March Against Monsanto - Running The Country

For Further Information:

Chuck Miller, 907-752-9955, [email protected]
Brett Wilcox, 907-747-7437, [email protected]
https://www.runningthecountry.com
Facebook: “March Against Monsanto Sitka”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March Against Monsanto
Sitka, Alaska
May 17, 2013

On May 25, 2013, tens of thousands of people from around the world will gather in more than 300 cities in protest of the agrochemical giant, Monsanto.

Sitka’s March Against Monsanto will be held on Castle Hill, the location where Russia sold the vast territory of Alaska—land it did not own—to the U.S.A.

March organizer, Brett Wilcox, chose Castle Hill for Sitka’s March Against Monsanto for its symbolic significance. “There are many similarities between the original ‘Land Grab’ that took place with the first European expansion and Monsanto’s current global ‘Seed Grab,’ Wilcox states. “Both involve the privatization of Nature, a concept that was largely foreign to Native Americans and Alaska Natives. And both have resulted in loss of freedom and loss of life. The difference is that Monsanto’s seed grab not only further disenfranchises Native Americans; it disenfranchises all nations and all people. The citizens of the world are, as it were, sitting in our canoes in Sitka Sound, watching powerful people and corporations claim and repackage life as their own, thereby stealing our seed sovereignty and seed freedom.”

Chuck Miller, a Tlingit “Elder in Training”, will preside at the event. “My grandmother used to teach my family that we need to treat our food with respect or it will not provide for us,” Miller states. “My ancestors’ teachings are still a very big part of my life and I want to be able to pass that on to my children, grandchildren and those yet to come. GMOs are not the way to treat Mother Earth and the generations yet to come. I urge all the Native people of Alaska and our non-Native brothers and sisters to come and support this cause.”

“Sitka’s March Against Monsanto will not be a traditional march,” says Wilcox. “Sitka’s event will be a ceremony to honor nature as well as the indigenous people of Alaska and the Americas. We will stand on Castle Hill united with the people of the world in defense and protection of life and nature.”

Sitka’s March Against Monsanto will take place at 2:00 pm on Castle Hill in Sitka, Alaska.

Hawaii.

A beautiful word that brings to mind unsurpassed pristine nature, beautiful people . . . and poisons.

Monsanto and the biotech gang use Hawaii and Hawaiians to test some 70 different poisons. No other state in the country is exposed to so many different poisons.

The activist and author, Imani-Altemus Williams, reminds us that Hawaiians are no strangers to Western oppression in her article, “The struggle to reclaim paradise.” But today’s oppressors may be worse than the original oppressors because the food they produce is genetically modified—a barbaric and sacrilegious concept to indigenous Hawaiians—and then the land and the genetically modified plants are saturated in chemical poisons.

Hawaiians are fighting back against the Biotech giants and the pro-biotech U.S. government. Justin Zern photographed two recent protests, one in Kauai and the other in Molokai. Justin’s photos (Thank you, Justin!) capture the spirit and the passion of the people who are fighting for their ‘āina—Land—and their lives.

Matt Yamashita tells the story of Mercy Ritte in his documentary Molokai MOM: Standing Up to GMO. After a windstorm kicked up poisons from a nearby test plot and covered Mercy’s home and property in poison, her son became sick. Monsanto assured her she had nothing to worry about. She knew better than to believe Monsanto and their lies.

Molokia MOM is an inspiring work of love—love for Hawaiians’ ‘āina and children!

Sitkans had the privilege of viewing Molokia MOM on May 17, 2013.

Following the movie, we Skyped with Imani-Altemus Williams. Mahalo Nui Loa to Mercy, Imani, Justin, Matt and all the other passionate Hawaiians who are fighting for their land and their children.

Sitkans and Hawaiians have a lot in common. We share the whales, we share abundant and beautiful nature, we share an ongoing history of Western exploitation, and we share the responsibility to stand up for the Earth and to stand against Monsanto and the biotechnology industry. We have an amazing opportunity to join Hawaii and the rest of the world on May 25 on Castle Hill where we will join our hands, hearts, and spirits as we March Against Monsanto.

And long after the March, when David and I are tired from running across America in protest of the biotech industry, we will draw strength from good people like Lorilani Keohokalelo-Torio who wrote, “Na ‘uhane (Spirit) of all the Ancestors of all the Native Peoples will carry you across America… we are all here to kokua (help).”

We give you a coast to coast thanks, Lorilani, but you need to know this: you, your sisters, brothers, and Ancestors, are already carrying us!

Photo Credits: Justin Zern