Above Photo: From PopularResistance.org.
I co-founded and direct the Backbone Campaign and for the last 12 years have had the honor to work with an array of incredible people who practice what I call Artful Activism. They are autonomous, creative change agents, a sort of nonviolent guerrilla force with the improvisational sensibility of a free jazz ensemble. They are bold, innovative, skilled, smart and listening deeply to the world around them.
Together, we are Team Backbone. Meetings are rare and somewhat scorned,but potlucks and parties are well attended. We prefer action. Whether using puppets, shining messages onto buildings, deploying a flash mob, a blockade, or a flying banner we strive to transform protests into cultural happenings to more effectively reach peoples minds and hearts.
Though we work on many causes, Backbone frames it all as part of one battle between paradigms. One paradigm idolizes capital, gives corporations rights, and considers everything For Sale. It commodifies people, democracy, communities, and the planet itself. The paradigm we fight for is one in which people communities and nature and our obligation to future generations are considered sacred, and clearly NOT for sale.
If last year, someone asked, “Could Team Backbone throw together a protest on Lake Washington with a few dozen kayaks, a couple motor boats and some giant banners off shore from the mansion of the world’s richest man? Oh, by the way, how about in two weeks?” I would probably have said, “Sounds cool. No freaking way!”
Actually, someone did ask, but the request came this October. When it did, I didn’t give it a second thought. “Sure, no problem.” After all we have been through this past spring and summer during the sHellNo! campaign, this was an easy lift. Our crew of artful activists have adapted our methods to the water and found our groove with kayaktivism: the use kayaks for nonviolent action. So, we accepted the challenge and staged a flawless on-water protest to get the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to divest from fossil fuels.
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Staging a protest with kayaks is not entirely new to Backbone. In 2009, kayaks were part of a community campaign to stop an industrial gravel mine on the shores of Maury Island, just off Vashon Island. During that campaign, we trained a rapid response team of volunteers for an on-water blockade of a construction barge. After months of action and preparation for the flotilla the politics shifted and victory was won in court. The mining company had to go back to the drawing board. So, instead of mobilizing the blockade we threw a party. But that experience gave Backbone members confidence.
So this past winter, when Royal Dutch Shell planned a layover for an Artic-bound oil-drilling rig in the Port of Seattle, and Port Commissioner Bill Bryant joked the port was ready to take on a “flotilla of kayaks,” we felt just confident enough to rise to the occasion. On April 2, we called for people to “Join the Flotilla!” And our deep dive into kayaktivism began.
With the blessing of the Duwamish Tribal Chair Cecile Hansen, upon whose land and waters these protests would take place, and the essential collaboration of Alki Kayak Tours, we embarked on an aggressive training schedule. As part of what became known as thesHellNo! action council, Backbone took on the task of ensuring water-borne protestors had the skills and equipment to safely hit the water. Our team trained hundreds of people. Over the course of four months, we hit the water in seven towns, from Port Angeles to Portland, Ore. We helped execute 14 on-water actions, most during the day but some at night as well.
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Of all the tactics I’ve utilized, kayaktivism is inherently the most beautiful. It is powerful to be on the water, where the collection of colorful kayaks creates a mosaic, a giant, floating art piece. Photos from the events continue to inspire, but kayaktivism is more than mere visual spectacle. It offers people the experience of paddling together; the opportunity to participate in nighttime actions with luminary objects; the opportunity for music — we enjoyed live hip hop to Coastal Salish drums to Paul Cheoketen Wagner’s incredible flute playing — all reflecting and echoing off the waves. Kayaktivism gives the gift of witnessing people looking out for and supporting each other.
These experiences left many who participated transformed, including me. I found that being on the water, my body and mind fully engaged reinforced a sense of place. Doing this alone and especially with others, connected me to the deepest reasons for doing this work. These protests also changed people who did not make it onto the water but witnessed from afar. Our kayaktivism resulted in unprecedented news coverage of Arctic drilling. The previously remote issues of Arctic drilling and climate change became rapidly and inextricably linked in people’s minds and tangible here in the Pacific Northwest and across the globe.
While there are places and settings where kayaks are not appropriate, and obstacles related to privilege that was be overcome, kayaktivism is unique in its strategic value. It offers a way to expand alliances, increase cohesion and deepen resolve. We found that bringing protests onto the water brought people into our movement who would have otherwise never shown up. The protest’s epic David-vs-Goliath asymmetrical scale creates an inherently sympathetic scenario. We found this to be true even when escalation pushed people beyond their usual boundaries, including evading law enforcement. I also found that our moral position allowed us to challenge the Coast Guard’s role in defense of our opponent and they would rightly suffer doubt about the legitimacy of their orders and actions.
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We are exploring new terrain in moral conflict. The potential is unknown, but could be vast. Police are less likely to use lethal force on the water, because people are more vulnerable on water than on land. Many kayaktivists also hail from a privileged class, which certainly influences how some police treat people who protest on the water as opposed to those who march in the streets.
But make no mistake: Kayaktivism is very challenging. Coordination of and communication during an on-water protest is difficult. But it’s worth it. By facing these challenges, our team grew in numbers and experience, learning, struggling, paddling, celebrating and grieving together when a ship passed through a blockade of kayaks.
In late July, as I returned from the Portland blockade, I was reeling with emotions about the four-month campaign. I had a clear sense that despite Shell vessels getting to the Arctic, everyday citizens — the People — had actually won. The roaring sound of hundreds of people on the shore chanting, “Stop that boat! Stop that Boat!” while people in the water defiantly disregarded law enforcement claims that they could close a river echoes on. The prospect of a growing rebellion made a lasting impression oil executives and politicians alike. Shell executives probably worried they would face 10 more years of such a response before they could hope to sell a drop of oil from their Arctic ventures in the Chukchi Sea. Together, we created the momentum for a resistance that could only grow.
Because of what we had created on the water, particularly with the supporters in Portland, it was no surprise to me when Shell made its September announcement abandoning its Arctic drilling plans. So when Shell says that it stopped due to “the challenging and unpredictable regulatory environment,” what I hear is they could sense that everyday people were not going to allow them drill for oil and endanger our environment. Nor was it a surprise in October when President Obama, who is jonesing to leave a positive environmental legacy, cancelled Arctic leases for the foreseeable future.
Today, we are undaunted by the prospect of an on-water action in front of the Gates estate. We know what’s needed to take care of each other, from experienced kayaktivists to those who are getting their paddle wet for the first time. This leap in capacity feels freaking miraculous. And yet, it all seems so natural, flowing out of our shared journey.
Kayaktivism is still on the rise. It is being used to force removal of derelict dams, to resist pipelines and liquefied natural gas terminals and even to pressure billionaires to divest from fossil fuel. Momentum is ours. Now is the time for a great pivot toward a world that sustains us all in body and spirit, one that honors our sacred obligation to deliver something beautiful to future generations.
Paddles ready? Forward, together!