Blogger, Artist, Social Media, Web Designer, Photographer- I blog about nouns-people, places and things, even when it's negative I try to put a positive spin on it. @tinawinterlikfb https://tinawinterlik.blogspot.com
#JusticeDenied: When Mushrooms Excuse Attempted Rape
By Tina Winterlik aka Zipolita
June 22, 2025
A woman was assaulted, knocked to the ground, sexually violated, and nearly raped.
And the man who did it? He was found not criminally responsible—because he took magic mushrooms and claimed God told him to have sex to save the world.
Let that sink in.
This is not a sci-fi horror movie. This is real, and it happened in Surrey, British Columbia, in a courtroom under Canadian law.
⚖️ What Happened
According to a report by @cbcnews, Leon-Jamal Daniel Barrett took magic mushrooms and had what the judge called a “psychotic episode.” He then:
Left his house believing God would send him a woman
Attacked a stranger
Knocked her down
Smashed her breast
Tried to take off her jeans
The victim fought him off.
And somehow—because he was high and psychotic—he was found not guilty.
🧠 “Mental Illness” and the Weaponization of Insanity
Mental illness is real, and people who are truly struggling deserve care and compassion. But mental illness is not a free pass to hurt people, especially women.
This isn’t the first time the “not criminally responsible” (NCR) defense has been used to explain away violence against women:
Men who attack, rape, or kill, and later claim they were intoxicated or delusional
Courts that sympathize with the attacker’s “state of mind” more than the victim’s trauma
Legal systems that treat women’s safety as secondary to men’s mental fragility
💬 Why This Matters
If a woman was tripping on mushrooms and committed violence, would the courts be as lenient? Or is this just another case where men are protected and women are blamed or forgotten?
This case sends a dangerous message:
“If you’re high or mentally unstable, your violence isn’t your fault.”
What about her trauma?
What about her body?
What about her future?
📣 We Say: #JusticeDenied
This isn’t just a “weird court case”—it’s part of a pattern where women's bodies become collateral damage in a justice system built to excuse male violence.
We demand:
Legal reforms on how NCR is applied in sexual assault cases
Victim-centered justice that doesn’t ignore harm just because intent is murky
A public conversation about consent, responsibility, and the failures of our court system
✊ You Are Not Alone
To every woman who's ever been told her pain wasn’t “real enough,” “bad enough,” or “legally relevant enough”: We see you. We believe you. We will not be silent.
This blog is my small way of standing up and saying: This is not okay.
20 Years Later: Still No Justice for Students Scammed by Private Colleges in BC
By Tina Winterlik aka Zipolita
In the early 2000s, I enrolled in a private college program in Vancouver through SINA Executive Training. The course promised to teach web design and how to build an online shopping cart—skills that were in high demand at the time. Like many others, I was encouraged to join through an employment support program. The government covered part of the tuition, but I still had to cash in $5,000 from my RRSPs to pay the rest—totaling around $11,000.
I believed I was investing in my future. But what I got was a scam, emotional abuse, and no accountability.
One of the instructors, named F*, harassed me constantly. The environment was toxic and unsafe. I tried to hold on, but eventually I had to get a doctor’s note for my mental health due to the harassment. Instead of receiving support, I was kicked out—dismissed by the very people who promised to help me succeed.
I didn’t finish. I didn’t graduate. There was no certificate. No celebration. Just shame, frustration, and deep disappointment.
Then the Dot-Com crash hit. Jobs dried up. No one was hiring web designers. I’d lost my money, my employment insurance, and eventually my apartment. With nowhere left to go, I made the difficult decision to leave Canada and go to Mexico to try to heal.
But I carried that pain with me. And I’ve carried it for over 20 years.
Recently, I saw in the news that Granville College and Pacific Link College—both based in BC—have been ordered to refund students for misleading practices. And while I’m glad those students are finally being acknowledged, I can’t help but ask:
What about the rest of us?
What about those of us who were robbed by private colleges long before social media or widespread public complaints? What about the ones who were pushed into these programs through government employment programs and promised a future that never came?
We were set up to fail, and then abandoned.
This isn't just about me. This is about a pattern of systemic abuse in BC's private education sector that has gone unpunished for decades. And it’s about government complicity through EI-linked training programs that force vulnerable people—like single parents, unemployed workers, or newcomers—into unsafe, low-quality "career training" with no real protections.
I am speaking up now, because I won’t stay silent any longer.
Too many of us have suffered in silence. And it’s time to demand:
A full public inquiry into private training institutions in BC.
A restitution fund for students scammed before regulations were enforced.
A full review of EI-funded training programs and how they pushed people into financial ruin.
If this happened to you too, you are not alone.
Let’s unite our voices. Let’s demand justice—not just for the students getting refunds now, but for those of us who were left behind.
✍️ Written by Tina Winterlik aka Zipolita
Survivor, Artist, Advocate
📍Vancouver & Beyond @zipolita
The tragic death of Florence Girard, a 54-year-old woman with Down syndrome, is a sobering reminder of the systemic failures in British Columbia's care system. Florence starved to death in 2018 while under the care of a home-share provider, Astrid Dahl, who failed to provide even the most basic necessities of life. At the time of her death, Florence weighed just over 50 pounds and had not seen a doctor in over four years.
Despite being convicted of "failing to provide the necessaries of life," Dahl served no jail time. Instead, she received a conditional sentence to be served in the community—a punishment that many, including Florence’s family, find grossly inadequate.
Neglect is Abuse
Neglecting to provide medical care, proper nutrition, or even basic attention to someone in your care is a form of abuse. In Florence’s case, it was fatal. The fact that Dahl failed to take Florence to the doctor for years while her health visibly declined is nothing short of criminal. Yet the justice system treated this gross negligence as a lesser offense.
What message does this send to other caregivers? That the lives of vulnerable individuals like Florence are not valued? That neglect, even when it leads to death, has no real consequences?
Systemic Failures
The failure doesn’t stop with one individual. Florence was part of a home-share program overseen by Kinsight Community Society, which was contracted by Community Living BC (CLBC). This system, designed to support adults with developmental disabilities, failed to monitor her care adequately. Reports indicate that Kinsight had no contact with Florence for at least eight months before her death. This lack of oversight is unacceptable and points to deeper issues within the care system.
How many more vulnerable people are at risk because of understaffing, lack of funding, and inadequate accountability? Florence’s death is a chilling reminder that these systemic issues must be addressed immediately.
Justice for Florence
Florence Girard deserved better. She deserved care, compassion, and dignity. Her death should not be in vain. Justice for Florence means more than holding one individual accountable—it means demanding systemic reform to ensure this never happens again.
Here’s what needs to change:
Stronger Sentencing: Neglect that leads to death must be met with meaningful consequences. Without accountability, negligence will continue unchecked.
Improved Oversight: Programs like home-share must have regular, unannounced inspections and follow-ups to ensure the well-being of those in care.
Adequate Funding: Organizations like CLBC must receive the resources they need to properly monitor and support caregivers.
Advocacy for Change: The public must push for legislative reforms that prioritize the safety and dignity of vulnerable individuals.
A Call to Action
Florence’s sister, Sharon Bursey, has been outspoken about the need for change, saying, “There’s all of these protocols and handbooks and rules, but it doesn’t seem like any of them are being followed.” She’s right. Rules mean nothing if they aren’t enforced, and vulnerable lives depend on us demanding better.
Let’s make sure Florence’s story is heard. Share this post, write to your local representatives, and support advocacy groups calling for accountability and reform. Justice for Florence isn’t just about her—it’s about protecting every vulnerable individual who depends on the care of others.
Florence Girard’s death was preventable. Let’s make sure her life, and the lessons from her tragic death, bring about the change we so desperately need.
1. Housing First Model Integration: M.A.S.H. units could work with "Housing First" programs that prioritize permanent housing as the first step in recovery.
2. Mobile Kitchens: Incorporate food services to provide nutritious meals on-site.
3. Partnership with Indigenous Communities: Ensure culturally appropriate services for Indigenous populations disproportionately affected by homelessness.
4. Education Hubs: Offer resources to help individuals develop life skills, from budgeting to technology training.
5. Community Engagement: Partner with local residents to build trust and ensure everyone feels invested in the solution.
Do you ever feel really small and think what can I do. Are you tired?
I am. Sometimes I feel like I want to quit this blog but then I read something and I think...this needs a voice. I am small, right now I am poor and at the end of the month homeless, I am single mom of a beautiful 15 year old girl and this fentanyl crisis is freaking me out. I haven't personally lost any friends or family to this crisis but I do know many who have and it's devastating. Any loss of life is devastating. GRIEF! Been there.
I come up with all these cRaZy thoughts and my kids says "what are you on?" Nothing! I just have these ideas that pop into my head. Insights! Right now to me, it feels like this Fentanyl crisis is very similar to the small pox epidemic. Many people don't really know about it, we are just learning more as those enlightened enough delve into the muddy waters of so called "Reconciliation."
We are losing so many lives on the DTES (everywhere) but the stats are showing it's a high percentage of First Nation women. The matriarchs! These poor souls who have suffered so much already from the legacy of the Residential schools, from being in Foster Care, from being pushed aside and forgotten by society..these single moms, these children, homeless, preyed upon by other sick souls and the very government that is supposedly elected to protect used and abused them and just single parents in general. OUR SOCIETY IS REALLY F*KED UP!!
IT'S NOT SUPPOSED TO BE THIS WAY! I could go on a long rant about how we are supposed to be hunters and gatherers and 200 years ago, at this time of year huge amounts of salmon would be arriving and the men would be helping fishing and women would be cleaning, drying the salmon. The women would be harvesting berries, the women would be gathering roots and making cedar clothes. Everyone would be working and getting ready for winter. Everyone had a job, home, and love...NOT LIKE NOW!!
Am I making any sense? Women had women to rely on. They had children but they could find their own food and if you study anthropology- is they provided most of the diet. But in today's women, especially single moms are treated like shit. Either you work yourself to death and have someone else raise your child (i.e. lovely hard working Philipino nanny ) and your kid has her morals, not yours...because you weren't there...or you have to live in precarious oppressive situations or God forbid the government swoops in and steals your child.
Why do you think these women are using drugs. To numb the pain of all that I just mentioned.
Enter Fentanyl. BIG PHARMA!
This is going to be a long rant, you might want to get a coffee and some kind of treat because this is ugly shit and not nice to talk about but I need to vent here and if you want to stick around well, I hope I enlighten you or if you are already maybe you can share.
My arms are already sore from typing...I've got tendonitis, so I can't type to much for to long. It's why I can't take many labour jobs, it's why I should be on disability but disability is as evil and de-humanizing as welfare. It's not enough to live on, proving your poor is humility, proving you can't actually work is even more exhausting and depressing and I refuse to grovel to the government- unknown entities who see you as a number and can dismiss you with a keystroke. So many suffer from this useless system. And Christy Clark, thank god she's gone she help propel this shit to the level it is. And John Horgan, while I love what you have been doing so far, $100 extra month is NOTHING!! NOTHING!! NOTHING!! NOTHING!! NOTHING!! NOTHING!!
WE NEED BASIC INCOME NOW FOR ALL SINGLE PARENTS!!!
(and tiny houses on all the streets, close them, hook the houses up to street facilities, plant gardens everywhere, shut down all the shipping and shit, use local only, clean up the harbour, bring back OUR SALMON, teach our kids how to survive with no F*CKNG electricity, because WHEN THAT SOLAR STORM, earthquake, Tsunami, hurricane, flood, or god forbid MOON misses the U.S. and hits us...help our child have some sort of tools to survive.. even if it's just a few.. DO IT FOR OUR CHILDREN'S CHILDREN)
whew! breathe...1, 2, 3... That feels a little better. I needed to vomit that all up! BLAK!
Last night on the news this lady was saying about all these kids in OTTAWA starting back to school and they were afraid for them. One mom said that when she was young if you smoked a joint it wasn't the end of the world..now maybe it is.
I remember when I was little... 12 ...my sister she gave me this book called GO ASK ALICE, it was supposed to warn me about drugs, because people were doing LSD and jumping off roofs and shit..in honesty ...it made me want to do drugs. Go figure!
DRUGS... WHAT ARE THEY? Let's talk about that for a minute.
My mom had open heart surgery when I was 14, she had all sorts of health issues, she may have had Lupus we don't know, she hurt all the time. She was on meds up the ying yang. She took prenizone, you know that one, it's evil. After she had been on it 10 years we read it caused all sorts of evil things. She died 10 years ago. GRIEF- remember I mentioned it above...hit me really hard. My mom was grieving for years. My dad took his life when I was 11 years old. She had 3 teens to raise, she had 4 kids but the oldest was already married and all that pressure took it's toll on them ...I remember mom saying to me...that she had to get a job or the welfare would take us. When my dad took his life there life insurance was void. My mom was an incredibly strong beautiful loving woman and she survived, she raised us and she got me through school even though I encountered some awful teachers and wanted to quit so bad. She survived another heart attack later on when my child was just 5 months. She hurt all the time and BIG PHARMA was pumping her full of drugs.
I remember near the end. I was so scared. I had had a falling out with my family, I had no money. My kids dad is Mexican, he is lucky he make $20 a day so he can't help...and we are not together, so I get nothing. I am on my own...anyways, I had social assistance when my kid was born up until 3. Then they were kicking me off so I figured out how to get into a Co-op, some really lovely people helped an I managed to move but I didn't want some people to know...I was just scared...scared all the time...just like so many of these single moms/dad, aunties, caring for kids...that the welfare system will come steal our kids and force them into some evil situation where they will be abused, used and preyed upon..(a lovely legacy of the residential school-(sarcasm here...I hope you realize).
Anyways, my mom was in terrible pain, she couldn't take alot of pain killers and she called an asked me could I please get her some medical marijuana...she was ready to try anything...and I was living in Nelson- and green was BC underground ecomony and how we survived the recession if you are clueless to such things. But I told her no. I was scared. I was so scared someone would see me and then I would lose my kid.
Why am I telling you all this? If you are still with me...Hello! Thanks for listening.
Drugs. They are F*KING EVIL. but what kind of drugs. In the sixties parents were afraid of LSD, in the 80's is was cocaine, in the 90's it was crack, in 2000 we were back to heroin (thanks to 9/11) and now it's a FENTANYL CRISIS!
Where's it coming from? I heard it's coming from China, ...the heroin is coming from Iraq, Iran, Afganistan...I don't know...somewhere like that, because of the wars, and it's coming up from Mexico and South America...along with cocaine.. all thanks to the lovely WAR ON DRUGS. War makes wars...just in a different way. NEGATIVE ENERGY FEEDS IT!
So if you looked back in history and at true Indigenous- hunting gathering societies, they all have medicinal herbs that the shamans/medicine man/woman/two-spirits/peoples gave to people who were dealing with GRIEF or some other kind of troubling event.
Did you ever see IN THE HEART OF THE WORLD. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRgTtrQOiR0 they warned us back in 1990's to take care, that we were screwing up the world and we better stop. They use the coca leaf to think well, to find answers to their problems, the shaman guides them.
So what's my point about all this. My point is where is the connection and disconnection.
Do you think that someone who has a home, food to eat, children to raise, is surrounded by loving people is going to turn to "drugs". Maybe is someone they love dies, or many and they are in grief the shaman would help them. But what is happening right now if you STEP BACK and LOOK at the big picture is that women are being thrown aside, their children must suffer the consquences and you have EVIL BIG PHARMA spewing forth it's vomit onto poor suffering souls.
The opiate crisis is at it's peak because doctors- (so called healers.. ya right) have been medicating people with DRUGS to stop chronic pain, to medicate (depression), to zombize (ADHD) our children...
Apparently dealers put a little bit of fentanyl in one packet so someone purposely od's leading users to thing that it's super high quality and they risk getting it because they want the best high. Doctors/BIG PHARMA created this issue by prescribing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxycodone
for pain. https://www.drugs.com/oxycontin.html
Is any of this making sense...it's what they did and our doing to our First Nations, especially our BEAUTIFUL STRONG MATRIARCHS, the women who fought so hard to raise strong young men and women to carry on. It's colonialism, yes, and the legacy of the residential schools and corporate greed, it's today's government and society using and abusing the most vulnerable..the women and children. They are wiping out the women, women who love the earth and wan to protect their mother. They are wiping out the mothers. https://tinawinterlik.blogspot.ca/2017/06/do-it-for-every-child-taken-june-is.html
HOW DO WE RISE? HOW DO WE CHANGE THIS? With art right? We resist, we share?
What else can I do at the moment. So this morning I came across the first article shared and thought what can I do, to give this man a voice, to give a voice to everyone who has lost someone they loved to this evilness. And that's why I made this post. So I am sharing. It's all I can do because I am having a hard time keeping my head above the water...I am trying not to drown...just as the mother, our beautiful mothers, and mother earth is drowning.
Use ART LIKE A DRUG!! Heal yourself, save your friends, RISE UP and let's take back the control. Let's save the mothers, grandmothers, children and let's SAVE MOTHER EARTH. She doesn't need us but I think she still loves us just like all your inhabitants, but if we keep hurting her, hurting each other, hurting ourselves..well she will hurt us..she won't mean to but she will just be protecting herself. Does that makes sense? Are you still here!! THANK YOU!
Thank you! If you have read even some of this page, thank you. I hope that teachers, parents, professors, doctors, everyone will read my page and share it and discuss what I am saying. We need to calm down, but we need to rise in a peace way. We need to reach out support and love one another.
In the video above Deepak Chopra says something about "we think we are outside of nature, we are not, we are part of nature, maybe if we calm down, nature will calm down" (not a direct quote, to tired to go get it)
BUT ISN'T IS OBVIOUS!
With all the awful energy, with the hate being spewed in the world, especially of late, no wonder the storms are getting bigger...yes our ignorance and disrespect of mother earth is causing climate change but you must get to a much higher level and step back and see it for what it is. Energy. We are all energy.. positive and negative energy...it has to go somewhere... how will we use that energy, our energy. One day our energy will go back into the earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust...let's call upon our ancestors, the positive energies of the universe to help us in this hour of need. Let's reach out and love one another, let's help each other. Do it for our children's children.
Sending love and light. I love you all. I love the water, the ocean, the dirt, the birds, the sacred cedar trees, the moon, the sun, I love everything and I ask you to think, eat and pray love like that book says. Be love today. Let's turn things around.
We are supposed to be Peacekeepers. Please watch this video.
Let's All Unite!
I am posting this because not everyone can see video and I believe you need to read this.
The Great Dictator's Speech
http://www.charliechaplin.com/en/synopsis/articles/29-The-Great-Dictator-s-Speech
I’m sorry, but I don’t want to be an emperor. That’s not my business.
I don’t want to rule or conquer anyone. I should like to help everyone -
if possible - Jew, Gentile - black man - white.We all want to help one
another. Human beings are like that. We want to live by each other’s
happiness - not by each other’s misery. We don’t want to hate and
despise one another. In this world there is room for everyone. And the
good earth is rich and can provide for everyone. The way of life can be
free and beautiful, but we have lost the way.
Greed has poisoned men’s souls, has barricaded the world with hate,
has goose-stepped us into misery and bloodshed. We have developed speed,
but we have shut ourselves in. Machinery that gives abundance has left
us in want. Our knowledge has made us cynical. Our cleverness, hard and
unkind. We think too much and feel too little. More than machinery we
need humanity. More than cleverness we need kindness and gentleness.
Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lost....
The aeroplane and the radio have brought us closer together. The very
nature of these inventions cries out for the goodness in men - cries out
for universal brotherhood - for the unity of us all. Even now my voice
is reaching millions throughout the world - millions of despairing men,
women, and little children - victims of a system that makes men torture
and imprison innocent people.
To those who can hear me, I say - do not despair.The misery that is
now upon us is but the passing of greed - the bitterness of men who fear
the way of human progress. The hate of men will pass, and dictators
die, and the power they took from the people will return to the people.
And so long as men die, liberty will never perish. .....
Soldiers! don’t give yourselves to brutes - men who despise you -
enslave you - who regiment your lives - tell you what to do - what to
think and what to feel! Who drill you - diet you - treat you like
cattle, use you as cannon fodder. Don’t give yourselves to these
unnatural men -machine men with machine minds and machine hearts! You
are not machines! You are not cattle! You are men! You have the love of
humanity in your hearts! You don’t hate! Only the unloved hate - the
unloved and the unnatural! Soldiers! Don’t fight for slavery! Fight for
liberty!
In the 17th Chapter of St Luke it is written: “the Kingdom of God is
within man” - not one man nor a group of men, but in all men! In you!
You, the people have the power - the power to create machines. The power
to create happiness! You, the people, have the power to make this life
free and beautiful, to make this life a wonderful adventure.
Then - in the name of democracy - let us use that power - let us all
unite. Let us fight for a new world - a decent world that will give men a
chance to work - that will give youth a future and old age a security.
By the promise of these things, brutes have risen to power. But they
lie! They do not fulfil that promise. They never will!
Dictators free themselves but they enslave the people! Now let us
fight to fulfil that promise! Let us fight to free the world - to do
away with national barriers - to do away with greed, with hate and
intolerance. Let us fight for a world of reason, a world where science
and progress will lead to all men’s happiness. Soldiers! in the name of
democracy, let us all unite! http://www.charliechaplin.com/en/synopsis/articles/29-The-Great-Dictator-s-Speech A MESSAGE OF HOPE
Wow Neetu, so brave of you to go and it must be very difficult.
I send you love and light and pray for you and all the refugees, to be safe on this terrible journey of their life, that it may be over soon and you and they will be safe.
I tried to put this in perspective, imagine if you in Vancouver BC lived near the beach and boatloads of people were arriving everyday...so hard to even think of such a thing...but this is the reality in Lesvos, Greece.
“If this humanitarian crisis was unfolding
anywhere else in the world we would expect immediate practical steps to
be taken to protect groups most at risk of abuse, such as women
travelling alone and female-headed families,” Amnesty’s Hassan said.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NGOs decry charges against volunteers in Greece
Police charges carrying prison sentences of up to 10 years in
jail made against volunteer lifeguards who rescue refugees have angered
the NGO community in the Greek island of Lesbos, with some reporting a
growing crackdown on their activities.
On Thursday, the Greek coastguard arrested two Danish and three
Spanish volunteers from the Team Humanity and Proem Aid groups,
respectively.
They are accused of people smuggling, Themistoklis Kefalas, a Danish citizens' lawyer, confirmed to Al Jazeera.
The Danish volunteers are Mohammed Abbassi, 26, and Salam Aldeen, 33.
The three Spanish volunteers are Manuel Blanco, Jose Enrique and Julio
Latorre.
In one scene, a group of Indian children from the school go to town
for ice cream and are refused service and then abused and humiliated by
Bernard Posner and his gang. This prompts a violent outburst by Billy.
Later, the director of the Freedom School, Jean, is raped and an Indian
student is then murdered by Bernard (David Roya), the son of the
county's corrupt political boss (Bert Freed).
Billy confronts Bernard and sustains a gunshot wound before killing him
with a hand strike to the throat, after Bernard was caught in bed with a
13-year-old girl. After a climactic shootout with the police, and
pleading from Jean, Billy Jack surrenders to the authorities and is
arrested. As he is driven away, a large crowd of supporters raise their
fists as a show of defiance and support. The plot continues in the
sequel, The Trial of Billy Jack. Written, Directed & Produced by Tom Laughlin
Listen children to a story that was written long ago 'bout a kingdom on a mountain and the valley folk below on the mountain was a treasure buried deep beneath a stone and the valley people swore they'd have it for their very own
CHORUS: go ahead and hate your neighbor go ahead and cheat a friend do it in the name of heaven justify it in the end There won't be any trumpets blowing come the judgment day on the bloody morning after One tin soldier rides away
So the people of the valley sent a message up the hill, asking for the buried treasure, tons of gold for which they'd kill. Came an answer from the kingdom "with our brothers we will share. All the secrets of our mountain, all the riches buried there."
Now the valley cried with anger,"mount your horses, draw your swords" And they killed the mountain people, so they won their just reward. Now they stood beside the treasure, on the mountain dark and red. Turned the stone and looked beneath it; PEACE ON EARTH was all it said.
#Reveal'ution- Let's make relational violence history!
Watch this brilliant and moving video about violence and relationships.
I lived in Abbotsford for my teenage years and it was tough.
This will hit home for many people, so be mindful, please.
Share
this! Share widely and share it with all youth, especially! Sending
#love and #light and #peace to everyone who worked on this! Thank you!
Seriously,
you will save many lives and relationships with this. You should be
really proud of yourselves. It can affect future generations- your
children. Well done! Really impressed.
*Printscreens were to tell the story better. No infringement intended.
Info published on Youtube: REVEAL'UTION is based on a violent & possessive high school
relationship. The film aims to bring awareness to the viewers around
getting involved, being of support and making relational violence
history.
#speakup #don'tbeabystander
Special thanks to Mouat Secondary School and their Theatre Department. Written by Shane Leonard & Ryan McAllister Directed by Shane Leonard
All music licensed and used with permission "Ember" by Tony Anderson "Counsel" by Luke Atencio "Wander" by Alaskan Tapes "Sophorn" by Tony Anderson "Dynasty" by MIIA
Unlike Bundy, who claims his ancestors were homesteaders on
his ranch in 1877 and never ceded it to the federal government, the
Danns, two Western Shoshone sisters, were not trampling over land set
aside for sensitive plants and animals. Nor were they getting rich off
the land while, in essence, robbing the taxpayers of grazing fees.
WATCH THIS VIDEO
The
Danns have lived without running water or electricity their entire
lives. Their tribe, the Western Shoshone, have lived in Nevada and parts
west since time immemorial. The land was Shoshone land, and the U.S.
formally agreed that was the case when it signed the 1863 Treaty of Ruby
Valley, which explicitly stated that the Shoshone would never have to
give up their land. That is, until the U.S. began encroaching on the
land, claiming it for its own without the tribe's consent or knowledge.
The
Danns' battle goes back to the early 1970s, when the federal government
first sued them to stop grazing horses and cattle on land the U.S.
claimed as its own. The Danns said the land was Western Shoshone land
that the U.S. had taken illegally, and refused to pay grazing fees.
Mary
waged this battle until her death in 2005 at age 82, in an accident
while she was repairing a fence. Carrie, 82 years old, is still
fighting. READ MORE HERE
The land surrounding the Danns' ranch sits atop one of the
most significant deposits of gold ever found in the United States. Only a
few months after the Danns' horses were first rounded up, Nevada's
headlines blared about gold finds in Crescent Valley, at the exact
locations where the horses were removed.
Most of the world's largest
gold mining companies have some interest in the land, which involves
using cyanide to extract minuscule amounts of gold from rock.
Because
the gold dust sits under the water table, it also involves pumping
20,000 to 70,000 gallons of water per minute every day and moving tons
of soil and rock, leaving open pits. The extraction methods are so
energy-intensive that the production of a single gold ring generates 20
tons of waste land.
Carrie Dann is no Tea Party hero. But she vows to fight until her last breath.
"Right is right," she said in an interview. "And wrong is wrong."
The production of one gold ring generates 20 tons of waste material.
The production of one gold ring generates 20 tons of waste material.
Update 4:52 2016-01-06 Oregon tribe says armed activists 'desecrating' land
The leader of an Oregon Indian tribe whose ancestral property is being
occupied by a small, armed group opposed to federal land policy says the
activists aren't welcome and need to leave. http://www.cbc.ca/news/aboriginal/oregon-tribe-activists-1.3392166?cmp=abfb
Update 4:08 2016-01-06 Well I don't know much about the US and their laws or even if what this lady is saying is correct but I thought I would post it so you can decide for yourselves.
And a Judge posted this Open Letter that I only read part of but you can check it out for yourself.
These Aren't the First Armed Whites to Take Over That Oregon Land: Just Ask the Native Paiute People AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. I’m Amy Goodman.
—we’re going to talk for a moment about the land dispute that’s going on in Oregon. Jacqueline Keeler is with us. We are going to turn to the issue now of land rights. The armed militia members have demanded that the land be, quote, "returned" to them. But who really has a claim to this area?
JACQUELINE KEELER: Yes. Well, I’d like to start off saying that today, in January, this is the 137th anniversary of when 500 Paiutes were loaded onto wagons and walked, under heavy armed guard, from their—from the lands where the Bundys are right now holding it and to the Yakama Reservation in Washington state, some 300 miles, knee-deep in snow. And they were forced to march, shackled two by two. And so, that’s some of the background there.
MY GOODMAN: When you were writing about the Cliven Bundy standoff in 2014, you wrote, "If the Nevada rancher is forced to pay taxes or grazing fees, he should pay them to the Shoshone." Explain.
JACQUELINE KEELER: Yes. The Shoshone—most of Nevada is actually covered under the Treaty of Ruby Valley, and that was signed 1863. And it did allow for passage, you know, of military and also settlers crossing the land. But it did not give up any land. So, the Shoshone have never officially signed a treaty to give up land.
http://www.democracynow.org/2016/1/5/these_arent_the_first_armed_whites
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Authorities plan to cut off power to militia at occupied Oregon refuge
“After they shut off the power, they’ll kill the phone service,” the
government official added. “Then they’ll block all the roads so that all
those guys have a long, lonely winter to think about what they’ve
done.” Snowstorms
are expected in the wilderness surrounding the refuge on Tuesday, which
is some 30 miles from the town of Burns. At night, temperatures are
forecast to plummet to -8C (18F).
"And we’re not just talking NBC, but ABC, CBS, CNN, the Associated Press, local media … you name it. Ammon Bundy — the son of the infamous Cliven Bundy who dominated the news cycle for weeks in April and May of 2014 during a standoff then — has now taken the Donald Trump mantle of media domination and will likely continue to until this standoff is over"
In truth, though, Cliven Bundy’s abhorrent personal views about slavery
have nothing to do with whether his land grab was right or wrong. The
animating issue in Oregon is slightly different than in Nevada, but not
categorically so. It’s either legitimate to occupy federal land with
weapons, and threaten to use them against agents of the government to
settle petty squabbles, or it is not.
Update: Oregon militants post new video from refuge, plead for help to 'prevent bloodshed'
WOWOWOWOW!
Read this story, I wasn't really sure what all this fuss on twitter with the #OregonUnderAttack was about but it's serious. These people have been abused by the system and people are standing up for them. But it could get messy so please pray and share and educate yourself and others. This could happen to you and your family. What would you do??
Hammond Family
What ever the truth, keep an openmind, are environmentalist terrorist? Course Not!
Is protecting your land, being a terrorist? Ridiculous!!
The short summary is: in an effort to draw attention to a ridiculous arrest of a father and son pair of Oregon Ranchers (“Dwight Lincoln Hammond, Jr., 73, and his son, Steven Dwight Hammond, 46,)
who are scheduled to begin five year prison sentences (turning
themselves in tomorrow January 4th 2016), three brothers from the Cliven
Bundy family and approximately 100/150 (and growing) heavily armed
militia (former U.S. service members) have taken control of Malheur Wildlife Refuge Headquarters in the wildlife reserve. They are prepared to stay there indefinitely.
Here are excerpts!! Please read this article to inform yourself.
(a4) By the 1990’s the Hammonds were one of the very few ranchers that
still owned private property adjacent to the refuge. Susie Hammond in an
effort to make sense of what was going on began compiling fact about
the refuge. In a hidden public record she found a study that was done by
the FWS in 1975. The study showed that the “no use” policies of the FWS
on the refuge were causing the wildlife to leave the refuge and move to
private property. The study showed that the private property adjacent
to the Malheur Wildlife Refuge produced 4 times more ducks and geese
than the refuge did. It also showed that the migrating birds were 13
times more likely to land on private property than on the refuge. When
Susie brought this to the attention of the FWS and refuge personnel, her
and her family became the subjects of a long train of abuses and
corruptions.
(e) Shortly after the road & water disputes, the BLM & FWS
arbitrarily revoked the Hammond’s upper grazing permit without any given
cause, court proceeding or court ruling. As a traditional “fence out
state” Oregon requires no obligation on the part of an owner to keep his
or her livestock within a fence or to maintain control over the
movement of the livestock. The Hammonds intended to still use their
private property for grazing. However, they were informed that a federal
judge ruled, in a federal court, that the federal government did not
have to observe the Oregon fence out law. “Those laws are for the
people, not for them”.
(f) The Hammonds were forced to either build and maintain miles of
fences or be restricted from the use of their private property. Cutting
their ranch in almost half, they could not afford to fence the land, so
the cattle were removed.
(g) The Hammonds experienced many years of financial hardship due to
the ranch being diminished. The Hammonds had to sale their ranch and
home in order to purchase another property that had enough grass to feed
their cattle. This property included two grazing rights on public land.
Those were also arbitrarily revoked later.
(i) In the early fall of 2001, Steven Hammond (Son) called the fire
department, informing them that he was going to be performing a routine
prescribed burn on their ranch. Later that day he started a prescribed
fire on their private property. The fire went onto public land and
burned 127 acres of grass. The Hammonds put the fire out themselves.
There was no communication about the burn from the federal government to
the Hammonds at that time. Prescribed fires are a common method that
Native Americans and ranchers have used in the area to increase the
health & productivity of the land for many centuries.
(j) In 2006 a massive lightning storm started multiple fires that
joined together inflaming the countryside. To prevent the fire from
destroying their winter range and possibly their home, Steven Hammond
(Son) started a backfire on their private property. The backfire was
successful in putting out the lightning fires that had covered thousands
of acres within a short period of time. The backfire saved much of the
range and vegetation needed to feed the cattle through the winter.
Steven’s mother, Susan Hammond said: “The backfire worked perfectly, it
put out the fire, saved the range and possibly our home”.
k) In 2011, 5 years after the police report was taken, the U.S. Attorney
Office accused Dwight and Steven Hammond of completely different
charges, they accused them of being “Terrorist” under the Federal
Antiterrorism Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996. This act carries a
minimum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum sentence of
death. Dwight & Steven’s mug shots were all over the news the next
week posing them as “Arsonists”. Susan Hammond (Wife & Mother) said:
“I would walk down the street or go in a store, people I had known for
years would take extreme measures to avoid me”.
Just to add another twist to this, consider this, the true rightful owners of the land...but then no one owns land...we are just supposed to take care of it right?
