It has been awhile since I posted here, so I will start with a highlighted list of events that are of interest in the peaceable free assembly quest to preserve rights under the first amendment of the Constitution of these united States of America.

As the peace and healing gatherings continue regionally around the nation and internationally around the world, so also continues the talks with the Forest Service in general and the Undersecretary of Agriculture Mark Rey, in particular.

Forgive me as I write these notes without benefit of files or verified information. This post will be edited later for accuracy.

• The first meeting with Undersecretary of Agriculture Mark Rey took place on April 20, 2007 at 1:00 pm eastern time. (4-20) Present were Mark Rey, John Twiss, John ?, Raven, Summer Breeze and Thomas from Proposition One Committee. On the phone was Attorney Brian Michaels of Eugene, Oregon along with his secretary Sephira, who took notes and later shared them with the family. Other folks called in on a conference line.
• Thanksgiving Council took place some where near Taos, New Mexico. Information will be forthcoming.
• The annual gathering of the tribes of the rainbow family of living light will take place in New Mexico in 2009. The site will be determined at a spring council gathering to be held at a site that will be announced in the future once the scouts look at different locations and determine a site nearest the possible sites.
• Raven and Summer Breeze met with Undersecretary Mark Rey and two other individuals whose names need to be confirmed and later posted. This meeting took place November 12, 2008 at the Federal Office of the Department of Agriculture in Washington DC. The meeting lasted one hour beginning at 4 pm eastern time. It was an informal talk session to discuss “what next” and touch on what happened these past two years as an alternative means of compliance under the current Code of Federal Regulations 36 CFR 251 & 261.
• Two gatherings operated as a matter of record as legal gatherings without a signed permit as required in previous years. Arkansas in 2007 and Wyoming in 2008 were a co-operative effort to explore the possibility of an alternative means of compliance without fully changing the regulation.
• The next phone conference between Mark Rey, the Forest Service representatives and liaison and the rainbow gatherers, will be held December 9, 2008 at 4pm Eastern Time. Twenty individuals will be able to call in on this teleconference as an imposed limit due to the nature of the call line. Raven and Summer Breeze will be present in person at the United States Department of Agriculture building in Washington DC. Summer Breeze will attempt to take some clear notes. It is the hope that this meeting will be recorded by family as happened at about three other phone conferences in the past. It would be encouraging for several other people to take notes and compare.
• Audio tapes of previous phone conferences with Mark Reyare available at One Tin Soldier, the original recordings being hosted on Garage Band thanks to Marty Who Likes to Party from the New York Lacona Tribe. Thanks so much for the love, Marty.
• Audio files are available on the top right side bar of One Tin Soldier.
• The ACLU has taken an interest in the events of police misconduct which occurred at the Wyoming 2008 gathering. In particular, an incident took place at Kiddie Village where Shanti Sena and other folks including children, were shot with rubber bullets and mace balls.
• Files of lawsuits, court cases, and testimonies as well as the ACLU letter for Wyoming 2008 is available at PCU//Free Assembly. Visit Scottie’s site and offer information to help complete the records, if you have any. Support Scottie in his work as well.
• There is an internal investigation into the event at kiddie village to determine whether the conduct of Forest Service Incident Command Team officers was in violation of proper procedure. The investigation is also to determine whether any “rainbows” provoked the incident or escalated it in any way, as per the Undersecretary of Agriculture Mark Rey. In Mark Rey’s words, “I viewed the tapes of the kiddie village incident, and to be honest, as an onlooker it would be hard for me to tell who is friend and who is foe.” This is a direct quote of a statement made to Raven and Summer Breeze at the November 12, 2008 “what next” meeting with Mark Rey.
• Undersecretary of Agriculture Mark Rey requested the investigation from the internal affairs department.
• Dear friend and scout for rainbow gatherings of many years, Sailor, made an announcement on agr around Thanksgiving, that he is not expected to live past Christmas. Write your farewells to this dear brother and friend of many years to many rainbows, who scouted many a trail and caught lots of fish, so Sailor can read your words while he is still alive. Email Sailor at x989@earthlink.net and send comfort to his lovely wife, sweet sister, Sailor’s soul mate, Catherine, at cebax@earthlink.net. Sailor has invited family to visit on his boats with prior notice to share the remaining days of his life in family fellowship. I dearly and truly wish I could be there but Raven and I have to finish this work in Washington DC.
• Karin Zirk of San Diego, California maintains a couple blogs of distinction which chronicle events of the gatherings. Visit the Wyoming blog or the New Mexico blog. Send Karin your information of events of concern to the annual gatherings.
• Rainbow Justus is seeking photos, documentation of harassment or court trials, testimonies of any information regarding gathering rights and justice. Send your videos, your events, your documents or information or audio files to themidnightwriter1@gmail.com with permission to publish and your contact information. Help us complete the history of this making of a walking.
• The Making of A Walking website covers the time during Summer Breeze’s ticketing, trials, arrest and gatherings for a ticket she received in Michigan 2002.
• On September 11, 2007, the first gathering of the Mountain Spirit Tribe was held in the Ochoco National Forest at Indian Prairie in Oregon. It was held at the same location as the Oregon 97 annual gathering of the tribes of the rainbow family of living light. This 2007 gathering was a reunion and a new beginning of a medicine wheel healing circle which lasted until the reunion date Elijah’s birthday on September 23, 1998.
• A second annual gathering of the Mountain Spirit Tribe took place at Indian Prairie in the Ochoco National Forest from September 1-21, 2008. Raven and Summer Breeze experienced vehicle difficulties which prevented their attendance. Brother David of the pirates showed up to feed and hold the gathering together. Medicine Dancer did not attend to build the sweat lodge this year as he had in 2007.
• Brother Tyson Schrade went missing in the Ochoco National Forest during the Mountain Spirit Tribe gathering in September 2008. According to the last information received from authorities, Tyson Schrade was never found. Pray that this brother has wandered off with friends some where down the trail and that he will be located safe and well. His mother really needs closure and so does the rainbow family. Tyson is a friend of ours so this is close to home.

The Midnight Writer