Discharging and Acting in British Columbia
Here in north central British Columbia, Canada, we are experiencing the second mild winter in a row. The snowfall is significantly less than what we have observed in twenty years. At our elevation (1,400 metres) and location, we typically receive four to eight metres of snow. As this snowpack melts in the summer, it cools the Fraser River, increasing the oxygen available to salmon. Warmer water makes it difficult for the salmon to survive.
I have Co-Counseling sessions about warm temperatures, seeing only half the normal snowfall, and the snow melting two months early.
Last month I opened a solo art exhibition in a larger city north of here. It’s all political work, including some work about the environment, Native issues, Indigenous language liberation, and globalization.
It took many Co-Counseling sessions to have this exhibition, and I am still doing them. Singing songs related to rivers, fire, and resistance helps me discharge. Then I notice how connected we all are.
Through this exhibition and my support work for Native people fighting a large hydroelectric project north of us, I have been connecting with more Native people. Yesterday one of them said that a graphic of mine made her cry tears of gratitude.
The gallery organizes school tours, and as a result I am receiving letters from young children. I have sessions about what they write. One child expressed a deep concern about the environment.
Soon I will be on a climate change panel at the gallery, along with a Native singer and songwriter, a young adult Native leader of the resistance to the hydro project, and a scientist. It will be a good opportunity to share some RC information and practice.
Wells, British Columbia, Canada
Reprinted from the RC e-mail discussion listfor leaders in the care of the environment
(Present Time 184, July 2016)