THE HEALTH OF THE PLANET IS AT A TIPPING POINT. The problem of colonialism in all its forms must be addressed, creatively and forthrightly, now. The Third Redwood Sequoia Congress 2002 will be convened September 14 & 15, one year after the nine-eleven tragedy, to consider the state of the Earth and its creatures. It will provide a forum for individuals, organizations and movements in Northern California which are working on the problems of today’s colonialism. The 2002 theme: Democracy or Empire: Which side are you choosing?
• The Third Redwood Sequoia Congress, named for California’s threatened forests, will address the black flag of terror being waved to frighten populations to abandon freedoms, to tear up treaties, to pollute the environment, to accept ethnic cleansings. As a consequence, the planet continues to warm, glaciers worldwide melt, ancient forests are clearcut, indigenous peoples are marginalized, native foods are patented, free-flowing waters are monopolized. These many attacks on the viability of the planet are not separate, but spring from one source.
• We may feel our political, social and economic systems free from the colonialisms of past centuries. But the profits and powers accruing from colonialism are so enormous, new forms to exploit vulnerable “resources” have been invented and, even if thwarted, will be reinvented again and again.
• The depredations of colonialism—the domination and use of traditional environments and peoples by outside powers—are ongoing. The central problem to be considered will be how the most wealthy, now accustomed to colonialism as “normal,” can find ways to live and thrive beyond the destructive use of the natural world, its creatures, and its peoples.