Breaking News: Agents Raid The Catalyst Wednesday

Arraignment Update from Flagstaff Thurs, 1:15pm

More than a dozen FBI agents, along with Joint Terrorism Taskforce and local police spent Wednesday afternoon and evening raiding The Catalyst Infoshop in Prescott. Agents detained Bill Rogers, of the Catalyst's founders, who is expected to be arraigned in Flagstaff at 10:00 am Thursday at the federal building, 200 N. San Francisco. Rogers was allegedly arrested in connection with an arson investigation which began in Portland on Wednesday.

As of 8:00 pm Wednesday night, the The Catalyst was still sealed off and full of federal agents. A lot of materials have been seized. The extent of the damage and seizures is not yet known. Collective members plan to open the space again as soon as possible.

FBI agents also arrested Sarah Harvey in Flagstaff and an activist in New York. (Full list of names and charges from AP)

Support will be needed for the arrestees and this important community center.

Resources:
• If an agent knocks... [pdf]
• Portland Indymedia
• New York City Indymedia

Prescott College Students Return From Thanksgiving Relief Efforts in New Orleans

Fourteen Prescott residents returned from a week of work ranging from cooking food with the Rainbow Gathering in Washington Square Park to providing one-on-one aid to families just returned to the ninth ward in the process of gutting their homes.

The group expressed the still urgent need for grassroots efforts in the Gulf where too many have received inadequate or no help from FEMA or the Red Cross.

How To Get Involved with New Orleans Relief?

1. Go Yourself. See the truth, the people, the hope and get your hands dirty. It is very easy to arrive and to become involved and they can use help at any point.

Places to Start:

• The Common Ground Collective: 504-913-9691 Corner of Press and St. Claude in the 9th Ward of Eastern New Orleans. A grass-roots and locally run operation working to bring former inhabitants back to the ward by coordinating volunteer teams to cleans houses, create community spaces and hand our food and cleaning supplies. This is the main on-the-ground relief in the hardest hit and most impoverished part of the city.

• The Algiers Common Ground: Linked to the same organization as above, under the leadership of Malik Rahim, but operating in a nearby part of the city. Involved with political and more long-term rebuilding plans including green designs, permaculture, etc.

• The Iberville Coalition: 504-883-8225 A Group focused on bringing public housing members of the Iberville and Forest Hill Projects back into their homes and fighting redevelopment.

• Mama Dee: 1733 N Dorgenois An individual with houses and an operation working in the 7th Ward much in a similar manner to the Common Ground Collective.

• Rainbow Family Kitchen, mchtica@gmail.com: Formerly in Washington Park but currently relocating. A soup kitchen offering three meals a day to the people of New Orleans. Also are doing work elsewhere.

• Animal Rescue: Jane 843-343-8887 or Rob 253-307-0969 A group working to rescue and find homes for animals found in the flooded districts of the city.

Other Helpful Links: Katrina Action, New Orleans Indymedia

New Record Label Highlights Prescott Punk Scene

Kelvin-Helmholtz Record Label brings Prescott punk to the recording world. Formed by co-directors Roland Swedlund, Colton Harris, and Andrew Lane, the label is committed to supporting Arizona Independent music. Honoring their roots first to the Prescott music scene, the label will slowly start to encompass bands throughout the area and state.

A recent show at Prescott College's Sam Hill Warehouse highlighted bands from their first CD release titled Prescott Made Me Do It including Blankets, All Fired Up, Sister, The Swim, Skyline Blue, Against All Odds, L Train Radio, The Living Amps, Phillipino Stepchild, Ember Crocker, Time's Up, Art Vandalay, Krongo, Hour of the Wolf, Invisible Orchestra, and Say Valley Maker.

Cultural Misunderstanding Apparent on First Day of Trial

Native Americans came from as far away as Denver to support Southwestern tribes who are suing the U.S. Forest Service. The fate of the sacred San Francisco Peaks hangs in the balance as a federal judge hears arguments for and against a proposed ski resort expansion.

The trial began on October 12 in the federal courtroom above Prescott’s downtown post office. Across the street from the courtroom, on the downtown square, an all-day vigil was held in support of indigenous rights. Click here to see photos from the vigil.

Courtroom observers were dismayed by the lack of cultural sensitivity on the part of government lawyers. After a witness described how the spraying of wastewater to make artificial snow would defile the sanctity of medicinal plants gathered on the mountain, a government lawyer asked if the medicine man knew he could purchase herbs at health food stores.

A government lawyer also questioned a witness by going down a long list of sacred sites one by one and asking if a particular site was on federal land. In each case, the witness, a Hopi man, humbly replied, “I don’t know.” Eventually, the witness told the lawyer that his culture doesn’t view land in that way, that there is no concept of land ownership. The lawyer did not acknowledge his statement in any way, but instead went back to the list, unapologetically asking the same questions in the same manner.

”It breaks my heart to see this court dissect not only my culture, but that of 13 tribes like a science experiment,” said Klee Benally of the Save the Peaks Coalition. “Our culture is not a specimen, we are not pieces of a museum collection to be catalogued and examined, we are alive and breathing. Why can’t they see that? What part of sacred don’t they understand?”

More vigils are planned for when court is in session on Friday (Oct 14), Monday (Oct 17), Tuesday (Oct 18).

** NEW EVENT: Panel Discussion on Monday, October 17 **

A panel discussion, entitled “Contested Landscapes: Native American Views on Land and Spirituality,” will be held at Prescott College. Presenters will speak about the history of indigenous land use and land disputes in the Southwest, sacred sites, traditional relationships with the land, and the failure of laws and regulations to accommodate Native American perspectives on land. The final presentation will be about bridging cultural divides. At 6pm, a free meal will be served, including traditional Native American foods. The panel begins at 7pm. The event is free and open to the public. The dinner and the panel will happen in the Community Room on the first floor of the Crossroads Center (behind 220 Grove Avenue).

For an overview of the controversy, click here: Culture vs. Recreation

For background information, click here: www.savethepeaks.org

Housing is available for people coming from out of town. For details, click here: Housing Info

Desecration of Sacred Mountain Will Be Challenged both Inside and Outside Courtroom

*** UPDATED WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 12 ***

Environmental groups and Native American Nations have sued the US Forest Service to stop a proposed ski area expansion on the San Francisco Peaks. The mountain is held sacred by at least 13 Southwestern tribes and is deeply rooted in their spiritual traditions and their way of life. In the words of Yavapai-Apache Chairman Vincent Randall, the Peaks are one of the “sacred places where the Earth brushes up against the unseen world.”

During the week leading up to the trial, local organizers planned a series of events to get the people of Prescott fired up about the issue. “The Snowbowl Effect,” a documentary film about the San Francisco Peaks controversy, was shown to an audience of just over a hundred people on October 4th. The director was there to introduce the film. The audience was also treated to a surprise guest, a Dine’ woman who sang a series of traditional songs.

The following night, a benefit concert featured five bands, raised $760 and drew in about 200 people. The band, Blackfire, winner of the “Best Pop/Rock Album Award” at the 5th annual Native American Music Awards, played the last set. In between bands, speakers talked about the significance of the San Francisco Peaks as sacred ground and how people can get involved.

That weekend the Sacred Earth Endurance Collective hosted a run to raise awareness about the dispute. The Collective is based in Prescott and has gained attention for recent ultra long distance runs (see “Thomas Runs 50 Miles in One Day” below).

On October 6, there was a well-attended vigil outside the courtroom during a pre-trial hearing. A tense moment occurred during the vigil when a police officer came into the crowd, grabbed one of the Native American organizers, and led him away to a patrol car. The crowd followed and yelled “Shame. Shame.” The officer released the organizer after giving him a citation for using a bullhorn without a permit. The officer had not issued any warning and admitted that nobody had complained about noise.

Thomas runs 50 miles in one day

On July 10th our friend Thomas has commited to run NOMAD, a 50 mile course starting near Ashfork and ending the same day in Prescott, AZ. Bicyclists have volunteered to load their panniers with water and serve as Thomas' support team during the hot Arizona afternoon.

In his own words: "NOMAD is a fundraiser for the Catalyst Infoshop and a method to raise awareness for the Divine Rights of Earth, Humanity and all beings. It is an expression, a statement and a prayer."

This one-day run back to Prescott is the culmination of many days of backcountry hiking. Thomas hiked thru Granite Mountain, Apache Creek and Juniper Mesa to document wildlife corridors and archeological sites for the AZ Wilderness Coalition.

The Catalyst is accepting donations for NOMAD in the form of a flat rate or sponsorship per mile. If you or anyone you know would like to support this insane petrol-free endevor email us back with your name, phone number(or email address), and the amount you are donating.

Even if you can't make a donation... come celebrate Thomas' completion of the 50-mile course with friends and a food dish at Jessie's house July 10th around 5pm. Jessie lives at 544 Dameron St. Prescott, AZ.

Part of the proceeds will also support Indigenous Rights on Black Mesa in Northern Arizona.

With the new Biodiesel co-op moving forward the summer promises exciting developments in other local cooperative efforts.

Over the past year several Prescott College students and Prescott community members have been meeting under the umbrella of the Sustainable Housing and Cooperative Development organization, or SHACD. They plan to develop resources residents can use to put more intention into their daily lives and relationships, reducing unnecessary consumption and living together cooperatively.

“The idea behind SHACD is the sum of the whole is greater than its parts,” said Dana Launius, SHACD founding member. “If I have something that you need, and vice versa, we can work together in cooperation to meet our goals. SHACD is about creating a network,” says Launius.

“Within the next year SHACD is looking to purchase their first property” said Geoff Boyce, SHACD founding member. “The goals and activities of SHACD extend far beyond cooperative housing,” said Boyce. SHACD has already begun a food-share cooperative through Magpie co-op on Gurley Street, a community garden cooperative on Summit and McCormick Streets, and is working on developing a tool-share co-op. SHACD is also working in supportive of other collectives like the Coda co-op, a biodiesel cooperative and the Catalyst Infoshop collective, both on McCormick Street.

Prescott is considered an ideal community to establish a housing cooperative for several reasons. “There is a large student and young adult population and other traditional renters in Prescott. Cooperative housing is also attractive to single adults of any age, particularly those on a fixed income,” says Boyce.

With rising property costs in the Tri-city area, cooperative housing has the ability to offer affordable housing and to their control resources. Through cooperative organization their regular rent payments contribute to an organization and legacy that will continue after their residency in Prescott.

While the SHACD co-op sees itself as drawing from the tradition of student cooperative housing that has sprung up on campuses throughout the country, it aims to work with many different populations in the Prescott area, providing access and control over affordable housing to those who need it.

Starting in the 1920s cooperative housing was seen as a meaningful alternative for students on campuses throughout the country, and with the countercultural boom of the 1960s and 70s student co-ops exploded. There are several national associations for cooperative housing and business, among them the North American Students of Co-operation (or NASCO) of whom SHACD is a member.

SHACD has regular meetings—find out when by contacting the Catalyst at 443.8525.

Community Access and Coyote Radio Theater will hold a joint frequency.

Five years after applying for Low Power FM stations with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), a joint Prescott Community Access Channel Incorporated (PCAC) and Coyote Radio Incorporated frequency has been granted. The FCC granted a construction permit on September 22, 2004 to allow the two community groups to begin constructing the stations to broadcast on 94.3FM.

If the stations can be built within 18 months, the frequency is theirs. By March 2006 most of the Prescott, Arizona community will be able to listen to 128 hours of Community Access Radio and 20 hours of Coyote Radio programming over the frequency.

The two stations will have two distinct voices. PCAC is the publicly elected non-government organization charged with overseeing Channel 13 and the radio version will follow the Cable Access model says Steven Ayres of the PCAC Board. Coyote Radio Incorporated, the umbrella organization for Coyote Radio Theater, will deliver local and specialty music shows, Radio Theater, and community interest shows says member Andrew Johnson-Schmit.

“I really doubt that there is going to be any conscious planning in terms of balance mixing,” said Ayres. In addition to an open community format, Access intends to provide regular morning and afternoon drive time shows with news, current events, arts alerts and other community information.

“Some continuity is really important to establishing a regular voice that people can depend on. At the same time Access will facilitate a community service for both contributors and listeners” says Ayres.

“With only twenty hours of programming a week, Coyote’s concentration will not be access. Our concentration will be providing depth and bringing people who are creative with non-profits that don’t have a voice. Coyote Radio will provide a unique Prescott voice” says Johnson-Schmit.

Keep an ear out for the process. As always, Access is currently working to develop local independent media and welcomes you to get involved. Contact them at 928.445.0909. You can also keep up with the Coyotes at http://www.coyoteradio.org/.