Western Front - 1992 October 20

              imp
p t i i l p t ^ p l i
iBJiliiMBJl
Photo by Wayne Jensen
Border protesters bash free-trade agreement
Photo by Erik Kvilaas
Rev. Jesse Jackson addresses an audience of
more than 1000 during a North American Free
Trade Agreement protest rally Sunday in Blaine.
By Erik Kvilaas
staff reporter
More than one thousand
citizens of both Canada and the
United States braved the ele­ments
to rally against the North
American Free Trade Agree­ment
(NAFTA) Sunday after­noon
at Peace Arch Park in
Blaine..
The event, sponsored by the
Washington State Labor Coun­cil,
the B.C Federation of Labour
and the Whatcom County Rain­bow
Coalition, was the first
major protest in the country. It
featured speakers from all
around the continent, including
Rev. Jesse Jackson,who spoke
about the dangers inherent in
the agreement.
NAFTA could very well
turn out to be a Bush legacy, for
regardless of who is elected this
November, the momentum be­hind
the proposal will be diffi­cult
to stop. Clinton has already
expressed his support for the
proposal, contingent upon re­visions/
additions making it
more acceptable from labor and
environmental standpoints.
NAFTA would remove
barriers to trade between
Canada, Mexico and the United
States. It was signed by the presidents of Mexico,
the United States and Canada on Oct. 7, butmust
still be ratified by the legislatures of all three
countries.
When Congress convenes in January, it
will have ninety days to vote yes or no on the
agreement. They will not be able to make any
modifications because of the "fast track" system
adopted for this proposal.
According to the agreement as it stands,
manufactured goods and raw materials will be
free to move across borders, but labor will not.
And that, say opponents of the agreement, is
where the danger for the working person arises.
The speakers were unanimous in their opin­ion
that the proposed agreement would be a fatal
blow for labor.
Larry Kenney, president of the Washington
State Labor Council, told the audience how it
was appropriate that the demonstration was be­ing
held in the northwest corner of Washington.
This is one of the few areas in the country
enjoying economic prosperity.
Kenney cited one of the reasons for this
economic growth.
"Canadian corporations are moving across
the^border," Kenney said. 'They, are.taking
advantage of the Reagan/Bush labor laws to
escape Canadian unions; to change $18 an hour
Canadian jobs into $8 an hour U.S. non-union
jobs," Kenney said.
"That's not trade policy, that's union bust­ing
and we don't need any more of it — not in
NAFTA continued on page 3
Jackson implores
crowd to work together
Canadian, Mexican and American people
gathered at Peace Arch State Park Oct. 18 in
Blaine, Wash, to hear the Rev. Jesse Jackson
air his views about the North American Free
Trade Agreement
Jackson said free trade is an assault upon
our living standards by right-wing conserva­tives
searching for a way to maximize their
profits.
"We are living with unfair trade now, not
free trade," Jackson said. "Our living stan­dards
are being put on a fast-track, downward
spiral of re-adjustment to the bottom line."
Jackson asked the audience not to hate
South Korean Americans, Mexican- Ameri­cans
and others for the lack of jobs. He said we
must stop pointing fingers and try to work
together.
"Stop fighting and put a plan together to
work with each other," Jackson said. "Only
by lifting them can we help ourselves."
Jackson said the Clinton-Gore ticket is a
'Step in the right direction.
"Clinton is raising the right 'ifs:' work­ers'
security and environmental concern,"
Jackson said. "Bush doesn't even take into
account those provisions."
"On Nov.3, we can do more than debate,"
hie said. "We can change the course. Remain
faithful andhopeful. Every vote counts. Keep
hope alive.
Sewage spills into
local water supply
By R. Nina Ruchirat
staff reporter
Everyday, 11 million gallons of
drinking water from the Lake
Whatcom watershed reach over
60,000 residents in its surrounding
area. On the morning of Sept. 30,
sewage spilled into Lake Whatcom
after a mechanical switch failed at a
pump station near Cable Street and
Lake Whatcom Boulevard, accord­ing
to the Oct. 30 Bellingham Her­ald.
The sewage flowed into the sec­ond
basin of the Lake Whatcom wa­tershed
hear the Geneva sill, said
Bill Evans, chief operator of the City
of Bellingham Water Treatment
Center. The second basin is the lo­cation
of the water supply intake of
the Sudden Valley and Bellingham
areas.
Crews that morning cleaned the
spill in the immediate area, but sew­age
that flowed into the lake was not
retrievable, said Fred Boettner,
president of the Board for Whatcom
County Water District 10.
Boettner said the fecal and chlo­roform
counts of the tests after this
spill were lower than they were in the
summer. He said when the weather
is warm, algae and bacteria have
more opportunity to grow, resulting
in a higher count.
Residents who draw their water
straight from the lake were advised
to boil it for three to five minutes for
three to five days following the spill
to assure that all possible bacteria
traces from the sewage can be killed.
Boettner said people who receive
drinking water from the city were
never in any real danger because the
water is treated with filters and chlo­rine.
Sherilyn Wells, member of the
Friends of Lake Whatcom organiza­tion
and an editor of the Whatcom
Watch publication, uses a water
filter for her drinking water.
"From the moment I learned that
our water supply came from the lake
down the hill from where I lived, I
immediately went out and bought a
water purification system," she said.
Wells said although the sewage
spill should beof great concern, there
is an even greater problem that di­rectly
affects our drinking water.
That problem is urban run-off, or
storm water. Organic chemicals,
pesticides and fertilizers are among
the few pollutants that flow into the
lake from the streams that feed it.
The increasing development of
the county has contributed to me-
Sewage continued on page i
Native-Americans celebrate freedom
By Karl Jensen
accent editor
A broken foot resulted in a can­celled
plane trip to Western for
Alfonso Ortiz, Thursday's scheduled
Columbian Quincentennial Series
speaker.
Ortiz, the first speaker in the
lecture series, fell 6 feet from a ladder
while picking apples in his New
Mexico garden and was unable to
make the trip. He was replaced by
RinaSwentzell, amemberof a closely-related
Pueblo.
The Columbian Quincentennial
Series will continue throughout the
year and include 13 additional lectures
and 12 "noon talks" concerning Na­tive
American history and contem­porary
issues, (please see side-bar for
Fall quarter's schedule...)
Rina Swentzell, from the Tewa
speaking Santa Clara Pueblo in
Northern New Mexico, flew up on
little notice to replace Ortiz. The
lecture opened with the Tulalip Bay
Singers. Although the singers, ac­companied
by Lummi Bernie Tomas,
sang only four songs, Lead Singer
Ray Fryberg of theTulalipTribe, also
had much to say. He told of the days
of mandatory boarding schools for
Native American children, where they
were not allowed to speak their native
language, practice their religion or
sing and dance as their ancestors.
ensen
The Tulalip Bay Singers perform a prayer/song while
children dance to the beat.
"Some of the punishments in
these schools had already been out­lawed
in prisons," Fryberg said.
"We're celebrating a victory
nowadays... we're making a remark­able
comeback," Fryberg said. "There
is a real spiritual essence in Indian
people which has sustained them
through so many years with 'the In­truder'."
The Tulalip Bay Singers' first
prayer/song gave thanks to the creator
for giving the world life. Their second
was a song of the four directions,
which celebrated the drum circle and
the circle of life.
"All beliefs can be represented
in one circle — there is room for
everyone," Fryberg said.
"When we talk about the four
colors — all of the races — all are
represented in the circle," Fryberg
said. But, he went on to complain that
Native Americans have been tradi­tionally
left out of the circle. He cited,
for instance, that Native Americans
still have no voice in the United Na­tions.
Rina Swentzell, who has a
Bachelor's degree in education, a
Master's degree in architecture and a
Ph.D. in American studies was intro­duced
by history professor Elizabeth
Mancke.
"Rina has a perspective of the
world that many of us wish we could
understand — not a comfortable one
Columbian continued on
page 4