.897 --> 00:21:42.632
to civil disobedience,

00:21:42.632 --> 00:21:45.402
would not meet most of the legal tests,

00:21:45.402 --> 00:21:47.675
for the necessity defense.

00:21:47.675 --> 00:21:49.444
Unlike direct action,

00:21:49.444 --> 00:21:52.079
where there has to be a causal connection,

00:21:52.079 --> 00:21:54.496
between the act and the goal.

00:21:56.102 --> 00:21:59.102
Another one is you cannot contribute

00:22:00.021 --> 00:22:02.502
to the emergency itself,

00:22:02.502 --> 00:22:04.648
or you can't make the emergency worse.

00:22:04.648 --> 00:22:06.231
- Alright, to life!

00:23:00.854 --> 00:23:03.011
The idea was to have a classroom be larger

00:23:03.011 --> 00:23:05.766
than just the four walls.

00:23:05.766 --> 00:23:08.085
We rotated through the
year of the mountain,

00:23:08.085 --> 00:23:11.446
the year of the forest,
and the year of the river.

00:23:11.446 --> 00:23:12.976
During the year of the river,

00:23:12.976 --> 00:23:15.245
students would come to Cathedral Park.

00:23:15.245 --> 00:23:17.556
We would sit in a beautiful place,

00:23:17.556 --> 00:23:19.576
and then I'd ask the students,

00:23:19.576 --> 00:23:21.564
"When you think of the word sanctuary,

00:23:21.564 --> 00:23:23.951
what do you think of?"

00:23:23.951 --> 00:23:27.737
They shared, "A holy
place that's protected,

00:23:27.737 --> 00:23:31.737
where they would go to
feel healthy and healed."

00:23:33.421 --> 00:23:36.299
And then I just said, "Now,
look out across the river,

00:23:36.299 --> 00:23:37.132
what do you see?"

00:23:37.132 --> 00:23:39.882
And they could see the LNG tanks,

00:23:40.876 --> 00:23:43.126
trains, all these oil tanks,

00:23:44.621 --> 00:23:48.288
and I said, this is an
industrial sanctuary.

00:23:49.925 --> 00:23:52.562
This was designated by
the City of Portland

00:23:52.562 --> 00:23:54.677
as a sanctuary for industry.

00:23:54.677 --> 00:23:56.493
And the youth, I mean, you can imagine,

00:23:56.493 --> 00:23:57.987
they're just dumbfounded.

00:23:57.987 --> 00:23:59.517
Like, that's an oxymoron.

00:23:59.517 --> 00:24:02.684
It can't be a sanctuary and industry.

00:24:04.961 --> 00:24:07.517
Teachers like to fix things.

00:24:07.517 --> 00:24:10.730
We try to give the tools
to make things better.

00:24:10.730 --> 00:24:14.765
And so I had a mini
class on climate change.

00:24:14.765 --> 00:24:17.557
A big thread through that was activism.

00:24:17.557 --> 00:24:19.244
You learn about this,
and then what can you do?

00:24:19.244 --> 00:24:21.308
And what are people doing?

00:24:21.308 --> 00:24:23.352
(gentle music)

00:24:23.352 --> 00:24:26.848
- [Student] Help us push this
city in the right direction.

00:24:26.848 --> 00:24:30.271
- Fire drill is an alert to
show that this is an emergency

00:24:30.271 --> 00:24:34.316
and we have to take action
now, instead of in a few years.

00:24:34.316 --> 00:24:35.776
It needs to happen now.

00:24:35.776 --> 00:24:40.355
- Instead of just sitting in
this little bubble of fear,

00:24:40.355 --> 00:24:45.355
and of just worry, I could
actually be doing something.

00:24:45.748 --> 00:24:47.524
- When other people start
joining, you feel like,

00:24:47.524 --> 00:24:49.319
"Oh wow, there's like a
whole bunch of other people

00:24:49.319 --> 00:24:51.538
that share my beliefs and
are doing the same thing.

00:24:51.538 --> 00:24:52.936
So maybe we can make a difference."

00:24:52.936 --> 00:24:54.789
- Hello, hi.
(laughs)

00:24:54.789 --> 00:24:56.255
How are you doing?
- Good.

00:24:56.255 --> 00:24:57.315
- Hi.
- Its good to see you.

00:24:57.315 --> 00:24:58.527
- Good to see you.

00:24:58.527 --> 00:25:01.610
(indistinct chatter)

00:25:13.524 --> 00:25:15.215
- My name is Violet O'Herron.

00:25:15.215 --> 00:25:17.355
I'm a member of the Portland
Youth Climate Council

00:25:17.355 --> 00:25:19.379
and a seventh grader at
Ockley Green Middle School

00:25:19.379 --> 00:25:21.070
in north Portland.

00:25:21.070 --> 00:25:23.206
I wanna start by saying thank you.

00:25:23.206 --> 00:25:25.565
It makes me feel hopeful to
know the City of Portland

00:25:25.565 --> 00:25:28.368
is actively working on climate solutions.

00:25:28.368 --> 00:25:32.045
There's no single simple
solution to the climate crisis.

00:25:32.045 --> 00:25:34.615
It is clear, however, that
there's no way we can solve

00:25:34.615 --> 00:25:39.406
(indistinct)
(water rippling)

00:25:39.406 --> 00:25:41.036
- [Man] Are we gonna stop this pipeline?

00:25:41.036 --> 00:25:44.374
- [All] Yeah.
(shouting)

00:25:44.374 --> 00:25:48.134
- It's time for us all to wake
up to what is also happening

00:25:48.134 --> 00:25:51.529
here in our beautiful Pacific Northwest.

00:25:51.529 --> 00:25:53.337
- [Graham] I'm Graham
from the Mosquito Fleet.

00:25:53.337 --> 00:25:55.203
We're a direct action organization

00:25:55.203 --> 00:25:57.135
that does fossil fuel resistance

00:25:57.135 --> 00:25:59.831
on all waterways in the Pacific Northwest.

00:25:59.831 --> 00:26:01.610
- A number of ships that have been coming

00:26:01.610 --> 00:26:03.633
up the Columbia River,

00:26:03.633 --> 00:26:05.899
to the port of Vancouver, Washington,

00:26:05.899 --> 00:26:08.690
which is just across the
river from Portland, Oregon,

00:26:08.690 --> 00:26:11.322
carrying pipe that's being used

00:26:11.322 --> 00:26:14.337
to build the trans mountain pipeline.

00:26:14.337 --> 00:26:17.031
We're doing everything we can to stop it.

00:26:17.031 --> 00:26:18.275
- When the protestors came

00:26:18.275 --> 00:26:20.302
to protest the trans mountain pipeline

00:26:20.302 --> 00:26:21.871
that was being delivered here,

00:26:21.871 --> 00:26:25.125
the kayaktivists were out
there. They stopped the ship.

00:26:25.125 --> 00:26:27.555
There was a lot of mixed
feelings amongst our members.

00:26:27.555 --> 00:26:29.811
A lot of them were like,
"Yeah, this is great."

00:26:29.811 --> 00:26:32.625
And the other ones were like,
"No, we wanna go to work.

00:26:32.625 --> 00:26:34.292
Get out of the way."

00:26:36.121 --> 00:26:38.461
The way it works is we
don't have the right to pick

00:26:38.461 --> 00:26:41.684
and choose what cargoes we handle, right?

00:26:41.684 --> 00:26:43.758
We've got a contract with our employers,

00:26:43.758 --> 00:26:48.425
and whatever they bring in
on a ship, we have to unload.

00:26:49.796 --> 00:26:52.719
We absolutely, as a union, understand it.

00:26:52.719 --> 00:26:55.236
We see what's being done
in the First Nations,

00:26:55.236 --> 00:26:58.129
their land being taken away, and you know,

00:26:58.129 --> 00:27:01.550
basically they're just being pushed aside.

00:27:01.550 --> 00:27:03.737
We sent some folks to Standing Rock

00:27:03.737 --> 00:27:06.585
and some money and supplies,

00:27:06.585 --> 00:27:09.376
which is kinda why when
Tesoro tried to bring

00:27:09.376 --> 00:27:11.409
the oil export facility in here,

00:27:11.409 --> 00:27:13.271
that was an opportunity we had to say,

00:27:13.271 --> 00:27:15.810
"No, and we don't wanna
handle this cargo."

00:27:15.810 --> 00:27:19.552
Because it wasn't already here, right?

00:27:19.552 --> 00:27:22.445
If we were successful in
keeping Tesoro out of here,

00:27:22.445 --> 00:27:25.739
then we were successful and
not having to handle a cargo

00:27:25.739 --> 00:27:28.426
that we didn't want to.

00:27:28.426 --> 00:27:29.631
The second we heard about it,

00:27:29.631 --> 00:27:31.041
we took it to our membership meeting,

00:27:31.041 --> 00:27:33.541
and unanimously voted to oppose.

00:27:35.445 --> 00:27:38.865
- The ILWU really started
speaking up and raising questions

00:27:38.865 --> 00:27:43.772
about oil trains around the
time of Lac-Mégantic in 2013.

00:27:43.772 --> 00:27:48.270
They were early questioners
of this whole operation.

00:27:48.270 --> 00:27:51.039
One of the very first meetings
at the Port of Vancouver,

00:27:51.039 --> 00:27:53.478
and I was sitting next to
one of the longshoremen

00:27:53.478 --> 00:27:55.337
when they said this.

00:27:55.337 --> 00:27:57.848
Someone from Tesoro
Savage got up and said,

00:27:57.848 --> 00:27:58.681
"This oil, this light, sweet crude,

00:27:58.681 --> 00:27:59.514
it's like mother's milk."

00:28:02.422 --> 00:28:05.600
This was about two weeks
before the mother's milk,

00:28:05.600 --> 00:28:08.072
derailed exploded and killed 47 people

00:28:08.072 --> 00:28:09.642
in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec.

00:28:09.642 --> 00:28:14.642
So the mother's milk quote
didn't hold up very long.

00:28:14.753 --> 00:28:15.996
- I was scared.

00:28:15.996 --> 00:28:17.483
We know enough about Tesoro,

00:28:17.483 --> 00:28:19.512
and all these other oil companies,

00:28:19.512 --> 00:28:23.305
to know that they don't handle
the product responsibly.

00:28:23.305 --> 00:28:24.914
No matter how much they say they do

00:28:24.914 --> 00:28:27.923
handle it responsibly, they don't.

00:28:27.923 --> 00:28:29.163
- [Narrator] Throughout the country,

00:28:29.163 --> 00:28:31.685
crude oil is safely on the move.

00:28:31.685 --> 00:28:34.915
Taking full advantage of our
nation's vast rail system

00:28:34.915 --> 00:28:36.829
means we can maximize the benefits

00:28:36.829 --> 00:28:39.219
of our increased oil production.

00:28:39.219 --> 00:28:41.296
The railroads follow industry standards

00:28:41.296 --> 00:28:43.288
and government regulations to inspect

00:28:43.288 --> 00:28:44.981
and maintain their tracks.

00:28:44.981 --> 00:28:47.903
- [Man] Track safety is
job number one around here.

00:28:47.903 --> 00:28:49.890
I walk my tracks every day.

00:28:49.890 --> 00:28:52.894
- The people that surround
us in the communities,

00:28:52.894 --> 00:28:54.220
are an asset to us,

00:28:54.220 --> 00:28:58.390
letting us come through
their homes basically.

00:28:58.390 --> 00:28:59.762
- We've seen spills.

00:28:59.762 --> 00:29:03.384
We've seen communities have
to fight with these companies

00:29:03.384 --> 00:29:05.857
just to get the cleanup taken care of.

00:29:05.857 --> 00:29:07.397
It always has to go to court first.

00:29:07.397 --> 00:29:08.845
Who's gonna pay for it?

00:29:08.845 --> 00:29:11.076
If they had an oil spill
and a shut down the river?

00:29:11.076 --> 00:29:12.770
Well, if we can't get ships up here,

00:29:12.770 --> 00:29:14.262
we're not gonna be working.

00:29:14.262 --> 00:29:16.295
So how long are we gonna be without work?

00:29:16.295 --> 00:29:18.611
(upbeat music)

00:29:18.611 --> 00:29:20.343
We went to the port commission meeting.

00:29:20.343 --> 00:29:21.831
Now the port was unhappy.

00:29:21.831 --> 00:29:24.399
They were not happy about it at all.

00:29:24.399 --> 00:29:26.555
But, you know, that's
the beauty of our union,

00:29:26.555 --> 00:29:29.440
is there's really nothing
they can do about us.

00:29:29.440 --> 00:29:30.521
That's what it's all about,

00:29:30.521 --> 00:29:32.456
voice in the workplace.

00:29:32.456 --> 00:29:33.934
It felt good to come out and say,

00:29:33.934 --> 00:29:37.601
"Yeah, we'd benefit from this,
but we're not interested."

00:29:37.601 --> 00:29:41.019
The long-term effect would be horrible.

00:29:41.019 --> 00:29:41.852
And that's when

00:29:41.852 --> 00:29:44.825
the community grassroots
movement got started.

00:29:44.825 --> 00:29:46.766
A hundred people opposing
it for every person

00:29:46.766 --> 00:29:49.236
that was in favor of it.

00:29:49.236 --> 00:29:50.069
But they were saying,

00:29:50.069 --> 00:29:51.642
"Oh yeah, you're gonna
pay next to nothing,

00:29:51.642 --> 00:29:53.011
in taxes around here.

00:29:53.011 --> 00:29:54.769
The schools are gonna get such a shot

00:29:54.769 --> 00:29:56.356
in the arm from this."

00:29:56.356 --> 00:29:58.781
That kind of argument was
the only one they had.

00:29:58.781 --> 00:30:01.359
Bunch of suits with money.

00:30:01.359 --> 00:30:05.066
So as a community, we targeted
the port commission races.

00:30:05.066 --> 00:30:08.448
- [LaBrant] This is our
community, you can't buy us out,

00:30:08.448 --> 00:30:09.769
we're not for sale.

00:30:09.769 --> 00:30:11.505
Who's going back in with me?

00:30:11.505 --> 00:30:14.712
(crowd cheering)

00:30:14.712 --> 00:30:18.792
- We got Eric LaBrant elected,
and he won in a landslide.

00:30:18.792 --> 00:30:21.557
So then we had one no vote.

00:30:21.557 --> 00:30:24.366
Two yes votes for the
terminal, one no vote.

00:30:24.366 --> 00:30:25.982
So obviously not enough to kill it.

00:30:25.982 --> 00:30:28.565
(gentle music)

00:30:40.845 --> 00:30:42.418
- [News Announcer] A plume of black smoke,

00:30:42.418 --> 00:30:44.110
rising above the Gorge,

00:30:44.110 --> 00:30:48.283
crude oil burning after 11
tankers derail near Mosier.

00:30:48.283 --> 00:30:49.792
- [Firefighter] Interstate
84 is shut down,

00:30:49.792 --> 00:30:51.913
do not travel out that way.

00:30:51.913 --> 00:30:54.330
We have a massive oil
tanker fire in Mosier.

00:30:54.330 --> 00:30:56.395
- We were all cleaning out our desks,

00:30:56.395 --> 00:30:58.094
for the end of the year.

00:30:58.094 --> 00:31:02.096
And we heard a big boom
and all the kids rushed

00:31:02.096 --> 00:31:06.541
to the windows and we see
a massive plume of smoke.

00:31:06.541 --> 00:31:09.425
- I just couldn't really
believe it was really happening.

00:31:09.425 --> 00:31:14.092
So I went in the hallway to
look at the smoke and stuff.

00:31:16.241 --> 00:31:19.698
- Union Pacific had a unit
train of Bakken crude oil,

00:31:19.698 --> 00:31:22.421
and a unit train means every
single car on the train

00:31:22.421 --> 00:31:24.106
is the same commodity.

00:31:24.106 --> 00:31:26.754
And it was coming around
this corner up here,

00:31:26.754 --> 00:31:29.471
and it derailed off the tracks.

00:31:29.471 --> 00:31:32.054
And basically the tracks split,

00:31:32.980 --> 00:31:36.063
and then four of the cars caught fire.

00:31:37.399 --> 00:31:42.261
It was the only day we had in
actually about a 35 day period

00:31:42.261 --> 00:31:43.998
that there was no wind,

00:31:43.998 --> 00:31:47.786
and because of that is
why we have a town today.

00:31:47.786 --> 00:31:52.786
The school literally is right
there, and there were 220 kids

00:31:52.877 --> 00:31:54.523
in session in the school.

00:31:54.523 --> 00:31:57.743
- We were all asked to evacuate,

00:31:57.743 --> 00:32:00.626
and because my dad is a firefighter.

00:32:00.626 --> 00:32:03.959
He rushed off and my mom wasn't in town.

00:32:04.874 --> 00:32:07.382
- To get that call was terrifying.

00:32:07.382 --> 00:32:08.866
I was able to fly in that night,

00:32:08.866 --> 00:32:10.632
but I wasn't able to get into town,

00:32:10.632 --> 00:32:13.432
because the traffic was so blocked.

00:32:13.432 --> 00:32:14.968
So there was no way into town.

00:32:14.968 --> 00:32:17.690
- Guess who else couldn't
get here, the rescuers.

00:32:17.690 --> 00:32:20.003
Basically right where we are,

00:32:20.003 --> 00:32:22.886
is the only place for
people to be able to get in

00:32:22.886 --> 00:32:26.053
or out of town, was in the blast zone.

00:32:27.437 --> 00:32:30.650
- There were 30 to 50
foot flames coming off it.

00:32:30.650 --> 00:32:32.348
Decided very quickly
that there was nothing

00:32:32.348 --> 00:32:34.248
we could do about the fire itself.

00:32:34.248 --> 00:32:36.482
But what we could do is try to protect

00:32:36.482 --> 00:32:38.090
some of the structures from the wildfire

00:32:38.090 --> 00:32:41.143
that had been started by the rail cars.

00:32:41.143 --> 00:32:43.450
- Our little town can
deal with bush fires,

00:32:43.450 --> 00:32:46.590
can deal with somebody that's
burning their slash pile

00:32:46.590 --> 00:32:47.709
that gets out of control,

00:32:47.709 --> 00:32:49.612
but there's nothing in us,

00:32:49.612 --> 00:32:52.379
that is equipped to deal
with this kind of product.

00:32:52.379 --> 00:32:55.611
And it sort of woke us all up.

00:32:55.611 --> 00:32:57.840
- Oil trains are a heavier,

00:32:57.840 --> 00:33:00.169
more dense cargo for the rails to deal.

00:33:00.169 --> 00:33:03.083
There are different kinds of fire to fight

00:33:03.083 --> 00:33:04.487
if they're on fire.

00:33:04.487 --> 00:33:06.796
There are different kinds
of hazard to deal with

00:33:06.796 --> 00:33:09.116
if they derail and spill.

00:33:09.116 --> 00:33:11.699
(gentle music)

00:33:15.266 --> 00:33:17.366
- The thing that hit everyone so hard

00:33:17.366 --> 00:33:20.759
was in every helicopter shot of this fire,

00:33:20.759 --> 00:33:23.393
there's the school,
there's the playground,

00:33:23.393 --> 00:33:26.337
where there were a couple hundred kids.

00:33:26.337 --> 00:33:27.786
- Everyone just held their breath,

00:33:27.786 --> 00:33:29.645
I mean, everybody was
just scared to death.

00:33:29.645 --> 00:33:32.574
Especially when we found out
it was right near the school.

00:33:32.574 --> 00:33:35.252
- We need to immediately start phasing out

00:33:35.252 --> 00:33:38.635
oil trains, period. They're not safe.

00:33:38.635 --> 00:33:41.108
- We had the mayor, the fire chief,

00:33:41.108 --> 00:33:45.037
the families, our senators, activists,

00:33:45.037 --> 00:33:46.854
indigenous people from that area,

00:33:46.854 --> 00:33:49.329
everybody said, "We have to stop this."

00:33:49.329 --> 00:33:52.412
- They represent a rolling time bomb,

00:33:53.264 --> 00:33:57.097
and citizens are right
to have grave concerns.

00:33:57.935 --> 00:34:01.478
- My message to the
residencts is, I'm very sorry,

00:34:01.478 --> 00:34:05.214
and that we're not gonna
leave here until everything

00:34:05.214 --> 00:34:08.797
is in order.
(gentle music)

00:34:10.070 --> 00:34:12.092
- Today the city council found out

00:34:12.092 --> 00:34:14.306
that they were opening up the tracks

00:34:14.306 --> 00:34:16.806
next to a number of oil tanks

00:34:17.658 --> 00:34:19.472
that have not been emptied yet.

00:34:19.472 --> 00:34:21.906
They had the big community press meeting,

00:34:21.906 --> 00:34:24.307
big show, we're gonna do
all this wonderful stuff

00:34:24.307 --> 00:34:26.127
for your area.

00:34:26.127 --> 00:34:29.510
The moment they were done
with that community meeting,

00:34:29.510 --> 00:34:30.921
they started the trains.
(train honking)

00:34:30.921 --> 00:34:32.682
- So why risk it? When I look at the cars,

00:34:32.682 --> 00:34:36.841
they're just a few feet away
from the operating train.

00:34:36.841 --> 00:34:38.728
- They are a few feet away,

00:34:38.728 --> 00:34:43.478
however, they are not posing
an issue with the rail cars.

00:34:45.252 --> 00:34:50.085
There are a lot of companies
that are counting on us.

00:34:50.085 --> 00:34:53.534
- It boggles the mind
that that wasn't the event

00:34:53.534 --> 00:34:56.606
that led to a total stop of oil trains

00:34:56.606 --> 00:34:59.282
coming through the Columbia River Gorge.

00:34:59.282 --> 00:35:04.095
We found almost no traction
at either the state,

00:35:04.095 --> 00:35:07.102
or the federal level, at
least in Oregon, for years,

00:35:07.102 --> 00:35:08.431
even after Mosier.

00:35:08.431 --> 00:35:09.712
You could see the railroad industry

00:35:09.712 --> 00:35:11.979
and their lobbyists were very effective.

00:35:11.979 --> 00:35:15.070
- You know, talked with
our senators about it,

00:35:15.070 --> 00:35:17.519
our Congress people, I asked them,

00:35:17.519 --> 00:35:19.586
"What can you do to help us out?"

00:35:19.586 --> 00:35:21.123
And they're like,

00:35:21.123 --> 00:35:24.318
"There's nothing we can
really do to the railroad."

00:35:24.318 --> 00:35:25.799
That doesn't make sense here.

00:35:25.799 --> 00:35:28.605
You're an elected official,
you're in the Senate.

00:35:28.605 --> 00:35:30.217
You're telling me that you can't make laws

00:35:30.217 --> 00:35:32.134
to govern the railroad?

00:35:33.553 --> 00:35:36.255
- Realizing that it's
difficult to stop these trains

00:35:36.255 --> 00:35:37.636
along the tracks.

00:35:37.636 --> 00:35:41.721
People have found a real
opportunity to take some action

00:35:41.721 --> 00:35:44.078
at the actual terminal level.

00:35:44.078 --> 00:35:46.894
They are going to the place

00:35:46.894 --> 00:35:48.609
generating the oil train traffic itself.

00:35:48.609 --> 00:35:51.741
A place like Zenith or Tesoro Savage.

00:35:51.741 --> 00:35:53.055
- From Vancouver voters,

00:35:53.055 --> 00:35:56.563
they do not want the nation's
largest oil by rail facility

00:35:56.563 --> 00:35:58.089
built in their downtown.

00:35:58.089 --> 00:35:59.824
- Voters overwhelmingly supported

00:35:59.824 --> 00:36:01.444
port commissioner candidate,

00:36:01.444 --> 00:36:03.747
Don Orange over candidate Chris Green,

00:36:03.747 --> 00:36:07.099
who got hundreds of thousands
of dollars from oil interests.

00:36:07.099 --> 00:36:10.027
- The port has a signed lease
for the oil terminal project,

00:36:10.027 --> 00:36:12.500
but port commissioners regularly vote

00:36:12.500 --> 00:36:14.106
whether to keep that lease.

00:36:14.106 --> 00:36:16.253
Don Orange starts his term in January,

00:36:16.253 --> 00:36:19.337
with a campaign promise
to cancel that contract.

00:36:19.337 --> 00:36:20.170
Along with current

00:36:20.170 --> 00:36:21.918
commissioner Eric LaBrant.

00:36:21.918 --> 00:36:25.131
- At that point, we had two
no votes, enough to kill it.

00:36:25.131 --> 00:36:26.842
And that was it.

00:36:26.842 --> 00:36:31.407
And now we've got all this
area out here for windmills.

00:36:31.407 --> 00:36:35.353
So behind me, we're surrounded
right now by the blades.

00:36:35.353 --> 00:36:36.471
When you're going up the Gorge

00:36:36.471 --> 00:36:38.683
and you see the windmills up on the hill,

00:36:38.683 --> 00:36:40.722
there's a lot of pieces
that make that thing go,

00:36:40.722 --> 00:36:43.677
and we're lucky enough to
handle all those pieces here.

00:36:43.677 --> 00:36:48.585
(gentle music)
(footsteps)

00:36:48.585 --> 00:36:50.319
- I think for so long,

00:36:50.319 --> 00:36:53.380
there's been this kind of
argument between like jobs

00:36:53.380 --> 00:36:55.074
versus the environment.

00:36:55.074 --> 00:36:58.463
And the Green New Deal really
turns that on its head.

00:36:58.463 --> 00:37:01.506
It's not just a single bill or policy.

00:37:01.506 --> 00:37:04.589
It's about a complete paradigm shift.

00:37:06.404 --> 00:37:10.452
- The Green New Deal concept
is one that helps affirm

00:37:10.452 --> 00:37:15.412
and supports our stewardship
responsibility to resources.

00:37:15.412 --> 00:37:18.997
I come to the study of law with
this inherent understanding

00:37:18.997 --> 00:37:23.691
of what we call in our
tribes the unwritten laws,

00:37:23.691 --> 00:37:26.610
and those are the laws that
we're told by our elders

00:37:26.610 --> 00:37:28.960
we carry in our hearts.

00:37:28.960 --> 00:37:30.448
We're there to speak for resources

00:37:30.448 --> 00:37:32.766
that can't speak for themselves.

00:37:32.766 --> 00:37:36.050
What I would hope is that there
is consideration with regard

00:37:36.050 --> 00:37:38.361
to how tribes can participate and that

00:37:38.361 --> 00:37:41.122
how that can be effective and
supporting of our interests

00:37:41.122 --> 00:37:43.955
around, specifically, energy issues.

00:37:45.236 --> 00:37:48.518
Like our a'tway Uncle Billy Frank said,

00:37:48.518 --> 00:37:52.201
"Every time you pull that light bulb,

00:37:52.201 --> 00:37:54.461
a salmon jumps out,

00:37:54.461 --> 00:37:59.128
because he sacrificed his
life to give you that energy."

00:38:00.139 --> 00:38:01.720
- Looking at the hydro system,

00:38:01.720 --> 00:38:05.901
there is no question that it
is not a clean form of energy.

00:38:05.901 --> 00:38:10.555
It produces hot water,
and that's lethal to fish.

00:38:10.555 --> 00:38:14.485
That is different than
fossil fuel pollution.

00:38:14.485 --> 00:38:16.510
We have a responsibility
to take that head on

00:38:16.510 --> 00:38:17.387
and not to pretend

00:38:17.387 --> 00:38:20.471
that these systems have
no pollution impact,

00:38:20.471 --> 00:38:21.460
because they do.

00:38:21.460 --> 00:38:22.749
(indistinct chanting)

00:38:22.749 --> 00:38:26.696
- There is a point where
if you don't lay down

00:38:26.696 --> 00:38:28.798
for peaceful civil disobedience,

00:38:28.798 --> 00:38:32.382
they are simply not
going to listen to you.

00:38:32.382 --> 00:38:34.394
- We need to demand

00:38:34.394 --> 00:38:37.976
that our elected leaders
and public officials,

00:38:37.976 --> 00:38:41.180
start telling the truth,
and they need to act fast.

00:38:41.180 --> 00:38:43.001
And when we write them letters,

00:38:43.001 --> 00:38:45.876
when we show up to make public comment,

00:38:45.876 --> 00:38:46.959
and they don't listen,

00:38:46.959 --> 00:38:48.679
then we're going to take it up a notch

00:38:48.679 --> 00:38:52.879
until they do have to face
what they have been ignoring

00:38:52.879 --> 00:38:55.471
and lying about for decades.

00:38:55.471 --> 00:38:57.971
(tense music)

00:39:40.029 --> 00:39:40.862
(indistinct speaking)

00:39:40.862 --> 00:39:43.195
(machinery)

00:39:53.077 --> 00:39:56.455
The youth were part of
the fossil fuel ban.

00:39:56.455 --> 00:39:59.628
They testified, we wrote
letters to the editor,

00:39:59.628 --> 00:40:01.239
we had rallies,

00:40:01.239 --> 00:40:06.239
we had forums where we had
invited speakers to talk about

00:40:06.240 --> 00:40:09.163
Zenith Energy and the problems.

00:40:09.163 --> 00:40:12.248
The students met with city officials.

00:40:12.248 --> 00:40:15.342
The mayor told us many times
that his hands were tied,

00:40:15.342 --> 00:40:17.267
they were looking into every legal

00:40:17.267 --> 00:40:19.275
action that they could take,

00:40:19.275 --> 00:40:22.448
said, "We agree this is a
danger to our community,

00:40:22.448 --> 00:40:25.657
and we don't want them here,
but we don't know what to do."

00:40:52.156 --> 00:40:55.369
I'm tired of waiting for
the city and the county,

00:40:55.369 --> 00:40:59.046
and the government to do
something. We're out of time,

00:40:59.046 --> 00:41:01.852
and that's why I'm here.

00:41:01.852 --> 00:41:05.557
At some point, we knew that
nothing was going to happen,

00:41:05.557 --> 00:41:08.482
and so, there was nothing else to do

00:41:08.482 --> 00:41:13.051
but to actually go to the
site and stop the rail trains.

00:41:13.051 --> 00:41:17.539
♪ Gonna make this garden grow ♪

00:41:17.539 --> 00:41:21.524
♪ All you need is rake and hoe... ♪

00:41:21.524 --> 00:41:24.981
- We were able to utilize
the necessity defense.

00:41:24.981 --> 00:41:28.230
By setting up the blockade where they did,

00:41:28.230 --> 00:41:32.229
they were drawing attention
to the expansion area,

00:41:32.229 --> 00:41:35.486
as well as stopping bomb trains

00:41:35.486 --> 00:41:37.928
from entering into the facility,

00:41:37.928 --> 00:41:42.117
and then leaving again
for export purposes.

00:44:36.858 --> 00:44:39.533
The existential crisis of climate change,

00:44:39.533 --> 00:44:41.780
that goes on one set of scales.

00:44:41.780 --> 00:44:46.232
And then trespassing goes on
the other set of the scales.

00:44:46.232 --> 00:44:50.831
And the jury is basically meant
to balance those two harms.

00:44:50.831 --> 00:44:54.545
And that is often the most difficult part

00:44:54.545 --> 00:44:56.326
of a necessity defense.

00:44:56.326 --> 00:45:00.484
Because most people are
still in the mindset

00:45:00.484 --> 00:45:02.901
of a law and order mentality.

00:45:59.325 --> 00:46:01.908
(gentle music)

00:46:22.386 --> 00:46:24.803
(soft music)

00:46:27.870 --> 00:46:30.370
- Whenever I see an oil train,

00:46:31.511 --> 00:46:34.084
I always feel like a pit of my stomach,

00:46:34.084 --> 00:46:36.736
just like a little dread.

00:46:36.736 --> 00:46:39.153
(soft music)

00:46:42.924 --> 00:46:44.085
- We originally thought

00:46:44.085 --> 00:46:47.212
that we would ask for all
of the money to be given,

00:46:47.212 --> 00:46:49.121
to building a new school.

00:46:49.121 --> 00:46:49.959
They weren't interested,

00:46:49.959 --> 00:46:53.459
they wanted to support emergency services.

00:46:56.063 --> 00:46:59.075
- We replaced our 30 odd
year old engine leaf,

00:46:59.075 --> 00:47:01.009
this thing behind us.

00:47:01.009 --> 00:47:05.582
And they've also provided
some money for a new building,

00:47:05.582 --> 00:47:06.790
showers and things like that in it,

00:47:06.790 --> 00:47:09.020
which will be rather nice.

00:47:09.020 --> 00:47:11.239
Our fight chief resigned.

00:47:11.239 --> 00:47:14.307
He was deeply stressed by the incident.

00:47:14.307 --> 00:47:16.530
The fact that everybody
was dealing with things

00:47:16.530 --> 00:47:19.374
that were so far out of
our usual experience,

00:47:19.374 --> 00:47:22.879
that it was just a bit traumatic.

00:47:22.879 --> 00:47:25.762
Now that's not to say we
don't have community anymore,

00:47:25.762 --> 00:47:28.929
but I feel like we were closer before.

00:47:32.134 --> 00:47:35.312
- The term railroaded is
common on purpose, right?

00:47:35.312 --> 00:47:36.984
They have a lot of power.

00:47:36.984 --> 00:47:41.383
What surprised me was that
the tribes were able to help.

00:47:41.383 --> 00:47:44.403
- Will we be the generation
that forgot those

00:47:44.403 --> 00:47:47.283
who are coming behind
us, those yet unborn?

00:47:47.283 --> 00:47:49.879
Will we be the generation
that forgot to speak

00:47:49.879 --> 00:47:52.557
for the resources that
cannot speak in a manner

00:47:52.557 --> 00:47:54.474
that we can understand?

00:47:55.324 --> 00:47:58.749
- Turns out their treaties
preempt the railroad.

00:47:58.749 --> 00:48:01.720
So they have been able to work together,

00:48:01.720 --> 00:48:06.720
to save the Gorge from some
of these advancements (laughs)

00:48:07.152 --> 00:48:09.952
that were to the cutoff
the towns and the people

00:48:09.952 --> 00:48:11.202
from the river.

00:48:12.228 --> 00:48:14.828
Started to see more and more
tribes were being affected

00:48:14.828 --> 00:48:19.828
by these projects coming together
and supporting each other.

00:48:20.355 --> 00:48:23.438
- What kinda wake up call do we need?

00:48:26.578 --> 00:48:29.078
I can't even fathom to think,

00:48:32.181 --> 00:48:37.070
that those children who were
in school at that time...

00:48:37.070 --> 00:48:39.175
They're not my children.

00:48:39.175 --> 00:48:42.925
I'm not related to them,
but they were there.

00:49:09.061 --> 00:49:12.755
- They deliberated for a day
and a half and came back,

00:49:12.755 --> 00:49:16.070
and said, "Five of us want to aquit,

00:49:16.070 --> 00:49:18.570
and one of us won't be swayed.

00:49:19.578 --> 00:49:22.589
And the judge declared a mistrial."

00:49:22.589 --> 00:49:26.172
The state decided to
not re-prosecute them.

00:49:27.018 --> 00:49:29.851
And so the state dismissed all
of the charges against them,

00:49:29.851 --> 00:49:33.969
and they ended up engaging
in a direct action on camera

00:49:33.969 --> 00:49:35.830
without getting any convictions.

00:49:35.830 --> 00:49:37.890
- Today these three
Portlanders are celebrating

00:49:37.890 --> 00:49:40.489
what they call a major win.

00:49:40.489 --> 00:49:42.016
- It is for sure, a victory,

00:49:42.016 --> 00:49:43.216
- [Reporter] Five of the six jurors

00:49:43.216 --> 00:49:45.447
found the defendants not guilty,

00:49:45.447 --> 00:49:48.775
even though they never denied their guilt.

00:49:48.775 --> 00:49:50.478
- Never.
- Never.

00:49:50.478 --> 00:49:51.949
- We advertise it actually.

00:49:51.949 --> 00:49:53.773
- [Reporter] Portland Attorney
Greg Kafoury says the fact

00:49:53.773 --> 00:49:55.174
that the majority of the jury

00:49:55.174 --> 00:49:57.474
found the defendant not guilty.

00:49:57.474 --> 00:50:00.996
- It's an enormously
important legal victory.

00:50:00.996 --> 00:50:03.376
Going forward if other
judges have the courage

00:50:03.376 --> 00:50:05.317
to adopt this defense,

00:50:05.317 --> 00:50:08.482
you're going to see a great
deal, more direct action,

00:50:08.482 --> 00:50:12.482
against the most severe
environmental polluters.

00:50:13.793 --> 00:50:17.211
- The fact that five out
of the six jurors felt

00:50:17.211 --> 00:50:18.827
that we were not guilty,

00:50:18.827 --> 00:50:23.329
was a huge win and set the
precedent for future activists.

00:50:23.329 --> 00:50:28.180
And especially right now, when
the time is whittling away,

00:50:28.180 --> 00:50:30.529
it's an opportunity
for the kind of justice

00:50:30.529 --> 00:50:33.797
that we've been working towards.

00:50:33.797 --> 00:50:35.654
- It's gonna take more.

00:50:35.654 --> 00:50:37.600
It's gonna take more direct action,

00:50:37.600 --> 00:50:41.582
it's gonna take more rights
being put on the line.

00:50:41.582 --> 00:50:45.904
It's gonna be more younger
that have to understand,

00:50:45.904 --> 00:50:49.788
the corporate entities are
not gonna care about us.

00:50:49.788 --> 00:50:52.621
Because we are in sacrifice zones.

00:50:54.669 --> 00:50:58.419
(prays in Umatilla language)

00:51:05.568 --> 00:51:08.626
We're here this early morning for prayer,

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a prayer for the peoples of this land,

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this water, this air.

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(speaks in foreign language)

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We offer these blessings.

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It is such a sacred time.

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And we have to know that
within that sovereign right

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comes a huge responsibility.

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For us to continue teaching not
only within our own families

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and children's and tribes,

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but to non-native people as well.

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So they have an understanding
of why we are still here.

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(speaks in foreign language)

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We're not going anywhere. We're staying.