Land Black, Black Land, homelessness is a colonizer’s scam: UNTOUR BOOK LAUNCH IN PACIFIC NORTHWEST
Momii Palapaz, PNN poverty scholar
“I want to point out the other resistance marks in this beautiful prayer…the resistance marks of our warriors lost to police terror.. Mario Woods, Luis Temaj, Iris Canada, a 100 year old Black elder evicted from her home of 40 years. Because capitalism kills”.
Tiny, co-founder of POOR MAGAZINE, introduces the beautiful prayer, The UnTour Book, Across Occupied Turtle Island.
From Yelamu, to Suquamish, Standing Rock to Alcatraz, the UnTour Book is a compilation of resistance marks, from poverty scholars in communities and towns, where rivers, mountains and forests were destroyed and threatened. The poverty scholars' untours crossed Turtle Island meeting Indigenous relatives from all over the world at Standing Rock, South Dakota, visited communities of Black and Brown displacement, and met movements of poor brothers and sisters in cities such as Philadelphia, New York City, Tallahassee, Nashville, Boston…housed and unhoused, fighting for justice.
Aunti Frances Moore, co-founder of Self Help Hunger Program, brought to everyone’s attention the long trek walking into history while producing the book. “ The chain of lies has been broken”, she said, “All the atrocities, the blood sweat and tears that my ancestors shed… it’s a miracle that I’m still standing tall.”
Unhoused and Unheard
“Homelessness is instability, insecurity, always wondering when the next shoe will drop. Un-certain where I’m waking up,” wrote Harriet. Her shoulder length brown hair framed her face that smiled as we talked on our first stop of the untour. Share Wheel Shelter in Seattle, Washington, temporarily houses over 40 women from the bitterly cold February weather.
Over 20 women, mostly elders, promptly wrote stories reminding the reader of the lack of permanent housing, the system’s constant abuse, the desert of mental health support and poor people’s solutions. The enthusiasm energized the room. Rarely do unhoused people get asked to share their stories, opinions and solutions to homelessness. Harriet finished her story, writing, “Constant super-vigilance, must be awake - aware who is around me, who is honest, who do I need to steer clear of. “
For years, POOR MAGAZINE writing workshops have given hundreds of unhoused community members the platform to be the voice for the unhoused and unheard. The latest sessions were also held at Tent City #3, University of Washington and St. Vincent De Paul's community center in Tacoma.
Colonizer scam
Centuries of land stealing, and centuries of the fight for independence, sovereignty and international solidarity have been erased from colonizer made history. From territories to reservations, communities of Black and Brown, immigrant and working class, poor people’s struggles are made invisible while klanmarks dot cities with KKK manuments praising and celebrating racial violence, slavery, displacement and massacres of indigenous tribes people
Spanish weapons of mass destruction invaded Ohlone land with the Missions of California. Junipero Serra, was a colonizer who raped, kidnapped, enslaved, murdered, sold and tortured the Indigenous population up and down the Ohlone coast.
Two spirits, Vick Toreya, of Sogorea’ Te read passages from an interview with POOR MAGAZINE in the UnTour Book, page 71. “It was on Indigenous People’s Day, October 12, 2022. He’s ( J.Serra) the reason why we have the missions here in California and why so many of our California Indian relatives are still suffering some of the long term effects of the mission development system, which eventually turned into the prison industrial complex. This colonizer basically brought the missions to California, starting with the first mission in San Diego… to the closest ones to where I’m at on Lisjan Ohlone territory right now…known as Oakland and The Bay Area..These statues represent genocide, rape and the extermination of Indigenous people.”
POOR UNTOURS took me to Denver, discovering the gentrification schematic that repeats itself across turtle island. Driving miles southeast, in the dry, suffocating heat, I felt the hot wind, the dusty dirt that panted for moisture. Not a soul could be seen on this desolate trek. Somehow the ancestors were welcoming me as we neared the Japanese American Concentration camp, Amache, named after the daughter of Cheyenne Chief Ochinee. I cried without restraint, taking in the despair and sacrifices of my ancestors. My life wouldn’t be here without their inspiration and resilience. Just north a ways, we met the descendants of the Sand Creek Massacre. Prayers and dansa were laid to honor the martyrs of this site. On page 168, the UNTOUR BOOK tells the herstory of hundreds, mostly women and children, massacred by the U.S. Army in 1864.
The POOR MAGAZINE week long UNTOUR BOOK launch was imagined and introduced by POOR MAGAZINE co-founder tiny Garcia, with poverty scholars and POOR Solidarity Family.
Bulldog News, Cafe Red, Evergreen State College and Orca Books (Olympia, WA), and King Books (Tacoma, Puyallup Tribe) hosted the POOR MAGAZINE Untour Book Readings, with guests, Rick Williams, Eagleson, Lisa Ganser, and poets.
Jay, Areya, Ed, Tye, Joy, Kaitlan and Seamus, from the POOR Solidarity Family coordinated the launching of the UNTOUR BOOK in Olympia, Tacoma and Seattle (the city originally named after Chief Si’ahl in the 1860’s for the Duwamish and Suquamish natives).
