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March 30, 2010

On June 8th, 2009, after almost 5 and a half years of incarceration, I was released from the prison walls of Herlong FCI (Federal Correctional Institution), California. The sun was bursting with heat and brightness. While being driven to the Reno airport, I was filled with exhileration, mixed with pangs of sadness when I thought of all I've missed, all that's happened while I've been conveniently tucked away. My friends greeted me at the Portland airport. I was flooded with raw vegan food, spring water in glass bottles, flowers and lots of hugs and smiles! I was elated to be back home. We all hopped onto our bikes and rode to my new "prison"...the Oregon Halfway House (OHH). Early in the morning, on the 8th of June, I was a prisoner at Herlong. By the afternoon, I was a passenger traveling in an airplane, unsupervised and unshackled. And in the evening of the very same day, I reported to OHH and was placed under lockdown. I was not even allowed to go outside for the first 24 hours. I was both excited and utterly distressed to be back in Stumptown. On one hand I had a taste of freedom and a reunion with loved ones; and on the other hand I was placed on a leash and only allowed to enjoy a small amount of privileges and freedoms of which I had been deprived for so long.

On Wednedsay, June 10th, I was permitted a four-hour pass to go food shopping and to look for work. I went straight to People's Food Co-op and the Farmer's Market. As I walked there from the bus stop I noticed all the trees and fruit bursting from their branches. Feelings of happiness and gratitude overwhelmed me as I hugged a massive Douglas Fir tree. It was the first tree I had touched in more than five years! I was so thankful to be in Stumptown in the summer. I savored this new taste of freedom. It was surreal for me to leave OHH on an "approved pass" traveling freely through the city while still being treated by "the Man" as a prisoner. I felt both relief and anxiety in the same breath.

For the next three and a half months I lived at OHH with very few freedoms. I was not even permitted to play my guitar outside. I was assigned cleaning bathrooms as part of my "chores". I had to acquire permission to travel anywhere, and I was not allowed to go beyond the limits of the city. I was approved to leave OHH only to look for work and acquire a few basic necessities, like food and hygiene products. The OHH management allows one four-hour pass per week for religious purposes and one four-hour pass per week for the gym...I went to the Buddhist Temple and the Yoga studio. In July, I started working at the Blossoming Lotus; an awesome, vegan organic restaurant on NE 15th and Broadway. I was required to give 30% of my income to OHH, even though I wasn't eating any of their food. On September 25th, 2009, I was permitted to move into home-confinement at an approved residence in SE Portland (after background checks were conducted on the people I would be living with). Even though I was no longer living at OHH I was forced to continue the payment of 30% of my income. What a great money-making scheme for the injustice-system.

Living under home confinement status was certainly more pleasurable than living at any of the prisons or the OHH. Yet I was still under intense restrictions. I had a 9pm to 6am curfew. I was allowed no more passes to leave my house than when I was at OHH. I had an electronic monitoring system strapped to my ankle. In addition to this, I had to call OHH every time I left from, and returned to, the house. I also had to fill out a form each week and submit it to the case manager. This form listed times I would be at a location, the address and phone number of that location and the time I'd be returning to the house. I was expected to have the exact schedule every week for the remainder of my home-confinement (2 and a half months), and was not permitted to travel to any locations that weren't on the initial weekly form.

Finally, on December 4th, 2009, after almost 6 years of entrapment by the prison industrial complex, I was freed from the Bureau of Prisons' custody. That night I spent my first night of true freedom nestled in a hammock 40 feet above the ground in an big hemlock tree that lives at Tryon Life Community Farm. The next day I participated in my first protest in many, many years. I was thrilled to be at the D5 rally and march, commemorating the 10 year anniversary of the WTO protests in 1999. The next week I traveled to Florida to visit family. It was the first time I was able to hug my father in almost 9 years!

The transition from prison back into the community was not easy because of the restrictions and requirements placed upon me. Today I am still not permitted to leave the state without permission and will be on probation until December 2012. It has inspired me to focus on post-prisoner support for those being released from one of the biggest tragedies of our social, political, economic systems. In this country we incarcerate a higher percentage of our populace than any other nation in the world. Most prisoners in America are non-white, not wealthy, and not convicted of any violent crime. This system in which we are entrenched is about making money. It is not about justice. It is not about freedom. Many of the politicians and corporate leaders in this country are responsible for some of the most abominable acts against humans, non-human animals and this sacred planet. These people never spend a day in prison.

People ask me what it was like in prison, how I stayed sane and how I found strength to persevere in the face of drastic oppression and isolation. Prison life, with all its components of abuse, violence, oppression, deprivation, harassment (both from other prisoners and the staff) and psychological and emotional warfare, was the toughest experience I've ever been through. I did however, make some friends along the way. Some fellow prisoners would ask me what they could do to be more environmentally conscious, the philosophy behind eating a vegan diet and how and what to recycle and reuse the items we had in prison. Some guys would bring me scrap paper, knowing I'd use the backs of it for my writing. I'd acquire used batteries from other prisoners who didn't think there was enough juice left in them for their use. With these batteries I'd power my radio, which i procured used from my cellmate, and have access to music. I listened to or practiced music as much as I possibly could. Music feeds my soul and literally kept me sane while surrounded by intense hostility, animosity and asinine prison politics. Music was a form of escape that transported me to many past memories of precious experiences that offered a place of safety and comfort amidst the pool of uncertainty and distress I was swimming in.

When i was able, I'd kick off my shoes and stick my feet in the dirt or grass. Getting this direct contact with Earth Mother gave me solace and a channel to reconnect with the greater meaning of this incarceration. I was looking at a life sentence for burning logging trucks, where no living being was hurt, and had no reassurances that I was ever going to get out of prison. Nonetheless, I had a deep sense that I was going to be released much sooner than later. I practiced yoga and attended regular native healing ceremonies in order to stay connected to my spiritual path, which gave me the needed strength to make it through years of deprivation and distress.

I give an enormous serving of gratitude to all who supported me while I was imprisoned. People who sent letters, prayers and energy; those who became my legal defense team; my lawyers; my family (especially my sister Shawna), have all contributed untold hours of time, devotion and energy...I give my deepest appreciation for all the support that truly kept me alive and strong during some of the most difficult challenges I've ever endured.

This experience has only made me stronger. I will not be silent! I will continue to be a voice for those voices commonly ignored. I'm committed to dedicating my life to music and activism. I'm very excited to combine my energy and passion with others to help bring about a more healthy, just, peaceful and egalitarian world...for us, for our children, for all beings, plant or animal, human or non-human. This is my truth. This is my passion and this will always be!

Here are just a few things to contemplate and integrate into your daily activities that make an enormous impact on this sacred earth: Bike or walk or bus or row your way around. Don't believe that bio fuels are a healthy alternative to our dependency on oil. Grow your own food and support local, organic, sustainable agriculture. Don't believe that genetically modified organisms (GMO's) and monsanto are solving the global hunger problem. Build homes, businesses and structures from reclaimed/reused materials, cob, straw bail or adobe. Don't believe that ancient forests deserve to be cut for "their own health" and turned into butt-wipe and building materials. Eat a plant-based diet. Don't believe that cows, chickens and pigs are treated well or are healthy for our bodies or the planet. Organize, network, educate and build strong communities. Don't believe we need politicians or corporations to tell us how to live, work, shop, feel or think. Bring your own bags and containers to stores and restaurants, buy in bulk and reuse all that is possible. Don't believe that recycling is a sustainable or acceptable way to deal with our waste, packaging and consumption. Dare to buy less! Don't believe there is any lasting happiness to be found in monetary wealth or material acquisition.

The time is upon us to take back our power from the powers that lie, cheat and steal. The time is now to take action and protect the planet, our rights, our freedoms from the grips of power and avarice. It's high time we put the "eco" back into the word "economy". The time is now to use our voices, passion, creativity, bodies and collective energies to effect positive change for all living beings on this precious planet. If not now, then when? If not me and you, then who?

namaste
tre

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Tre Arrow

Environmentalist and political prisoner, Tre Arrow has been incarcerated in Canada and the US since March 13th 2004. For almost four years, Tre was imprisoned while contesting extradition to the United States. Like the 125 000 American draft dodgers who came to Canada between 1964 and 1977, Tre came to Canada hoping to escape persecution in the United States. This became Tre's only option when his life in Portland, Oregon was unjustly turned upside down in the Summer of 2002. The US government is laying charges that could see him locked up for the rest of his life if convicted. After working tirelessly for years to protect some of the only ancient forests left in the North Western U.S., Tre had become an extremely well-known and important organizer. Like other peaceful organizers, Tre found himself at the forefront of an environmental movement which successfully interfered with industrial powers; he therefore became a target. Environmental journalist Tim Ream wrote in reference to Tre's case, "If you garner increasing popular support, you are a threat to everything the state stands for. You must be stopped."

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