Eagle Creek Reparations Curriculum: Created in part by Community

A tragedy of epic proportions has occurred. A tragedy against Mother Nature, our forest and the animals that live there. A tragedy on a personal level for all who have experienced loss of either property, animals, or disruption of life as a result of the fire. A tragedy for our community that both relies on the Gorge's economic bounties, the routes that run through it, as well as the health and emotional benefits of its recreational pleasures.

As has been reported, at least one teenager allegedly lit fireworks and threw them off of a cliff in Eagle Creek, Oregon. This teen was accompanied by a group other people, rumored to be mostly his age, along with his mother. Reports have stated, from an eye-witness account, that the teens appeared unaware of how to stop the fire that they sparked, nor did they show concern or action toward getting it put out once they had been caught in the act.

Their lighting of the fire and subsequent inaction, has led to a 33,000+ acre wildfire. The cost for its containment has been monumental and the containment is only at 35% (as of Sept 18, 2017). There have been evacuations of several areas in Oregon and Washington (where the fire crossed the Columbia River), devastation of at least one structure, countless wild and domestic animal lives lost and displaced. As rain comes, floods and erosion via mudslides may lead to the loss of even more land and habitat.

This petition outlines steps that we can take to try and understand this tragedy's genesis, heal the damage done to the forest and all people affected by this ongoing event, and move forward in a positive way.

This petition is an effort to allow the children to hear, understand, and accept the impact of their actions, as well as to allow for community impacted by the fire*, the teens themselves, their parents, and law enforcement to define together what the teens can do to begin making reparations for their acts. We are recommending that authorities handling the case meet with one or more of the following organizations:

Resolutions NW, Multnomah County's Restorative Justice Training Department, Restorative Community Services program of Washington State, Portland Public Schools Restorative Practices Department

What is a Restorative System or Restorative Circle? https://www.restorativecircles.org

Many individuals and organizations are stepping up and asking to become involved as professionals who can provide input around such things as human brain development, teen youth building, forestry practices, climate impact, and more. We can call on these and other local experts as time allows and as need arises. The following individuals have confirmed that they are fully onboard to help:

Dominic Barter - World-renowned facilitator of Restorative Circles https://vimeo.com/6557584

Catherine Cadden - Respected youth leader highly trained in Non-Violent Communication https://playinthewild.org/team/catherine-cadden/

Jonathan Hankins - Local advocate and behavioral health expert

Hermine Hayes-Klein - Well-known human rights and family law attorney from Portland, OR.



To be clear, this is not a call for the teens to be tried as adults. This is a call for them to better understand, and be held accountable for, their actions. This is a call to co-create a mandated reparation plan, or curriculum, which can include:

- Replanting of every estimated tree lost or damaged due to the fire (if, when, and how it is deemed appropriate to do so by local forestry agents), in addition to...

- Community service hours equivalent to total number of acres damaged (separate from replacement of trees) involving such things as...

Serving coffee to the truckers who must now work two + day trips because their routes have been re-routed.

Riding in helicopters in order to visually survey the scope of damage that has/is being done.

Training to put out hot spots and other fire-fighting techniques deemed appropriate by local VFD.

Serving meals in fire camps to those now facing real dangers in order to stop this fire.

Doing service work with elders and children who are struggling to breathe.

Working in wild life and animal shelters to see the effects of ecosystem destruction and suffering.

Cleaning up houses and businesses destroyed.

Learning about how they have interfered with Interstate commerce.

Eventually holding public impact panels (especially in schools), as well as creating social media videos (youtube, etc) and making verbal amends to the community at large.

And, last, but not least...Video-documenting the entire process so that they can re-watch it later to see the moments when they fully began to understand and accept what they have done...this component will also allow community (local and non-local) to witness this expected transformation.



We know that Restorative Process can work...if we give it a chance to unfold.

Unfortunately, jail and prison time are often not as rehabilitative for young offenders as we wish, or expect, it would be. Instead these young people often come out with deeper deficits, which then wreak continued havoc on our populace. Even as we may each feel enormous anger and concern over what has happened, we also have our own accountability, as community members, to keep our youth on a better tack for the good of all.

We are not expecting that there will not be mandatory jail time as a conclusion of this process. Jail or prison time may indeed still be something that becomes an outcome, and may even become something that the teens decide is something they must face.

Please consider being part of what could be a huge change for these teens, and for our community, by signing and sharing our petition. Please also consider reaching back out to, and working with, us to help define what reparation building for this issue can look like. We will want all the voices we can get.

Your signatures will be presented to local authorities so that there can be an understanding around how many people want a restorative process held with the children who started this fire.

Sincerely,

Darci D. Shaver

Non-Violent Communications Trained Mediator,

Wildlife and Forest Advocate,

End of Life Doula,

Mother.

*Those impacted by the wildfire include truck drivers whose routes were affected, business owners whose commerce was impacted, people forced to leave their homes, workers who fought to save wildlife, firefighters and volunteers who worked to put out the blaze that they started, etc.



Additionally, name-calling, disparaging remarks, and threats will be removed from this petition and reported. There will be space created within the process for people to air their grievances - just not here.

Thank you for your help, patience, and understanding.