[Iswg3906.organizers] Follow-up on Elsipogtog Donations

[Peter Hopperton]

Hi team,

I followed up about the donation request we received from Muckwa to support communications infrastructure in Elsipogtog to resist fracking and other territorial incursions into their territory. 

We had questions about Muckwa's relationship to other organizations in the area, and I have a clearer picture now. Muckwa is most associated with a group called the Underdog Outfit who have been maintaining a camp on Hwy 134 all winter following the showdown in the fall. Muckwa has personally been on site through the intensely cold winter and is committed to remaining. He seems to have a solid base of support among the community there. They are continuing to focus on this site because it remains of interest to SWN and because it is strategically located close to other proposed test sites. 

Other Micmac groups in the area are Kopit Lodge and the Micmac Warriors Society. The Kopit Lodge is maintaining a blockade at St Charles, the next site the SWN wants to explore. They are traditionally minded and have firm positions on a particular definition of non-violence that has (or so I hear) lead to a split with the Underdog Outfit and the Warrior Society, who are currently focused on prisoner support.

Following the conversations today, I support making a donation of $2-300 to get Muckwa a phone that he can use to publicize actions on the ground and co-ordinate resistance. It seems pretty good to me.

-p
 		 	   		  
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