Wisco Point

I spent the last weekend at the cottage as well as spent a night in Ashland. On monday morning I was coming back to Duluth when I decided to go to Wisconsin Point in Superior before I crossed the border. Wisconsin Point is about a three mile portion of the largest freshwater sandbar on the planet(the other portion of the sandbar is the seven mile Minnesota Point.) 

When I first got to the end of the point there was a floating crane that was going through the opening between the Wisconsin and Minnesota Points. 

On the point is a functioning lighthouse. 

Wisconsin Point was a sacred place to the Anishinaabe peoples. This place was a burial ground until the American government removed the bodies. While the government still owns the point, there is talk of the Anishinaabe getting ownership returned to them. 

Another fun fact is that my Ojibwemowin professor actually had ancestors buried here. 

At this point I wished I smoked, so that I could've given a tobacco offering. 

OD: Duluth Autonomous District

In a way I sort of moved off campus. Starting this past Wednesday I will be living in a tent for about 6 nights a week in a tent city dubbed the Duluth Autonomous District aka DAD. DAD is the base of the Occupy Duluth movement where there is food, warmth, meetings, and community. Also with the food being free we have universal healthcare and a public library. It is located on the grounds of the civic center which is where the Federal Building, St. Louis County Courthouse, and the Duluth City Hall are located. 

An old postcard of the civic center.

The red zone is the current perimeter of DAD which is city property. Someday we want to occupy the other half of the loop as well, but that is more complicated since it is federal property. The other side has been dubbed something along the lines of "Cravaackastan" which is named after a GOP congressman named Chip Cravaack who the people here are not too fond of. 

This is my tent. 

Right before I went to bed on my first night at about 11:30 P.M. one of our occupiers came into our central tent(dubbed "The People's Living Room") and whispered how he was smoking a cigarette when a door opened on a mysterious van. Inside was a person laying on the floor on of the van who had a camera. A picture was taken, and the van was quickly closed. Some guys in our group investigated the van. They looked through the windshield(since it was the only non-tinted window) and said there was all kinds of "cool" sound equipment in it. My imagination ran wild about how the government is spying on us. It didn't help that at one time when I was checking out my wifi options one of locked ones was titled FBI_Investigation_Van_26.

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Otherwise I have been having a phenomenal time at DAD. Occasionally some of the members of the city council come visit us to show their support. We are really lucky because Duluth has a strong relationship with its government and its activists. The city allows us to do a lot from putting up structures, using electricity (for a one time fee), and using kerosine heaters. Since Duluth's winter really isn't tent-friendly there is talk of building better structures. The most popular idea at the moment is to build a yurt. I support this fully. 

Twice a day we have community meals. Since we get more food donated than we can eat we invite low-income individuals and the homeless to come to DAD for a meal. Along with that we have an over-donated amount of blankets and tents which we allow the homeless to have a warm and safe place to stay. At DAD I've met such a diverse group of people from all walks of life that I would have never had been able to meet by strictly living at UMD. Even though I have only been living there for three days, I already feel a sense of home. 

College Food

This is the point when I let you know that I probably eat like no other college student. Ramen? Frozen Pizza? Microwave mac n' cheese? No, no, and no. Instead I shop at the farmer's market or the co-op and make every dinner from scratch. And what was for dinner tonight? How about organic moose-shaped pasta and pumpkin...oh yeah, that's how I eat. 

Okay, so I only made this post so I could brag about the moose pasta.

Introducing Mr. and Mrs. Tuska

My sister Brooke's new last name is Tuska. Why? Because she married this guy named Scottie. So I headed down to the Twin Cities to attend their wedding. I thought I should note that while I took most of these pictures, I didn't take all of them. However they were all taken on my camera. 

The family arrives at the house to wait for the time to begin the ceremony. 

When the time came we walked to the park and circled up to wait for the bride.

"Where's my fiance?" thinks Scottie

This wedding has been brought to you in part by Gmail. 

Mr. and Mrs. Tuska

 Then the reception:

My mom was obsessed with her hair...So she made me take a picture of it. 

The night was filled with live music, tacos, wine in mason jars, and homemade beer. 

The End.

Occupy Duluth!

Yes, even Duluth is upset over corporate dominance and economic injustice. On Monday a bunch of people, including me, joined together in the park to start to plan an occupation of Duluth. We formed committees (I am on the Sustainable Food System Committee) and democratically made plans and decisions. We decided that we would rally and have second meeting on Wednesday. The rally was okay, but that is because Wisconsin has given me high standards. Despite the fact that we planned a protest in two days and that it took place during a thunderstorm....the turnout was still considerable. Since it WAS storming, I have minimal pictures.

The weather was NOT friendly....I blame the Tea Party.

Another interesting story is that the plaza we occupied is partially owned by Duluth and partially owned by the MN Power corporation. So MN Power put up "No Trespassing" signs to scare us, but the city made them take it down because the plaza is owed by the public. 

The above photo shows the Tea Party on the left with a portion of the Occupy Duluth rally on the right.

Okay, so when the local Tea Party heard there was going to be an Occupy rally they realized that they needed to counter-rally to protect their corporate special interests. Apparently within the ten people they had, one of them was actually a CEO of a big business. The Tea Party's messages were contradictory and downright confusing. To counter our "We are the 99%" slogan they had a "We are the 53%" slogan.  For starters I am pretty sure 99 is bigger than 53. I was told the 53% refers to the number of people they claim who pay taxes...

While the Tea Party had about ten people, we had about 75-100.

The media was there also. You can watch a video HERE.

After the rally we had another logistics meeting. One of the guys on my committee is a Frenchman who is a part of a group of area organic enthusiasts and foodies that are trying to promote local and sustainable food in Duluth. So they had a reception at the Greysolon. A couple of us went there after the meeting (after getting lost in a martini bar/jazz lounge) to talk about organic food as well as promote our cause. Also I got free dinner.

Saturday is a global day of action which is actually when we will start a 24/7 occupation. Unfortunately I will not be there because I will be in the Twin Cities for Brooke and Scott's wedding..

The City by the Sea...at Night

This is what Duluth looks like at night. I will take more someday.