G.A. Minutes 8-27-13

It’s hot again tonight, there’s just a few of us and we’re deliberately moving slow. The Memorial is about half full with people from the street. They’re all crammed together on both ledges, trying to get some shade. We’re pleasantly surprised to find a large garbage container sitting in the middle of the site. Someone from the neighborhood has donated it. It’s full of garbage and the Memorial grounds are clean. In the 10 years the monument has been in existence, we have not seen any type of garbage receptacle placed there. The City is responsible for the upkeep, so we know the lack of basic amenities is deliberate. We wonder how long it will be before the authorities have it removed.

As we are setting up, a man who has the lower part of one leg amputated is yelling at someone in the street. Upon closer examination we see a DPD vehicle. The officer in the driver’s seat has a camera and is taking pictures of the people on the ledge. Maybe he’s taking pictures of us too. The man yells, “Hey! Why you taking pictures? You know who I am! If you want to know something, you come over here and axe me”! He hops on a homemade cart type thing and rides towards the cops. They start to drive away but realize he’s going to chase them so they stop. The man talks to them for a while, then comes back. “They’re doing an investigation” he says. A woman says, “Oh yeah, probably about that girl who was smoking that stuff”. We have no idea what they’re talking about and we don’t ask. It’s impossible to keep track of all the happenings on the street.

The religious woman who had joined us last Saturday returns. She tells us her husband is drinking tonight so she needs a place of refuge. Strange as it seems, the Clayton Jackson MeGhie Memorial is a place of refuge for many, Occupiers included.

We notice a fog rolling in. At first it’s just touching the tops of the highest buildings. Soon it descends to the street. This is rather unusual and some of the street folks believe it must be smoke from a fire. The temperature drops about 20 degrees and the air is comfortable. Nice.

More Occupiers arrive and someone says they have just heard that the City Council is considering an ordinance which would make the Central Hillside Community Park a non-smoking area. An Occupier states, “We need to keep an eye on this. It’s a very bad idea and if it looks like they’re serious, we need to speak out”. CHC is the park most commonly frequented by homeless people so we know the real reason for this proposal is to make it easier to give citations to them. If they can’t pay off their citations and they accumulate enough of them the judicial system will put these homeless folks in jail. A cruel, expensive and inefficient way of keeping the un-housed out of sight of the “good” citizens of Duluth.

An Occupier attended a meeting recently. The topic of our ongoing harassment by the DPD regarding the non-existent ordinance about having a safe fire at the Memorial came up. A well-known Duluth community activist and business person suggested we take the problem to the Citizens Review Board. Everyone is very surprised as we were not aware the CRB had become operational. It was one year ago that the CRB became a legal reality and since then, every time we asked when it would begin to actually function, we were told the members were still studying the laws. We all think going to the Citizens Review Board is a good idea.

The man with the amputated leg comes to sit. He’s very friendly and asks what’s going on. He says he’s never seen us here before and we explain we’ve been coming to the Memorial 2 days a week for over a year now. He tells us he’s been gone from the street scene for at least 2 years and recounts the story of losing his leg. He’s pleased about what we are doing, begins to join our conversation when one of the guys working the street calls to him. He goes off to join them.

Someone reminds us we will be needed by Water Legacy to get petition signatures at Bayfront Pride Festival on this upcoming Saturday. Most of us will be there.

This upcoming Thursday is filled with events. Loaves N Fishes is having their next homeless training session starting at 5:30 pm at Concordia Lutheran Church, 2501 Woodland Ave. The Red Lake Urban Center is holding their weekly Annishenabe Drumming and Language Class starting at 3 pm. Community Action Duluth will hold their Big View dinner and discussion about the educational system at the new Lincoln Park location at 5:30 pm and the annual Mayor’s Welcome To Pride will be held at the Depot starting at 5:30pm.

The Mayor’s Welcome includes free drinks and free food and the food is reputed to be very good. We realize we can’t all attend every event. Some of us have our preferences. We’ll divide the events between us and jokingly say we’ll draw straws for the Mayor’s Welcome.

An Occupier tells us there will be another Public Utilities Commission hearing in St. Paul on September 4th. On July 17th a PUC hearing was held concerning the Alberta Clipper pipeline and the Enbridge request to increase its capacity. Many citizens were opposed to this request; however the PUC would not allow any public comment and then voted unanimously to allow the expansion. An appeal by the public was filed and on September 4th the appeal will be reviewed by …….guess who? The PUC…… wonderful.

One of the Occupiers suggests we get an article about each of our two friends who are running for City office published in the Hillsider. Someone questions if the Hillsider would be allowed to do this because of their 501c status. We’ll have to check on that. At least we could write a letter to the editor.

It’s getting dark but the man with many religions from last Saturday has just arrived and we enjoy talking to him. He seems happy to see us. Tonight he’s talking about the education system. He spent many years as an active parent in the Twin Cities school system. When he and his daughter moved to Duluth he was surprised to find our school system had the same problems, only worse. The Occupiers with experience in our education system converse with the man. They make plans to meet him and attend the Duluth Community Action together.

Now it’s really dark. The street and surrounding area is crowded and everyone is in a good mood. We’ll find time to play but not tonight. There are a lot of things that need to be done in the next week. We tell folks to expect us again next Tuesday.

G.A. Minutes 8-20-13
There’s only a couple of Occupiers starting out the evening and they are dragging their asses. No wonder as it’s exceptionally hot, 6pm and it’s still in the 90s. We decide not to make a fire; we plunk ourselves down in a couple of chairs and wait for others to arrive. There are many street people around and we casually chat.

After about a half an hour, a few folks arrive. Everyone is dragging; it’s an effort to start a conversation. The older man from the neighborhood is here. We haven’t seen him in several months. He asks about the current status of the synthetic drug situation. We don’t have personal experience in that scene so can only say what we’ve observed. The store that sold the synthetic is still closed and will remain so for at least a month.

A street person who is sitting with us says people are still bringing the stuff from up on The Range but it’s more expensive and making the trip is dangerous. The older man says we have to find a way to keep people from using that stuff. An Occupier says, “Prohibition never works. People are smoking synthetic because marijuana has been made illegal. People take intoxicating substances for many reasons. If you disallow one substance they will go to another. Drug users may have mental health issues, poverty, boredom, loneliness, the stress of living in this dog eat dog world. The problem is much deeper the “Just Say No”. The older man says, “Are you saying people need to have more and better options than just taking drugs”? We all say, “Yes”.

The man asks what we have been up to and we tell him about the G-Tac mine, the Polymet mine, the Alberta Clipper pipeline and (just recently discovered) the Sandpiper pipeline. We also talk about our work with Idle No More and our 2 friends running for City offices.

We’re pleased to announce that both of our homeless Occupiers are no longer homeless. Each has finally been given a place in public housing. One of them waited for 18 months to be admitted, the other about 4 months. Hopefully, the Tea Party won’t force anymore housing cutbacks and they’ll be able to get their lives together again.
The president of our local NAACP stops by for a visit. He doesn’t have much to say, just small talk and off he goes. We toned down our radical ideas for a moment as he doesn’t like that sort of thing and offending him would serve no purpose.

A squad car pulls up and out pops the same officer who came to save the obnoxious guy from getting killed outside of our meeting a few weeks ago. He just wants to make sure we understand that he is our friend and a very nice guy. He has a piece of paper he wants to show us. The paper says according to several ordinances we haven’t heard of, we can’t have a fire at the Memorial. Didn’t we already go through this ordeal twice in the last year?

When the cop arrives, many of the street people leave. But not all of them. This is surprising. Some stay where they are, some come closer to our circle. Then 3 or 4 other cops arrive casually, one by one. Maybe they think that since last spring we’ve organized the street people into an army and now we’re going to kill Officer Friendly and take over………. The Town? The World? Fortunately, it hadn’t even occurred to us to do such a thing. Highly impractical. Some of the Occupiers want to converse with the officers, other Occupiers don’t think that’s such a good idea, they just want the DPD to leave. The talkers win, so they talk to the officers until the officers say they are leaving.
It’s dark now but we have to stay a while so as to appear not to be run off by the police. It’s cooler and many are coming to smudge. An Occupier says, “Great. We have so many important things to do and now we have to deal with this crap again”. We know the fire is important as it will provide much needed warmth during the fall season. After staying the appropriate amount of time, we head out to look up city ordinances again.

G.A. Minutes 8-17-13

We’re back after being gone 2 weeks. We’re a bit nervous because things at the Memorial and on the street had been pretty weird at our last few meetings. It appeared as though many folks were suffering withdrawal symptoms from lack of synthetic drugs. Tonight there are a lot of street people around but everyone seems in a good mood. Many say hello as we set up.

We’ve been very busy during our sabbatical so there’s a lot to talk about. An Occupier reports that the Wolf Walk is coming up on Oct. 12 and the Northwoods Wolf Alliance is calling for endorsements from local progressive groups. Everyone gives happy octopi except one occasional Occupier. He says, “I don’t think I have enough knowledge about the wolf hunt to make an informed decision but if there are too many wolves, don’t they kill all the deer”? A couple of regular Occupiers are educated in biology and general science. They explain how predator and prey, if free from human interference, naturally balance each other. They explain dead wolves have very little practical use and the people sanctioned to kill the wolves are sport hunters who kill mostly for sadistic reasons. Others explain the deep spiritual connection between the wolf and the Anishenabe. The occasional Occupier agrees and supports the Wolf Walk. We’ll notify the Northwoods Wolf Alliance of our endorsement.
A man carrying a couple of cameras arrives. He says he’s a graphic artist and asks if he can take a few pictures for his own use. With our permission he takes some pictures. He becomes involved in our discussion so sits down to join in.

After receiving an invitation from our allies, several Occupiers attended the Gimaajii community meeting held last Tuesday. Things were tense in the beginning but turned out better than expected. The Occupiers arrived and as requested, waited outside for Idle No More and others before entering. INM folks appear. Among them is the man who is directly challenging the director of the Gimaajii Center. He is a former Gimaajii employee and of Anishenabe descent. Earlier in the year he resigned his post in protest of Gimaajii management’s opposition to Native principles. He was then illegally banned from the Center. Many Anishenabe have since been banned from their own cultural center. The INM man has come to speak in support of the many Native people who cannot or will not use the Center. There are 2 DPD officers at the door and they inform us that they are there to make sure the INM man doesn’t enter the building. Some of the Occupiers stay with the man while others go inside to check out the scene.

INM and Occupy begin a civil dialogue with the police. The cops tell us if the man won’t leave, they will ticket him for trespassing. If he tries to enter the building, they will arrest him. The man asks his friends, “What shall I do”?

An Occupier says, ”It’s up to you dude but if you don’t stay and get a ticket or get arrested, you won’t have anything to take to court to publicize all this nonsense”.

The man tells the police he is not going to leave and explains to them just what has been going on at Gimaajii this past year. The cops look hesitant and say, “Look at it from our viewpoint. We have been told we have to follow the law and we have to do what we are told”. They walk over to talk with some street folks and when they do, the man and all his friends walk into the banquet hall and sit down at a table. There are many other people in the room. The DPD officers come back to the doorway and see the man sitting at the table. 5-0 looks stressed. They walk to the other end of the room where the director and her staff are sitting. They speak with the director and then walk out into the hall. They hang around for a while, eventually they just leave. Everybody gets to eat some really good food. After eating, the program begins. A professional moderator oversees the questions from the audience.

People from INM do all the speaking; Occupy is only there for support. The man and many others air their grievances and receive assurance, from the moderator at least, that a new director of Native heritage will be hired and all concerns will be addressed. It’s a start at least and so far, no one had to go to jail.

On August 5th some Occupiers helped out at a Water Legacy phone bank. The phone calling went very well and everyone had a good time. On August 6th they drove around to various locations to visit and drop off literature for one of the candidates running for City office.

An Occupier reports on the latest news concerning the Occupy National Gathering. It seems that all hell has broken loose. Someone, it seems like the National Gathering folks don’t know who, put up a website proclaiming the National Gathering was in coalition with Idle No More and something called the Turtle Island Movement. The website made much use of INM and Anishenabe slogans and manner of speech. INM got wind of this and was understandably very upset. Indigenous people around the world have a lengthy history of having their possessions and culture expropriated by white people. When INM confronted the National Gathering people, they (INM) were insulted and told they were nothing but “wannabes”. The National Gathering people began to argue amongst themselves and it seemed there were people in the group who had not met each other. Across the country, Occupys and others are withdrawing their support for the Gathering. We are saddened by the demise of the event however; Occupy Duluth will also withdraw support. This conversation leads to a discussion of trolls and NSA spying.

As we are talking a squad car pulls up and parks. There are many people in the Memorial and on the ledge. They stay put but we notice all the people who appeared to be “working the street” are gone. The cop sits there for about half an hour then drives off. The street workers return. Oh well……. So much happens around here we can’t keep track of everything.

Another Occupier reports on the Water Legacy forum of August 7th. He says all information was accurate and very well presented. On August 8th we participated in the Candidates of Color event. Both of our friends who are running for City offices are people of non-European ethnicity therefore; Candidates of Color. We all worked very hard for this event and it was quite successful. An Occupier says she is certain we fed at least 150 people before we ran completely out of food.

Someone tells us a well-known local activist has been injured in a bicycle accident and will be home bound for a while. We make plans as to how we will help this activist until he can return to his normal activities.

The dreaded subject of winter is introduced. We know we will have to find an indoor public space to meet when the weather forces us inside. Everyone agrees we did not like meeting in the skywalk but right now we have no ideas. We don’t want to think about this but know we will have to.

The meeting agenda has been dealt with and some Occupiers leave. Others want to stay, watch the little fire, smell the sage and enjoy the wonderful weather. Very many people are on the ledge and in the street. Everyone appears content and friendly. Most are not visibly intoxicated. All manner of ethnicities are present. Go figure. Once there are some empty chairs, many sit to chat. It’s a very pleasant evening.

G.A. Minutes 8-3-13

So we thought things couldn’t possibly get any crazier than they were last Tuesday. We were wrong.
We set up as per usual and start the fire. Tonight we have a big plate of fresh cantaloupe and oranges. Several women sitting on the back ledge come over and take big handfuls of the fruit. They return several times for more. When the women are out of earshot an Occupier says, “Oh that’s right, the Mission doesn’t serve dinner on Saturday’s anymore”. Our fruit is probably the only food the women will have until morning.

An Occupier says Water Legacy will be doing another phone bank on Monday and our participation would be welcome. Several of us will be able to help. The National Night Out is on Tuesday and we have been asked to help. Our friends who are running for City offices need people to deliver literature and words of support to some of the Night Out sites. There are at least 40 different site locations so our friends are going to be hard pressed to cover them all. We agree we will cancel the G.A. at the Memorial on Tuesday and help our friends. Involving ourselves in the established political system is something we wouldn’t ordinarily do but our friends are so far above the usual type of political candidates we feel we should give covert support. If they were to be elected, we would have a few more allies within the system.

The Occupy couple requests a “personal leave day” for next Saturday. They have a yearly event they are going to attend. As we are discussing this a young man comes to sit with us. He is acquainted with one of the homeless Occupiers. We hand him the sage bundle, he puts it in his mouth and tries to smoke it. That doesn’t work too well and we explain what sage is used for and how to use it. He’s not interested and tries to smoke it again. He says,” I’m from Mississippi; I’m a chronic alcoholic, I have ADHD and take 20mg of Melleril every day. I’m homeless and live at the CHUM. I know you think I’m stupid and you want me to leave. Everybody wants me to leave”.

We attempt to converse with him but he is very contrary. Whatever anyone says to him, he argues the opposite position. Two men come up to smudge themselves and they inform the contrary man they use sage because they are Native American. The man says, “Oh I’ve been around Mexicans before”. He begins to speak to the Native men in Spanish. This doesn’t work too well either. The Natives go back to the ledge. Mississippi Man reaches into his backpack, pulls out a full bottle of vodka and takes a swig.

An Occupier says,” Hey man, don’t be waving that bottle around here. If you’re going to drink you have to be discreet. If you’re gonna be blatant about it, the police will be here in a minute”. Within seconds one of the Native men comes from the ledge and a woman comes from the other side of the Memorial. They each ask for a drink from his bottle. To our disbelief, the guy says no. He takes another swig and says “You can’t have any”. The asking people appear very frustrated.

It’s a matter of street etiquette that one never flaunts any form of intoxicant unless one is going to share. The people crowd close to him, he takes his backpack, gets up, puts his arm around the man and the 3 of them walk off toward the back corner. As they leave we hear Mr. Mississippi say,” I’ve seen you around and wanted to get to know you”.

So we figure he’ll wander off, forgetting about the fire and us; but this was not to be. A few minutes later we hear some kind of noise, turn to look and see the 2 men fighting. The Native dude knocks down Mr. Mississippi and begins repeatedly punching him in the face. The other Native guy jumps off the ledge, comes over and starts kicking the guy on the ground. Everybody else from the street disappears.

The face of the man getting beat is covered with blood. An Occupier says, “Should I call the police?” Another says,” I guess were gonna have to. Don’t know what else we can do”. He calls 911 and we hear a woman scream and call to the Native guys” The cops are coming, you better get out of here!”

Within minutes 2 squads pull up and 2 cops jump out. The Native men are long gone and the other dude is sitting on the ground bleeding. The cops want to take him to the hospital, they ask him what happened. He says, “I was just sitting there and 2 Native guys jumped me”.

The cops ask us what happened and we tell them we weren’t watching but the 2 guys were beating up the 1 guy so we called 911. We give the cops a vague description of 2 guys. The beaten guy says,” They were Natives”.

One cop to him, “It’s not about race. Around here, if you have anything, someone will jump you, beat you up and take what you have”. The officer says to us, “We try to keep this sort of thing from happening but with only 2 officers assigned to the whole area, there’s only so much you can do”. He then notices one of the Occupiers trying to read his badge and says, “If you want to know my badge number, just ask me”.

An Occupier says, “The last time I asked an officer for his badge number, he poked me with his billy club and said I had a bad attitude”.

Both cops willingly give us their names and badge numbers. The Mississippi man refuses to go to the hospital, we chat pleasantly with the DPD for a while. As they’re getting ready to leave, one cop says, “Bye the way, you should put that fire out because it’s illegal”. We explain to him why it’s not illegal and the whole story blah, blah, blah……

He says, “I never know what policy is. It changes every day.”

An Occupier says, “Your job sounds like the job I worked for most of my life”.

He laughs and another Occupier says, ”Just to show you we’re not against you, I will put this fire out”. The Occupier dowses the fire. The cops are pleased; they wish us a good night.

We’re all pretty bummed out by this evening’s turn of events and feel like just packing it up and going home. We can’t do that though. We have our street rep to protect so we can’t let it be said we were run off by a little bloodshed. Mr. Mississippi is sitting and whining about how he was wronged. We all realize that he played a part in his own castigation and he’s becoming quite tiresome.

Someone starts up a conversation about money in politics and we talk about the subject. In just the short time we have been helping our 2 candidate friends; we have seen just how blatant the money game is. Our friends are completely grassroots so have little funds. The other candidates represent the rich and/or the status quo. They already have professional signs, literature and publicity.

Mr. Bloodied Man gets bored with our conversation and walks over to the ledge where people have started to return. One of the Native women from the street takes the sage bundle and walks around the circle, smudging all of us. The sun is setting and it feels chilly. We wish the fire was still going. No matter, we all have warm homes and food and such to go home to.

It looks like our rep is still intact so we pack up to go home. We won’t be back for an entire week. We hope things will settle down by then but they probably won’t.