Rise For The Waters: A Call to Cleanse and Protect
by Darren Moore
On February 27th, Ben Gilbert Park, adjacent to Tacoma City Hall, hosted the “Rise for the Waters” event. This gathering, the first of its kind in several years, was led by the Coast Salish Water Warriors, with support from Native Daily Network, Protectors of the Salish Sea, 350 Tacoma, Backbone Campaign, Climate Alliance of the South Sound, The Conversation 253, Black Panther Party WA, FRSO Seattle, and the Chiapas Education Project. It marked a pivotal moment in reigniting community activism and unity for environmental advocacy in Tacoma. The event also served as a soft launch for the Climate Catastrophe Ground Zero campaign.
Paul Chiyokten Wagner from The Protectors of the Salish Sea shared a prayer and a few songs between teachings on our connection to all life.
Backbone Campaign and 350 Tacoma provided some amazing visuals and props. A central visual element was the “Managing Poorli” puppet, representing the City Manager, symbolizing the city’s governance failures, particularly in environmental oversight.
Speakers highlighted the city’s recent controversial environmental decisions, notably the Mega Warehouse project approval for South Tacoma. Located on an aquifer and recharge area, the warehouse could generate up to 12,000 vehicle trips daily, exacerbating existing traffic and pollution concerns. Despite a 1980s review advising against development in this sensitive area, current plans seem to disregard these environmental cautions. Moreover, the debacle surrounding the failed bid for Amazon HQ2 in 2017, led by then-Mayor Marilyn Strickland, has left a legacy of contentious development agreements. Recent developments suggest that prior commitments to developers are still being honored at the community’s expense.
Speakers also revisited the extensive battle against the Tacoma LNG project, a campaign that the Water Warriors have been deeply involved in for several years. Native Daily Network has consistently covered this issue, providing a series of articles and producing the documentary “Ancestral Waters,” which details the struggle and highlights the environmental and cultural stakes involved.
The LNG issue had reared its head again after the City approved – without review – a barging expansion for Tacoma LNG in late 2023. This was despite the city stating in writing that any such expansion would require a new environmental impact review. Also the environmental reviews that were passed only did so because the barging element wasn’t included. Campaigners had pointed out that in communications to municipal agencies Puget Sound Energy promised no barging, while their representatives were selling the project on that fact in trade magazines. Fortunately in this instance, the Puyallup Tribe and Earth Justice quickly filed suit against this expansion, forcing PSE (or Puget LNG) into a tail-between-the-legs retreat, abandoning those plans – for now.
Another topic, which saw the Managing Poorli Puppet take the spot light was when community leaders advocated for a shift from the city manager system to a strong mayor system to ensure clearer accountability and direct voter influence over city governance.
Organizers also reminded the community to engage with the upcoming subarea plan which will guide environmental consideration and industrial expansion on the tideflats potentially for generations, emphasizing the importance of public participation in upcoming comment opportunities.
As the event wound down, Patricia Gonzalez, the lead organizer with the Water Warriors, led the group to the front door of City Hall. Each participant was holding a small can of sage and cedar, burning and wafting their scents into the air. Patricia reminded the crowd of the power of prayer and spiritual cleansing as she invited the group to ‘smudge’ the building
“Rise for the Waters” saw the community demand a more accountable and environmentally conscious governance. By drawing together diverse groups the event set a robust foundation for future actions.
On Climate Catastrophe Ground Zero (CCG0);
CCGO is a new campaign from Native Daily Network that embodies our commitment to unity and collective action in addressing the climate crisis, with Indigenous values and leadership at its heart. Inspired by the Lakota principle of Mitakuye Oyasin—’We are all related,’ CCG0 specifically targets ‘Ground Zero’ areas chosen by communities for their significant environmental challenges and potential for meaningful change. By extending support to communities at the forefront of these challenges, CCG0 seeks to facilitate the formation of resilient and extensive local coalitions, demonstrating our collective strength and shared responsibility in the face of environmental adversity.
