By Judi Bari – Earth First! Journal, Samhain (Nov. 1), 1988
Web Editor's Note: Judi Bari’s account of the California Earth First! Rendezvous not only shows her dedication to workers struggles, but it also demonstrates her dedication to eco-feminism as well (an issue that would be essential to her theory of “Radical Ecology” which she would develop over the next seven years). This was Judi Bari’s first published article in the Earth First! Journal.
It looked like a bad start for the 150 EF!ers gathered in the Marble Mountains of northern California. Several local breweries who had promised to donate kegs backed out when they learned we were tree-spiking terrorists.[1] It turned out not to matter, though. EF!ers don’t need beer to get high.
One unique aspect of this rendezvous (besides the absence of brew) was the presence of two union reps from the IWW[2], or Industrial Workers of the World (also known as the Wobblies), who had come to explore the possibility of a coalition with Earth First!. The IWW is not your typical AFL-type union. The AFL-CIO wouldn’t be caught dead at an EF! rendezvous.[3] But the Wobblies were using EF! tactics long before most of us were born: They were formed in 1905 with the slogans “No Compromise” and “Direct Action Gets The Goods.” The Wobblies have been the only union in US history to openly advocate sabotage. They introduced the tactic of tree spiking in the 1917 Pacific Northwest timber strike[4], and their black cat sabotage symbol was found on a decommissioned bulldozer in Missoula, Montana, this year. This looks like a coalition with definite possibilities. We learned about our area’s radical history (there’s a reason they don’t teach this stuff in school), and the Wobblies found that their hell-raising spirit is alive and well in Earth First!
Another significant facet of this rendezvous, was the absence (at least in any large degree) of that male machismo with which EF! has become associated. This was partly because California has such a strong feminist contingent, and partly because some of the worst offenders didn’t show up. Credit must also go to the two (male) organizers of this event, Greg King and Darryl Cherney, who went out of their way to include women workshop leaders and performers. In fact, in the women’s caucus we had to reluctantly admit that hey, these EF! men may be assholes, but at least they’re trying. We also decided to confront sexism directly when we encountered it, and got a chance to do it that very night. In a late night jam session, someone tried to sing a song with the words “fuck me, shave me dry.” We stopped him mid verse and never let him finish.
The women’s caucus also initiated a women’s action, to be held the Friday after Thanksgiving. EF! women in California (and the whole country, we hope) will hit the stores that day for actions to dramatize the use of poisons in our homes, focusing especially on women who buy them…
Other high points included Mike Jakubal (whose Freddie files describe him as a “lunatic”) calmly and professorially giving a how-to workshop on tree spiking while the Freddies[5] stood in the audience and took his picture. The photos would be just for their own scrapbooks, they assured us.
The local Native Americans also provided inspiration to our gathering. The Hoopa, Karuk, and Yurok had been upset when they heard about the rendezvous because of it being on their sacred land during their week of sacred ceremony. However, they decided they basically support what we’re doing, and sent representatives to address us. A young man talked about the Indians’ spiritual attachment to the land, and an old woman sang a prayer in her native language. We were moved and honored by these gestures of acceptance.[6]
There were workshops throughout the weekend on a variety of subjects: Holistic Forestry (taught by Jan Iris), How to Talk to a Logger (Crawdad Nelson), Offshore Oil (Lionel Gambil), Kalmiopsis (Bobcat and MB), Tree Climbing (Kurt Newman and Greg King) and many more. Sequoia conducted an evening ritual. In addition to the Women’s Caucus, a Men’s Caucus formed and talked about problems of sexism in the movement, then joined with the Women’s Caucus for a group discussion.
At night we danced to the music of Clan Dyken and Rootstock. The concert the following day included EF! musicians Rex Richardson, Peter Bruckner, Alice DiMicele, Mokai, Dakota Sid, Cecilia Ostrow, and Darryl Cherney. When the weekend was over and we packed to go to the action planned for the next day, our IWW observers had to admit that not only is EF! engaged in serious political work, but we also know how to throw one hell of a party.
Footnotes:
[1] Obviously Earth First! are not terrorists, as there has never been any account of Earth First! actions deliberately intended to cause harm to life or limb of anyone, and no Earth First!er has ever been convicted of terrorism. Since this event, several breweries and other small businesses in northwestern California have supported Earth First! over the years, especially after the Earth First!ers in this region have proven their commitment to strategic non-violent action.
[2] Gary Cox and Billy Don Robinson.
[3]In less than two years, however—due to the efforts of militant rank & file initiative, including the work of some members of the IWW who held AFL-CIO union cards as well, Earth First! would receive visible support from various AFL-CIO unions; see “Labor, Activists Unite to Fight L-P”, by Crawdad Nelson, Anderson Valley Advertiser, January 10, 1990.
Also, by 1997, AFL-CIO unions began openly associating with Earth First!. On September 15, 1997,Jim Hard, then President of SEIU Local 1000 gave a speech at an Earth First! organized rally for Headwaters in Stafford, CA (the attendance exceeded 10,000), and one year later, the United Steelworkers of America and Earth First! (in part urged on by IWW members) made common cause against Maxxam (Kaiser Aluminum workers were locked out by Maxxam.
[4]This is debatable. The IWW was accused of having invented the tactic by the capitalist press. See Foner, Philip S. Volume VII: Labor and World War I 1914-1918, 1987, International Publishers, New York, NY., Chapter 12, The IWW in Lumber, 246-63.
[5] “Freddy” is a nickname for a United States Forest Service (USFS), National Park Service (NPS), or Bureau of Land Management (BLM) forest ranger.
[6]The local tribes and local Earth First!ers have since had a lasting alliance. This is due, in part to Earth First! ‘s participation in the campaign to expand and preserve the Sinkyone (referenced briefly in Chapter 6), and opposition to a proposed highway between Gasquet (in Del Norte County) and Orleans (in Humboldt County), called the “G-O Road” for short. For more information about the latter, see “Blockade Updates: The Siskiyous and the G-O Road”, Earth First! Journal, Eostar (March 21), 1983; “No G-O Road”, and “No G-O Road Arrest”, by Marija Eloheimo Earth First! Journal, Beltane (May 1), 1983; “No G-O Road!”, Earth First! Journal, Litha (June 21), 1983; “GO Road; Local Indian Victory!”, Northcoast Environmental Center press release, Country Activist, August 1986; “G-O Road Decision Rests With Supreme Court”, by Joe Cempa Earth First! Journal, Beltane (May 1), 1988; “G-O Road; High Country Not Protected by Constitution”, By Bill Devall, Earth First! Journal. Litha (June 21), 1988; “Not Too Late to Stop the G-O Road”, Country Activist, June 1988; “No G-O, Next Step”, press release, Siskyou Mountain Resource Council, Country Activist, August 1988; “Congress Kills G-O Road!”, by Jim Owens, Earth First! Journal, Yule (December 21), 1990.