Sacred places are the oldest form of protected areas on the planet. In my interview with filmmaker, Christopher McLeod we talked about the importance of sacred places to indigenous cultures and the message his documentary series Standing on Sacred Ground has for EuroAmerican culture, the California drought and the Alberta oilsands.
Continue reading The Man Who Made Standing On Sacred Ground
Christopher McLeod was disturbed by the environmental injustice. He saw Native Americans subjected to airborne coal pollution, and their water being taken for slurry lines. The Hopi elders told him there was a spiritual side to the injustice. These violations were taking place within a network of sacred places that their people had preserved for countless generations. These consisted of a sacred mountain, sacred springs that gave the Hopi life, and their ancestral burial grounds. The elders told him the cause of the West’s environmental crises is the disconnect from their spiritual link to the earth. This has become the message behind Standing on Sacred Ground, a four part documentary which can be seen on the WORLD Channel, Sundays at 9:00 PM (ET) until June 14, 2015.
Continue reading Behind Standing on Sacred GroundOriginally published on Heartwood, Field Notes
Powell River has been fighting for its urban forests, which are slated to be logged by Island Timberlands. I.T. has been at the forefront of many forestry conflicts on the west coast of British Columbia, from Cortes Island to Port Alberni to Powell River. Communities are uniting to oppose the logging practices of Island Timberlands, which is the second largest landowner in BC, with over 235,000 Ha. of private managed forestland on Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands, and the Sunshine Coast. I.T. is majority owned by the BCIMC, the arms-length investment firm of the BC government, which invests all the public sector pension funds. The BC Teachers’ Federation, whose pensions are invested in I.T., recently filed a motion to oppose I.T,’s more controversial logging practices in the Alberni Valley.
Continue reading Powell River vs Island Timberlands
An interview with Vancouver film maker Daniel J. Pierce about the motivation behind his films conducted by Roy L Hales. Topics include Pierce’s decision to make documentaries, his first film, BC forestry issues & vision for the future.The Passion Behind Ramshackle Films
Continue reading The Passion Behind Ramshackle FilmsBy Roy L Hales
The Watershed Sentinel’s origins go back to 1990. Most of Cortes Island’s forest is second growth, which has grown up up since the turn of the 20th century. When MacMillan Bloedel came to harvest these trees, they found themselves opposed by 100 to 200 local residents. Delores Broten kept local residents abreast of of developments with a newsletter that grew to become an award-winning environmental news magazine. This morning’s broadcast focuses on Delores Broten & the Watershed Sentinel.
