There Is a Problem With Media In B.C. and Within Fairy Creek
Myself and The Collective have no affiliation with Fairy Creek Blockade or Rainforest Flying Squad
Trigger warning: rape
Media Firewall
Media presence across the Fairy Creek blockade has been sporadic at best. Since the injunction was served, there were two embedded journalists at the Caycuse camp: myself, and Marnie Recker. When enforcement commenced in earnest a cadre of mainstream journalists and TV reporters arrived. For two days there was coverage nationwide. Enforcement has continued for every single day since but those media outlets haven’t been back.
Sarah Cox from the Narwhal came to camp and received a cold welcome. I assume she got the red carpet treatment from Jeff Jones, as her following piece ended up looking like paid advertisement for him. Sarah was incredibly misinformed: old growth management areas are not protected, Victor Peter has been recognized by his people as well as the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs. The CBC did an article on Ridge camp, which leads right into the Fairy Creek watershed. Neither of these articles touched on the myriad of offences carried out by the RCMP, Teal-Jones and its subcontractors.
I have personally witnessed the targeting of indigenous people and media, I've witnessed the stealing of personal property en masse. I've witnessed an indigenous woman pulled to the ground by her braids. I've witnessed an officer urinating next to a sacred garden, I've witnessed the arbitrary nature of temporary exclusion zones. I've witnessed power unchecked. The public has witnessed the absence of these stories from mainstream media.
Internal Bleeding
A tsunami has been forming within the Fairy Creek blockade for the last two months. The language, tone and content released by the Fairy Creek instagram account has been unrepresentative of the voices and bodies on the frontlines. Yet it has used those same bodies to fundraise and call to action. There are many actors in the media team, but there are three people on the ground and one person, who lives in Washington who has control of the instagram password. There are more people involved who I am not mentioning, because it is primarily these 4 white settlers who have been the barriers to representative content being created. The other members in the periphery have helped to uphold those people and implicitly condone their behaviour. They are not immune from condemnation. There has been extremely valid criticism of the blockades for not having more indigenous presence since the beginning. Those who showed up were arrested, brutalized, and have asked for access and inclusion into the Instagram account. These youth have been met with criticism, skepticism and doubt at their ability to manage the account. The youth are not alone in their desires, they have the backing of many people on the ground and at home. They also have support from the independent media, myself included.
Originally there was a willingness to work with the youth who wanted a voice. That process was falling apart before the raid on HQ began. The members of the media team who were left were uncooperative and hesitant to share passwords--they still wanted editorial control over what went out. Admin privileges to the instagram account were also taken back from a settler ally who had been trusted to curate more representative content during this process. There was a decrying of cancel culture being rampant within the movement and that it must stop. Bill Jones stepped in to suggest that those who are doing the cancelling are the ones who should leave. What no one, Bill included, fails to understand is that this isn't about cancelling people. It is about accountability. On the ground, the media team has been directly confrontational, racist, and insensitive towards BIPOC people coming forward to them. I personally have been a part of circles where there should have been meaningful apologies and resolutions, but were instead shown defensiveness and justifications or excuses for hurtful behaviour. I am privileged to be trusted by the BIPOC people seeking change, and was asked to speak on their behalf. This is the most involved I have been within internal RFS discussions. I want them to have justice, from the State and the internal media who tokenize them.
Tipping Point
The day after I posted an incredible video of protesters storming the front gate, just off Pacific Marine Highway, I got a message from someone I hadn't seen for a while. He is a white settler, a known sexual predator and had been asked to leave camp. He doesn't understand consent, his behaviour has ranged from creepy to... I just have to say it.. rape. It has to be said. He messaged me suggesting I send him the video so he could post it on the Fairy Creek instagram and tag me in it. I have yet to respond. To see that a white rapist has been given access to an account that indigenous youth that have been brutalized have sought to use, to amplify their voices, as the strength and love and spirit of this movement, was too much for me. He raped my friend. He shares the keys to the castle. The media team and RFS as a whole has shown an incredible disrespect to the people putting their lives on the line by refusing to hold anyone accountable--be it for racism, sexism, misogyny or patriarchy.
This is an example of why intersectionality is crucial to these movements. Environmental justice is racial justice; black and indigenous sovereignty are inextricable from each other. If we as a society or justice movement put value in the most vulnerable among us, then we owe it to them to protect them, to uplift them, to listen to them, and cherish the time that they are volunteering to stand with us. If we fail to do that, we will fail entirely.
Never forget,
#LANDBACKSUMMER
Think for saftey reasons this predators name should be released if possible.
Name the rapist.