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
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.
