A CHANGE OF PLAN
At the 2019 Rainbow Gathering in Wisconsin, the Vision Counsel consensed on a list of National Forests in the Idaho region for the next annual event. Scouting in the area got started in early autumn, culminating in a “Harvest Counsel” in late October, departing from the customary Thanksgiving date due to the harsh high-country weather & travel conditions there in November.
For 48 years the Gatherings have gone forward on this process in trust, ‘Ignore all rumors of cancellation!” However with the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020, experienced Rainbow movers, shakers & makers convened earnest discussions online and in phone conferences on the compelling need to “postpone” this Gathering, in light of the health perils to attendees and host communities. In truth their expressions of conscientious concern, sacrifice, and higher public interest were inspiring… a bunch of respected Rainbow kitchens & crews posted ‘Solidarity 2021’ Glyphs online, and hundreds of dedicated gatherers all over the country joined in an unprecedented public statement:
“An Agreement Not To Gather – 2020”
Gathering Participants Respond to the COVID-19 Pandemic
At the same time, some others did NOT agree — dismissing the disease risks, local opposition, & ‘say-so’ of high-holy hippie elders, and asserting that the 2020 Gathering must and WILL happen. This has spawned heated debate and division… and due to the voluntary nature of all such endeavors, people will do what they want, whether they see the consequences or not.
So the stage was set — with fear on one side that youngers & yahoos would land unprepared and foment disasters, and rage on the other that sanctimonious hipsters stood on their way.
‘PCU’ ASSESSMENT
In a studied advocate view of the Gatherings, their operations, legal issues, and these unique circumstances — landing a crowd in Idaho posed serious problems:
• A real gathering relies on diverse seasoned skills to set up and maintain the infrastructure of water, sanitation, supplies, kitchens, security, and medical care… the most savvy team players were not showing up, and anything can go haywire.
• The epidemiology of a large mingled encampment is a mess: Travelers from Covid hot zones and unknown exposure can put each other at-risk, endanger host towns, and overburden local hospitals,… blunder and sabotage are too easy, contact tracing is implausible in real time and after-the-fact.
• The situation is vulnerable to provocateur politics… USFS Incident Command can deploy roadblocks, land closures, lockdowns & quarantines on the “pandemic pretext”, and misuse any and all mishaps this year to obstruct future gatherings.
In the objective advocate position of PCU•Free Assembly Project, a ‘policy information’ letter went out to responsible National Forest officials, to apprise them of the historic “Agreement” and the emergent situation in Idaho. The intent was to engage them in constructive policy decisions as these new events unfold, and preserve high ground for the Gatherings down the pike. This letter was sent first to the Regional Forester [R1] in Missoula and the Acting Supervisor of Nez Perce-Clearwater N.F. on June 11:
≈ Rainbow Gathering 2020 Deferred (6/10/20)
THE PROMO GAME
Based on the Harvest Counsel consensus in Boise last October, June 13 was the pivotal date when scouting & seed camp volunteers would convene for Spring Counsel, to choose the best gathering site… but if almost all of the main players & sustainers wanted no gathering to proceed in Idaho, it was questionable whether there should be a spring Council at all, or what it meant if people showed up.
By June 13 here was still no announcement, but then the suspense was over:
Proponents had launched a glossy webpage with familiar ‘Rainbow Family’ endearments, adages & memes… that’s where directions to a “Spring Counsel” location were published, setting rogue events irrevokably in motion. By Sunday June 14 this post went up on a key public listserv: “2020 Annual Rainbow Gathering – 49th.“ — and the web link was prominently displayed like a done deal: 2020rainbowgathering.org/
The modus operandi was TOO familiar: The same guy had put his “Peace Conspiracy” festival scheme in front of the Ozark regional gatherings 20 years before, compromising their consensual workings and spawning divisions that never healed.
I posted a reply on that list serve the following day: “Déjà Vu…” — Hijacking the “Rainbow” Brand… it was happening again, with much more perilous implications and nationwide divisions at stake. That post gave some ‘lucid history’ on what went down back then, how I tried to tell him nicely but he didn’t listen — and what this means now.
Then over the next couple days, dozens of people rolled in to the designated council site in north central Idaho, and that drama on the land began. The first reports were not pretty.
NATIVE CONCERNS
On 6/10/2020 the Nez Perce Tribe put out a “Press Release regarding Rainbow Family Gathering“: It stated a litany of concerns over the use of tribal lands, and potential environmental, archaeological, and public health impacts of a gathering there; it closed with a stern rebuke — “The Rainbow Family of Living Light did not reach out to the Nez Perce Tribe Executive Committee for permission to hold the annual gathering on or near our Tribe’s territory.”
In fact seasoned gatherers did connect with tribal members and key organization reps while scouting last fall, and in two good meetings in late winter. Here is a 2/23/2020 report on “Outreach to Members of the Nimiipuu/Nez Perce Tribe“ in the 1/27 & 2/7 meetings, laying groundworks before the expected gathering. Then the Covid crisis hit the nation, and there was no follow-up with the Tribe… all discussion turned to the existential question of Rainbow 2020.
On 6/16/2020 PCU•FAP sent an earnest email to the Nez Perce Tribal Executive Committee, a response to the TEC ‘Press Release on Rainbow Gathering’. It explained intervening events, conveying both the “Agreement Not To Gather-2020”, and the recent PCU letter to USFS officials for their consideration. Hopefully this helped to smooth things over and reopen communications on the emergent situation, much different than was anticipated.
THE SPIN COUNCIL
Events at the so-called “Spring Council” got rolling by Sunday 6/14… early reports of pugilant rowdies & bad drugs were unnerving, and they were not ready to discuss gathering sites because the scouting was not done. The process got dragged out through that week, as reportedly scouts were sent out from the council camp and/or another location. Behind the ‘Rainbow’ ritual appearances, maybe the real decisions were being made on the backside.
Some folks who had opposed this gathering attended council circles and urged them not to proceed… they were generally ignored, sometimes shouted down. Some sisters were miffed at the dominating ‘alpha-male’ conduct and vibe in those circles. A number of people had put themselves at risk in going there to deter the “Idaho 2020” disaster movie, but they could not block it, and left the area more sad and concerned.
The doings & nuances of the “Spin Council” encampment are a whole sidebar story, best told in its own frame: [[ Gossip Column TBA ]]
The outcome matters most: Around June 25 a gathering site was finally announced near the Iron Phone Campground in Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest, on F.R. 420 west of US-95 near the towns of Riggins & Lucile, ID. These are also “aborigional tribal lands” where the Nez Perce retain traditional rights and sovereignty — and unfortunately the chosen area included a last tragic battlefield of the Indian Wars, where their land was finally taken by the U.S. Army, and ancestors are buried.
IRON PHONE NOISE
Nez Perce elders and activists were outraged, and so were Rainbow regulars at-home — the renegade ‘Ronabows had committed just the blunders & affronts toward native people that gatherers always strived to avoid, and precipitated just the crisis they feared.
It was then learned that the Nez Perce Tribal Executive Committee (NPTEC) had previously conveyed a stern letter to the Forest Service on May 28, 2020 — opposing the rumored Rainbow Gathering, and demanding official action to protect cultural resources and control the unknown throngs on their ancient lands:
• NPTEC Letter to USFS, 5/28/20
(enhanced PDF doc, made from bad JPG images… to be replaced soon)
In that letter the NPTEC urged the Forest Service to strictly enforce special use regulations — but THIS ‘Group Use Permit’ controversy would be a mess on all sides: The Foresters could neither deny a permit and kick everyone out of the woods, nor grant one and condone the safety risks… the Freaks had no legal protection against the ‘pandemic pretext’, nor support that would expose the First Amendment position of Real Gatherings in the future to these bad precedents.
Meanwhile, things were heating up on the ground: A cadre of Nez Perce rads threatened to go to the site and “get ’em outa there”, relented upon pleas from sympathetic Rainbows, then set up an “information stop” down the road, diverting travelers to an approved alternate site in Payette N.F. about 80 miles south. AND a couple of white militia groups were running the perimeters on ATV’s with automatic weapons, ostensibly to protect the forests and citizen rights. AND Fed LEO’s were fully deployed with Idaho County Sheriffs in the usual “Incident Command” copshow, with intensive patrols on-site and targeted enforcement on the roads as usual.
In light of the volatile situation, likely events and the law, pcu•FAP urged USFS Officials to apply normal ‘dispersed camping’ rules with health precautions at the Iron Phone site, and proposed this “…balanced and healing policy course” on July 2, 2020:
• “De-Escalating the Un-Gathering”, 7/1/20
This response came from Forest Supervisor Cheryl Probert within a couple hours:
“Thank you for your concern and ideas regarding the situation here in Idaho. There are indeed many rumors circulating. The Resource Protection and Rehab Plan was delivered to the people at the current gathering area by Jeff Shinn yesterday. Our primary objective is safety of all visitors and employees. Thank you again for your concern. Cp”
The reply-all from Russ Harris, the co-IC from FS-LEI, just said this:
“For sure Jeff”
FED DOCS & FOIA’s
Forest Service phone numbers kept going to voice-mail for several weeks — all staff were out-of-the-office during the viral shutdown. A live person finally answered in late June… contacts were confirmed, then requests for relevant official documents were the natural next step. This kind of factfinding is always part of the mission.
–> Go to this page for USFS connexions & policy items related to the Iron Phone “gathering”, including Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Requests and documents received in Response:::
[]] Fed Connex, Dox & FOIA’s …( a wonk’s ref-library, on the side.)