Thursday, January 11, 2018

Indigenous Occupation Over at State Capitol


Above: The indigenous occupation of the Washington State Capitol Campus is over. One woman was arrested and charged with second degree criminal trespass.

By Janine Gates
Little Hollywood

The occupation of the Washington State Capitol Campus by several indigenous women in a tarpee is over. 

At about 4:00 a.m. Thursday morning, law enforcement arrived and reportedly gave a two minute warning for the women to leave the tarpee.

One woman, Janene Hampton, could not be woken up in time to leave and she was handcuffed and arrested. She said that she was treated with compassion and the officer did not use force. She was charged with second degree trespass.

In an interview with Little Hollywood, Hampton says she plans on being present throughout the 60 day legislative session and will continue the conversations that have been started. She said she feels like she was relocated again. 

During the removal of the women and the tarpee, sacred items were treated with care and returned. 

Paul Cheoketen Wagner provided a live Facebook feed of the events while viewers from Arizona to Australia watched and listened. Wagner and others sang, drummed and prayed while the tarpee was taken down by workers with the state Department of Enterprise Services. It was then loaded into a van. Wagner said that it was done with respect, and “that’s the only consolation.” 

Wagner has been told he can get the tarpee back on Tuesday. 

American Indian Lobby Day at the Washington State Capitol Campus is January 23.

For more photos and stories about the indigenous occupation, and a previous interview with Janene Hampton, go to Little Hollywood, www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com and type key words into the search button.

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