Cascadia today: Portland prepares for Guard + tragedy of residential schools + photos of Seattle music icons
National Guard could arrive in Portland next week
According to OPB, at least 166 volunteers in the Oregon National Guard have agreed to participate in US president Donald Trump's attempt to deploy them in Portland. Trump's rationale, which he laid out in a speech to US military leaders today, was that American cities would become a "training ground" for “a war from within.” What exactly Trump is responding to are unclear– much of his rhetoric about Portland and Seattle focuses on protests that happened in 2020, as do right-wing provocateurs such as Andy Ngo, who falsely claims there's a huge ANTIFA™ uprising happening in Portland. According to reporting from OPB, protests over the weekend at Portland's ICE facility have been largely peaceful. In a joint press conference, Seattle mayor Bruce Harrell and Washington attorney general Nick Brown told Trump to "stay out of Seattle."
What Trump is most likely responding to is Portland's efforts to revoke the ICE facility's land use permit after multiple violations of an agreement it made with the city.
Drawing attention to tragedy of residential schools
Today is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (or Orange shirt day), which recognizes the tragic consequences of the residential school programs in Canada and the US that separated Indigenous families and perpetuated cultural genocide. The Tyee has a detailed look at the definitive 2015 national Truth and Reconciliation Report on the deaths, abuse, trauma, and poverty the schools left in their wake. Ha-Shilt-Sa reports on students learning about Orange Shirt Day in Port Alberni, BC. Meanwhile, a BC Conservative staffer is facing criticism after she said flying an orange flag in remembrance at the BC legislative building was a "disgrace." In positive news, the Cowichan tribes of British Columbia won a title court case, confirming that several First Nations have a right to summer fishing villages on the south arm of the Fraser River. And CBC has a report on how the Tla'amin First Nation is reclaiming its language.
OR pushes back on fed campaign against LGBTQ foster policy
The Trump administration is threatening to cut federal funds to Oregon for its state policy mandating that foster parents honor the gender identity of kids in their care. Why wouldn't a kind and thoughtful foster parent do just that? Let Cascadia determine how to honor trans kids right to exist without ideological constraints from the feds.
Bird flu infecting Cascadia wildlife
Columbia Insight reports that wildlife biologists are discovering avian influenza is infecting and killing wildlife across Cascadia, including populations of Caspian terns, 1,600 of which were found dead on an island near Port Townsend, Washington. The disease has also killed cougars, bobcats, and harbor seals, the article reports.
Documenting a critical decade in Seattle music
The Stranger reports on a photography project, "As Many Weirdos as Possible," that's documenting people who were involved in the greater Seattle music scene between 1985 and 1995 – a critical moment when grunge, local hip-hop and riot grrrl were all becoming ascendant. The project has already photographed more than 300 people and collected their personal stories of that time.
"And I want to be really clear that this is Pacific Northwest music history. We’re photographing and capturing stories from people from Olympia to Bellingham." --Rachel Crick
