Wednesday, December 15, 2010
My friend Dennis Zaki has a message, and a request, for the readers of The Immoral Minority.
Here is the text that Dennis sent along with the video to explain his plan to help our first people.
Hello Immoral Minority readers!
Gryphen has been kind enough to give me some space here to announce my latest film project in Western Alaska.
I'm trying to raise $21,400 for a documentary about the corporate takeover of Alaska's fisheries that affect the daily lives of the people that live along the 1,984 mile long Yukon River.
Large factory ships trawl Alaska's oceans in search of pollock and catch large numbers (more than half) of the Chinook salmon destined for the Yukon River in their nets.
The Native Alaskans living along the river, are no longer able to support their families with salmon for food or sale, after doing so for thousands of years.
I want to tell their stories to the world via a documentary film.
Politicians in Alaska have been passing the buck on this issue for years.
Gryphen and most of Alaska progressive bloggers raised money to get me to Emmonak to show the world what was going on in January of 2009.
I have been involved behind the scenes ever since to try to get some action out there. Failed half-term former governor Sarah Palin made promises to Alaska's Natives that she did not keep. Present governor Sean Parnell has ignored the situation entirely.
For the film I plan to speak to Alaskan politicians, Yukon residents, village leaders, factory trawler operators (if they'll speak to me), and McDonalds, the primary recipient of Alaska's pollock.
I'll also interview former fisheries observers and hear how factory ships fish "off the clock" in the middle of the night and catch thousands of salmon that go unreported as bycatch and are discarded like garbage.
There are some cool awards given to those who donate including DVD's of the film as soon as it is released.
Help me get this story to the world. You can even donate as little as $1 if that is all you can manage, but of course the more you can help the better.
Thank You,
Dennis Zaki.
If you want to help Dennis with this amazing project just click here to offer your support.
And if you are interested in learning more about the project then please visit the website and read all about the struggles of these amazing people and how Dennis hopes to bring their story to light.
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Has Dennis considered contacting Michael Moore?
ReplyDeleteI don't think Moore is the kind of guy who would refuse help to a kindred spirit out of fear of competition. After all, his reputation is established.
I would see if Dennis could leave a message asking Moore or someone on his staff to contact him or see if a reference librarian can help him get a contact number/name.
We all will happy to help out, but if Dennis could get the backing of Moore (or perhaps Robert Redford - who is a dedicated environmentalist) just think of how much deeper his documentary could be due to improved resources. Not that we want Dennis to give up any control, but these Big Guys just might be willing to assist string-free.
I'm not about to defend commercial factory fishing over Subsistence, but if you are going to talk about the heart of the Native staple - I hope you leave room for fair coverage of the Community Development Quota program.
ReplyDeleteIt may be 15 years old by now or more, but it still has growing pains and is still finding its sea legs. We went from watching Japanese, Russian and Tiawanese trawlers with their curtains of death give way to Americanization under the Magnuson-Stevens Act that brought Norweigan backers of Seattle fleets. Senator Slade Gorton (of the Gortons Fishermen brand) did well under this move and hated the CDQ program for all it did to take a percentage away from him and his backers to get our fisherman off the riverbanks and into the ocean as pollock-share owners.
Natives were finally given a seat at the big boys table. To level the playing field, the CDQ's had to utilize Seattle fleets to access the fish. It was supposed to be a win-win, sort of.
Some of the six corporations have done well by its villages, some have simply padded their pockets well enough and have lost their way. The director of CVRF is a millionaire now, and he was once just an accountant from the school district. He has shuttered village-based operations in favor of Anchorage-based human resources.
But don't paint all the CDQ corps as evil and against their Tribal member interests. Lower Yukon's group has remained small in stature and haven't had the same impact as the others.
Good luck with the project Dennis. I hope we don't end up resenting your spin on it.
It's not just the Natives. I think we are all going to be in a battle for our lives against Food, Inc. Dennis, I just pledged some money; I hope you reach your goal.
ReplyDelete-Lidia17
I will have to mail in my support, as I don't want to use Amazon.
ReplyDeleteThe Chinook salmon is only one of the five different salmons available to these people. All are good to eat of course but them taking large numbers of Chinook salmon and selling them is profitable. Why should we have any more sympathy for that commercial exploiting of the salmon than any other?
ReplyDeleteAlso, showing salmon being dumped from a forklift truck into a dumpster is not being honest if it's trying to show waste by large net boats of bycatch.
Gryphen,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the heads up, I have submitted links to a few social sites to get the ball rolling.
CDQ corporations could stand to take an audit or two. Clean up their corporate abuses and then we may finally see the wealth "trickle down" to the village level.
ReplyDeleteSubsistence fishing is different from exploiting Chinook salmon for profit and it can't be supported. You need to drop this one.
ReplyDeleteI'm impressed with the way Dennis set up the project -- itemizing costs and structuring it as a pledge.
ReplyDeleteGood luck!
gave what i could (not as much as i wish i could) and posted it to my facebook page. what a worthy project. and the video is visually very beautiful. good for dennis! i buy him a virtual beer!
ReplyDeletei'll bet there are some hollywood types who would be interested in helping first nation peoples as well as ridiculously rich people like bill gates, steve jobs, etc. worth a try.
can't wait to see it!
When you crash Sarah's book signing why not ask her to finance the whole kaboodle ?
ReplyDeleteGladly made a small contribution. I hope it helps.
ReplyDelete10:28 - what do you mean by your comments? Not being from Alaska, I cannot understand what your point is when you said:
ReplyDelete"Subsistence fishing is different from exploiting Chinook salmon for profit and it can't be supported. You need to drop this one."
I mean, we all can understand that subsistence fishing is different than commercial fishing, but why say this subject needs to be dropped?
I don't get it. Please explain.
Has Dennis checked in with the Native corps? I would bet they would all back him on this. He should send a proposal to all of them.
ReplyDeleteExcellent project. Please investigate how the North Pacific Fishery Management Council has allowed this to happen. i.e. "the fox guarding the henhouse".
ReplyDeleteGrainneKathleen @ 11:48
ReplyDeleteBill and Melinda Gates have a soft spot in their hearts for Bristol Bay, they love Alaska. They have put a lot into native scholarships for all Alaska Native peoples.
Good luck with this, Dennis!! Hope you reach your goal.
ReplyDeleteI submitted a donation -- and although I do not really care about dealing with amazon, it looks like they are handling the donations somewhat similar to 'PayPal' dealings. ( I love PayPal, and prefer dealing with them, but I did go thru amazon this time -- *smiling*)
I agree with Anon. @ 8:58 --
"Has Dennis considered contacting Michael Moore?"
Sounds like a great idea, asking him and/or any of the others mentioned in other comments.
Thanks, Gryph and Dennis, for doing, and sharing this for all those natives who are going without.
Again, Good Luck, BJF
Socialist Dictator Chavez contributes more to Native villages than Sarah and Todd Palin ever have or ever will. Chavez for the last several years has donated through the Tribal organizations, months worth of heating fuel in the coldest months.
ReplyDeleteHell, Chavez subsidizes Todd's own participation in that sinful gas-guzzling hobby that is the Iron Dog.
Some woman in Florida once heard about the Iditarod, and completely ignoring the spirit and honor of the last great race, she organized a national boycott of its corporate underwriters and the race suffered for decades.
Why can't some other outsider with nothing better on their hands organize an anti-Iron Dog movement? It is such a colossal waste of petrol - in the face of constant village energy crisis (village folk can barely afford to heat their home and put gas in their sno-go's to go hunt, to put food on the table to make up for the cost of heating fuel. . .it is a viscous cycle) it is a huge insult also too.
this is o/t and I don't mean to crash Dennis awesome post but I had a thought
ReplyDeleteIf you're planning to use Bristol's fb posts against her in the future, they're going to appear inconsequential and fake as long as the fake accounts by the same name exist
The first comment read my mind!
ReplyDeleteMichael Moore came to mind when I read this and before I clicked to read the comments as it is not only a monetary issue but also the viewing, response and involvement of a larger audience. Michael and others have access to more public and contacts to bring this to the attention of more media outlets to speak of it, to show it, etc.
Gryphen,
ReplyDeleteI came to the comment section thinking I might have a possible idea....and the very first comment covered it, then about 4 more people after that. Michael Moore if the PERFECT person to ask. He is always the one looking out for the Little Guy and fighting the Corporations. He also has the production company, staff and ' contacts '.( maybe even try to contact/reach him by way of Keith at MSNBC. He was just on there.
Moore would do it for all the Right reasons... and then do it just to piss off WGE and make Alaskans like Him more than Her. It's a Win/Win all the way.
Shannyn would have no problem getting Keiths attention, then to Moore.The Native Tribes in the Michigan area might throw some weight behind it as well.
FYI for Gryphen & Dennis
ReplyDeleteMichael Moore, if considered, has a website michaelmoore(dot)com. There is a 'contact' at the bottom of the page.
Gryphen - I tried to donate but the link had me sign up for some KickStarter site, and I was never given the chance to donate. Wassup with that?
ReplyDeleteHi again Gryphen. I'm the one that got lost trying to donate. I figured it out.
ReplyDeleteIs it wrong that my main motivation for donating was to make half-governor Palin look bad?
@ anonymous 3:18 pm - thanks for the info about the gates'. they seem like good people. great to hear they are helping where it is needed most. i love their work with countries stricken with malaria as well.
ReplyDelete