Tag Archives: Portland OR

The Day the Living Celebrate the Dead

While school aged ninjas, princess ballerinas, and superheroes around the Portland / Vancouver Metro area were accumulating blisters and candy on Halloween last Thursday night, six women in Portland, Ore. were putting the finishing touches on a Day of the Dead celebration, held at TaborSpace on Belmont Street, Friday, November 1.

In Portlandia, Day of the Dead is Part-Memorial and Part-Wake from Kaley Perkins on Vimeo.

Earth-based belief systems around the globe believe that the days surrounding October 31 represent a period in the year when the separation between the physical and the spiritual is particularly thin. Unlike Christian sects that draw sharp distinctions between the living and the dead and prohibit fraternization between the two, folk religions tolerate a fuzzier membrane between the phases of life and have created rituals for acknowledging the contributions of ancestors and loved ones who have passed before.

Enter Day of the Dead.

It Started Like a Funeral and Ended Like a Wake

TABORSPACE, PORTLAND, ORE. (November 1, 2013) Erin Donley, Clara Phoenix, Delila Olsson, Barbari Robitaille, Paula Austin, and Jen Violi are friends who organized the second annual Day of the Dead Celebration in Portland, Ore. on November 1. (Photo by Kaley Perkins / Independent Journalist

TABORSPACE, PORTLAND, ORE. (November 1, 2013)
Erin Donley, Clara Phoenix, Delila Olsson, Barbara Robitaille, Paula Austin, and Jen Violi are friends who organized the second annual Day of the Dead Celebration in Portland, Ore. on November 1. They share an interest in scarves, jewelry, deep conversation, and difficult questions.
(Photo by Kaley Perkins / Independent Journalist)

With a cadre of five other women, Erin Donley organized the community event where a crowd of about 150 gathered to make peace with the passing of loved ones, to tell stories of bravery and loss, and to let go of beliefs and emotional blocks which they were ready to release.

The women decorated the altar before participants arrived. Color-saturated sarongs and Mardi Gras beads, draped the alter. Glass jar Jesus candles, statues of Ganesh and Buddha, marigolds, sugar skulls, noise makers, and pictures of departed loved ones met attendees as they made their ways to the front of the sanctuary.

After some brief poetic readings, people were invited to approach the altar. Facilitators Donley and Jen Violi announced that the altar open for individuals to come and interact. “There is no “right” way,” exhorted Violi. People were welcomed to speak or not as they felt led.

Tears and laughs were universal throughout the gathering. Words ranged from irreverent, grateful, angry, and sad. Fond memories and sad losses took turns.

One man brought a basket of marigolds to share with the group. A school-aged boy couldn’t remember life without his dog. He heaved sobs over his dog while his mom hugged him from the side.

TABORSPACE, PORTLAND, ORE. (November 1, 2013) To symbolize the loss that one woman felt, she offered the book "Vagina." She grieved that the women in her family who went before her suffered body image shame. Though none of them had been free to feel good about their bodies, she determined to live with the healthy self-esteem they did not have. (Photo by Kaley Perkins / Independent Journalist)

TABORSPACE, PORTLAND, ORE. (November 1, 2013)
To symbolize the loss that one woman felt, she offered the book “Vagina.” She grieved that the women in her family who went before her suffered body image shame. Though none of them had been free to feel good about their bodies, she determined to live with the healthy self-esteem they did not have.
(Photo by Kaley Perkins / Independent Journalist)

Violi told stories about the beloved mentor and English professor who literally extinguished her during a presentation when her sweater caught fire. Another woman placed the book “Vagina” on the altar and shared how the women who came before in her family all had tremendous body hatred and shame issues. She wished they had been free to care about themselves.

Two friends joined together to speak of a third friend who passed from cancer eight years ago. The one who spoke wanted to finally let go of the anger she had at her friend for not telling them how advanced her disease had been.

Husbands mourned wives and wives husbands.

TABORSPACE, PORTLAND, ORE. (November 1, 2013) "We live such a short time," one woman shared. "For too long I have lived behind this, and tonight I am done with that." (Photo by Kaley Perkins / Independent Journalist)

TABORSPACE, PORTLAND, ORE. (November 1, 2013)
“We live such a short time,” one woman shared. “For too long I have lived behind this, and tonight I am done with that.”
(Photo by Kaley Perkins / Independent Journalist)

One woman laid a mask down and proclaimed that she was finished living behind it and was now ready to live her life in full. Another man placed a mini quilt he had made in honor of his mother who taught him to “Do What You Love With All Your Heart.”

At the end of their times at the altar, each individual shook a noise-maker, and the crowd joined in. The act of making noise, according to Donley’s literature, is corporate acknowledgement for the individual’s intention left at the altar.

The evening ended with the cacophonous shaking of noise-makers and sounding of drums followed by a mix of disco music, milling, and familiar conversation. To keep a finger on the pulse of next year’s celebration, you can follow Donley on Facebook.

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The Oregon Air National Guard Thanks Families for Support

The Original Militia Thanks Families for Supporting The Air National Guard from Kaley Perkins on Vimeo.

Saturday Sept. 7, the Oregon Air National Guard (“ANG”) opened its base, adjacent to the Portland International Airport, to friends and family as a thank you for supporting the work that keeps the troops away from home two weekends a month.

As crowds mingled, ate, and herded children through bouncy houses and game booths, generations stood in lines to climb through two fighter jets that the 142nd Airborne Fighter Wing relocated for the event.

The Oregon National Guard has its feet in history; it was initially established in 1843 in the context of a territorial dispute between indigenous Indians, the Hudson’s Bay Company, and white settlers hoping to gain citizenship in the expanding American nation.

The modern Air National Guard was born prior to WWII as the American nation began to prepare for possible military involvement in the Pacific and European theaters.  Observation posts were set up along the Pacific coast and aircraft began to patrol the waters and skies for enemy craft.

With a modern mandate, Oregon’s National Guard is considered a militia and is charged with homeland defense, taking direction from the residing state’s Governor. In the event of the declaration of martial law, however, the modern National Guard can be federalized and called into “active state service,” a point at which the Guard would take direction from the arm of service for which they are reserves. Troops from the 142nd Airborne Fighter Wing would operate under direction from Air Force command.

Fighter jets stationed at the Oregon ANG base are responsible for patrolling the skies from Alaska to northern California and east into Wyoming. If need calls, they expand their territory to provide support as needed. Sara Perkins, Lt. Col. at the base and a sister of the author, reports that when scrambled, the jets can make what is a 75-mile car trip to the Oregon Coast in six minutes.

In addition to patrolling the skies and the west coast, the ANG has numerous other responsibilities. According to Lt. Col. Perkins, the 142nd Medical Group prepares to triage and treat in the event of localized, catastrophic health emergencies; firefighters are prepared to provide backup for national forest fire events; and the Oregon Air National Guard has provided staffing and support for various humanitarian efforts. At the end of September a contingent will travel to Viet Nam to provide health education support.

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March Against Monstanto Portland (#mampdx): the People, the Issues, the Personality, the pictures

[embedit snippet=”monsanto-slideshow”]

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First-Time Portland Activist to Lead World’s Second Largest March Against Monsanto

Tiffany Ayers, organizer of Portland’s March Against Monsanto. From Ayers’ LinkedIn profile, used with permission.

Sitting on a porch, Internet twizzling, on a tranquil breeze-kissed afternoon in the Pacific Northwest­­ is an idyllic way to time-while. In late March of this year, Tiffany Ayers found that it also works well for stumbling into instantaneous activism, and that’s how she did.

The Accidental Making of a Food Activist

“I was sitting outside reading an article about the passing of HR 933 and I got so angry I had to do something.” Ayers refers to Section 735 of the bill: the “Biotech Rider’” also called the ‘Monsanto Protection Act,’ a piece of legislation crafted by Senator Roy Blunt of Missouri that has amplified the global conflict between agri-business and food activists. In 2011-2012, between campaign committee and leadership PAC committee donations, Blunt received $98,250 from Missouri-based agri-business giant, Monsanto, a company under intense public pressure.

“I don’t remember exactly how I got there, but I found a site by Tammy Canal and contacted her to ask how I could get involved,” recalls Ayers. Canal is the founder of March Against Monsanto, a grassroots NGO seeking to raise awareness of GMO’s in the world’s food and crop seed supply, promote the labeling of foods containing genetically modified organisms, and increase grassroots activism to insure seed diversity and eliminate environmental pollutants.

Two months later, Ayers, a media student with an event-planning background, finds herself rally organizer for Portland, Ore. “I had no idea how much work this was going to be,” says Ayers, sounding like a harried mom after of a long day who finally gets to sit down for a full deep breath. She pauses, gathering her thoughts:

“I’ve always worked with an established team, but I’ve had to do this from scratch… We’ve had to do this from scratch,” Ayers revises, citing the assistance of a handful of friends and volunteers. Of the 421 cities, spanning six continents, this small band of first-time Portland activists expect the second highest projected turn out of them all, trailing only New York City, New York.

The Welcome Reach of Social Media

Ayers credits social media for the sudden rise in organized food activism, and Facebook in particular for increased March-Against-Monsanto awareness. On March 26, when, President Obama signed the bill, she had 750 Facebook friends. She sent invitations to them all, and like the 1980’s Faberge shampoo marketing campaign, word spread exponentially. As of this writing, the Portland rally has 6,500 “confirmed” and “maybe” attendees, with just under 49,000 non-responding invitees.

With a sudden semi-celebrity status, Ayers has had to make some changes in the way she interacts online. The campaign dominates the content of her Facebook page, and she has gained over 150 new “friends”: she will create another private page when she regains some dispensable time.

Connecting online, Ayers and other rally leaders, many of whom are also first-time organizers, offer one another support. Their goal is to create a family-friendly feel to what they view as a first step in a food revolution: building community awarenesss. According to Ayers, organizers recognize that certain elements will use any public gathering to create discord. “That is not what this is about,” Ayers affirms.

Ayers, in the interest of creating a safe, family-centered, community-awareness event, welcomes the support of Portland Police. “I initially got some flack for that on the Facebook page, so I made it very clear that no violence of any kind will be welcomed.” Ayers recognizes that pesticide contamination and threats to bio-diversity threaten us all equally — that March Against Monsanto isn’t an “us” vs “them” issue. “Policemen need to eat real, whole, safe food too. This is about all of us,” she says.

The Full-Circle Journey to a Calling

According to her LinkedIn profile Ayers worked at Ashland Chemical from 1999-2005 where she was first trained to read and file Material Safety Data Sheets (“MSDS”), the informational sheets that OSHA requires businesses and commercial vehicles to carry for each chemical present. She always felt a bit of tension about being a “bit of a tree-hugger working for a chemical company,” but it was there where she realized the pervasive reach of petroleum chemicals in her everyday life.

Reflecting more, she appreciates the inside view she gained of the industry as the big six petro-chemical, bio-tech, agri-business giants were consolidating with various mergers and acquisitions.

When the bullhorn is neatly tucked away Saturday evening, Ayers’ activism and community organization will not be at an end. Her life has a new trajectory. Ayers looks to get involved in the food labeling movement, locally, with GMO Free Oregon and has been talking with staff from Food and Water Watch. “I have found something I am really passionate about that matters,” she notes.

The Logistical Details of the Event

Portland’s march will begin on May 25 at 11 a.m. PST at Holladay Park near Lloyd Center. Attendees are encouraged to take the Max lightrail into town as parking will be limited.


View MAM Route Map in a larger map

 

 

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