Friday March 15: Over 50 people stood in front of CNN, drawing attention to the white-out in mainstream media of Idle No More. The event lasted four hours during rush hour. With traffic often at a standstill, we literally had a captive audience who had time to read our signs and take flyers. Initially, CNN said they would come out, take pictures, and interview some of us about our concerns, but we were ignored (except when they didn't want us too close to the entrance).
One of the several speakers said the media doesn't want to cover the movement “because we are waking up. We're waking up, and this is just the beginning of Idle No More. We've got to bring more people into this. We've got to reach out to the masses. [During the talk, there is a belligerent cry from a passerby across Sunset Boulevard, “Hey, shut the fuck up!!!” The speaker resumes... ] That's another person that's bothered because we're waking up. Remember, you're not going to hear this through CNN, you're not going to hear this through the other one... Caucasian News Network ...MSNBC, not even through KPFK. We're more about talking about colonialism in our homes, in our lands, in our communities.”
Another speaker pointed out that we need to be, and are, our own media.
There was also mention of a recent victory, the naming of a new park in Santa Monica Tongva Park. “That park is going to be state-of-the-art, and it's going to be ADA-accessible,” said Lydia Ponce. “It's also going to have a time line to share information with regards to the original people that were here and still are here.”
The decision was made a few weeks ago at a City Council meeting. “The most beautiful thing that happened out of all this was [the opponents] showed their ignorance live on cable TV [CityTV]. Number one, they wanted to give us a hill within the park. A hill named Tongva Hill would suffice. We said, 'No, that's not going to do.' Then they wanted to just put 'Arroyo Gabrielino.' We said, 'No.' We didn't want to do the mission park, we didn't want to name it Pacific Park. It stayed as Tongva, and it should open in the next nine months. I hope everybody comes out as part of that celebration.”
The coffee kiosk adjacent to CNN's entrance (Brew Coffee Bar) was hospitable and co-operative. During the rally, they turned their music off for us.
Another visit to CNN is being planned.
UPDATE: There will be a vigil in front of CNN on Wednesday March 20th, 2014 at 7pm and NOT downtown LA as previously announced. Announcement:
https://www.facebook.com/events/302680993191707/ 