I spoke with Marylynn Poucachice from the Algonquin community of Barriere Lake, which continues to deal with the problems of colonization of their land and people. For a preface to the interview, youth spokesperson Norman Matchewan says it best: In 1991, Barrière Lake signed a historic trilateral agreement with Canada and Quebec to sustainably develop our traditional territories - a United Nations report called the plan an environmental "trailblazer." Yet in 1996, the federal government tried to hijack the agreement by replacing our legitimate chief and council with a minority faction who let the agreement fall aside. read more

Listen Now:

Boots has been living in a teepee on a construction site in Brantford, Ontario, since July. He's from Six Nations, and they've been shutting numerous development sites over the years due to concerns of land rights and ecology. What most people think began in February 2006 on the edge of Caledonia, the site that blew up into a world-renowned conflict, actually began long before that, and has kept going ever since. The site Boots has been living on was slated to be a fiberglass insulation factory, right next to a large Hampton Inn hotel, which has also been shut down. read more

Listen Now:

Lierre Keith and Aric McBay are both authors, small farmers, activists in their own way, and over the last couple years have been organizing weekend-long conferences entitled Deep Green Resistance. If you'd like to read it, their statement of purpose from their first gathering sums up where they're coming from better than I can. read more

Listen Now:

I spoke with Kim Elmslie, a campaign coordinator for the International Fund for Animal Welfare, who spoke about a recently-published report by IFAW, about the threat to marine life from noise pollution. It made me recall reports I had read about whales washing up dead on shores, with blood coming from their ears and hemmorhaged brains, just after the US military conducted underwater sonar testing nearby. It turns out that not only is military testing killing marine life and ruining the lives of surviving populations, but all the noise from oil rigs, shipping, and other industrial activity is also to blame. read more

Listen Now:

Sandor Ellix Katz is the author of Wild Fermentation: The Flavor, Nutrition, and Craft of Live-Culture Foods, and The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved: Inside America's Underground Food Movements. His work has become enormously popular, helping bring the ancient rituals of fermentation to new generations of people hungry for a connection with these life processes. read more

Listen Now:

Eric McDavid had the misfortune of falling in love with an FBI informant, a young woman who went by the name Anna. She was being paid by the FBI to fish for people at protests who she could convince to conspire with her to engage in illegal direct actions. Eric and two others, Zachary Jenson and Lauren Weiner, were involved in a plot 'Anna' led; Zachary and Lauren decided to plead guilty and testify against Eric, while Eric held out as not-guilty, maintaining that the whole thing was a trap. Eric was recently found guilty and sentenced to 19.5 years in prison. His lawyer, Mark Reichel, explains the ins and outs of this shocking story. read more

Listen Now:

More than 100 Innu families who are now occupying and using their traditional homeland in Newfoundland Labrador recently received eviction notices from the provincial government of Newfoundland Labrador. The Removal Notices direct Innu families to "remove all structures from Crown land and restore the site to its original conditions within 60 days of notice." Failure to do so will result in the Crown Lands Division demolishing their homes and charging the costs of demolition to the Innu families. read more

Listen Now:

What Does Decolonization Look Like? Minnesota Turns 150 and Nothing Much Has Changed In early May 2008, the state of Minnesota turned 150 years old. People fond of such things sought to have a celebration of this sesquicentennial anniversary, which included several days of events. What the organizers of this anniversary neglected to include in their accounts of history is the genocide against the Dakota nation, whose homeland was destroyed in order to create the state of Minnesota. This involved state-sanctioned ethnic cleansing, concentration camps, hangings, bounties, massive displacements, and an overall campaign of violence and fear. read more

Listen Now:

Two Six Nations men, Albert Douglas and Trevor Miller, are being indicted to a US federal grand jury for incidents stemming from the 2006 Six Nations land reclamation outside the town of Caledonia. Albert Douglas was allegedly with Trevor Miller when a US Border Patrol vehicle was seen on their territory during the height of the land reclamation. It turned out that the vehicle was carrying a member of the US Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms and members of the Ontario Provincial Police, and contained surveillance equipment and confidential documents about undercover OPP and US agents used to infiltrate the land reclamation. read more

Listen Now:

I spoke with Sheila Colla, a PhD candidate at York University in Toronto, about the extinction of several species of bumblebees who once lived in Southern Ontario. Many people are familiar with how honeybees have been affected by Colony Collapse Disorder, and now bumblebees are experiencing significant declines in population. While honeybees have been imported from Europe and Africa, bumblebees are native to Turtle Island. Since so many native plants have co-evolved with bumblebees, requiring them for pollination, these extinctions could pose serious trouble for the rest of the ecosystem. read more

Listen Now:

I spoke with Dan Doreen, from the community of Tyendinaga, about an illegal residential development that was stopped from occurring. The land in question is part of the Culbertson Tract, which includes the small town of Deseronto, in southeastern Ontario. Two developers, Theo and Emile Nibourg, claim title to the Mohawk land, and had planned to build 220-240 residential units. On Monday morning, people from Tyendinaga blocked the main road going through Deseronto, and after a 24 hour period, the Nibourgs have agreed not to do anymore work on the land. Those involved in the blockade are committed to not allowing any kind of development within the Culbertson Tract. read more

Listen Now:

Healing the Earth Radio hosts Kingston Indigenous Solidarity Network member Matt Silburn's interview with Mohawk Warrior Shawn Brant.  Shawn is currently facing a multi-million dollar lawsuit from CN Rail, and 12 years in prison, due to the actions him and his community in Tyendinaga have made. I chose to host this interview because both times I have played it on the air, people have called in to express how inspired and moved they are from hearing Shawn speak. read more

Listen Now:

Just one week after the first interview with people from the Bear Mountain tree sit, a force dozens of armed RCMP officers stormed the forest to evict them. As people were being led away in handcuffs, workers were already beginning to cut down the forest. On Wednesday, February 13, everyone in the tree sit camp was arrested. Three people, including two tree sitters, were held and charged with mischief and obstructing a highway. They have now been released.  The massive attack by police involved as many as 300 RCMP officers, dozens of them with assault rifles drawn and pointed at the campers.  read more

Listen Now:

Since April 10, 2007, a tree sit and forest squat has been in the way of a proposed highway interchange that is designed to serve the massive Bear Mountain Resort development.  It has gathered widespread support from the surrounding community, yet been opposed by those in power in the municipality.  They are threatened with eviction beginning in March, and need all the help they can get.  You can visit their website at: treesit.blogspot.com In this interview, I speak with one of the organizers, who has some inspiring messages for us all.  Below is a communique recently issued by the people involved in the tree sit: read more

Listen Now:

Lierre Keith is the author of the novels Skyler Gabriel and Conditions of War, as well as the forthcoming The Vegetarian Myth. In this interview we talk about the topics she explores in that most recent book. I haven't read Jared Diamond's work, but I know he also seriously tackles the issue of agriculture. For me, Lierre's is the most solid critique of agriculture I have come across. She talks about how it is at it's most basic level a war against life and the earth, outlining the ecological impacts of agriculture, which includes it's effects on topsoil, which is the basis of all life. Sustainable agriculture will always be an oxymoron, and with the fossil fuel era coming to a close, we have to start thinking out of the agricultural box. read more

Listen Now:

Waziyatawin is Wahpetunwan Dakota from the Pezihutazizi Otunwe in southwestern Minnesota. She is the author of Remember This!: Dakota Decolonization and the Eli Taylor Narratives, In the Footsteps of Our Ancestors: The Dakota Commemorative Marches of the 21st Century, co-editor of Indigenizing the Academy: Transforming Scholarship and Empowering Communities, and is the co-editor of For Indigenous Eyes Only: A Decolonization Handbook. read more

Listen Now:

Since the morning of June 29, the Ardoch Algonquin and the Shabot Obaadjiwan Nations have taken to physically being on their land to stop a proposed uranium mine, in what is likely both the most under-reported action of the June 29 Day of Action and the one with the biggest impact. They are situated just north of Sharbot Lake, which itself is north of Kingston. read more

Listen Now:

Note: This is part 1 of 2. On December 7, 2005, one of the largest roundups of environmental and animal liberation activists in American history began. Using the code name "Operation Backfire," the FBI arrested seven people in four different states, for allegedly taking part in a wide variety of actions the government attributes to the Earth Liberation Front (ELF) and the Animal Liberation Front (ALF). Since then, many other people have been caught up in what has been called The Green Scare, and just recently, most of the defendants were sentenced to prison. read more

Listen Now:

The Great Bear Rainforest has come up in the news a few times in the last year or so. Most recently was news of the federal government's pledge to commit $30 million towards the 'protection' of the forest. That was matched by the provincial government and other sources, taking the total amount to $120 million. Also, last year there was a deal made to protect 5 million acres, and allow 10 million acres to continue to be clearcut. Even though these things are portrayed to Canadians as successes, the on-the-ground reality differs greatly. read more

Listen Now:

Stephen Buhner is an earth poet, deep ecologist, and herbalist, as well as author of nine books, including The Lost Language of Plants and The Secret Teachings of Plants. We talked about some of the differences between earth-based worldviews and the scientific, mechanistic worldview, as well as the non-linearity of nature and some of the energetics of life. We also got into talking about the current ecological catastrophe that seems to be everywhere, and how exactly we can go about being alive and response-able in such a painful time. read more

Listen Now:

Stephen Buhner is an earth poet, deep ecologist, and herbalist, as well as author of nine books, including The Lost Language of Plants and The Secret Teachings of Plants. We talked about some of the differences between earth-based worldviews and the scientific, mechanistic worldview, as well as the non-linearity of nature and some of the energetics of life. We also got into talking about the current ecological catastrophe that seems to be everywhere, and how exactly we can go about being alive and response-able in such a painful time. read more

Listen Now:

Steven Best is the co-editor of the recently-published book, Igniting a Revolution: Voices in Defence of the Earth, available from AK Press. Steven is an animal rights activist, author, and associate professor of humanities and philosophy at the University of Texas at El Paso, where he teaches courses such as ethics, social philosophy, animal rights, environmental theory, and philosophy of science and technology. He has written and edited seven books, including Terrorists or Freedom Fighters? Reflections on the Liberation of Animals (2004). read more

Listen Now:

By now you have likely heard about people of the Six Nations community near Caledonia, Ontario, reclaiming their land from the furthering encroachment of suburbia, and on a larger scale, from colonialism. Red Dawn and Eric are members of the Six Nations community, both intimately involved with the reclamation in many ways.  In this powerful interview, Red Dawn and Eric talk about their community's determination to never leave the land, the radicalization of indigenous youth, the international mobilization of support for the reclamation, and the inspiration that is spreading from this determined action to fuel people everywhere. read more

Listen Now:

Erik Ohlsen is an Ecological/Permaculture designer, practitioner, and teacher.  He is a co-founder of the RITES Project (Return Intentions Toward Ecological Sustainability), Green Bloc Sonoma County, and Adopt-an-Activist. He also runs his own business to offer services in ecological design & landscaping, Permaculture trainings, and consultation for neighborhood/community emergency preparedness. (i.e. Peak Oil, Global Climate change). read more

Listen Now:

<p>Environmentalist, prolific activist, and refugee hopeful, Tre Arrow has been incarcerated in Canada for over two years. He is being imprisoned while awaiting a possible extradition to the United States, where the FBI is accusing him of brainwashing three younger activists and masterminding the arson of logging machinery.&nbsp; The three people were facing a potential 80 years in prison, but after spending four consecutive days being interrogated by the FBI, they said Tre planned it all and made them do it. For their accusal, they got their sentences reduced to 3.5 years.&nbsp; Tre is facing Minimum Life in Prison, with no chance of parole.</p> read more

Listen Now:

In an informative, frightening, and moving interview, I spoke with Lara Hansen, chief climate change scientist with the World Wildlife Fund. From rapidly melting ice, to dying oceans, to the tipping points of climate collapse, she makes the connections. We are facing unprecedented challenges, none of which have ever been experienced by humans. How do we cope, physically, emotionally, and spiritually, with the recognition that civilization is destroying the planet?s ability to support life? The sheer enormity of the vanishing ice caps and the burning forests, the spreading deserts and the thousands of species that go extinct each year, are too much to wrap one?s mind and heart around. read more

Listen Now:

Cayetana Carrion, of the Women's Environmental Development Organization, explains how poverty, the lack of access to energy, and the effects of climate change are interlinked, and how the impacts on women?s lives, both in developing and industrialized countries, reflect the gender inequalities prevailing in the social, economic and political arenas. Considering that sexism is so endemic in our world that it can be nearly invisible, the solution to this problem leads us to a questioning of capitalism itself. read more

Listen Now:

To what degree does civilization make us insane, and how does that manifest in our destructive relationship with the natural world? Linda explains that there is so much we can do to counter all of this, and the very first step is listening. Listening to the natural world around us and within us, cultivating a relationship, and taking action. We talk about everything from Linda's backyard food forest and how eating local can be a way of spiritually connecting with the land we live on, to the importance of wilderness for our psychological, emotional, and spiritual health.  read more

Listen Now: