Whirlwinds RoadblockEF

8/14/2019 Whirlwinds RoadblockEF

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Roadblock Earth First!: A Look at Resistance to Interstate 69 1 of 7Coordinator: Team Colors Publisher: The Journal of Aesthetics and Protest

A Look At Resistance to Interstate 69

Past, Present, and FutureRoadblock Earth First!

How I-69 and The Lives of Indiana Eco-anarchists Became Intertwined

In the early 2000s, one of the main anarchist projects in Indianaoutside of maintaining

infoshops and developing local anarchist infrastructure was summit hopping. We

traveled all over the country simply to attend a weekend long mass mobilization againstx or y arm of capital. Attempting to seriously intervene in the decision making processof the free trade agreements, we took the demonstrations and our involvement in them

seriously planning effective strategies, attending all the necessary planningmeetings, and all the rest. After a few years of these mass mobilizations constituting the

majority of our action, it became apparent that we were not in fact intervening, but ratherwe were only pawns in the spectacle created by the state. Reading the press after the

summits was one of the things that tipped us off to this. We realized that no matter howlarge our movement was, how effective our strategies, or how many meetings we

attended, the agenda of exploitation and destruction would be carried out by theInternational Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, and free trade agreements

regardless of the demonstrations. Our involvement in them largely served to perpetuatedivisions of class and the farces of democracy and liberal ideology.

The summits had less and less to do with the experiences of our daily lives and our

longing for worlds worth living in. Accordingly, we decided it was time to lookelsewhere for meaningful resistance and intervention since we were unable to find our

desires reflected in the mass mobilizations.

At the time, a good portion of our crew had come out of environmental circles and stillhad many connections and ties to those communities. Through this, word was passed

along that there was a North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) superhighwayplanned to go through Indiana, our state of residence. The highway is called Interstate 69

(I-69). Finding out that this road would rip through our homes and destroy a good portionof our state, we decided to look deeper into this road-building project.

I-69 is directly linked to many infrastructure projects that span from Nova Scotia to

Argentina; all of these projects are necessary to seriously implement the free tradeagreements that are subjects of protest. It is these projects these dams, roads, deep-

water ports, dry canals, and security agreements that are physical manifestations of the


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In the Middle of a Whirlwind: 2008 Convention Protests, Movement & Movements

www.inthemiddleofawhirlwind.info


war being waged by free trade against us, and against humanity. In order for ourresistance and opposition to free trade to be effective, we had to fight against the

economic and environmental devastation these free trade agreements were causing in ourown communitiesour intervention had to be fighting to stop I-69.

A Brief Description of the Havoc Interstate 69 Might Inflict

In Indiana, planners for I-69 have explicitly stated that the road will uproot nearly 500families, 1500 acres of forests, 400 acres of wetlands, many more communities, as well

as wilderness.1

With over 94% of the population of Indiana opposed to this road buildingproject, it is ludicrous that the state feels like resistance will be low enough to go through

with their plans.

These statistics are only the beginning for I-69. After the road is built, the state intends toimplement projects to open up the entire area of southwestern Indianawhich the

Environmental Protection Authority designated a non-attainment area due to extremelyhigh levels of pollution to corporations that will further the demolition of our

bioregion. There are plans for many biomass incineration ethanol plants, low-employment factories, and coal-fired power plants. The way that the road is laid out also

opens up huge sections of farmland to corporations like Monsanto to come and buy upthe leftover acreage, and combine into huge agri-business monocrop fields and genetic

engineering testing ground. Black Beauty coal, a Peabody subsidiary, is also involved ininsidious attempts to buy mining rights from landowners that are facing eviction. Indeed,

the whole gamuts of bad corporations are trying to make a grab for a piece of the I-69pie.

Unfortunately, the exploitation and development plans that are being proposed for

southwestern Indiana are the norm in the furthering of the plans of capital. The arms ofdevelopment and corporations far reaching: to the north there are plans for Atlantica and

the Security and Prosperity Partnership; to the west there are plans for Pacifica; across thestates there are projects like the Corridors of the Future, the expanding of Interstate 5,

dam projects, natural gas pipelines and many others; and to the south, I-69 directly linksup to the remains of Plan Puebla Panama (PPP).

2

In South America an almost identical project is being proposed: The Regional Integration

Initiative of South America (IIRSA). IIRSA and PPP have been fought fiercely over theyears, and as a result they have been forced to diminish in scope. In order for us to

1A good portion of these are family farms that are barely hanging on, and they are

constantly under the threat of buyout by Black Beauty Coal, Natural Gas Pipelines,

loggers, ethanol plants, and agri-businesses.2

PPP is an infrastructure project that was proposed to create hierarchies of maquiladoras,

biological corridors to strip the rainforests of their remaining life and patent it, roadprojects, dry canals, hundreds (if not thousands) of dams, deep water ports, and airports,

just to name a few.


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survive or have anything left once we get around to taking this shit down, it is not just I-69 that has to be stopped, but all of the infrastructure projects. It is only then that we can

start undoing the already existing concrete and industrialized fortresses and realize ourpossibilities.

History of Resistance to Interstate 69

When we became involved in organizing again I-69, we inherited a long legacy ofresistance. Resistance runs deep in southern Indiana; for those people that havent been

co-opted by liberal environmentalism and confined to the cages of wage, it runs in theirveins. For nearly twenty-years landowners and those directly affected by the road have

engaged in road blockages with tractors, harassment of surveyors and planners, shoutingdown local politicians, and taking over meetings.

Some of the more exciting and inspiring known actions have occurred over the past five

years. In Bloomington, Indiana, 2002 was a particularly full year full of resistance, duringwhich some very important actions took place. For example, when the planners of the

highway hosted a required public meeting, the room where it was hosted was stuffedfull of folks speaking in opposition to the highway. The meeting eventually erupted into a

mini-riot, resulting in Indiana State Police escorting out two proponents of the highway,for reasons of safety. Later that year, an event happened that highlighted the breadth of

the resistance: farmers along the proposed route harvested food, which they shared at aThanksgiving dinner in Indianapolis with opponents of I-69. The dinner was a place for

folks to meet and strategize. From the dinner, a group made up of the majority of thepeople present staged a march to the governors mansion. Upon arriving at the governors

mansion, it became obvious that people had already started construction of I-69, but notalong the proposed route rather, this construction began in the governors lawn. There

have been many other actions and events that have served to motivate and encourageresistance.

Our point of entry was admittedly late in the game. From this point, though, we have

attempted to create frameworks that honestly express our intentions and motivations. Wehave tried to recognize our limitations, both socially and politically, and are trying to

work within them.

What Inspires and Informs Our Resistance

Other struggles have informed our resistance, here we provide a few salient examples:

Anti-nuclear Struggle in Comiso, Italy: The anti-nuclear struggle in Comiso, Italy

provides a point of reference for us. In Comiso opponents of a power plant went door todoor, and more-or-less explicitly stated that they were insurrectionary anarchists who

wanted to connect on commonalities.


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U.K. Anti-Roads Movement: Another point of reference for us has been the anti-roadsmovement in the UK that raged throughout the 90s. In this strugglewhich eventually

grew to include much larger critiques of institutions and programs such as car culture,ports, the criminal justice bill, and miningpeople from varying subcultures and

backgrounds came together to destroy 400 out of the 500 proposed roads projects. Their

resistance included defense of wild and urban areas, the merging of party and protest, andintensely beautiful blockades.

Obviously the above examples are just two of many points of reference. To briefly namea few other inspirational resistance projects that continue to give us a broader view: the

Treno Alto Velocita (TAL) struggle in Italy; the San Salvador Atenco airport stoppageand the resistance to the La Parota dam, both in Mexico; and the Minnehaha Free State in

in the U.S. We could name many others.

The resistance we hear of on our travels, and those we read about, continue to build andsustain our struggle. When we continue to share these stories and weave together a

collective historical context, we start to see how endless the possibilities are.

The Activity of Roadblock Earth First!

As stated earlier, when we became involved in resistance to I-69 a number of our crew

came out of ecological groups, which played a major role in our decision to identify withEarth First! (EF!). On another level, it is obvious that EF! is now at a point that is more or

less anarchist-dominated and insurrectionary in direction. Our identification with EF!became cemented as a result of our desire to expand theoretical perspectives, learn skills,

and find affinity and friends. EF! has grown to include a much wider perspective thanthat of an exclusively ecological ideology. These shifts have allowed us to plug into EF!

at a great juncture.

Coming out of these points of reference, one of our primary intentions is to connect in anopen way with landowners to connect in ways that validate and encourage their forms

of struggle. These relations have been tenuous at times and prove themselves difficult toform and maintain. However, these relationships are one of the concrete ways that we

have been able to broaden our vantage point and figure out how to move forward. Thelandowners have continually shared the experiences of contesting the road with us, and

they have helped us to ground ourselves in areas along the proposed route that we are lessfamiliar with.

Another of our intentions is to clearly show the links between I-69 and the larger

infrastructure networks that are trying to be built. This is largely based on our efforts toorient I-69 as a solidarity project with people resistingand defeatinginfrastructure

projects in Mexico, Central America, and South America. As Root Force has repeatedlyand more eloquently stated, we also view infrastructure as a solid point of attack.

3In the

3For more information on Root Force visit their website at: http://www.rootforce.org/


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U.S. there is a major focus on plans like Corridors for the Future, and it is clear that suchprojects are necessary for the completion of the capitalist free trade projects.

Since I-69 has been proposed for around twenty years, resistance has fluctuated

frequently in relation to what the state is doing. For this reason, a large part of our focus

has been on creating networks, and forming affinity with folks from all over Indiana andfrom multiple groups and subcultures. Some common activities in this regard have beenpotlucks, public assemblies, meetings, benefit shows, and tabling at the Farmers Market.

This has proved extremely helpful in decentralizing specific tasks, as well as broadeningand incorporating more voices into the resistance. However, this method and framework

pushes us further and further into an inescapably activist framework, and compromiseshave been made in order to grow numbers and become more relevant.

We have also focused a good deal of energy into getting to know intimately the land that

were defending. Some of the activities that have allowed (or attempted to allow for this),include bike tours, walking tours, plotting out maps, studying GIS systems, having

research parties, and spending time at peoples houses along the route. While we havebecome much more knowledgeable about the landand in many cases, an intense

connection is felt with the land that is proposed for clearingwe have not been able tospend as much time on the route as would be beneficial. Although there is little to remedy

this at such a late point, attempts are being made and each day folks are becoming morecomfortable with the land. Bike tours have proven to be one of the best ways for folks to

get acquainted with the route they have allowed activists to spend time with people onthe route, and have given activists the opportunity to learn from them about their homes

and land.

As is to be expected, another focal point has been action. Early on, a lot of energy wasplaced on home and office demos against those responsible for implementing and

planning the road. There were waves of these throughout the summer of 2005 andcontinuing on into 2007. The demos had some successes, but mainly just lead to

increased security at the most targeted offices. The increased security, repression, andlack of any substantial successes resulting from these demos made continuing them an

ineffectual effort. Another reason for the shift away from office and home demos was theinability to focus in on one particular area, and the feeling of the need to target everyone

equally. Although office demos still happen, they are no longer a main activity.

Public meetings hosted by the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) have beena significant source of energy and resistance, with a lot of effort going into them on both

our side and the enemys side. These meetings brought out people from along the routewho are directly affected by the road, as well as a huge amount of general opposition.

Nearly all of these meetings wound up with INDOT having to scramble around, trying toregain control of the meetings, which they were rarely able to accomplish.


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Where Resistance is Currently

In early March, companies that are contracted out by INDOT began to clear the path forI-69 in the first 2 miles of the southernmost section on the route: trees where the

endangered Indiana Bat nests were ripped up out of the ground, houses were demolished,

and heavy machinery came up to the doorsteps of remaining homes. There is continualpreparation work for construction which will likely begin in the coming weeks.INDOTs early start in clearing has left us in a precarious situation, but spirits are up and

resistance is continuing on our terms.

Recently, a huge surge in energy has led to many exciting events and projects gettingunderway. Crews have formed to bottom line logistical needs such as medic, legal,

housing, transportation, and so on. These crews have been hard at work trying to lay thenecessary foundations for supporting the large-scale action that everyone is looking

forward to. In addition to this, there are nature walks happening on land on the route.These walks will function to familiarize people with the land and put faces on the

theoretical destruction of Indiana. A listening project that records interviews with folkswho are along the route and disseminates the information, is currently underway. There

are public assemblies that serve as a type of spokes council and facilitate discussionswithin Bloomington. A newsletter is published on a bi-weekly basis that gives updates on

both resistance to the road and the current doings of INDOT. Over the past two years,people have been handing out Pledge Cards, which people sign saying theyll be there

when the bulldozers arrive to begin construction on I-69. Currently there are hundreds ofpledge cards, and as a result of this, action camps are happening. Theres a wide range of

other projects happening as well, including ecological surveying, a long walk, bike tour,and much more.

Next Steps

To continue fighting this highwayand ideally set in place a victory to inspire resistanceto other infrastructure projectswe have put out a call to encourage folks to travel to

southern Indiana to aid in the fight. To this effect, basic logistical needs (housing, food,legal, and so on) have been set in place in key areas. We are encouraging folks to bring

something to the table and come with affinity groups. It is not our place to dictate actionsfor others, so we are asking that people make a serious effort to define their own actions

and their own interventions. People will be supported in their actions and are encouragedto use the existing frameworks for logistical needs. However, it is helpful to realize that

resistance to I-69 is not a weeklong summit protest; it will likely continue for years tocome. We need long-termers. While folks can be helpful if they come for a weekend or a

year, it is helpful if they are prepared to be self-directed and able to define theirengagement. Being prepared to be self-directed and self-defined in engagement will

allow folks to have the most meaningful experience and be helpful to resistance.

Once construction begins, there is a (not so) secret plan being enacted called x69.Basically, the idea for this is that construction will be shut down for thirty days,


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beginning with day x.(Day x is being used as the term for the unknown day whenconstruction will begin, since we dont have a specific or exact date). Affinity groups

sign up to take on a certain amount of time until all the days are full. Along with this, thePledge Cards will bring hundreds of people to the construction site on day x. These two

plansalong with continual resistance and communicationare being enacted to stop

the road.

There are many other ways for folks to be part of stopping I-69. There is a list on the

website of companies involved in building I-69.4

A bike ride of the route in Indiana istaking place in September. July 28

this a day of action against I-69, so folks can start

planning for that now. There is a Pledge Camp and Music Festival from June 6-8.Additionally, on the website there is a wishlist of supplies that we need. Folks can also go

on speaking tours about the highway and infrastructure. We can send you supplies to helpyou out. The website contains tons of literature and posters for download and

distribution. Most importantly, though, folks can fight infrastructure projects whereverthey are!

4Roadblock Earth First!s website can be found at: http://stopi69.wordpress.com/

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